Review of Last Man Standing (1996) by David C — 22 Jul 2009

Last Man Standing is a gritty, brutal, and deadpan delivered tale. While some may condemn the film for the main character's jaded and emotionless demeanor, I thgought that it was wholely appropriate for the kind of person that he was. The problem here is that there really isn't any movement from start to finish. People get killed, gangsters get angry, and Bruce Willis drinks whiskey but his character doesn't learn anything nor does he participate in any kind of self-discovery either. John Smith narrates at the end of the film, "And that was it. It ended about the same place where it started, out in the desert on the road to Mexico. I was just as broke as when I arrived, but something would turn up. It always does.".

A principle question that must be asked in any narrative is "Why is this story being told?" the emphasis being on "this" story as opposed to any other moment in a particular character's fictional life. For John Smith, this series of events may as well be any series of events in his life. Nothing in particular makes them special or particularly noteworthy. In a way, this means that the narrative justifies itself by nothing but its own violence.

However, I find this setup oddly consistent with John Smith's character. He is the kind of man who lives for the moment with no regrets, taking what he wants and answering to nobody. This near-fatal dance with rival gangs may as well be the same murderous episode that has him running to Mexico in the first place.

What Last Man Standing does, and it does it very well, is paint atmosphere, tone, and mood. The sepia coloring of the film along with Smith's stylishly impassive monologuing simplified the film into a very basic premise which was the world that John Smith chose to live in. I believe that for the kind of man survives this kind of life to tell about it, he needs that kind of cool aloofness, complete composure as bullets fly over his head. And no way in hell is his character going to change at all, ever. The point of the film is not to move this character, but rather to create it, observe it, and then let it be.

For whatever reason, I find John Smith compelling. I appreciate his toned-down delivery as I often find hysteria and emotional subtexts to be a turn-off when it comes to action. Last Man Standing may be morally ambiguous, its characters flat, and its premice overly simple, but I still enjoyed the ride.