Did the British really need to produce a loose clone of Kelly's Heroes and Three Kings but with a smattering of 'what's-his-name' acting talent and ex-professional footballers to boot? Perhaps not, but in The Last Drop we've done exactly that and in a bizarre, surreal twist; it actually sort of works out. The film is nothing more than a good-looking B-movie; a chase film-come-war flick that somewhat undercooks the harsh realities of war itself with chases and unrealistic gunfights under a faux banner of heroism and 'upstanding-ness' but pulls through. By the time the finale had arrived, I was surprised by how much I'd gotten involved with some of the characters and was eager to see how it would all play out.
I think you watch The Last Drop with a knowing smile. Any film that proudly boasts, at the end of its opening credits, that it has a "special appearance by Michael Madsen" has to be taken in a certain manner; almost as if the piece is embarrassed Madsen is in it. If Madsen ever got round to watching it, he might've have been embarrassed to have been in it himself. Similalrly, the casting of David Ginola as a crack-Nazi sniper is a post-modern masterstroke; there's an instance in which Nick Moran's character catches the guy off guard and marches him out of a hiding spot – at no point does anyone get up and shout "Hold on! That's Ed from Lock, Stock decked out as a Second World War soldier holding up ex-footballer David Ginola!" But what can you do?
As mentioned, it's World War Two and during all the trouble and strife in Nazi occupied Europe........some Dutch artwork goes missing – oh, woe is them. Those dastardly Nazis are swiping the loot and taking it back to Berlin. "Oh no! Not on my watch!" a brave and optimistic allied higher-up exclaims; only, he doesn't, because it's Jack Dee and he, like, you know, like -just hands over a mission in a folder in a dimmed room in that typical manner he does. The mission is code-named Operation Matchbox and the plan is to drop some allied forces into rural Netherlands to try and figure out what the deal is with the swag.
On a very, very basic level; The Last Drop works as a rapid but pretty well grounded chase thriller as separate parties aim to reach the aforementioned MacGuffin. The film is a war-set comic book; a collection of colourful creations, easily distinguishable heroes and villains as well as a collection of caricatures and clichés. The group is made up of, but not limited to, a certain Private Ives (Moran); a Sergeant McMillian (Pertwee) and, pretty much in it solely in it for the American market so that distribution is made easier, a certain Flight Sergeant Oats, as portrayed by Billy Zane. One man knows the whereabouts of the item: a slightly overweight, balding and weak individual whom gets slapped about a bit by the enemy but wants in on the treasure all the same. He is Gustav Hansfeldt (Speirs).
If anyone is familiar with those old 'Warlord' comics from the 1970s and 80s, then a blast is to be had out of The Last Drop; a film that has its Germans so typically, typically evil; most of its Brits talk with a cockney lilt and its Americans chomp down on cigars as they attempt to hold bridges – all without shame and all with its tongue firmly entrenched within its cheek. I wouldn't go so far as to call The Last Drop cheap or exploitative: we enjoy the clichés; the action sequences; the scenes of chase and those in which, on the bridge with Madsen and his Americans for instance, certain characters must bluff their way through in order to survive. But that doesn't mean we enjoy warfare, as there are certain sequences in which the Second World War makes itself known; be it either confined to a woodland area as an enemy machine gun opens up and you feel the characters are in danger; or another scene in which the characters must flee to the sanctuary of another wooded area to avoid an on-coming enemy place. The scenes work well and there's a sense these guys might get hurt.
I think this shift in atmosphere and content works; the split down the middle between what constitutes as exciting action and harrowing warfare is blended well. Overall, I think The Last Drop is worth a watch, if only just, as standard three star out of five film. It doesn't give itself any moral ground to get bogged down with as the protagonists are in it for the right to return the items anyway, and it refrains from targeting any specific groups or 'types' of people; the Nazis are evil, obviously, but the film finds room to incorporate brave minded and strong-willed women who are members of the Dutch resistance. If it sounds like what you're looking for, there are slight pleasures to be had out of it.
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