Posted: 09/17/2011

The Last of The Finest

(1990)

by Ruben R. Rosario

Now available on DVD from the MGM Limited Edition Collection.

The Last of The Finest is a time capsule of late 80’s, early 90’s action flicks that no longer exist. The film stars Brian Dennehy, Joe Pantoliano, Bill Paxton, and Jeff Fahey as a group of L.A. cops that bust a big drug trafficking ring that has ties to the police force and local government. After getting kicked off the force, the team decides to stop the corruption by taking matters into their own hands. While the film was directed by John Mackenzie, boasts a great cast, and showcases some good action scenes, The Last of The Finest suffers by delivering many of the same elements of other great action films of the time and does nothing to stand apart from the rest.

Dennehy and company do the best job they can with the material and pull off great performances as L.A.P.D. officers. Their candor and camaraderie works well enough for the movie to be carried on the weight of their brotherhood and doing the honorable thing as a police officer. There’s a scene where Dennehy bluntly asks his superior if he’s responsible for murdering a retired officer. It’s scenes like this that show how much of a bad ass Dennhey is in the role and worth following as a protagonist. Guy Boyd, who plays R.J. Norringer, does a good job as the big man behind the scenes and plays the corrupt government official to a tee. The supporting cast of the policemen’s families do a good job at show their undying support for their form of justice, even in the face of adversity from Norringer.

The main trouble of The Last of The Finest is it does nothing to separate itself from other action films like Darkman, Navy SEALS and Robocop 2, which all came out the same year. While the final action scene plays things much more subtly and satisfyingly, the majority of the film showcases too many cookie cutter elements that make the film forgettable in the midst of other action films. There are moments where the cinematography by Juan Ruiz Anchia creates some nice compositions and interesting lighting schemes, but none of it’s enough to carry the average story.

MGM’s Limited Edition Collection presents The Last of The Finest in 1:85 aspect ratio and a runs at 106 minutes. MGM’s received a lot of flack for the inconsistencies in the manufacturing of their Limited Edition collection. This disc played just fine and the image quality was pretty damn good, considering that the film was 20 years old and not fully restored. The great point is that MGM’s Limited Edition Collection gives people the option to watch a movie that might not otherwise be put on DVD, and The Last of The Finest is a solid action picture from a time long ago and a great pick for action fans.

Ruben R. Rosario is a graduate from Columbia College Chicago with a degree in Audio for Visual Media. He works as a freelance location sound mixer, boom operator, sound designer, and writer in his native Chicago. He’s an avid collector of films, comics, and anime.

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