04 Jan Last Resort Review

LAST RESORT

dir. Jean Marc Mineo, starring Jonathan Patrick Foo, Clayton Norcross, and Julaluck Ismalone

A former special forces soldier becomes a one-man-army when his wife and daughter are taken hostage during a bank robbery. As he brutally neutralizes the gang of thieves, the lives of millions hang in the balance when a highly lethal toxin is stolen from the vault. Last Resort is an intense action thriller powered by breathtaking fight choreography.

Starring Jonathan Patrick Foo as our hero Michael, Last Resort won’t be winning anyone in the cast any Academy Awards. Foo is almost up to the job; plenty of scenes showed potential for him to flex his charismatic skills but is oftentimes hampered by the extremely cheesy dialogue. Try as he might, Foo barely keeps afloat in the film as a washed out soldier fighting to save his wife and daughter. Also starring Clayton Norcross as Cooper, the film’s main antagonist, Norcross seems content to chew the scenery at every possible opportunity. An underdeveloped character with a hammy performance, Norcross lacks any real threat or menace or cause to worry in the way Hans Gruber or Howard Payne does. While equally shorted by the screenplay, Norcross does the character no favors with his acting.

Written and directed by Jean Marc Mineo, his directorial work on Last Resort is easily the movie’s most impressive element. With clever camera work and editing, Mineo’s direction is just enough to make the story watchable. A fan of lens flares all throughout the second and third act, it’s the over-the-top dramatics that help shape Michael and his crusade to save his wife and children. Edited by Arnuparp Anuwongsang, the film’s one hour 48 minute runtime starts slow but ramps up once Michael gets involved. Unfortunately, it’s Mineo’s writing that sinks the entirety of the production. Featuring a tired, long-tread trope of the lone, beleaguered protagonist set against scores of unnamed henchmen, Mineo adds nothing new to the cliches with little in the way of interesting spins or surprises, save one very convenient one. From this weak story is borne Mineo’s equally weak script, chock full of one note characters, uninteresting antagonists, and rote relationship issues between Michael and his ex. The action is decent, however, and clearly was the main focus of Mineo and his team. The hand-to-hand sequences between Foo and the stunt team are engaging and intriguing, and while it’s apparent the movie’s budget was minimal, Mineo and his team make use of every penny.

Overall, Last Resort attempts some interesting ideas, but ultimately falls flat as an overall project. Cribbing too much from Die Hard, the film attempts to match some of its emotional beats, but without the charm of either Bruce Willis or Alan Rickman and without the chemistry between McClane and Al Powell the end result is a watered down cliche of one man against the world. While Jean Mineo’s direction is competent, that alone isn’t enough to carry a weak script and atrocious acting. Last Resort is in Theaters January 6 and on Digital and On Demand January 10th.

Review by Darryl Mansel