Last Flag Flying (2017)

Thirty years after they served together in Vietnam, a former Navy Corpsman Larry "Doc" Shepherd re-unites with his old buddies, former Marines Sal Nealon and Reverend Richard Mueller, to bury his son, a young Marine killed in the Iraq War.

Director:

Richard Linklater

Writers:

Richard Linklater (screenplay), Darryl Ponicsan (screenplay)

Stars:

Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne, Steve Carell

2 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bryan Cranston	...	Sal Nealon
Laurence Fishburne	...	Reverend Richard Mueller
Steve Carell	...	Larry 'Doc' Shepherd
J. Quinton Johnson	...	Washington
Deanna Reed-Foster	...	Ruth
Yul Vazquez	...	Colonel Wilits
Graham Wolfe	...	John Redman
Jeff Monahan	...	O'Toole
Dontez James	...	DAFB Guard
Tammy Tsai	...	Mother (Irene)
Richard Barlow	...	Angry Father
Cathy O'Dell	...	Grieving Mother
Jane Mowder	...	Rental Truck Employee
Richard Robichaux	...	Anorak
Jerry Lee Tucker	...	Raincoat

Storyline

In 2003, 30 years after they served together in the Vietnam War, former Navy Hospital Corpsman Larry "Doc" Shepherd re-unites with ex-Marines Sal and Mueller on a different type of mission: to bury Doc's son, a young Marine killed in the Iraq War. Doc decides to forgo burial at Arlington Cemetery and, with the help of his old buddies, takes the casket on a bittersweet trip up the East Coast to his home in suburban New Hampshire.

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Plot Keywords:

grief | father son relationship | iraq war | vietnam war | coffin | 

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Taglines:

Their Last Mission Wasn't On The Battlefield

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | War

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 November 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Last Flag Flying

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$40,558, 5 November 2017, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$965,481, 21 December 2017

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amazon Studios, Big Indie Pictures, Cinetic Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cinematographer Shane Kelly filmed the movie using a Panasonic VeriCam. He worked with Richard Linklater to give bleaker and more somber tone compared to their previous collaborations with a darker hue and muted colors.

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Goofs

Larry "Doc", Sal and Richard all being veteran Marines, they must know the Marine "Colonel Wilits" wearing a silver oak leaf rank insignia on his uniform should always be properly and fully addressed as "Lieutenant Colonel", instead shortened to just "Colonel".

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sal Nealon: If you could just see yourself right now. You look like you just had a lobotomy. What's wrong with you?
O'Toole: [sitting on his barstool] This is reality.
Sal Nealon: Reality? My ass. It's all made-up. Let me ask you this, huh, how many times on this show have you seen the cops arrest, you know, killers and-and rapists or something like that? How many times did they slap the cuffs on some crooked CEO fuck?

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Connections

Referenced in The Graham Norton Show: Jane Fonda/Nicole Kidman/Colin Farrell/Bryan Cranston/Matt Lucas/Niall Horan (2017)

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Soundtracks

Slow Walk
Written by Sil Austin and Irving Siders
Performed by Sil Austin
Courtesy of The Verve Music Group under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

The outstanding performances can't save this dull, long and pointless script

I would have given this film a 1 if it wasn't for the outstanding performances from Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne and Steve Carell. I was struggling to stay awake for this 2+ hour dull, long and pointless melodrama that I question why it was classified also as a comedy. I didn't laugh or even smile once. For that matter, it wasn't even a war film. It's was strictly drama. Richard Linklater gets a 7 for his directing but a 2 for his screenplay. Had the pace been much faster and had some highs and lows to keep me interested, I would have enjoyed it more. But it's only a 5/10 from me and only due to the outstanding performances.