Last Resort (2023) Review

“The Last Resort” Theatrical Poster

Director: Jean-Marc Minéo
Cast: Jon Foo, Clayton Norcross, Alex Santi, Julaluck Ismalone, Angelina Ismalone, Armin Parvin
Running Time: 108 min. 

By Paul Bramhall

Back in the 2000’s there was a sense that Thailand was going to be the new epicentre for Asian action cinema following the success of Ong Bak, with action talent from around the globe heading to the Land of Smiles to try their hand in the local film industry. Guys like Tim Man and Patrick Kazu Tang spent their formative years honing their craft there, while veterans like Ron Smoorenburg and Gary Daniels set up shop thanks to the plentiful opportunities to work both behind and in front of the camera. Twenty years on from Ong Bak, and most have re-located to other territories since the Thai action wave had all but fizzled out by the time the 2010’s arrived, but as they say in the movies – there are some that never left.

2023’s Last Resort brings together 3 such guys, the first of whom comes in the form of director Jean-Marc Minéo. According to IMDB, his claim to fame is being “among the first French to stay in the Shaolin Temple during two years and thus be trained by a Master of the famous temple, which allowed him, to become 6 times champion of France, European champion and finally world champion of Kung Fu.” Step aside Bruce Lee. For the rest of us though, we probably know him as the director of 2011’s Bangkok Revenge, which gave British martial artist Jon Foo his sophomore lead role after playing Jin Kazama in the previous years Tekken. Here the pair reunite, with Foo once more starring, credited for the first time as Jonathan Patrick Foo (perhaps to distance himself from the failed 2016 Rush Hour TV series where he stepped into Jackie Chan’s role).

Rounding out the trio is David Ismalone, likely forever to be remembered as Mad Dog in Ong Bak, one of the characters who Tony Jaa faces off against in the underground fight tournament when he first arrives in Bangkok. Ismalone has made a career out of being an action choreographer since his debut in Ong Bak, and made his directorial debut with 2014’s Mystic Blade (which also featured the aforementioned Tim Man). He even got married in Thailand to his wife Julaluck Ismalone, and they have a daughter together, Angelina Ismalone. Why on earth am I talking about the action director’s wife and kid when this is supposed to be a review!? There’s a legitimate reason, being that Julaluck is herself a sometime actress (she has roles in both Bangkok Revenge and Mystic Blade), and here she’s onboard playing Foo’s wife. As for Angelina, she’s onboard as well, here making her acting debut as, you guessed it, their daughter! 

The plot sees Foo as a special forces soldier who’s enjoying some downtime between missions, which consists of watching Popeye cartoons on TV. His wife despairs of his apparent laziness, so heads off to the bank to close their joint account with daughter in tow, handing him a divorce paper on the way out. Unfortunately, not only can she not close their joint account without his signature as well, but the bank is held up at gunpoint by a group of Middle Eastern terrorists (we know they’re Middle Eastern because at one point Foo says, completely poker faced, “This is unfortunate, but they seem to be from the Middle East”). Led by TV actor Clayton Norcross, they threaten to start killing the hostages one by one if their demands aren’t met, so once it makes the news Foo heads over in his shower slippers and sneaks in via distracting a policeman with an untied shoelace. This is our first glimpse of his special forces training.

From there it becomes a low budget version of Die Hard, only in a bank. Saving Bank to be precise (which could also have been a good alternate title). Unfortunately, Thailand has long since lost its lustre as being a filming location where you could expect some good quality action to be produced, there’s simply been too much garbage churned out in recent years. From terminal Mark Dacascos clunkers The Driver and One Night in Bangkok, to the coma inducing Johnny Strong and Marko Zaror collaboration Invincible, and it pains me to say Last Resort is much of the same. From the way the insufferably generic soundtrack drones on in the background of almost every scene (and just has the volume turned up when there’s some action), to the obligatory flashback to when Foo’s character served in the Middle East as a soldier (a trend that Seagal flicks seemed to start in the 2010’s, and has continued ever since, most recently seen in Section 8).

I can be forgiving to the shortcomings that filming with a low budget and tight schedule can bring, but not towards blatant sloppiness, and Last Resort just has far too much of the latter. In one scene Angelina asks her mother if Foo still loves them, to which she replies, “He loved you, he loved you very much and he always will.” I mean, I get it, English isn’t Julaluck’s first language, but the use of past tense makes the response completely nonsensical. In an era of digital filmmaking, it’s not like filming a 2^nd take would have taken that much time and effort. My favorite flub though comes when the Thai police lieutenant is watching CCTV footage of the terrorists entering the bank. He barks out orders, “Stop there, rewind a little, move it forward, zoom on the hand!”, but hilariously the footage just keeps playing despite the operator bashing away on the keyboard, as if somehow as an audience we’re not supposed to notice.

The similarities to Die Hard really don’t do Last Resort any favours, with plot beats lifted wholesale from the action classic. Foo makes contact with a police officer on the ground who he keeps in communication with just like John McClane did. He also comes across one of the terrorists on an upper floor who pretends to be an innocent bank worker in hiding, just like Hans Gruber did. The only difference here is that the terrorist is played by Ismalone himself, and offers up the only decent one on one match up as the pair go at it next to a precariously open elevator shaft. 

Other than that though Foo is largely left to wander from corridor to corridor stumbling across the same 4 regenerating bad guys, who are masked up and in balaclavas to give the illusion the place is swarming with terrorists (47 of them to be precise, since Foo’s character is kind enough to keep a kill count). Foo obviously has a strong screen fighting pedigree, that for most was first seen when he played the wushu fighter who faces off against Tony Jaa during the temple scene in 2005’s Tom Yum Goong, however he’s rarely been utilised in a way that shows off his potential in the years since. It seems like a crime that in the world of DTV action he’s never crossed paths with Scott Adkins, as I’d happily pay good money to see them go at it under the choreography of someone like Tim Man.

Instead, here we’re left with a passable final fight on the rooftop against a heavily doubled Clayton Norcross, only really ruined by the fact that immediately prior to it Foo lowers Julaluck and Angelina to the road below in what’s supposed to be an edge of the seat scene. Try and feel the tension though whenever the camera focuses on Angelina, who is clearly having the time of her life with a huge grin on her face, while Julaluck holds her and tries to make up for it by throwing in intermittent screams. Note to DTV action filmmakers everywhere, yes it may save money by casting your spouse and/or kids, but if they’re not an actor by trade then please don’t bother.

Does Last Resort have any redeeming qualities? Well, I like the fact that Foo wasn’t ladened with an American accent like so many of Scott Adkins’ DTV flicks used to be, and can speak in his natural English accent. Plus, what other movie could you hear Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Fortunate Son’ being used as a montage soundtrack to someone opening a new bank account, terrorists joyously playing soccer in the street, and Jon Foo watching cartoons? Last Resort is that movie, and if you’re considering if it’s worth a watch, well, the title says it all.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 3/10