The Last Mercenary is a French action-comedy from director, David Charhon, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Ismaël Sy Savané. The film follows Archie (Samir Decazza), a young man who is falsely accused of weapons and drug trafficking when his identity gets stolen by the actual villain, a Scarface obsessed Simyon Novak (Nassim Lyes). Archie’s father figure, Fernand (Michel Crémadès) dies, leaving him on his own, but soon his real father, the secret agent, Richard Brumère (Jean-Claude Van Damme), returns to help him clear his name, keep him away from the authorities, and track down the bad guy with the help of Archie’s friends, Dalila (Assa Sylla), Momo (Djimo), and the clueless bureaucrat from Paris’ foreign affairs office, Alexandre (Alban Ivano), who unwittingly launched the manhunt by removing Archie’s immunity status.
I don’t know how everyone else feels about this, but I think Van Damme’s general on-screen presence has become better and more fine-tuned with age. There was a point he crossed following his self-aware 2008 film, JCVD, that marks a turning point in his career that has allowed him to really experiment with the kind of films he makes, and how they play with his legacy and persona with projects like the recent (and by recent, I mean almost a decade ago) Universal Soldier films, Regeneration and Day Of Reckoning, and the sadly short-lived comedy series, Jean-Claude Van Johnson. Basically, he’s at a point where he can do whatever, and it’s resulted in some pretty cool stuff.
His new film, The Last Mercenary, definitely leans on the cool factor that he brings to the overall vibe of the film. It’s clear that he’s having fun here, so we’re having fun right alongside him. While the action isn’t necessarily the most inventive or fresh, it’s serviceable in pushing the story and the general chaos further along. Though, there are some highlights, such as an early car chase where he and his son try to escape the police, and some of the hand-to-hand fights in the third act. It’s not particularly brutal, the film is fairly light in its nature, so it instead pushes the comedy within the choreography, which the stunt team do a solid job with.
The humor is for the most part rather effective, even if it can be a little too French for my taste. It helps that the characters are drawn in ways that are amusing and they manage to bring some personality to the proceedings that keeps the fun mood going, even if they aren’t the most deep characters. When it does get more introspective, it is usually with the moments between Richard and Archie. Charhon plays with their dynamic really well, exploring the idea of a father who has not been involved in his own son’s life, and the boy feeling a bit resentful of that as a result. Yeah, it’s hardly the most incisive or original thing ever, but does give the film a core that you can connect with in the middle of all the over-the-top action.
The only problem that I had with The Last Mercenary is the fact that it can get convoluted at times. David Charhon is balancing a lot of moving parts, from the father-son stuff, to the mission to stop the bad guy, to meeting allies who may or may not be trusted, to corrupt officials in the government who are in cahoots with the villain, and a couple twists and turns on top of all that. There’s a lot going on, and a lot to process, and not all of it immediately clicks together. Sometimes it took me a minute to fully connect what the heroes’ plans are, and how they are supposed to work. I wouldn’t call it a deal breaker though, as I generally had a pretty good time with the film. I love the energy that Jean-Claude Van Damme brings to the story, and the way he bounces off his younger co-stars. That’s where the real fun of the film is, and when it stuck with that and the action sequences, it was good. It’s not my favorite of some of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s recent work, but it’s a perfectly fun and enjoyable way to kill time.
The Last Mercenary is now available to watch on Netflix.