User reviews

Tony Scott's The Last Boy Scout arrived at a time when the macho action thrillers popularised in the 1980's were starting to die out. This, combined with its odd Christmas-time release, meant that the film would go on to underwhelm at the box-office, although it would prove a hit in the rental market and reignite Bruce Willis' action career after the failure of Hudson Hawk. It also took a beating from critics, many voicing their displeasure at the foul-mouthed dialogue and particularly brutal violence. It's a shame really, as looking back, The Last Boy Scout really represents the pinnacle of this overly masculine sub-genre, even though it arrived at a time when audiences were growing tired with it. Yes, it's preposterous, crude and slightly misogynistic, but it's also funny, clever and features screenwriter Shane Black at his most quotable best.

The movie begins with making a mockery of American Football's televised musical intros, before diving right into the thick of the action on a particularly dark and rainy night. Running back Billy Cole (Tae Bo guru Billy Blanks) is having a great night on the field before outside pressures and a hit of PCP lead him to shoot up half of the opposition before turning the gun on himself. Deadbeat private investigator Joe Hallenback (Bruce Willis) is acting as a bodyguard for young stripper Cory (Halle Berry), whilst dealing with his own marital problems in a cheating wife and brat daughter. When Cory is killed, her boyfriend - disgraced former quarterback Jimmy Dix (Damon Wayans) - finds himself reluctantly buddying up with Joe to slowly unravel a conspiracy that may expose corruption on a massive scale, and offer an explanation for Billy Cole's mysterious suicide. Their snooping isn't appreciated however, and they soon find themselves the target of a criminal gang desperate to cover their tracks and see their plan through to the end.

The Last Boy Scout was famously dogged by production problems, where producer Joel Silver was often cited as the cause of it all. Silver and Willis allegedly took over production, forcing Scott to film scenes he didn't approve of and altering Black's script so much that the finally story barely resembled his original idea. Scott would take revenge in his next film True Romance, where the role of a controlling, cocaine-fuelled producer was modelled on Silver. On top of everything else, Willis and Wayans hated each other. Impressively, these troubles somehow can't be seen in the final product. The chemistry between the two leads is one of the movie's strongest suits, and the plot unravels coherently with more car chases and shoot-outs than you could ever hope for. Scott shoots the film with a glossy commercial aesthetic that works well in the context of the tacky world the film is looking to expose. But the real winner here was Black, who pocketed a cool $1.75 million for his efforts after suffering a setback in his personal life. Despite the changes, this still has the writer's fingerprints all over it, even eclipsing what is undoubtedly his most popular work, Lethal Weapon. They just don't make 'em like this anymore.

Although this film receives a lot of credit for reinvigorating the action/buddy genre movie, the praise is too often misdirected. For instance, whilst Bruce Willis gives a solid performance as low-life private eye Joe Hallenbeck, we have seen the act a dozen times. There are remnants of Die Hard's John McClane in every knowing smirk and pained cigarette inhalation. Equally, Tony Scott's direction is still based on an obsession with placing bright lights behind the actors and turning up the volume of car chases and gunshots. Jimmy Dix, the faded football hero, is given a suitably comic persona by Damon Wayons and the action sequences are as good as you will find elsewhere in Hollywood. However, these are not the attractions of the film for me.

You might think, from what is written above, that I disliked the film but you would be mistaken to think that as I believe it to be an absolute classic of its kind. I truly think The Last Boy Scout should be used as a teaching tool at film schools the world over. In spite of its glaring limitations it is a movie that has everything! The opening scene is a modern movie classic - up there with those of Raiders Of The Lost Ark and Goodfellas. If there is a film-goer alive whose mouth didn't gape in wonderous amusement at the climax to the opening scene then I am amazed. The plot, as far fetched as it is, provides a perfect vehicle for the key elements that go towards making this the gem of a movie that it is.

First in the list of key elements is the wonderfully funny dialogue. Shane Black's hallmark of snappy one-liners is all over the sizzling repartee between the two heroes. Even Hallenbeck's daughter gets a couple of laugh-out-loud lines. Secondly, the story benefits from the ideal combination of: sport, gambling, violence, comedy, the odd topless dancer, important values of family and friendship, revenge and honour. Take out the topless dancer and they pretty much all feature in The Godfather!

The third crucial component for the success of The Last Boy Scout is the perfect casting of the bad guys. Milo, played to chilling perfection by Taylor Negron, is a bad guy with a difference. He isn't just a mindless hard man. His brilliantly annoying habit of calling people by their elongated names is a superb touch (Joe becomes Joseph, Jimmy becomes James and so on), as are his attempts at civility when trying to "do a formal introduction" with the kidnapped Hallenbeck. Other bad guys are fleshed out and distinguished by quirky traits or funny lines. They are not merely there to make the good guys look good.

Overall, this film is not a piece of celluloid art. It is, however, a perfect example of popcorn-friendly entertainment. It is the sort of movie you imagine the makers would like to see as movie-goers themselves. Without being utterly contemptible or mindlessly low-brow it entertains. An ideal Saturday night movie to watch with a group of friends.

We watched this on an encore channel and given it's mediocre 2 star rating and age of 14 years we didn't really expect much. First, we aren't connoisseurs of the action flick and maybe it's too uneven to please people who really dote on the genre. There are a couple of places where the plot is advanced without much pretext other than the need to cut to an exciting bit of action. And there are a couple of action scenes that a good editor would simply have cut.

But Willis and Wayans give energetic and nicely tuned performances. Chelsea Field is just perfect in a limited role as the detective's wife. The villains are far better drawn than the usual bunch of lazy thugs. And Danielle Harris steals the show as Darian Hallenbeck, the feisty and foul-mouthed 13 year old daughter. She grows during the film with barely an effort – by either writer or actor. A part written with great comic creativity. Really the best thing about a film that has a lot of imaginative lines and action moments.

And there are lots of places in this film where the writers give us lines that are head and shoulders above typical film dialog – and way, way beyond the norm for most action movies. A quick guess would be that there were a dozen places where a good line turned up instead of the usual clichés.

The Last Boy Scout is loud, vulgar, trashy – and great entertainment. Bruce Willis plays Joe Hallenbeck, a disgruntled former Secret Service agent struggling with personal demons, a dysfunctional home life and an unsuccessful attempt at living as a private detective. When his newest client, Cory (Halle Berry), is murdered, her boyfriend (Damon Wayans) joins Hallenback to find out why she was killed. What follows is typically Tony Scott – accentuated action, male bonding and loads of violent, gruesome deaths followed by outbursts of comic one-liners.

Written by Shane Black (Lethal Weapon) and directed by Scott (Top Gun), Last Boy Scout works thanks to Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans. The script is stupid, borderline ludicrous – quickly stretching beyond believability, ending in an explosive (somewhat literally) climax that resorts to all the clichés of the genre. However, there is some self-satire to be found within the material. Villains are referred to consistently as "the bad guys." Loads of genre clichés are fooled with, spun into jokes – the car chases and action sequences become satirical in nature, whilst the personal life of Hallenbeck – something that might normally be sugar-coated in another genre film – is totally f***ed up, leaving us with a pre-teen daughter who uses profanity like it's going out of style, a cheating wife, and a weary father who stopped giving a crap about it all a long time ago.

It's the stuff like this that makes Last Boy Scout succeed past its own sources. Shane Black is excellent at writing this type of stuff, and it really shows. Willis is given the best one-liners of his entire career, making Die Hard's crackling dialog look like child's play. Willis in particular is so good, and so at ease with his character, that his cynical and edgy performance makes the film worth seeing – and heck, even worth owning. It's the ultimate Stupid Male Action Film with Great One-Liners and Loads of Action, a genre I'd like to hereby declare official.

The Last Boy Scout is an action hero movie with a dirty mouth. It's one of the first mainstream movie to use the F word in all its variations and glory multiple times in each scene.

The good. Plenty of action. Funny banter. Tough hero. Interesting intrigue.

The actors. Bruce Willis plays a dirty version of his seminal role, John McClane. Halle Berry started her rise on the big screen in this flick.

The bad. The hero does a lot of killing, yet he's not handcuffed once.

The ugly. The lackeys are walking caricatures.

The result. Nice action entertainment with a bit of intrigue. If you're a fan of Willis, I highly recommend it.

Back in 1991 there was still only one way that studios could sell Bruce Willis and that was as various incarnations of his Die Hard hero. Even Eddie (Hudson) Hawkins had similarities to John McClane. Joe Hallenback is a sort of mix between McClane and Snake Plissken. Watching him mumble and grunt thru various near-deaths and close shaves makes for much fun.

Hallenback is a P.I. and scrounges for work wherever he can find it. So he takes up a job protecting a stripper named Cory and soon finds himself in a lot of trouble. Bad guys are trying to get him left right and centre and his bratty 13-year-old daughter tagging along doesn't help much. The bad guys are truly evil and Hallenback seems more like an anti-hero. This adds to the rough nature of the movie and heightens the sense of adventure.

Tony Scott's style of direction is best suited to this type of action flick. The flashy, exotic editing and cinematographic techniques lend a lot to the witty script and compliment the seedy or pretty locations. Shane Black has also written dozens of one-liners and riddled the script with funny dialogue and exciting situations. It's no surprise that this was once the most expensive script ever sold in Hollywood.

Some people say that this film is too violent and misogynist but I honestly cannot understand what they are talking about. I guess it was just a little out of the norm back in 1991. But still the tone of the film is so light and enjoyable you begin to wonder how this never made up for it. Check it out for yourself and I am sure that you will enjoy.

Love that opening song, man. 7/10

It's been 14 years since Tony Scott's The Last Boyscout was released and it was not a major hit at the box office.

Too bad.

Still, this guilty pleasure is one of funniest action movies ever made. The movie starts with the rocky (and cheesy) theme "Friday Night is A Great Night For Football" sung by Bill Medley. You can't top that way to begin a movie.

But then Scott surprises us again. the opening sequence, where a football player is going to use any way possible to score a touchdown, is breath taking too. Enter Joe Hallenback (Willis) and Jimmy Dix (Wayans) two fallen heroes. One, a detective, the other an ex pro of the Stallion's league. The mob is there too, gamble, money, bets, a murdered young girl and big explosions. All of this wrapped up in a great story, which I won't spoil. This film is one of Tarantino's favorites. It's full of one liners and classic scenes. Violent and graphic. "Touch me again and I kill you..." says Willis' character to one of the gangsters. You should see the result. Written by Shane Black (Lethal Weapon) you've got a guarantee you're going to have a great time. Taylor Negron is great as Milo, the villain, a young and beautiful Halle Berry is Kory a girl that knows too much, the sexy Chelsea Field is Hallenback's wife and Danielle Harris is her daughter a great characters that nearly steals the show.

This is not an "art" movie. It's pure entertainment, an excellent flick. Is anything better than that?

One of those movies that strains plausibility to the breaking point, and beyond. However, Bruce Willis's down-on-his-luck, easy-going but tough-as-nails character makes this work. At least, in whatever alternate universe this stuff could possibly happen, anyway. The American Public is fed up with pro football?...yeah...right. Damon Wayans does not look or act like a seasoned professional quarterback, some of the football players look woefully out of shape and overweight, a prominent politician is a sexual psychopath, and nobody has a clue?. Hmmm...

Anyway, Willis's pull-up-a-chair, have-a-beer, guy-next-door character works, and makes this an enjoyable action movie. He is a tough guy when he needs to be, but yet is vulnerable in his relationships with his wife and daughter. He becomes a character that you root for.

Many of the other actors work well also, even in this cartoon plot. Not an award winner, but a decent enough way to spend a couple of hours.

In the early 90's, there was a definite, consistent presence in action movies: slow motion cinematography, wild gun-play, and funny one-liners. Granted, there are still some of those today (2004), but it just wasn't the same as back in the day. Now there are so many special effects in the current action films that it drowns out what used to be the great style of a "popcorn flick".

Die Hard paved the way for these type of movies, and some of the offspring of this did well and did not. The Last Boyscout was one that did well. This was a very intelligent and fun action/thriller/buddy-comedy that can still be enjoyed to this day. Tony Scott is the master of under-appreciated action movies in the 90's, such as this and True Romance.

My suggestion is to get a 6-pack, go rent this movie, sit back and enjoy the ride.

Football is ravaged by scandals. "No heroes left". Can Sarcastaball be far off? Disgraced player Jimmy(Wayans, funny, and charming if not as easy-going as other roles of his) is insulted that "outside protection" is hired by his girlfriend Cory(Berry, sultry, sweet). As such, he gets off on the wrong foot with former Secret Serviceman Joe(Willis, washed-up). Well, most people do. He gets no respect. Not from his ex-colleagues, his wife, daughter, etc. Both leads are down-on-their-luck losers who are still tough, bad-ass guys. And they're going to have to start trusting each other, even if they don't want to. For the woman they are to keep safe.

This is a classic, an excellent buddy comedy. I don't think Robert Rodriguez watched very much of this before he decided Bruce should play Hartigan. Heck, maybe Miller watched this before he wrote it. Not sure why he didn't go with Halle for Nancy. Then again, nobody knows why he went with Jessica Alba. But I digress. This has 102 f-words, that's an average of 1 per minute of this 1 hour, 41 minute movie. Or 37 if you don't count the end credits. And I loved every second. There is a ton of machismo in this. Several shootouts and explosions. Dozens of deaths, including stand-out ones for a select few. Tons of violence inflicted and/or threatened. It's very clearly directed by Tony Scott(with his inimitable style, its visual flair), and written by Shane Black(countless quotable quips. Memorable pairs of goons). This is realistic on drugs, football and gambling.

I recommend this to anyone who enjoys action flicks. 7/10

The Last Boy Scout is without a doubt one of the greatest action movies ever made. There is nothing a good action film needs that isn't woven into Tony Scott's vision of Shane Black's screenplay. We have shootouts.... lots and lots of shootouts. We have Bruce Willis. We have football. We have some beautiful women at our disposal. There are some fast cars. There are drugs. And the profanity-laden dialog is so well-written that virtually the entire script can be read in the memorable quotes section of this site.

Our story, though completely preposterous, has some real depth. We have multi-dimensional characters and we are taken on quite a ride with them as the action unfolds. Bruce Willis plays a burned out private investigator who helps a disgraced former pro football player solve the murder of his girlfriend. Before our story ends, we have a dirty US senator, a greedy football team owner, and about a hundred seedy henchmen thrown into the mix. Things move so quickly that only towards the end does one of our characters actually speak a line that sums up how ridiculous it all is. Damon Wayans, who plays the former football star gives Willis some sobering insight. He points out that Willis must be one of the dumbest people alive. He is not only trying to save the life of the man who ruined his career, but also trying to avenge the death of the man who was f*#king his wife! But somehow, we the audience care about the outcome, and getting there couldn't be more fun.

The film has dated fairly well up to this point. Being as though it came out in 1991, you can still see a high top fade on a black character or two. The football uniforms have changed a little, too, but these are minor things that take nothing away from the enjoyment of the story. Water is still wet, the sky is still blue, and this is still one hell of a movie...and then some!!! This film scores a perfect 10 of 10 stars. It couldn't have been made any better.

So sayeth the Hound.

Bruce Willis legendary private detective Joe "i don't give a ****" Hallenbeck.

Snappy oneliners, sheap jokes and lots of action.

Bruce looks like someone who has been partying for a week, not shaved, showered, combed his hair or changed clothes. Why? Because he doesn't give a ****. And he is perfekt for the part. Hilarious.

In a 1991 review of the film, The Last Boy Scout (1991), Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert awarded the film three stars (out of ****)while pointing out that, "The only consistent theme of the film is its hatred of women." By providing readers with this quote, and watching the movie, it is hard to disagree. This film is rotten to the core, and definitely not for the faint of heart. Here's a movie where women are bullied around, gunned down, and attacked with verbal violence, by being called bitches, whores and worse.

But The Last Boy Scout does succeed in deliver a good, violent action picture. The result is a cross between 48 Hrs. (1982, another film produced by Joel Silver) and bits of Lethal Weapon (1987, another film written by Shane Black and produced by Silver).

Bruce Willis plays Joe Hallenbeck, a former Secret Service agent turned private detective. Damon Wayans is Jimmy Dix, a former football player. Both men have a wife and girlfriend who cheat on them--Hallenbeck's wife (Chelsea Field) is sleeping with his friend, while Jimmy's girlfriend (Halle Berry), a stripper, has prostituted herself.

Hallenbeck's hired to protect the stripper, and when she ends up killed, he forms an uneasy partnership with her boyfriend, the disgraced Jimmy, who was banned from the football league for gambling. Meanwhile, a corrupt team owner (Noble Willingham) wants to buy legislators and legalize gambling on pro football.

The Last Boy Scout is laced with a strong amount of graphic violence, and the bad guys, who are not there to make the good guys look good, meet a lot of gruesome and bloody ends. The film has some exciting and thrilling action sequences and the surprises are startling.

But the most disturbing moments are with Hallenbeck's foul-mouth 13-year old daughter, Darian (Danielle Harris), when she and her dad curse at each other, and later on when she gets a gun to her head. She is also an enthusiastic witness to the many gruesome and violent events that culminate in the film's brutal finale.

Bruce Willis gives a solid performance, while showing remnants of John McClane from Die Hard (1988) and Damon Wayans gives a comic persona as Jimmy Dix. And Taylor Negron, who is the most despicable villain of all gives a chilling performance as one of the villains who has the annoying habit of calling people by their elongated names.

Shane Black's screenplay is filled with funny and intelligent dialogue, a strong use of profanity and vulgarity and snappy one-liners, and director Tony Scott (who directed the terrible sequel, Beverly Hills Cop II [1987]) keeps the film at a dark pace, and surprises us by turning up the volume on car chases, death scenes, and gunshots. The best moment occurs when in one scene the comedy is interrupted by the violence.

The Last Boy Scout is a near-perfect action movie, in the tradition of other buddy movies such as 48 Hrs., and Lethal Weapon, and while it is not as good as the latter movies, it sets the benchmark for extreme violence and carnage in action movies. Here is a movie that throws graphic violence at us, while the viewer is stunned into uneasy silence.

The Last Boy Scout (1991) is the best action movie from the 90's. It is my favorite action movie from Tony Scott and Bruce Willis. I would put this movie right beside Die Hard 2 (1990), because both of the movies come out in the 90's which Bruce Willis started it. Both of the movies did a great job! Every time I watch this movie, I just miss the 90's. The 80's and the 90's had such a great action movies. Bruce Willis wasn't over hyped than like he is now, he as a true sold out. In this film he completely Entertains me. The action and the story are so good in here that you just wanna keep watching it. The acting in here is superb and the action scenes are outstanding and fantastic. You have a lot of famous actors in here. If you're a fan of bloody old-school action and one-liners, you must watch this! Script is simple, witty one-liners are all over the place and Willis does a great job playing a rundown detective.

Tony Scott does a great job directing action movies and it is a shame that he passed away in 2012. I have always enjoyed his movies beside The Last Boy Scout there are Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II, Enemy of the State and Man on Fire movies. Tony Scott is very missed by fans including me. So in this movie you have actors like are: Noble Willingham from Walker, Texas Ranger (1993) TV Series, Halle Berry from X-Men, Bruce McGill from MacGyver, Joe Santos from TV Series: The Rockford Files, MacGyver and Magnum P.I., Kim Coates from Prison Break, Chelsea Field from Commando (1985) she was a stewardess on an airplane where John Matrix (Arnold Schwarzenegger) gets on a board on the airplane and Billy Blanks. You have full cast of actors and actresses I have memorized from TV Shows and from movies.

1991's The Last Boy Scout paired Bruce Willis with Damien Wayans in this scripted buddy flick from Shane Black who gave us Lethal Weapon. Boy Scout uses the various themes expected from such a genre film and Willis gives an A-1 performance as a wise-crackin' half-in-the-bag detective out to help Wayan's character of Jimmy Dicks search for his girlfriends killer and also put a stop to a plot to kill a senator and legalize sports gambling all at the same time. Boy Scout was directed by Tony Scott who knows how to tell action stories. This has it all. Solid action with lots of twisted humor tossed in. Honestly I love this. Perfect action for the era with as many cheesy punch lines as you can squeeze in. Second only to Die Hard.

Thrilling action beautifully directed by Tony Scott....a to-the-point story that actually has you invested...and a great leading Willis all make for a good movie but what makes this movie GREAT is the duo of Willis and Wayans and the chemistry they share together....I know your thinking that a pairing like that is a DISASTER for an action movie but let me tell you it is the complete opposite...the duo is the main reason the movie flows so well....so I say buy this movie because you surely wont be disappointed.

Emmy and Golden Globe-winner Bruce Willis ("Die Hard", "Sin City") and Emmy-nominee Damon Wayans (TV's "My Wife and Kids," TV's "In Living Color") team up as an ex-secret service agent and a former pro-football hero who uncover a web of intrigue and corruption in professional sports when they team up to investigate the murder of the football player's stripper girlfriend. That's your basic plot. The movie has action impact and it is action packed from beginning till end. Joe (Bruce Willis) has always great liens he uses in the movie. He is straight and honest guy who his daughter and wife does not respect him. He is an ex washed up secret service agent man turning in to private detective. He has to protect a striper when she is killed he teams up with washed up pro football player. The movie also evolves, scandals, extraction, gambling deb, alcoholism and so on. The film is violent, and bloody, there are a lot of hand guns and machine guns used in this movie and they are used well. This movie is a perfect 10 for me and it is my favorite action movie from Bruce Willis and Tony Scott.

The Last Boy Scout is a 1991 American action film directed by Tony Scott, starring Bruce Willis, Damon Wayans, Chelsea Field, Noble Willingham, Taylor Negron and Danielle Harris. The film was released in the United States on December 13, 1991.

10/10 Grade: Bad Ass Seal Of Approval Studio: Geffen Pictures, Silver Pictures, Warner Bros. Starring: Bruce Willis, Damon Wayans, Chelsea Field, Noble Willingham, Taylor Negron, Danielle Harris, Halle Berry, Bruce McGill, Kim Coates, Chelcie Ross, Joe Santos, Billy Blanks Director: Tony Scott Producers: Joel Silver, Michael Levy Screenplay: Shane Black Story by Shane Black, Greg Hicks Rated: R Running Time: 1 Hr. 45 Mins. Budget: $29.000.000 Box Office: $59,509,925

I remember when 'The Last Boy Scout' was released. If my memory serves me correctly, it was considered a box off flop. However, I enjoyed it and, now I come to watch it again over twenty years later, I find that today's online reaction seems to back up my feelings towards it. In other words, it's actually quite fun.

Bruce Willis plays... well, Bruce Willis really. This could almost be another Die Hard movie by another name. He's a wise-cracking alcoholic cop (or ex cop here, to be fair) who ends up taking on the bad guys. This time he's investigating the double murder of both his best friend and the client he was meant to protect, but whereas he tended to do things on his own in Die Hard, he's ably assisted by a disgraced football player, played by Damon Waynes.

The first thing you have to know before you consider watching this is that it's kind of tongue in cheek. Today's action movies seem to be super serious (with the possible exception of the 'Expendables' series), so if you're looking for something tough and gritty, you'll probably find this one a little too far-fetched.

It certainly has its plus points. Obviously, there are plenty of shoot outs and car chases, not to mention villains who are uber-villainous and strip clubs to arrange seedy underworld meetings in. But the film's major selling point is the chemistry between Willis and Waynes. They really do play off each other well and the dialogue between them is the very definition of banter.

It is a little far fetched though. I will always remember a character being thrown off a bridge, landing on a car, only to get up and wander off like nothing had happened. I think that probably goes down as one of the most 'hardest to survive' falls in film history! Don't expect too much realism here; like I say – tongue in cheek! Having looked up some details online recently, I see that the production was apparently 'fraught with problems' behind the scenes. There are plenty of rumours surrounding what happened on set and I don't know how many are true. However, I still think that the finished product is actually something pretty good fun and very watchable (if you're looking for a pretty implausible buddy type cop film).

And, if you're into internet rumours – look up the one about the squirrel, Bruce Willis' trailer and the hair-piece.

This is going to sound really cheesy but...they REALLY don't make'em like this anymore. This is a film that is as close to matching the level of Lethal Weapon and Die Hard as any early to mid '90s action flick has ever come. Damon Wayans is no Danny Glover or Sam Jackson, but there is a definite chemistry with Bruce Willis, and you can really tell on screen how much fun they're having during the shoot.

The Last Boy Scout is everything a male action enthusiast can desire: there's enough wit to last three movies and the action is generously displayed by Tony Scott on screen. The pacing is actually done well for a change (which is more than can be said about most in the genre). The acting of the supporting cast may not be top notch but then again, that wasn't the case for the Lethal Weapon films and they managed to entertain me for four editions.

The villains are hilariously dorky but that's part of the fun of watching these 'old' action movies. You see bad eighties haircuts and the music playing in the background is as wrong as it gets (usually 'Miami Vice'-like). Take everything with a grain (or a bag) of salt and just lay back and enjoy. There isn't a man alive who can't enjoy TLBS on some level (even if it's just as a guilty pleasure).

Recommended!

I was quite surprised that Tony Scott had directed this movie since I have seen many of his and they are usually real quality films. Perhaps it could be because this one was made so long ago (1991) but I was surprised that I found the film kind of disappointing.

Primarily I think the fault lies in the direction; the script is pretty amateurish at times, but I think what comes across, especially in Damon Wayan's case is the delivery, and for a film like this, that fault rests squarely on the director. And, what the HELL was with the painfully HORRENDOUS performance by the girl who plays Bruce Willis's daughter for God's sake!??? GEEZ... BAD lines. Awful delivery; that scene in the car where she first catches up with Damon is truly cringe-inducing at it's worse (Honestly... just check out the painful dialog in that sequence; it pretty much makes my whole point here) A good director like Scott should most certainly have corrected that.

So, my question is... what the HELL was Tony Scott doing during all this? Sleeping...? smok'n some bad weed...? Messing with Corey Haim...? (EEK!)

Now, I don't mean to say that EVERYTHING is bad with this film because it really isn't. There is indeed much about the movie that is quite good. Bruce's performance GREATLY overshadows everyone else's. The writing for HIM was decent; a lot of his lines were pretty good. Many of the other, OTHER supporting actors were very good characterizations, especially the tycoon guy. He and Willis easily stood light years over the others.

The plot was excellent; the tone was somewhat excruciating at times, NOT because it was bad but because what was happening (and what had happened before) was SO damn painful, sad, and morose that it just kills you. That IS a big part of this film and that is unusual for a 'Buddy Cop' type movie of this type to evoke such strong feelings. Usually, things are played much lighter a la the 'LETHAL WEAPON' series, for example. Nothing wrong with that, but to me it just gave the film an odd tone. But, that is why the humour that IS there is an excellent balance for the dire circumstances and experiences that these fellows have had. Then again, the transitions from the VERY heavy talk to the supposed light, 'funny' scenes are done somewhat jarringly which tends to make the humour seem artificial, contrasting badly with the heartfelt and sad things that they were just discussing. And again, that falls squarely under the director's responsibility.

Basically for what it's worth, this is my take on it... If you are going to make a Fun Action film, then make it that way (like Guy Ritchie for example) or... If you are going to portray the 'hero' of an action film like was done here with a much heavier and more serious tone, then you have to construct the rest of the film around that type of character better.

So, there are a lot of good points about the movie, but unfortunately, in my lowly and wretched opinion, the writing, acting, and particularly the direction in a number of the scenes seriously detracted from what could have been a MUCH better film.

OK, it's been a long time (20 years!) since this film came out...it's also probably the only Bruce Willis action film I hadn't seen and I always wondered why nothing ever really got me interested in it....

To be honest, I thought Damon Waynes was the reason...I hate the "hey lets act like a moron" comedy so I thought it would be a horrible buddy cop thing...I never actually thought it was a football film.

This reminds me of another Willis film I didn't like at all, Last Man Standing...it has a ton of profanity for no purpose other than to have it in an R rated film. This is probably why studios make films pg-13 now. It doesn't make the film any better lets put it that way....2nd it's got over the top shooting and violence that isn't really edited in a way to make it cool...it's just the early 90's close-ups of machine guns and blood splatter and there's really no style or substance to it...its boring.

3rd...the plot...it's really trying to be something deep and cool and different from other action movies and it ends up being too convoluted...it's confusing and not in a cool Inception way.

Finally the ending (don't worry, no spoilers) feels a lot like other Willis movies where the hidden gun and all the sarcastic humor come into play surrounded by bad guys...this type of thing works in Die Hard when there's 2 people and 1 guy isn't paying attention but this has maybe 8 and one has a shotgun pointed point blank at his chest and is the 3rd person to get shot...idk

Honestly with 10 minutes to go I just turned it off...the best part in the entire movie is Halle Berry as a stripper but I don't even know if it was actually her or a body double...either way, I know now why I never bothered to watch this...it's horrible...for a Shane Blake written movie see Lethal Weapon or Kiss,Kiss,Bang,Bang...for a good Willis...um, well you know his stuff by now, close your eyes and pick one.