The Last Run (1971)

Undescribable Perfection

That was an excellent one.

Lack of good storyline.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

This is a fairly dull typical '70's movie that tries to be more than it really is.Problem is that there isn't much interesting ever happening in this movie, with also an unnecessary and also far from believable love triangle story in it. Hard to imaging that George C. Scott and Trish Van Devere actually got married one year later, after this movie. The movie movie clearly lacks a good main plot line and gets mostly carried purely by George C. Scott's performance.In this movie George C. Scott once more shows his talent, by giving away one fine performance. But no matter how good he is in his role, he still feels miscast. Even though Scott was 'only' 44 at the time, he already looked far too old for his role, to consider him really believable. George C. Scott just wasn't an actor who aged really well. When he was 40 he already looked like he was 60 years old. The rest of the cast consists out of insignificant actors, who show why they never broke through as actors.At times the movie still is a typical '70's movie, with a good atmosphere and way of storytelling. Yet the movie doesn't always feel coherent, since its good at some times and completely dull and uninteresting to follow at others. It perhaps has to do with the fact that famed director John Huston walked from the movie after having heated arguments with George C. Scott over some script changes.Only a typical '70's car chase is good enough to grab your attention for a short while but the movie swiftly becomes less exciting and more dull after that again. The movie really could had used some more action and at least more speed at times.The movie tries hard to be in the same style as some old classic '40's but neither the script nor characters allow this movie to ever get close. The movie should had sticked more to its own style and time period.Really only worth watching because of George C. Scott.5/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

I caught this movie last night on TCM Middle East and I don't have a lot of access to older movies (which is about all I watch on TV), so for me to watch any movie means I had an interest in it. My interest was of course George C Scott. All in all, I was not to impressed by this turkey. The whole thing with him being a burned out getaway driver has to be spelled out to us, and there is no build up of his wife leaving him or of him pulling his last big job before he goes into retirement. I ask all the people who seem to love this film, wouldn't that have made this a better film? Of course that would have meant a bigger budget which this film is sadly lacking. Yeah the scenery was very pretty, and it was very cheap to film too I'm sure. But you know this is a movie about a getaway driver and the premise is that the deal goes bad, so it's supposed to be an ACTION film, not a PBS travel log. It's characters are pretty much forgettable and we are forced to endure Scott drive around in very long boring scenes that lack any realistic action (or any action!). Add on top of it all a spaghetti western soundtrack and its getting almost unwatchable. As a matter of fact if I was in the states I would have turned it off but like I said I'm in the desert without much stuff to watch thats old so I stayed with it just to see the lame ending. Another reviewer made some comment about Scott crashing the car, and that signified Scott's death as well. Boy I must be on a different plain because when I watched this I didn't even think about that, and I doubt the director did either. Scott wasn't driving the car anyway. One personal note, Scott has his shirt off through part of this film and I noticed he doesn't look too fit. I also thought about how my chest looks since I'm about his age in this film, and I realized I'm probably not the stud I think I am. When you are watching a film thinking about stuff like that it means the films very boring, El Stinko.

Other viewers' comments, both negative and positive, have aptly classified this film's genre. Those with inclination toward existentialist thought (e.g., why are we here and what are the best options before embracing the void?) generally like it. I think the film great and wish it were available on DVD. Others find it vapid. Yet I think the theme similar to that found in Blade Runner or Pierrot le Fou - though different from, say, Kafka's Metamophosis, or The Trial, or from Camus' The Stranger, etc., in that this film's protagonist undergoes emotional development - along with another character who fears her fate and sees no other path to follow. Our protagonist's past life as an underworld character is significant not in the cops-and-robbers sense, but rather as an earmark of his "loner" personality - like Camus' Stranger. He's a retired individualist - like Blade Runner's Deckard - who after a career on the "outside" is sucked against his will into a melee of action and intrigue. All he'd longed for was to finish out his days in peace - in Portugal - though one can wonder if his automotive hobby (his surrogate child) and petty daily ritual could really have sustained him - yet such is the trap some see themselves born into; perhaps an earlier, unexpected coup de grace isn't to be under-appreciated.

The Last Run was originally a John Huston project, but in the end it was taken up and completed by maverick director Richard Fleischer. Often, a change of personnel affects the film, but in this case, Fleischer has fashioned a decent thriller with picturesque locations and a tight plot.It's all about a getaway driver from Chicago who has settled down to a peaceful life in a Portugese fishing village. He is hired to drive a gangster and his girlfriend to the French border, under total assurance that the job is strictly routine. However, it turns out that the whole thing is a set-up, and that the gangster is the target of some killers. Getaway driver, gangster, and gangster's girlfriend all flee back to Portugal, pursued by their enemies.The characters are quite cold and cynical and don't appeal to the audience a great deal. This hurts the film, because it's awfully hard to care a damn about what happens to them. The film also suffers from a typically downbeat ending (as, indeed, many films from this era do). However, it has exciting moments and is always pleasing to the eye. The chase plot is gripping throughout and really helps to compensate for some of the not-so-good aspects.