Film Review: ‘Last Bullet’ Caps Off an Incredible Trilogy of Action Films

Maybe Netflix wasn’t a mistake after all when one watches Guillaume Pierret’s final entry in his Lost Bullet trilogy, with the jaw-dropping Last Bullet. Could it have been made with the aid of another studio? Probably not, so we have to theoretically be grateful for the streamer’s existence in bringing Pierret’s vision to life. Not only is the final installment a textured character piece with a greater focus on developing its central antagonist, Areski (Nicolas Devauchelle), the film is also one of the decade’s very best action pictures, with a climax so exhilarating it could make you shed a few tears, as one watches a Mad Max-esque setpiece within the lush landscapes of the French countryside. If that’s not your jam, perhaps you need to have a bit more fun.

Before that, though, Pierret stages an opening setpiece where Areski, still on the run from Charas’ (Ramzy Bedia) murder in the first movie, is hunted down by Alexander Resz’s (Gérard Lanvin) troops in Germany. Resz is the most corrupt of all police commissioners, running a secretive drug smuggling operation right under the department’s nose, and is vying for a top position to further his reach. After Areski survives a death-defying car/motorcyle chase that ends with one of the bad guys’ bodies crushed within the inside of a moving truck, followed by a grenade blowing up another horde of baddies in a subsequent culmination of an effectively tactile knife fight, he returns to France in the hopes of gaining immunity if he testifies against Resz, which will allow him to regain the life he lost after doing something he still regrets. 

Of course, Resz wants to tie up all loose ends connecting Charas’ murder to him. In doing so, he sends out his second-in-command, Yuri (Quentin D’Hainaut), to kill Areski. Yuri, whose physicality recalls the late Ray Stevenson as Frank Castle in Lexi Alexander’s Punisher: War Zone, is a relentless killing machine who will stop at nothing to eliminate Areski and serve his boss’s needs, hoping something even more fruitful (financially) will come out of this. Because of this, police commissioner Moss (Pascale Arbillot) tasks protagonists Lino (Alban Lenoir) and Julia (Stéfi Celma) to protect the man who killed their mentor. 

It, of course, brings about complex feelings, especially during a bare-knuckled fight scene inside a moving train, initially with Areski fighting off Yuri, until Lino joins in on the fray and turns that tension-fueled nightmare into a piece of slapstick comedy. But that’s how Pierret operates, as a genre filmmaker in complete control of his story and malleable action, knowing when to be a little goofy and when to add drama to the proceedings. Each action scene, whether a one-on-one fight or an over-the-top car chase, is intricately choreographed and shot, with a striking focus on natural environments giving a tangible feeling to Jean-Baptiste Jay’s gorgeous cinematography. 

The stuntwork is staggering, and there’s real intent in elevating the stakes through how the characters operate within each setpiece. Their emotions are conveyed with their fists, or cars, especially when the mission of protecting Areski becomes decidedly personal for anyone with a target on their back, notably Moss, who thinks she has no choice in helping Resz win, when, in actuality, could’ve rose up to the occasion of exposing him for good. Action is emotion, and Pierret illustrates this directly, especially during that tram fight, where Lino’s feelings towards Areski get the better of him, until they realize a bigger threat is at play, and they must work together to stop it.

The final sequence, giving the entirety of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga a run for its money, is a real morceau de bravoure, as one would say in French. As Resz closes in on Julia and Areski, Lino tells the group, “I’ll be discreet. You won’t notice I’m here,” as he is set to take down the fleet pursuing Areski, on his way to testify. Lino, ever the most subtle and quiet person in the room, arrives on the road with a bright yellow Dodge RAM, shooting multiple fireworks out of a cannon to subdue helicopters in the sky, and eventually destroy the cars chasing them. 

It’s, as the kids say, peak cinema. The practical action and environments are a joy to observe when it’s so well-mounted and invigorating. The feeling one gets when seeing this on display is as epic as action movies get. What more could you ask for in a series whose action sequences have progressively gone bigger in scale, but always keeps its focus on the intimate character work Pierret smartly develops throughout his three installments? That’s the most surprising thing about the Lost Bullet series. It could’ve undoubtedly been a mindless action trilogy, emphasizing large-scale spectacle that stimulates the senses, but leaves strong character work to the wayside.

Yet, Pierret finds the balance in imbuing each action scene with as much emotional potency as possible, whether through flashbacks of Areski’s past, or in making us understand the perpetual pain Lino has been feeling since the death of Charas. Every setpiece gets elevated by the rock-solid performances Lenoir and his fellow actors give. Their turns are nuanced and profoundly human, ultimately making us attached to their plight as the series progresses. Perhaps this installment is less emotional than the second one, but how Pierret develops his characters is still second-to-none, especially when his cast is game for anything. 

With Christian Gudegast’s Den of Thieves franchise, rarely have we seen such impeccable character work done that beautifully complements its relentless action. It cements Pierret as a singular talent within French action cinema, but it has also solidified the Lost Bullet trilogy as one of the best action franchises of the decade.

Unfortunately, because it seemingly acts as another cog in the Netflix algorithm, most people have never heard of this series. It could be the streamer’s best-kept secret, because once you enter the world of Lost Bullet, you would hope Pierret would make fifteen more of these. However, as a conclusion, one can’t ask for anything better than what we have on screen, redefining the emotional catharsis of action cinema, one car explosion at a time.

SCORE: ★★★★