The Last Deal

Don't understand why the rating is so low. Who watched this movie, 12 year old boys expecting a Jason Bourne action film? Did you not see the trailer?

In any case, checked this out on a Thursday night and was impressed. The characters are really engaging, the music is excellent... love the Miami Vice synth-music, and L. A. actually felt like Los effin Angeles.

It felt like an early Michael Mann film and I'm curious to see what these filmmakers can do with a bigger budget. The only downfall for this film, and I saw someone else write this somewhere in the reviews, is not enough people will watch this because it doesn't have a big Hollywood budget.

Worth a watch, and it's only 90 minutes!

If you like shows, movies or documentaries that deal with the drug trade this is definitely for you. The film really makes you care about the central character as his world collapses due to the legalization of Marijuana. It reminded me a little bit of the movie 'The Gambler' because things just get worse and worse as the film progresses. It's intense. L. A is almost like a character in the film in the sense that quite a bit of the story was shot outside and this makes the movies vibrant, alive. I loved that! The beginning of the film has a bit of voice over that's quite insightful. It grounded the story and made it even more realistic. This was a great watch.

After reviewing the film's background and low budget during the Covid Pandemic, I felt they had a great screen play, the main actor in this movie Vincent, does a fantastic job as a drug dealer trying to make a score before the business model gets derailed.

Overall: I would rate this hi for a film with a budget that wasn't there, no permits and shot during a shutdown. The producer did a great job with letting scenes play out as they would in real life.

The backstory may have been expanded upon, knowing the characters and where they came from, but the plot thickens and so does the suspense.

I would choose this over many of the low budget films that are out there over this time period.

Vincent (Anthony Molinari) runs his weed dispensary business in California. He makes a killing in 2015 in the murky legality. In 2016, a referendum legalizes marijuana in the state and his troubles begin. His business slowly dies from competition, over-regulation, and corrupt officials. He can't get the right license. His business partner Bobby comes to him with a desperate last deal.

Vincent strikes me a bit of a meathead. He is out of his depths. Anthony Molinari doesn't have big star power, but he does fit the character somewhat. I saw the double-cross from a mile away. I figured that they planted a tracker on the truck. It seems really careless to leave the weed in an unguarded warehouse. If it was me, I would secure that stuff before I take a nap. The last act has lots of violence which is a little jarring. The violence level jumps from a two to a full ten rather quickly. Some of killings don't feel real. Maybe, they're not set up well enough. This is a B-movie. The lead is a B-actor. It's a lot of Bs.

"The Last Deal" is a low-budget crime drama with a focus on the story, a thoroughly successful production design and a colour scheme that transports you straight to California. Jonathan Salemi manages to tell a calm and grounded story with this film, which doesn't convince with big twists and brutal action, but with a charming lead actor and a story based on real events. The film follows an interesting approach: it sheds light on the drug and especially the marijuana milieu in California after the legalisation of cannabis. The central theme is how an illegal scene has to adapt as a result of the sudden legalisation and has to face new problems despite the supposedly improved situation.

Anthony Molinari embodies the main character, who has to struggle with precisely this change and really endeavours to comply with the new regulations and continue his initially illegal activity legally. However, a rejection of his legal sales licence forces him to enter into one last dirty deal. The secret star of the film is Sala Baker, who despite the short screen time is able to play out his charm an d impresses with his physicality and simple coolness. Disasters like "Madame Web" are currently running in cinemas and are really intentionally pulling money out of your pocket with striking marketing, obvious deceptive packaging and the least amount of effort. "The Last Deal" isn't a masterpiece of creativity and therefore can't compete with indie hits like "Beyond the infinite two minutes" or similar, but it trumps with something that many films lack these days: honest entertainment. It's an indie film with a low budget that makes the best of it and only wants one thing: 90 minutes of cinematic entertainment. And it succeeds.