Director: Joseph Merhi
Screenplay: Joseph Merhi
Starring: Jeff Wincott, Jillian McWhirter, Jonathan Fuller, Steve Eastin, Robert LaSardo, Jonathan Banks, Michael Greene
Country: USA
Running Time: 96 min
Year: 1995
The Swiss boutique label Fokus Media continues to mine the gems of PM Entertainment Group, Inc. with their release of Last Man Standing (1995 – not Walter Hill’s 1996 western of the same name).
Written and directed by PM co-founder Joseph Merhi, Last Man Standing follows L.A. detective Kurt Bellmore (Jeff Wincott), who finds himself caught in a deadly conspiracy after arresting the violent criminal Snake Underwood (Jonathan Fuller) following a devastating daylight heist.
After hearing that far less money was registered by the police following the arrest than Bellmore thought he saw at the scene, and hearing that Underwood had been swiftly released, the cop smells a rat.
Soon after, Bellmore’s partner, Doc Kane (Jonathan Banks), is killed and Bellmore narrowly survives an ambush, leading to him becoming a target of both Underwood’s gang and the crooked cops protecting them. With no one left to trust and the legal system failing him at every turn, Bellmore must go rogue to take the fight to the streets. Outnumbered and outgunned, Bellmore is forced to abandon the rulebook if he hopes to bring justice to those who betrayed him – and to survive the most dangerous case of his life.
This is prime PM Entertainment, er, entertainment! You know you’re in for a treat when, after only 12 minutes, you’ve had two thrilling action set pieces and a soft-focus sex scene.
Granted, the plot is incredibly generic, even by PM standards, but when it comes to action, Last Man Standing fires on all cylinders. Downtime is kept to a minimum and the set pieces are enjoyably over-the-top without getting silly, whilst being crafted with the skill and love for the genre PM are known for.
Coming in the era before CGI made action movies less viscerally exciting, Last Man Standing is packed with ‘real’ action. Whoever had to set the squibs up on this had their work cut out for them, as the set and various stunt performers get riddled with them. The crew must have loaded the squibs with a lot of gunpowder too, as they appear to make a greater impact than usual.
The stunt work is impressive too. Whilst an early high fall and the numerous glass smashing stunts are cool, it’s the central car chase that made my jaw drop. I’m not exaggerating when I say this could sit among the best car chases I’ve seen. The vehicular mayhem on screen is mind-blowing (all done for real, of course), with explosions aplenty, and several jumps and car flips. There’s even a crazy gag where Bellmore drives his motorbike into the back of the criminals’ van, launching himself off the bike onto Underwood. This leads into a daring stunt where the character (not played by Wincott here, I imagine) is dragged behind the van for, admittedly, a little longer than necessary.
Wincott isn’t always subbed by a stuntman either. He gets to show off his true martial arts skills in the film’s few hand-to-hand combat scenes.
Like most of PM’s films, this was only a three-week production. That’s amazing, considering all the stunt work and action, though a lot of the action scenes were shot by the second unit, whilst the main production team worked on the drama elsewhere.
All of this great action could get tiresome if there wasn’t something to set and back it up though. Thankfully, whilst generic, as mentioned, the story is told effectively enough to give weight to each face-off. This is aided by a strong cast. Wincott makes for an effective hero, being charismatic but convincingly tough. He’s backed up by a solid cast of B-movie character actors. I thought Jonathan Banks did a particularly good job with his short-lived but important role as Bellmore’s partner. Jonathan Fuller is suitably over-the-top as the villain too, without getting into campy territory.
I also appreciated how Jillian McWhirter, who plays Bellmore’s wife, Anabella, is given a relatively strong character rather than being used as a disposable love interest or damsel in distress. Yes, her character isn’t pivotal to the plot, but she’s shown to hold her own in a fight, backing up her husband in his quest for justice. McWhirter also gets a chance to flex her acting chops with a genuinely moving sequence following the death of Kurt’s partner.
Finally, before I wrap things up, I have to mention how good the film looks. There are some stylishly lit night scenes and great use is made of movement throughout.
So, overall, Last Man Standing sees PM doing what they do best, delivering a well-paced, well-crafted film that’s packed with first-rate action.
Film: 
Last Man Standing is out now in a 3 Disc BluRay/DVD/CD Collector’s Mediabook Edition (with options for 2 different covers), released by Fokus Media (you can order it on the Fokus Media website or you should be able to find it on various import sites). I’m presuming a standard, single-disc Blu-ray edition will be out soon too, as that’s what I received to review, though it’s not currently listed on the website.
The transfer, presented in the 1.78:1 ratio, is impressive. It has a natural grain and pleasing colours. There’s minimal damage too, with only the odd faint line here and there. I’ve used screengrabs throughout this review to give you an idea of how it looks, though these have been compressed.
You get a choice of German or English language audio options (both 2.0 stereo). I opted for English and it sounded good. The music, in particular, has a good thump to it. German or English subtitles are also available on the disc.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
– 2x Interviews with Cinematographer – Ken Blakey
– Interview with Art Camacho
– Original Trailer
– Picture Gallery, Jeff Wincott Poster Gallery
– Soundtrack (only in the 3-disc edition)
There are two interviews with Cinematographer Ken Blakey on the disc. One is shorter and focuses on Last Man Standing, whilst the other discusses his work with PM more generally. Both are enjoyable pieces that offer his thoughts on the team behind the films.
There’s also an interview with Art Camacho. This is very short, so not particularly informative, but he talks about his experiences working with Jeff Wincott.
Like on the Beyond Justice disc, the on-disc extras are all presented with a big frame around them. I presume this is because they were shot in SD and Fokus Media didn’t want to blow them up to HD.
So, Fokus Media have put together a nice little package for a first-class PM Entertainment film. Fans should jump on it as soon as they can.
Disc/package: