Last Bullet, now streaming on Netflix, concludes the journey begun by Lino (Alban Lenoir) in the entertainingly outlandish French action films Lost Bullet and Lost Bullet 2. (Concludes it for now, at least.) Along the way, Lino punched a lot of goons and cops. He punched a lot of other cops, who were actually goons. And Lino even kinda became a cop himself for a minute, as part of a special team applying his skill with bespoke, souped-up vehicles to intercepting “go-fast gangs” running drugs across the French-Spanish border. Last Bullet puts Lino back in play, alongside his police force ally/true love Julia (Stéfi Celma). They seek closure for the mess of dirty cops and drug money that took the life of their respected colleague Charas (Ramzy Bedia). But as is typical for these movies, any justice they seek will only be found under the hood of a customized vehicle.
The Gist: In case you weren’t down with all that occured in the Lost Bullet saga, Last Bullet opens with a “previously on…” recap, as if the entire film series was one long season of television. So you’re reminded of why Lino (Lenoir) is still in the custody of Spain’s Civil Guard when we meet him again. You’re given a primer on all the bad shit pulled by Areski (Nicolas Duvauchelle), the detective who walked out on his wife and young son when his corruption and killing of other police was revealed. And you’re refreshed on the status of Julia (Celma), who’s basically one of the only honest cops left in France. The manipulations of Commander Resz (Gérard Lanvin), the narcotics division chief, have led to a torsion moment. Lino is freed, Areski is on the run, and Julia’s standing with the force is in the hands of Lieutenant Moss (Pascale Arbillot), who anyone who kept up with the Bullet films – or who watched that introductory recap – would know is more likely to side with Resz than rank-and-file like Julia.
That’s great, you might be asking. But what about the crazy cars? Guillaume Pierret, the director and co-writer of these movies, has always sported a flair for gonzo custom creations. In the first one, there was Lino’s battering ram car, which he used to rob banks. And in the second one, there was his beloved Renaut 21 Turbo – it once belonged to Charas, his mentor – to which Lino attached electrified grappling hooks. And in the tradition of the Fast & Furious films, Last Bullet can’t move forward until Lino builds a new vehicle with specific features to stop the bad guys. Now, you better not be like, “Well, what if Resz and his supply of heavily armed thugs arrive in a helicopter? What will Lino and his custom ride do then?” Because the latest custom job, which Lino constructs with the assistance of Julia’s gearhead pal Sarah (Julie Tedesco), is quite prepared for aerial countermeasures.
Last Bullet then becomes a series of interconnected sequences. The big vehicle build sequence, with its welding torches and showers of sparks, and close-ups to obscure what is emerging. (The A-Team did this long before the Fast films, and it remains satisfying.) The Resz-consolidates-his-criming sequence. (Gérard Lanvin doesn’t have a whole lot to say in this, but he plays a great villain, so the glares and the taunts suffice.) And the sequence where Julia drives an armored Mercedes G-Wagon through the sedans – and semi-trucks – of the dirty cops pursuing her. Will Julia and Lino win the day? The rules that typically guide cinematic anti-heroes say yes. But along the way, while you can expect a fair amount of high-speed chaos and at least one sports car getting fricasseed, don’t expect the plot of Last Bullet to make a whole lot of sense.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of? Last Bullet is constantly reminding you of the movies that came before it – it incorporates footage from both Lost Bullet 1 and Lost Bullet 2. But Bullet heads should also check out Alban Lenoir in AKA – it leans effectively on his ability to carry a fight sequence – and Stéfi Celma in the French action comedy Nice Girls.
Performance Worth Watching: Julie Tedesco wins Performance Worth Watching honors for Last Bullet, because it’s more of her performance as Sarah we most wish we were watching. She’s cool, she operates a garage, she can turn any car into a monster. She has rapport with fellow grease monkey Lino. So why is her role reduced to being a placeholder? Maybe Tedesco will appear as Sarah in the next round of Bullet films that Last Bullet doesn’t say are planned, but also doesn’t not say are planned.
Memorable Dialogue: “I’m all out of reasons to stay,” Lino tells Julia, and neither character acknowledges what is an obvious admission of the opposite.
Sex and Skin: None.
Our Take: Lost Bullet and Lost Bullet 2 were defined by their enjoyable synthesis of immediacy and car carnage insanity. Each extended fight sequence propelled Lino bodily into the next, and for any vehicle to be introduced, it was also required that it be reduced. In Last Bullet, there are still extended fight sequences, and vehicles that become dismembered collections of their representative parts. But the story threads that linger from the first films are gathered in an untidy jumble that is not nearly strong enough to bind Last Bullet together. Flashbacks, and characters brought back only to be killed off – these things happen, but don’t make much of anything more clear. Lino himself, who represented the heart and soul of the earlier films through Alban Lenoir’s blend of Statham-like insouciance and welterweight pugilistics, often drops out of the narrative completely. And while Stéfi Celma brings a real presence to Julia, and shares a nice bit of chemistry with Lenoir, her character is only ever in reaction mode. Last Bullet tosses into the air everything left over from the Lost Bullet 1 and 2. But it doesn’t have a strong sense of where any of that stuff will land.
Which is why, with this Bullet, we just wanted more customs causing destruction. Lino is the kind of car builder legend who makes a black thumb like Sarah starry-eyed when they meet. So how come us seeing his creativity in the garage gets severely shorted by us having to learn about what Areski was up to while on the lam? Shocker: it was bad. When Lino was finally on the road to building the perfect new beast, we felt ready to watch the destruction in Lost Bullet unfold. But we were left asking more questions than dodging the flying car parts.
Our Call: STREAM IT for its moments of accelerating aggression, shattering safety glass, and outrageous feats of car frames flipping through the air like playing cards. But don’t stream Last Bullet for anything resembling solid storytelling.
Johnny Loftus (@glennganges) is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift.