Last Flag Flying Review
By: Nik S
Director: Richard Linklater
Producer(s): Ginger Sledge, John Sloss
Starring: Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne
Production Company: Amazon Studios, Big Indie Pictures, Detour Filmproduction
Distributor(s): Amazon Studios, Lionsgate
Runtime: 124 minutes
What happens when you have three big name actors in a mediocre comedy drama? You get the Last Flag Flying. This isn't a movie one could easily recommend to anyone to watch as there's nothing to really invest in while watching. The characters are likeable, sure, but they're all talk no show. The sets are rather bland and don't really add much to the setting. The supporting actors are extremely plain and don't even help emphasize the main casts' ability. There really isn't much going on for this movie, but there are some positive things to note.
Last Flag Flying follows three Vietnam veteran buddies who reunite in order to help one bury his son who was killed in Iraq. Larry "Doc" Shepard (Carell), a dishonorably discharged Navy corpsman, tracks down two Marines he served with for emotional support. Sal Nealon (Cranston) is an owner of a small bar and the first to reunite with Larry, followed shortly by Richard Muller (Fishburne) who is a pastor. They travel to Dover Air Force Base and decide on how they are going to handle the funeral of Larry's son who was shot in the back of the head when shopping for some sodas. The movie is based off of a book of the same name, and is technically the unofficial sequel to The Last Detail with Jack Nicholson.
The three leads are actually quite good in this, with the exception of Carell as he's often overshadowed by Cranston's conviviality and Fishburne's liveliness. Carell does well at playing a man who really has nothing left in his life, but often his voice gets monotonous half way through the film. Fishburne is good in this movie as he pulls off a grumpy retired veteran well, but even his role gets tedious as he really doesn't want to help and just wants to go home. Cranston is the only role that shows the most character development, he starts off as a sassy retired marine who still has a bit of party left in him, but he grows to learn to care about those around him. The rest of the supporting cast do nothing to draw attention to themselves and can be easily forgotten.
The cinematography is done well for what it is, though it doesn't take any risks in trying any emotional shots for a drama and keeps it pretty simple with calm movements. Directing is done alright, but it's nothing to really make note of. The actors seem to have good direction and seem to have meaningful conversations which is actually one of the many downfalls of this film. This film suffers from too much talk not enough show. The characters discuss more than they show, like emotion, background, and events. It would be nicer to see some of the events go down rather than just hear them talk about it for almost two hours. The movie doesn't need flashbacks or anything that gimmicky, but it would be nice to see what was happening rather than just being told. In all honesty, this film would probably do better as a play than a movie.
This movie was really hard to sit through, not because of the drama but because it's rather boring. Nothing is able to keep your attention throughout the film, and there is barely any character development for the main cast. You're better off finding another drama about military veterans.
Director: Richard Linklater
Producer(s): Ginger Sledge, John Sloss
Starring: Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne
Production Company: Amazon Studios, Big Indie Pictures, Detour Filmproduction
Distributor(s): Amazon Studios, Lionsgate
Runtime: 124 minutes
What happens when you have three big name actors in a mediocre comedy drama? You get the Last Flag Flying. This isn't a movie one could easily recommend to anyone to watch as there's nothing to really invest in while watching. The characters are likeable, sure, but they're all talk no show. The sets are rather bland and don't really add much to the setting. The supporting actors are extremely plain and don't even help emphasize the main casts' ability. There really isn't much going on for this movie, but there are some positive things to note.
Last Flag Flying follows three Vietnam veteran buddies who reunite in order to help one bury his son who was killed in Iraq. Larry "Doc" Shepard (Carell), a dishonorably discharged Navy corpsman, tracks down two Marines he served with for emotional support. Sal Nealon (Cranston) is an owner of a small bar and the first to reunite with Larry, followed shortly by Richard Muller (Fishburne) who is a pastor. They travel to Dover Air Force Base and decide on how they are going to handle the funeral of Larry's son who was shot in the back of the head when shopping for some sodas. The movie is based off of a book of the same name, and is technically the unofficial sequel to The Last Detail with Jack Nicholson.
The three leads are actually quite good in this, with the exception of Carell as he's often overshadowed by Cranston's conviviality and Fishburne's liveliness. Carell does well at playing a man who really has nothing left in his life, but often his voice gets monotonous half way through the film. Fishburne is good in this movie as he pulls off a grumpy retired veteran well, but even his role gets tedious as he really doesn't want to help and just wants to go home. Cranston is the only role that shows the most character development, he starts off as a sassy retired marine who still has a bit of party left in him, but he grows to learn to care about those around him. The rest of the supporting cast do nothing to draw attention to themselves and can be easily forgotten.
The cinematography is done well for what it is, though it doesn't take any risks in trying any emotional shots for a drama and keeps it pretty simple with calm movements. Directing is done alright, but it's nothing to really make note of. The actors seem to have good direction and seem to have meaningful conversations which is actually one of the many downfalls of this film. This film suffers from too much talk not enough show. The characters discuss more than they show, like emotion, background, and events. It would be nicer to see some of the events go down rather than just hear them talk about it for almost two hours. The movie doesn't need flashbacks or anything that gimmicky, but it would be nice to see what was happening rather than just being told. In all honesty, this film would probably do better as a play than a movie.
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