Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Last Looks Blu-ray Movie Review

Where's Waldo?

Reviewed by Randy Miller III April 20, 2022

Tim Kirkby's Last Looks adapts the eponymous first entry in the Waldo novel series by Howard Michael Gould, who also wrote the screenplay. It's essentially a modern film noir with strong undercurrents of black comedy, in the vein of films like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang but with roughly half the snark and self-awareness. Executive producer Charlie Hunnam stars as Charlie Waldo, a disgraced L.A. detective who's given up the job -- and modern life, kind of -- for solitude, making do in a trailer and limiting his personal possessions to a strict 100 items. None of them is a razor.

During a sudden visit from his ex-girlfriend Lorena (Morena Baccarin, Firefly), Charlie's asked to help in a recent case: the murder of Monica Pinch, wife of TV megastar and daytime alcoholic Alastair Pinch (Mel Gibson), who's considered a suspect. At Alastair's own request, Charlie bikes into the city for a brief return to the amenities of modern life... not to mention a trip down the deep rabbit hole of inner circle participants including local gangsters, competing detectives, and other mystery guests. Besides for Alastair himself -- who's oddly charming and aloof, under the circumstances -- Charlie's only other potential ally proves to be Jayne White (Lucy Fry), the kindergarten teacher of Alastair's young daughter, who describes her dad as loving and extremely involved. Soon enough, puzzle pieces begin to fall in place and Charlie is eventually confronted with a friend-turned-foe who's been pulling the strings all along.

As that crude synopsis suggests, Last Looks doesn't really stray from the neo-noir template of red herrings, colorful characters, subtle clues, and shady revelations that drive its pretzel-shaped narrative forward. But this one's more of a frustrating knot than a cleverly-crafted puzzle, relying on its playful tone and oddball characters rather than rock-solid twists to hold our interest as the mystery unravels. Adding to the somewhat slapdash nature of this end product is Last Looks' multiple layers of stunt casting: Mel Gibson is the obvious choice, but he acquits himself decently enough as the overtly theatrical prime suspect who, more often than not, steals every scene he's in. Minor roles are almost randomly filled in by the likes of Method Man (as rapper "Swag Dogggg", whose son is also a student in Ms. Fry's class), Dominic Monaghan ("Warren Gomes", a competing private eye), and even Morena Baccarin herself, who's third-billed but gets less than 10 minutes of screen time during the film's idyllic bookend scenes. Despite Last Looks' persistent struggles with tone and narrative strength, it is aided by a solid script (if you ignore the laughably preachy opening speech) with great dialogue and even kinda-sorta flirts with greatness during a few short stretches. I can't say I was bored at any point, but the jury's still out on whether or not Waldo's exploits will hold up to multiple viewings.

At the center of it all is Charlie Hunnam himself, who doesn't feel like a perfect fit for the lead role with or without his scraggly beard (which is mercifully shaved off halfway through and might even warrant an adjustment period). He's passable at best but that's probably due to the film's wild mood swings which, like the script itself, are entertaining but not all that intensely memorable. Even so, Last Looks is still worth a run-through for these reasons and those outlined in Brian Orndorf's theatrical review, which more or less mirrors my own level of enthusiasm. RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray offers decent support for the film, but its solid A/V presentation far outpaces the slim bonus features.

Last Looks Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Despite the hazy neon cover art, Last Looks mostly plays it straight from a visual perspective and RLJ Entertainment's 1080p transfer has almost no trouble offering a faithful and largely appealing presentation of its digitally-shot source material. Although Waldo's rural-to-city transition wasn't my favorite part of the story, it does lead to some very nice visual contrast with those lush green woodsy settings offering excellent fine detail and textures during wide shots that rightfully paint its central character as an ant-sized part of nature's bigger picture. Of course, all that outdoor footage shot in Hollywood and the surrounding areas looks great for totally different reasons, capturing an equally authentic atmosphere soaked in varied (but mostly natural) color schemes and a few more stylized lighting choices, with some settings like Wilson Sikorsky's office (screenshot #4) aiming for a true throwback noir atmosphere complete with a wall full of mini blinds. Rare exceptions, like the heavy red tint present during a climactic chase sequence, present problems like banding, black crush, and posterization but, for the most part, issues like this are few and far between. On the whole, it's a solid transfer that, at times, elevates the film to modestly memorable heights.

Last Looks Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Likewise, Last Looks' DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix plays it straight with a mostly front-loaded presentation that serves up crystal clear dialogue, crisp channel separation, and well-balanced effects and background ambience depending on the specific locale. There's also plenty of room left over for the original score by Peter Nashel (I, Tonya), which sounds great with a relatively full and typically front-heavy presence that only overpowers conversations when the situation demands it. Even so, Last Looks is an unabashedly dialogue-drive production with very little in the way of action and low-end response but, within those specific boundaries, there's almost no real room for improvement here.

Optional English (SDH), French, and Spanish subtitles are offered during the main feature only.

Last Looks Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with colorful artwork and an embossed matching slipcover. Bonus features are unfortunately minimal but at least offer a cursory overview of the production.

• The Making of "Last Looks" (7:59) - Mel Gibson, Charlie Hunnam, Lucy Fry, director Tim Kirkby, and several other cast and crew members briefly detail the filming experience with a mixture of talking-head interviews and candid on-set footage. Nothing Earth-shattering here, but it's at least nicely produced.

Please note that a Theatrical Trailer was also advertised on RLJ's press release but is not included.

Last Looks Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Tim Kirkby's Last Looks is a lukewarm but fitfully sharp neo-noir whose light tone and characters make it an acquired taste. I'm still kind of on the fence but, in the right mood, I could easily see first-time viewers being more receptive to its more latent charms. RLJ Entertainment's Blu-ray doesn't exactly tip the scales for a solid blind buy, as its A/V merits outpace the disappointingly slim bonus features. That said, its current low price point doesn't exactly make Last Looks a risky investment, so I'd gauge any recommendation on your level of interest for the genre and cast.