One Last Shot is exactly the movie you expect and exactly the movie it looks like. And I mean that in a good way. You’re not going to find any surprises, but this is also the film that fans want. With his military strategy fetish on full display, Nunn hews to the single-take formula with long, elaborate shots and intricate blocking. Working with the great fight choreographer Tim Man, Adkins and a top-tier crew of stunt performers stage thrilling shootouts and some of the best on screen brawls you’re going to see this year. Adkins and the always awesome Kane Kosugi throwing down not once, but multiple times, is like action Christmas. There’s even a oner ATV chase and one of my favorite genre moves, a character sprinting down a dock and leaping onto a moving boat at the last minute. This scratches a very specific cinematic itch in the most satisfying ways.
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The plot, as is tradition, is largely secondary to the bit and the execution. Adkins’ SEAL Jake Harris is back and this time he’s tired and just wants to go back to his family and take a nap. But en route home from the events of One More Shot, his well-deserved rest is waylaid by Admiral Mulholland (Dolph Lundgren). So, terrorists set off a dirty bomb at the State of the Union, which triggers all the Joint Chiefs to be whisked away to a single location, which the terrorists then take over so they can hijack America’s missile defense systems. The crew is led by Carter (Steven Cree), a rogue former SEAL and friend of Harris. He actually took a bullet for Harris back in the day, which is why Mulholland adds Harris to the assault team last-minute to take out Carter so the SEALs can save face. This is intricate and convoluted and mostly inconsequential, but it does serve as a delivery system to get Adkins into the action, which is what we all want.
This time, Nunn and company don’t immediately dive head-first into the up-tempo action. After the table setting, the first half unspools in a more deliberate and measured fashion, the camera sticking with the crew as they attempt to breach the compound. It derives its ample tension from their stealthy approach and the friction from the competing agendas—the team is on a traditional rescue mission, while Harris has other orders. Even in these quieter moments, the pace is brisk and smooth and slips along. But wait a minute, you came for action, right? Don’t fret, once that fully kicks in, it delivers in droves and doesn’t squander many opportunities for a gun battle or tussle, including a banger Escrima versus hatchet (then into some BJJ rolls) fight.
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Adkins, of course, is one of the best currently kicking and punching people in the face on movie screens. There are some family beats that aren’t his strong suit, but Nunn and the script from franchise scribe Jamie Russell stay mostly away from that. Still, he gives Harris a nice world-weary edge. The guy has been through it the last few days and is beat to all hell and exhausted. When Mulholland gives him his orders, all he can do is muster a “come on, man” shrug. When Dolph calls, you have to answer.
The film toys with ideas, primarily dancing around them rather than addressing them in any depth. It pays lip service to the government turning its back on those who go through the grinder for them, that the nation is more of corporate entity run by oligarch war profiteers rather than in the interest of the people, and loyalty, specifically, who do you owe allegiance to, a flag or the man standing next to you? Again, much like the plot, plumbing the thematic depths doesn’t appear to be anyone’s main interest here, and while flirting with these topics, it doesn’t really want to take a position one way or another. These moments are also where the pace flags and are typically the weakest points in the narrative.
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Like I said, One Last Shot is exactly the movie it promises to be and that fans expect. It hits many of the highs of the previous chapters and has some of the same stumbling blocks, but it also gets a rousing hell yeah from these parts. The action is crisp and thrilling as always. If this is indeed the final round, it goes down smooth and more than satisfies. [Grade: B]
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