The Last Heist (2016) - Through the Eyes of Cat

By Cat

Number Rolled: 50

Movie Name/Year: The Last Heist (2016)

Tagline: None

Genre: Action, Horror, Thriller

Length: 84 minutes

Rating: TV-MA

Production Companies: Benattar/Thomas Productions, Parkside Pictures, Tadross Media Group, DH Films

Producers: Rick Benattar, Courtney Compton, Chris Conover, Barry Gordon, Michael Meilander, Megan Melrose, Michael Aaron Milligan, Michael Radiloff, Michael Tadross Jr., Nigel Thomas, Damiano Tucci, Kaila York

Director: Mike Mendez

Writer: Guy Stevenson

Actors: Henry Rollins, Torrance Coombs, Victoria Pratt, Mykel Shannon Jenkins, Michael Aaron Milligan, Camilla Jackson, Nick Principe, Mark Kelly

Stunt Doubles: Katelyn Brooke, James Logan, Michael Aaron Milligan, Terence J. Rotolo

Blurb from Netflix: A bank job descends into bloody chaos when professional robbers get trapped in the building with a bloodthirsty maniac who has an eyeball fetish.

Cat’s Point of View:

I’ve wanted to watch this movie since we came across it deliberating the Top 20 for the month it was released to theaters. The dice have been teasing us ever since the film came to Netflix – there have been some close calls where we just barely missed landing on it. I was patient. I held out so that my first watch-through was for the review.

I’m not sure why I did, but I’m glad I waited. I don’t believe I’m up for watching this one again, even if my husband asks. He’s a big fan of Henry Rollins (Sons of Anarchy, The Legend of Korra, Gutterdammerung), even more than I am.

Just to clear the air, I don’t feel that this movie was horrible – it just wasn’t as good as my expectations had built it up to be. That made it harder to get past some of its flaws, and there were a handful that weren’t subtle.

I’m not even sure where to start. Let’s look at the issues, first – that way I can end on a positive...ish note.

It seems that a large chunk of the cast were pulled from B-movie rotation. This isn’t something that should pigeon-hole an actor into a stereotype, but the experience and performance quality for some just wasn’t up to par with what I expected.

I must add that Victoria Pratt (Soda Springs, Death Valley, Heartland), however, didn’t fall into that trap. While her repertoire doesn’t necessarily include blockbusters, her performance here was sound for the most part and I really enjoyed her plucky and assertive character. The issues that surrounded her in the film were generally due to either writing or direction.

Another problem I had was with the effects. I’m not sure if they just didn’t have budget to create breakable props or what – but guns being fired willy-nilly around glass that doesn’t break is just odd and it took me out of what should have been harrowing scenes. We’re talking storm troopers would have had a better hit ratio than what was going on here.

There was also a matter of sound balance. The score in the background was just too loud at times, and people were speaking too softly. I had to lean in to my computer’s speakers and even turn the volume up in some places so I could hear what was being said. It left me scratching my head.

I am generally fond of Torrance Coombs (Reign, Drawing Home, The Originals) in the roles I’ve seen him in. I’m a bit on the fence about this film, however. I really enjoyed some of his scenes, and others just fell a bit flat to me or struck an odd cord. Again, some of this might be the writing or direction since it affected so many of the cast and not just him.

You might ask if I liked anything about this movie – the answer is yes. Henry Rollins is utterly terrifying as a villain; and specifically playing this role, his performance gave me goosebumps and a severe case of the creeps.

Unfortunately, Rollins alone wasn’t enough to save this one. There are better robbery-gone-awry movies out there. Though, if you want to give this one a shot anyway, it’s not a total waste of time. Just take it with a grain of salt. It did have some interesting moments.

Languages

Speech Available: English

Subtitles Available: English [CC], French, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Traditional Chinese

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 0%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score –11%

Metascore - 28/100

Metacritic User Score – None

IMDB Score – 3.5/10

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 2/5

Movie Trailer: