La última jugada

A decent enough film along the same lines as Die Hard. I enjoyed it but didn't realise it was a comedy until it showed West Ham in a European Cup Semi Final. That was so funny, even playing a made up Russian team they struggled but the words European, Semi Final and West Ham haven't gone together for a generation or two.

Forgetting tribal rivalries it was a film that followed the typical genre formula but nevertheless was a good watch.

As a Briton, after seeing the trailer for this, I thought it'd be brilliant to see a bunch of football fans blown up. So I watched it the day it was released. I'm also a Drax fan, played by Dave Bautista, who also headlines this movie as a humble-but-hard ex-Army soldier visiting the UK to see his niece and sister-in-law. His brother died in action. The movie is reminiscent of Die Hard, and also Sudden Impact, of course, which it was clearly inspired by (to his credit, and no surprise, Dave Bautista is as enjoyable a lead as prime-era JCVD). I liked his sidekick, a wimpy Brixton-born Arab, who at the beginning of the film an old woman assumes is a terrorist (there is a great 2-in-a-row pay-off to this scene near the end of the film). In the last 10 mins, the story has a few implausible beats (mostly after the end result of the terrorist's actions), I think the screenwriters had written the main action of the film, and resorted to 'the numbers' in wrapping up, but I liked it, it was better than you'd expect. There is a bike chase sequence where I would've chosen subtly different shots, but the Director is quite good overall. Also, for Brits, look out for the Irish-accented supporting role by a star of the British "Shameless"! For Americans, for Brits, for soccer fans world-wide, watch this film. It's pretty great overall, given it's modest budget of $20 million - they got a lot for their money. May Dave Bautista do more British productions...

Action films are often a bit far-fetched, but are we really supposed to believe that West Ham reached the European Cup Semi Final?

A British-American action thriller; A story about an ex-soldier who has to employ all his skills to try and rescue his kidnapped niece and help foil a plan by the kidnappers for mass destruction. This is a fun, noisy, brash, muscular action flick that bears some resemblance to the film 'Die Hard.' Bautista looks comfortable in his avuncular role; the sentimental moments work nicely. He looks easily capable of taking on the terrorists so the tension doesn't run high. It has a fairly predictable storyline, over-choreographed fighting scenes, and clichéd dialogue at times, but it is a handsome production - the villains' audacious plot and their unrelenting menace make the clock run down pleasingly.

For action fans it's a winner. Hot pacing and action. No "Arty-farty" plot. Just straight up no mixer. No goofy politics. Just good vs bad. And lots of action.

Enjouy.