Last Shoot Out Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.0

Last Shoot Out Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 3, 2022

Last Shoot Out is the kind of Western where any potential "innovation" is exemplified by the fact that the good guy wears a black hat. The fact that even that "twist" has become a veritable cliché by this late date may give those with a sense for such things some idea of how rote virtually all of this production is. The film introduces a family of ne-er-do-wells, and you know they're ne-er-do-wells because the paterfamilias in this instance is played by a snarling Bruce Dern (probably the best thing about this movie, but that may indeed be damning with faint praise). Dern portrays Blair Callahan, a low life who has fathered two sons whose apples haven't fallen very far from dad's tree, Sid (Cam Gigandet) and Jody (Michael Welch). In an information dump that is hilarious on any number of levels, not the least of which is its inartful writing, a whole bunch of backstory is imparted, including the fact that Jody, Sid and Dad have conspired to murder a lawman so that Jody could marry the lawman's pretty daughter Jocelyn (Skylar Witte). Unfortunately for these preposterously stupid villains, Jocelyn is standing right outside their door when they discuss all of this, and she's understandably a bit distraught that she has evidently married her father's killer, in what I guess is this film's halting approximation of a gender bender version of Oedipus Rex (if you don't catch I'm joking, you actually may be able to take this plot without laughing out loud).

Jocelyn manages to escape with a horse, though again kind of hilariously, the next time she's shown she's stumbling around in the great American West in her skivvies and without any mode of transportation other than her weary legs. In the meantime, our black hatted hero, Billy Tyson (Brock Harris) has teamed up with a retired sheriff named Red (Peter Sherayko), and they stumble upon Jocelyn at almost the exact same time as Sid does, and suffice it to say a showdown between Sid and Billy ends pretty much as expected, with the caveat that there wouldn't be a second and third act if Sid didn't survive (for a while, anyway).

As could probably be constructed by anyone with the aforementioned pieces, a love story between Billy and Jocelyn develops while Billy and his friends attempt to keep the Callahan gang from reclaiming Jocelyn. If you have any question about how this plays out, again, you might be able to make it through this film without laughing out loud.

There's some occasionally appealing scenery here, and Dern and Harris do okay, but a lot of the rest of the cast doesn't seem to really know how to play things believably. The result is kind of like a made for television movie, with minimal ambitions and equally minimal results.

Last Shoot Out Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Last Shoot Out is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. I haven't been able to track down any technical data on the shoot, but this is an appealingly sharp and well detailed looking transfer a lot of the time, something that may help to make up for some of the arguable deficits in screenwriting and performances. A lot of the outdoor material pops very well, with good depth of field and nicely wide vistas that still contain decent levels of fine detail. There are a lot of extreme close-ups scattered throughout the presentation, which can aid in fine detail levels (so much so that you might wonder who some of these "pioneer women" can afford so much eye makeup). This is another Lionsgate release which can flirt at times with banding. It's never really horrible, but if you keep your eyes peeled during fades (in and out) that feature wide open skies, you can catch a ripple or two.

Last Shoot Out Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Last Shoot Out features an intermittently propulsive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. The film has a lot of underscore by Robert Arzola and Michael Feifer that helps to keep the side and rear channels engaged, and expected elements like horses galloping across the plain or stagecoaches delivering the mail and passengers can provide things like panning effects and good accountings of ambient environmental effects. Dialogue (such as it is) is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. This is the rare Lionsgate title that actually has more than just optional English and Spanish subtitles, with French and Portuguese added into the mix.

Last Shoot Out Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (HD; 1:54)

Additionally, a digital copy is included and packaging features a slipcover.

Last Shoot Out Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Last Shoot Out isn't horrible, but that doesn't mean it's very good, either. This is a middling time killer that at least offers generally secure technical merits, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.