O Último Minuto

The atypical gritty Guy Ritchie British school of modern film class has reared a muddled mess of a movie. With a grandiose, meaning of life premise, the somewhat shallow and undefined plot leaves little room for depth of any real substance. Between the drawn-out stylistic vignettes and the over-abundance of effects, the film falls flat on it's fashionable face. A lower rating would have been in order had it not been for some humorous and entertaining moments, where levity and brevity are welcome friends and make the almost unbearable bearable. Overall, it's a mildly entertaining bit of mindless madness with a side order of "seize the day." Not worth a trip to the theater, but might do in a pinch at your local video store.

The impression I received watching this film, which at times teeters on the brink of unbelievable intensity, is Stephen Norrington's experience making "Blade". It is not exactly a family friendly film, but mature audiences only! Jason Isaacs will wow you in a way you've never seen him before, I thought "James Bond!" right away. His features are just slightly on the side of pretty to be a proper James Bond but he oozes menace with those eyes! He is easily the best thing about this movie. The film almost loses its way with the Oliver Twist second act (and I know people who love the film only because of that... go figure). The ending is quite memorable and I applauded. I hope to see the magnificent Norrington rise from the ashes of LXG and kick my cinematic a** again.

to compare this to any guy ritchie film is foolish and plain out bad reviewing. many would simply class it in the same school because it is british, it features "hip" newcomers, and the direction is very flashy and effects rich.....well except for the british part this describes most every film coming out now. the last minute is as far from guy ritchie as one can get. try connecting the dots to david lynch while passing through alex de la iglesia territory and you'll be on the right track. from the insane tap dancing crooner psycho sledge hammer wielding gangster to british literary classics over to the monsters people keep hidden from the world....or should we say gifts? this is a film of many varied and twisting turns which serves up its fair share of bite and bile. one forever feels that around the next corner will be the demon awaiting to devour the souls of the main characters, but lemarchand's box is not quite so literal as it is in a film like hellraiser. the demons that give pleasure and devour your being are much more real and familiar in this world. it is true that the plot balances on the old carpe diem type thing, but unlike every hollywood dungheap to tread this ground in the last 20 years, this film manages to do it with some grace, some originality, and with a large dash of realism amongst the severe surrealism. overall, a very impressive film with intelligence, originalty and style. a fabulous cast tops it off supremely and left me riveted for the entire length of the film and a strong desire to show it to everyone i know.

It's late, it's extremely humid, every breath is like a drink of city soaked in smog water. I pop the DVD into my player and was transported to a late feast of clever visual effects, smart script lines, and a wicked soundtrack. So wicked that I immediately started to hunt the internet for it.

I was impressed by the very fine acting of Max Beesley, very convincing character transformations throughout the film. Not since discovering Christian Bale did I feel like wanting to see more films from someone.

Even though this movie centered around London's Underground, I felt like this could've been any city...reminding me of it's inhabitants running about half-asleep, forgetting (ignorance is bliss) about existence and valuing life.

The movie made me feel guilty for feeling guilty about wanting to indulge and live a little in life.

I recommend this movie anyone who likes movies that give you that feeling of "there's a message here for me".

The Last Minute is one of those truly rare motion pictures that deserves far wider recognition than it will ever get. How unfortunate. I'd never heard of the thing until recently stumbling across quite by accident. A virtual eye popping, roller coaster of a flick, it starts with a bang and never lets its hooks out of you. Visually, The Last Minute is as impressive a looking picture as I've ever seen.

The DVD extras are (mostly) exceptional adding to the whole experience as few extras features ever do. As darkly hilarious as it is, this "Minute" also packs quite an emotional punch. Kudo's to Mr. Norrington.

One caveat: Director Norrington wisely employs a terrific device by which we never know what our protagonist does to earn then lose his fame (director and star are on record as being at odds as to what Billy actually does). Were only that same thing had been employed on one scene. When Billy is told he doesn't want to know what's behind a certain, we shouldn't find that out either. Personally, I laughed (in horror, but laughed) at this scene but I know others who were put off of the movie altogether because of these few seconds.

Every other aspect of the truly most bizarre club "Prosthetic" is genius (as, actually is the moment in question, just too off-putting for most people). It is in this long scene at "Prosthetic" where perhaps the films most brilliant moment occurs – which is, of course, Percy "Sledge" breaking into the Sinatra classic "I've got you under my skin" while wreaking a gleeful malevolent stream of violence that is about as close to movie magic as we've ever seen.

Norrington has a cast that, quite simply, could not have been improved upon with Max Beesley giving a stand out performance as Billy – to watch the youthful energy of his clubby dance moves and the enthusiasm with which he embraces his burgeoning fame slip into confused despair, hopelessness and attempt at self redemption. Beesley has us routing for him even at his worst, for I think most of us can identify with Max's plight.

As the aforementioned Percy "Sledge" – Jason Isaacs is nothing short of terrifying, executing his violence with a Fred Astaire like grace and precision which is utterly disarming.

The Oliver Twist twist of the underground urchins with their modern day, more violent, Fagin (who doles out drug treats to the kiddies) is chillingly beautiful.

I also found the extended mad scene similar resonating strongly with Shakespeare's Lear – Max's meltdown/unhinging being so closely tied with what is happening in nature. Brilliant.

If "Minute" had been released theatrically stateside, I can't imagine it wouldn't do huge box office. There are audiences literally screaming for this type of originality. Hopefully, it's not too late to try. The seconds are ticking . . .