Last Looks (2021)

 

Last Looks (2021)

 

3/10

Starring

Charlie Hunnam

Mel Gibson

 

Directed by Tim Kirkby

This movie is absolute nonsense because the director failed to make the actors matter in their scenes or in the events that concerned them. The plot unfolds as though the characters already know how everything will end, so when you expect them to be worried or act differently, they just don’t.

The movie is based on a book called Last Looks by Howard Michael Gould, who also wrote the screenplay. Unfortunately, Last Looks is anything but worth your time. It follows a retired police officer who was once one of the most decorated young officers in his district. His retirement is treated as a big mystery for about a quarter of the movie, but the reveal—he put the wrong guy in jail and ruined his own life—feels like a waste of time.

He’s asked to get involved in a case concerning an actor, Alastair (played by Mel Gibson), who’s being investigated for the murder of his wife. The problem is, Alastair is a drunk and can’t seem to piece anything together.

Initially, the retired officer (Charlie Hunnam as Charlie Waldo) refuses the case. But somehow, without even officially taking it on, he finds himself dragged into another layer of mystery. The friend/lover who initially asked him to join her investigation goes missing after their visit. Waldo only learns about this when some so-called intimidators show up to inform him that the studio Alastair works for has issued a press release claiming Waldo has officially taken the case.

The missing friend ends up being the driving force behind Waldo’s involvement, but the director didn’t make this a compelling reason. Instead, the lead character remains weirdly complacent about his friend’s disappearance while halfheartedly pursuing a case he said he didn’t even want to take. I kept wondering: When is he going to start looking for his missing friend?

But the director had other plans. It turns out the missing friend was deeply involved in investigating a high-level gangster named Don Q, who’s behind her disappearance. This revelation comes halfway through the movie, so you’d think the story would now shift to Waldo focusing on finding her. But no—he continues diving into the Alastair case instead.

The movie eventually dismisses the entire missing friend subplot with what they call a twist, but I’d call it lazy writing. By the end, Waldo’s attention is back on the Alastair case, which ultimately boils down to money.

Honestly, there are far better things I could’ve done with my time than watch this movie.