Not too long ago, we had Skyscraper, a big budget actioner that evoked the Die Hard knock-offs that swept the action genre throughout the 90s. That tradition continues with Final Score, the latest action film from Scott Mann, who previously helmed low budget action films such as The Tournament and Heist. It’s written by David T. Lynch, Keith Lynch, and Jonathan Frank, and it follows Michael (Dave Bautista), a former soldier who is on another one of his visits to his niece in London, and decides to take her to a local soccer (um, sorry, football) match where West Hampton United is playing. Unfortunately, he came to the wrong game because it’s quickly – and unbeknownst to the audience – taken over by Russian terrorists, and they have the stadium set to explode if they don’t find the person they’re looking for. Of course, Michael ends up in their way, and is forced to fight his way through the siege, all while keeping his niece safe.
So, it’s less a full blown Die Hard knock-off, and more like a riff on the very enjoyable 1995 Jean-Claude Van Damme film, Sudden Death, which dealt with a similar set-up, but at the NHL Stanley Cup finals. But hey, originality is quite literally not this sub-genre’s strong suit. At the end of the day, it’s all about execution, and Final Score is a total blast, not just because it’s a fun action movie, but in that it gets most of the things right in capturing what made Die Hard a success.
This one starts with a similar problem that Skyscraper had in that it stars an intimidatingly muscular wrestling star, but the film is quick to throw some blue collar ticks that allows him to ground the character beyond his physicality. He is a warm presence, soft-spoken, we’re introduced to him not being particularly fond of hearing soccer through the radio, while moments later inviting his niece to the big game because he wants to build the relationship that she would’ve had with her father had he not died in combat beside Michael years ago. That feeling of guilt and remorse, along with that of his rebellious niece, Danni (Lara Peake), provides a solid emotional throughline that endears you to the characters and root for them during the chaos. It also helps that there’s a fun comic relief character in Faisal (Amit Shah), an usher who ends up helping Michael in his efforts to save everyone.
In terms of the villains, we get a solid colorful cast of characters. The group is led by Arkady (Ray Stevenson), a Russian revolutionary in search of his brother, Dimitri (Pierce Brosnan). Stevenson has a delightfully over-the-top accent and a real don’t-mess-with-me attitude that adds some real stakes to the violence. He also has some neat underlings, each of whom are distinct enough to make an impression, the highlight being Tatiana (Alexandra Dinu), who soon aims her target at Michael after he kills her lover in an early fight scene.
Speaking of, the action in Final Score is very satisfying. It’s messy, it’s brutal, and there are some gnarly deaths. It definitely takes advantage of its R-rating, but doesn’t go too gratuitous with it. And as I mentioned before, it knows to kick his hero as often as it can, and pull him two steps backward right as he makes one step forward. Nobody is treated special here, especially Michael, who is cut, stabbed, beaten, and even burnt at one point. There are three really strong setpieces, one is quick brawl in an elevator, a really killer kitchen fight, and a great motorcycle chase inside the halls of the stadium. The stunt team and make-up crew really shines here, and their work elevated the film enough to stand out among various other action films of its ilk.
Final Score might seem like a middling action movie that relies on a lot of the tropes you’ve seen many times before, but it’s a film that gets right what so many often miss out on, and a lot of it is really just the fundamentals. It has a central hero that is worth rooting for, and it’s carried effortlessly by Dave Bautista, using his charisma to maximum effect. It’s got a good villain that sets the stakes high and personal. It’s got some really well executed action sequences. And it’s able to pull all this off in a way that evokes a type of action film from a bygone era without feeling the need to wink at the audience or act as empty pastiche. Scott Mann shows that he really knows how to milk a location for all its worth, and Bautista continues to show that he’s the real deal. The film may not be groundbreaking work, but it totally delivers.