Last Bullet – Showdown der Auftragskiller (2012)

Last Bullet – Showdown der Auftragskiller: Directed by William Kaufman. With Cuba Gooding Jr., Dolph Lundgren, Claudia Bassols, Andrew Bicknell. A seasoned assassin plays both sides in a Russian gang war and becomes the target of an unknown enemy.

“One in the Chamber was directed by William Kaufman, written by Benjamin Shahrabani and Derek Kolstad, and stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Dolph Lundgren, Louis Mandylor, Andrew Bicknell, Leo Gregory, Claudia Bassols, and Billy Murray. Itu0026#39;s about a hitman attempting to evade another hitman after a job sets off a battle between crime families.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe Plot: Kolstad has come a long way in a short time. From cowriting generic fare like this to John Wick and Nobody. One in the Chamberu0026#39;s plot isnu0026#39;t terrible, it just isnu0026#39;t special in its frequent usage of action movie tropes without adding any personal spin to them. Ray (Gooding Jr.) has reluctantly taken on a hit in Prague, of course, for heads of the Suverov crime family Mikhail (Bicknell) and Bobby (Gregory) to wipe out the Tavanian family, headed by Vlad and Demyan (Mandylor). Of course the dispute is over a drug proposition, with the Tavanian family overstepping their bounds, why wouldnu0026#39;t it be? Ray kills Vlad in the hit, but not Demyan, who escapes and hires Ray through his handler Leo (Murray) to retaliate while the Suverovs sends the Wolf (Lundgren) who uses anything he can, including Janice (Bassols), a love interest, after Ray. Thatu0026#39;s about it for the plot, which is smartly (and thankfully) not stretched to be some kind of epic, but still couldu0026#39;ve used more meat on the bones. Some betrayals, some grander scheme, some different scenes that arenu0026#39;t used in nearly every modern DTV action movie. Thereu0026#39;s a flashback to an unethical kill, a handful of threatening phone calls, the whole drug-based motivations for the families, and not much else. Everything is merely functional, as though designed by an algorithm to satiate action appetites.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe Characters: One in the Chamber is one of those movies where the bad guy is more entertaining than the good guy, itu0026#39;s the Wolf (Aleksey, in actuality) who holds the movie together by his sheer disregard for all social standards and professional behavior, as well as the most casual attire ever seen on a gun-for-hire. Ray is another one of those reluctant hero types, his defining characteristic is that heu0026#39;s a reader and quoter of Biblical scripture, but thatu0026#39;s a trait thatu0026#39;s only used as dressing and never comes up in any significant manner. He does, however, have an appreciable insecurity in his approach to women in that he never talks with Janice for too long, even after coming to her aid. Itu0026#39;s not much and the relationship is generic as most other things here and quickly becomes a savior and damsel situation but that little quirk helps liven a couple scenes. The crime families are as cliché as they come. War veterans who came back and went bad for the money, doing whatever pays them the most while maintaining a fair business relationship in the city. Demyan is more spiteful than the average bad guy but thatu0026#39;s not enough to make him memorable. Gooding Jr. Is fine here and Mandylor is good, as are the supporting cast, but this movie belongs to Lundgren who oozes smugness and enthusiasm as Aleksey. Heu0026#39;s having fun but dials his performance in when necessary. Heu0026#39;s become a very good actor as time has passed.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe Action: Itu0026#39;s most likely down to the low budget, as Kolstad isnu0026#39;t one to skimp on spectacular action scenes by choice; or maybe that comes from Shahrabaniu0026#39;s input. Either way, One in the Chamber doesnu0026#39;t have that much action and most of what is provided is sourced from Ray sitting in a chair firing a sniper rifle or assault rifle with a scope on it into a crowd of bad guys from a safe distance. Thereu0026#39;s some good sound design and foley work done for his weapons of choice but the outcome is all too familiar. Lots of shot-reverse shot sequences of Ray shooting and Czech enforcers falling over with the occasional spurt of blood. Alekseyu0026#39;s action scenes arenu0026#39;t much better as far as the action itself goes, but his character elevates them with his nonchalance about his work. He counts his targets and estimates the number of rounds heu0026#39;ll have left in his guns and stands in disbelief when Mikhail tortures one of the characters. It makes his scenes a lot of fun. When he and Ray are fighting each other the movie does pick up by quite a bit but those encounters are few and far between. Still, Lundgrenu0026#39;s scenes are worth seeking out.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe Technics: Eastern European countries offer tax benefits for film productions, hence the numerous movies that have been at least partially shot in the region over the past two decades. Those production values are present in this movie and help give it a grander look and feel, but that feeling is nothing that hasnu0026#39;t been felt before in a laundry list of other action movies. Camerawork in One in the Chamber is better than a chunk of its peers thanks to having talent behind the camera and a lot in front of it. Almost any movie with Lundgren has a few decent fights. The 91-minute runtime can drag at a couple points but that comes from the lackluster writing and characters. A decent score or a slightly tighter edit couldu0026#39;ve aided the movie but itu0026#39;s the lack of impressive action or any personal touches (that arenu0026#39;t from Lundgren) that damns the movie to the back of the vieweru0026#39;s mind.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLundgren owns One in the Chamber. After having played at least four other Russian characters heu0026#39;s nailed the role. Itu0026#39;s not a memorable movie by any stretch, proved by the workmanlike story, characters, and action; but it can pass the time.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e54/100.”