Last Man Standing (1996)

This film actually came out the same year that the Bruce Willis movie with the same name was released. I wonder if The Asylum has ever considered that move. Just put out a movie with the exact same name. Forget Transmorphers, go with Transformers, and have it just be people who transform into things. The only thing Hasbro or whoever have the copyright for are alien robots that transform into things. The Asylum would be well within their rights to release a film called Transformers that has people transforming into animals or whatever, wouldn't they?

Last Man Standing has Wincott as a cop who stumbles onto some guys divvying up their cuts of a robbery. After he arrests them, turns out these guys are in with the cops. Like high ranking cops. They're less than stoked with Wincott, and they try to pull the old "you're reckless. Hand over you're gun and badge, you're on desk duty", but to no avail. You can't keep a good cop like Wincott down. Tagline for this film: "Everyone has the right to remain silent." What the eff does that even mean?



This is your classic Man v. The World 90s action paradigm, so don't go into it expecting a killer plot with amazing twists and turns. What you do get is Wincott kicking a fair amount of ass, which is good. There are some nice chases, some nice shootouts, etc. The film starts great with Wincott and the head baddie falling from six stories into a pool. Who doesn't like that? It may not keep that level of intensity up, but it does enough to get the job done.

I put this post after my Cyborg Cop post to make a point. Jeff Wincott is the man. He wouldn't be caught dead rocking a fanny pack. Can you see the wardrobe guy trying to give it to him. "Ummm... Mr. Wincott... I have your... fanny pack..." No response, just cock one eyebrow, take a drag off the cigarette, and exhale. "Umm... the director told me you... umm... needed to.... put this..." Another drag, followed by, in a monotone: "I'm not wearing that." This world is divided into two types of men: the David Bradleys, and the Jeff Wincotts. Which are you?



Jeff Wincott smokes like a chimney in this film. I think it's cool, which may or may not be a good thing. If you're wondering, in college I was addicted to cigarettes, and it took some effort to quit, so I'm coming at this take from someone who knows what smoking's all about. I like seeing a hero in an action movie burn one heater after another. I like seeing an action hero be a health conscious nut who wouldn't touch a cancer stick if his life depended on it too. I just hope that our new crusade against cigarettes in this country won't eliminate the former type of action hero from our culture. I understand that kids look up to these guys as role models, and want to emulate them; but, for me at least, it's those smug bastards in those obnoxious Truth commercials that make me want to smoke more, just to spite them, than any Bogie or James Dean picture ever could.

Jillian McWhirter plays Wincott's wife. She was also in two Bloodfist movies, so she knows the drill in the Man v. The World paradigm. That seems to be the only thing those movies were ever about after part III. I must say, if I had to chose between Wincott and Don "The Dragon" Wilson, I'd take Wincott over him anyday. Maybe I really am becoming a DTV Connoisseur...



You may recall that the other Last Man Standing was a remake of Yojimbo. As you may or may not know, my favorite remake of Yojimbo is Omega Doom. I bring that up, because, if you take a look at the post for Future Hunters, you'll see the first ever comment on the blog by a DTVC Hall of Famer. That's right, Albert Pyun, director of Omega Doom, dropped some love on the DTVC. Pretty cool, huh? Also, speaking of Kurosawa films, my local indie/art house theater showed Hidden Fortress last Wednesday. I may be the Direct to Video Connoisseur, but I do occasionally like to see good movies on the big screen too.

This is worth throwing on your Netflix queue. You'll like it. Wincott is one of those cats that are worth looking into, especially after you've gone through the majority of the Segal and Lundgren catalog. This movie's as good as any to introduce you to him.

For more info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116831/