The Only Crime Here is This Movie!

Introduction

The Last Days of American Crime is a 2020 crime thriller adapted from the 2009 graphic crime novel by Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini. The film was directed by Olivier Megaton, who previously worked on the last two Taken movies.

Setting and Plot

I have a question for you all. What would you do if you had only a few days of freedom left before your ability to choose gets taken away by your country? In the case of our moody protagonist Bricke and his band of socially confused thieves, they want to pull off one last grand heist and leave the country before everything goes south.

In the world of The Last Days of American Crime, the American government has engineered a high-frequency signal that can target and debilitate criminals in the act.

While the plot does have a very intriguing premise, it suffers from a severe and probably incurable case of style over substance. This film could best be described as that one edgy kid in school with eyeliner who cuts his wrists with a ruler for attention.

The film’s proposed method of subjugating the populace sounds absurd. However, if the writers spent more time world-building and less time making everyone excessively gritty, we could have had a tolerable film. Half the garbage that sprouts out of these characters’ mouths is impossible to take seriously. Also, what is up with this year and dingey bathroom sex sequences? It did not work for Spenser Confidential, and it sure doesn’t work here.

Another problem with this movie is that it is incredibly chunky, but a lot of it is just fluff. There is a police officer, portrayed by Sharlto Copley, who contributes absolutely nothing to the narrative. Yet, he still manages to get his very own B-plot centred around his perspective as a cop.

While the film sports a miserable 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, it does admittedly have a few good moments. The cinematography for this film is relatively decent. Surprising, coming from the people who destroyed the Taken franchise with the most incoherent fence climbing footage ever to be released in cinema. It also has some genuinely good action sequences, which kept me engaged throughout the film’s two and half hour runtime. Those moments revolving around Michael Pitt’s character stand out a lot more due to his intense overacting.

Characters and Performances

As for everyone’s overall performances, it feels like Megaton pointed a gun at a puppy and forced the actors to entertain, as we get a plethora of uninspiring portrayals and cringe-worthy lines.

Graham Bricke, portrayed by Édgar Ramírez, is a former gang leader and bank robber with all the dull character attributes of an actual brick. Bricke’s brooding takes a lot of the energy away from the film. To make matters worse, Édgar Ramírez’s mediocre underacting has him overshadowed by almost everyone on set, and the worst part is they are all just as dull.

Then we have Kevin Cash, portrayed by Michael Pitt, the extreme polar opposite of Bricke’s lack of personality. Honestly, he is probably my favourite character in the film, and that is not saying much. Pitt’s overacting is what you get if you manage to give Nicholas Cage heavy doses of cocaine and let him run wild on set.

Michael’s character manages to gel well with the rest of his supporting cast, especially with his father (Patrick Bergin) and sister (Leandie du Randt) and even manages to throw me (and Bricke) out of the loop while watching his family’s bizarre argument. I have to admit, Kevin does have a bit too much chemistry with his sister, making me question whether he has a normal platonic relationship with her.

Then we have Shelby Dupree, a part-time hacker and fiancée to Kevin Cash, and a full-time femme fatale and love interest for our hero, Bricke. Anna Brewster’s character feels reminiscent of Uma Thurman’s role of Mia Wallace from Pulp Fiction with the sexy level dialled up to one hundred. However, Shelby also seems to be suffering from a severe case of underacting disorder, as everything she says comes out as lifeless and bland.

Conclusion

Megaton’s Last Days of American Crime is not as bad as how everyone says it is. In many aspects, like world-building and character performances, it is quite the stinker. However, the action sequences do provide some leverage.

That said, I don’t think I can recommend this film wholeheartedly without a nervous tick from here onward. So, if you are interested in watching a good crime flick, I suggest checking out either 2000’s Snatch starring Jason Statham or Pulp Fiction by the legendary Tarantino.