THE LAST BOY SCOUT (4K): Quintessential Bruce

THE LAST BOY SCOUT (4K UHD)

Also available on Blu-ray

1991 / 105 min

Arrow Video

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Baller😺

In many ways, The Last Boy Scout is the quintessential Bruce Willis vehicle. That’s not to say it was ever one of his best films…far from it. Looking back at it over three decades later, it’s obvious everyone involved had the sole intention of cranking out a flashy, high concept blockbuster. And coming off a string of flops at the time, Willis certainly needed one. 

So why not shape another action film around his quasi-comedic persona, which made Die Hard so memorable? And why not pair him with a currently hot comedian (Damon Wayans)? And why not enlist the services of Tony Scott, the Michael Bay of his day? And why not use the latest screenplay by Shane Black, who certainly knows his buddy comedies? How could it miss?

I suppose it didn't miss, doing okay in theaters but becoming absolutely huge on home video. And I can kinda see why. Big, loud, violent and expertly assembled to pander to fans of that stuff, The Last Boy Scout has always been the movie equivalent of comfort food, the kind of lunkheaded boomfest you pop into your player when you can’t think of anything else to watch. I, myself, have owned the thing in every format, even though it has never been what I consider a great film.

Kinda makes 'Deflategate' seem trivial, doesn't it?

What can I say? Burned-out private detective Joe Hallenbeck (Willis) and ex-quarterback Jimmy Dix are funny together and display a lot of chemistry, even if their quips and comebacks are almost too clever and rapid-fire at times. And God knows the bloodshed, gunplay, car crashes and kaboom gleefully cross the line of plausibility at every turn, but it’s sure fun to watch…and may even be a little cathartic. As usual, Scott and his cohorts display admirable slight-of-hand by glossing over the ridiculous story with enough flash, hyper-editing and dizzying camerawork to make everyone think they’re watching a more substantial movie than it really is.

But who cares? I love empty calories as much as the next junk-food junkie. As Bruce Willis vehicles go, I probably revisit this one more often than any other movie that doesn't have Die Hard in the title. Each time, it gets a little sillier, a little more archaic and a lot more vulnerable to scrutiny. The Last Boy Scout is ultimately as dumb as shooting your way to the endzone, but there are a lotta guys on both sides of the camera working on all thrusters to showcase Bruce at his Bruciest.

All those fans who made the film a latent cult classic will certainly appreciate what Arrow Video has put together for its 4K release. The overall picture quality is excellent, and a big improvement over the old Warner Bros. Blu-ray. There are also three audio options, the original (restored) stereo track, a DTS-HD 5.1 track and Dolby Atmos, the latter of which is new. Finally, there’s a great selection of new bonus features (listed below), the best being interviews with screenwriter Shane Black and child-actor-turned-scream-queen Danielle Harris. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

NOTE: Free Kittens Movie Guide was provided with a promo disc for review purposes. Physical supplemental material included with the final product (booklets, artwork, inserts, etc) were not available for review. 

INTERVIEWS - All new individual interviews with screenwriter Shane Black and actor Danielle Harris. Both are very entertaining.

THE ART OF TONY SCOTT is an appreciation by author/historian Stephanie Moissakis.

SHANE BLACK AT THE AMERICAN CINEMATEQUE is an on-stage interview/discussion between Black and historian Jim Hemphill. Filmed in 2025.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By critics Josh Nelson and Martyn Pedler.

EXTENDED/ALTERNATE SCENES

2 TRAILERS

2 IMAGE GALLERIES

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - This actually features two drafts of the screenplay.

DOMINO: The Same Old Sound And Fury

DOMINO (Blu-ray)

2005 / 128 min

From Warner Bros.

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Bounty Hunter😼

Back in the 1980s, I was briefly into hair metal like WASP, thinking they were the coolest band on the planet. As I grew older, my love of heavy metal never really changed, but I eventually concluded that WASP’s dangerous appearance, over-the-top performances and shock-rock lyrics was all surface gloss that made them seem like a better band than they ever really were.

Similarly, I first watched 2005’s Domino in a theater, where I was bombarded by relentless sound & fury, style-to-burn, an all-star cast, supercool characters and (of course) enough hyperkinetic kaboom for three movies. It certainly wasn’t the only one to emphasize style over story, nor was it director Tony Scott’s lone foray into chest-pounding excess (he was Michael Bay before anyone had ever even heard of Michael Bay). Since I thought this kind of stuff was great, Domino earned my enthusiastic stamp of approval.

But times change and so do most people. I’m older & wiser now (though I wouldn’t put that last one to a vote), so while I still love a great action thriller - even dumb ones - I’ve grown less enamored with those that play like two-hour music videos. Domino’s dizzying camerawork, caffeine-jitters editing and sinus-clearing score mask its overall emptiness. Even periodic attempts at symbolism are mostly superfluous and shallow, not unlike the “serious” phase of WASP’s career, though the songs were basically the same.

"That wasn't me."

Kiera Knightly plays the title character, a real life model-turned-bounty hunter and the daughter of actor Laurence Harvey. She hooks up with mentor Ed Moseby (Mickey Rourke) and his team to track down lowlifes on the instructions of bondsman Claremont Williams (Delroy Lindo). That’s about the extent that the film is “based on a true story.” The rest is a convoluted plot created to bridge various action sequences, all of which are loud, violent exercises in visual bombast. The protagonists, including Domino herself, are all amalgams of antiheroes we’ve seen in plenty of other action flicks, meaning they look cool, dress cool and keep cool under barrages of gunfire.

I’m making it sound like the movie hasn’t aged well, when in fact it’s me who has done all the aging. Domino is the same brash, fast-paced, intellectually-undemanding batch of action eye candy it’s always been and certainly indicative of Tony Scott in his prime. I guess two hours of visual & sonic fireworks with no substance behind it just doesn’t rock me like it used to. Kind of like WASP.

This is a re-issue of a Blu-ray originally released in 2009.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - I Am a Bounty Hunter: Domino Harvey’s Life is a decent 20 minute documentary, featuring interviews with the real thing; Bounty Hunting on Acid: Tony Scott’s Visual Style is accurately named.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By director Tony Scott and screenwriter Richard Kelly.

ALTERNATE AUDIO TRACK - Sort of like a commentary track, this features director Tony Scott, screenwriter Richard Kelly, exec producer Zach Schiff-Abrams and actor/musician Tom Waits (not sure why he’s included…he’s only in the damn thing for a couple of minutes).

DELETED SCENES

TRAILERS