Last Man Standing (2011) – Review

Where to watch Last Man Standing

2 Stars

In Last Man Standing happy suburban wife, mother and ex-special-ops agent Abby Collin’s past is about to resurface and haunt her. She’s done all she can to keep her past a secret from her family, except her amazing computer skills (who’d wanna hide that?). But after her husband gets kidnapped the cat’s out of the bag, and kitty has claws. Abby does everything in her power to keep her family safe while trying to stay ahead of the clock and meet the kidnapper’s demands. Using her mad computer skills of unplugging wires and plugging them back in someplace else, she is forced to steal money from her recently deceased ex-teammate. With the help of the only other man in her now-defunct unit and the cops hot on her trail, will Abby solve the mystery of who’s behind this scheme? My money’s on the star and producer of the film, Catherine Bell, coming out a successful hero.

Last Man Standing was an almost entertaining flick. The problems are two-fold. One being this is a Lifetime movie and plays out as such, including commercial break fade-outs and fade-ins. Zero suspense and the plot is so simple that the twist at the end is hardly a twist at all, it really couldn’t have ended any other way. Secondly if you’re going to feature current computer technology in your film, please know how it works and be able to portray it in a realistic manner. There are several insert shots here of Bell’s character on the computer with mouse movements and clicks that were so precise and robotic no human could have made them. It was obviously an artist’s rendition. And having someone spout technical jargon while unplugging and replugging in wires to bypass the system is a joke. I’m also getting tired of everyone having Star Trek type computers. This is supposed to be 2011 here right?

I will say that Catherine Bell (Army Wives) is perfect for this type of Lifetime movie. She reminds me a lot of Ashley Judd, and this role is something Judd would have gone for in the late 90’s. I do have a hard time believing Bell could beat up full grown men though, especially when she easily shakes off a huge hit to her kidney that should have floored her. She does have a MILF-y soccer mom body that looks more capable than Angelina Jolie’s frail stick of a body, so I can’t complain too much.

I’d say pass on Last Man Standing unless you know you like Lifetime movies. It’s definitely something easy to watch in passing if you’re unable to put your full attention into it.

Director: Ernest R. Dickerson
Stars: Catherine Bell, Anthony Michael Hall, Mekhi Phifer