IR Film Review: LAST RESORT [Saban]
The texture of "Last Resort", an English-language action movie set and shot in Bangkok, has the DNA of a "Die Hard" with a little bit of "Inside Man". Its progression and baseline is formulaic for the most part but some of the hand-to-hand combat definitely ratchets above its pay grade especially with Clayton Norcross as a mercenary on the opposite side of the line. Michael (Foo), the lead, is a special forces soldier who is back home with his child and wife (who is on the edge of divorcing him) after some years of "on-site" work. Like "Die Hard", his wife thinks he just hangs around and is now being lazy, not aware of the trauma that he went through until she is placed right in the middle of it. But unlike "Die Hard" or rather in some ways like it, Michael must take the law into his own hands to various levels of success to in fact save his wife and daughter when a bank is taken hostage during a supposed robbery.
Some of the best sequences happen in almost mano-a-mano situations although there is alot of gun play. One specific close quarters gun-and-knife sequence is wonderfully executed. There is also an acrobatic play with a slide at one point that has emulations of John Woo. That said, some things for safety and budget could not be done practically and as a result some low cost CG and replacements are visible, even in the final cut. Norcross does the best he can with some bad dialogue at points (and motivation -- depending on how the bad guy structure plays). Foo, for his part, keeps it lean and mean, especially with the dialogue which makes his performance that much more palpable. The prologue and closing codas paint to something bigger and a double cross but the facts are muddled and not entirely clear, even to the last shot. "Last Resort" is entertaining and energetic, despite its shortcomings, owing to some visceral fight sequences and cool lead in John Foo. B-
By Tim Wassberg
