LOS ANGELES, April 30 (UPI) -- French action film Lost Bullet, released in 2020, and its 2022 sequel featured intense, elegant fights and fast and furious vehicular pursuits. Last Bullet, on Netflix May 7, concludes the trilogy with its most intense action yet.
Last Bullet picks up right where Lost Bullet 2 left off and only offers brief recaps via dialogue. Still, it is easy to follow the basics -- dirty cop Areski (Nicolas Duvauchelle) is on the run, evading both criminal conspirators and the good cops who want to bring him in.
French police obtain driver Lino (Alban Lenoir) again in an exchange with Spain for their corrupt officer Alvaro (Diego Martin). Lino reteams with his police contact Julia (Stéfi Celma) to pursue Areski.
The multiple parties in pursuit of both Areski and Lino add complexity to the various action scenes. For fans following all three movies, there are still surprising alliances and betrayals in the final entry.
Last Bullet gets off to an exciting start with a pursuit of Areski on a motorcycle and a fight in a cabin in which he uses firewood as a clever weapon. Later, a fight on a bus leads to a lengthy chase through French parks and public areas.
That bus fight does not quite utilize the entire interior like the one in Nobody, but the combat is brutal in that tight space. It has been 30 years since Die Hard with a Vengeance drove through New York's Central Park, and American audiences have never seen a pursuit through French parks and city courtyards before.
Lino's specialty is equipping vehicles with armor and battering attachments, so he builds his masterpiece for the finale. That final chase takes place on an open roadway, so it's like Mad Max without the desert.
That chase also proceeds to higher traffic city streets. Crashes look real and practical. Surely they are aided by CGI effects to keep things safe, but the overall feel is that of physical vehicles in actual locations.
The reference points of classic international action movies do not suggest a lack of originality. Rather, the genre at its best finds artists finding distinct ways to handle the hallmarks of car chases and fight scenes.
Lost Bullet was such an auspicious feature film debut from director Guillaume Pierret, the sequel couldn't possibly recreate the same intensity. The conclusion, however, steps up every aspect of the thrilling franchise.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
