A fairly modern trope of action films, the one man army is, usually, a heavily armed and well-trained combatant able to face numerous enemies alone and oftentimes facing multiple opponents. I say fairly modern because, to my mind, the one man army concept dates back to the sixties and, to me, the sixties is relatively recent. Also, given the scope of this blog, I’m sticking with films. I guess the earliest literary candidate would be Hercules, Achilles, or someone else from that era and, even for me, the run up to 1280 BCE is a while ago.
A quick and messy Google search comes back with the earliest one man army genre film being 1967’s Point Blank. However, I tend to think that there is a compelling argument to include the James Bond franchise as being viable entries into this particular genre so now we are looking at Dr. No back in 1962. Over the years it has become a popular source of inspiration leading to outings for John Wick, John McClane, John Matrix, John Rambo, and a whole host of other leading men not called John by their parents.
Join the PERA (Personal Entertainment Research Assistant) waitlist.
The World's Most Indispensable Movie App
The RunPee app tells you the best times to
run & pee during a movie
so you don't miss the best scenes.
Download the RunPee app.
100% free (donation supported)
My Dad Is Going To Come And Get Me
So there’s nothing new about Last Resort’s leading man. Similarly, the actual story has been done before…former special forces chap has marital problems and spends most of the day sprawled on the settee. There’s an argument and the wife and child head off somewhere innocent. While they’re out the innocent setting becomes tainted by bad guys and the family are put into a position of peril. This shakes the ex-special forces guy out of his torpor and he bounds into action. Not bad…if I spend more than half an hour on the settee I can’t stand up straight without help.
He then rushes to wherever it is that his family are being held and either has to get past the inefficient local authorities or track down the bad guys thanks to hearing a rare bird or a particular rail rattle in the background during a phone call or suchlike. So now he knows where to go he’s off like a shot and easily gets past the local authorities and comes into contact with the lower echelons of the scoundrels. These guys barely slow him down and he works his way through wave after wave of gradually improving combatants until he faces off with the big boss; Clayton Norcross in this case.
What people are saying
about the RunPee app.
Movie Watching Must Have!!
I go feral for this app. I love it so much and I wish everyone knew about it and used it. It is incredibly useful and I would be devastated if this app ever disappeared. Things I love: 1) the pee times! It’s so handy to know the best time to go and then read the synopsis of what’s happening while I’m gone. I never have to worry about missing the good bits! 2) knowing if there is a post-credits scene or not. This might be my fav feature because I would have missed out on some pretty critical scenes if it weren’t for RunPee. 3) the movie review and viewer rankings. This info has made me watch some movies that I normally wouldn’t and it’s nice seeing things outside of my usual scope. 4) that it’s a small family run business. I love shopping small and it really does feel like I’m part of the RunPee family! If you reach out to them, Dan will personally respond to you and he is so warm and helpful. GET THIS APP AND THEN SUBSCRIBE! It is absolutely worth it and you’ll be using it again and again!
View all reviews
Apple App Store | Google Play Store
Download RunPee app
And You’re In Trouble…He’s A Soldier
Knowing all that doesn’t make Last Resort a bad film though. I mean, as I said earlier, it is from a seam of entertainment that has been mined since the sixties. Just because something has been done before it doesn’t mean it can’t be done well. What matters in this genre of films is the quality of the fight choreography. Good news…it is done very well! The hero is played by John Foo and he has a good pedigree having worked with the likes of Jackie Chan. In fact, when Rush Hour transferred from film to television it was John Foo who took the Jackie Chan part.
So we have a well worn story carried out with gusto and expertise. The only thing I would complain about is that the majority of the cast were Thai. Their acting and diction seemed to suffer by them having to deliver their lines in English. Any physical acting was spot on, it was just the speeches that felt stilted except for when the cast were speaking Thai. Fortunately we aren’t watching something like My Dinner With André! The action speaks loud enough to keep you entertained throughout. Last Resort gets a digital release on 16th June 2025 courtesy of Miracle Media.
Independent Film Grade: B+
Former teacher, lecturer, homelessness administrator, pharmacy dispenser now happily retired, happily married, and a very happy granddad. I live next to the Mersey but on the side Daniel Craig and Taron Egerton come from rather than the side the Beatles came from!