[wp-review id=”84896″]
One night in 2003 at Sal Nealon’s bar, a man who is passing through comes in for a drink. He gets to talking with the owner and the man reveals that he knows Sal from Vietnam. His name is Larry “Doc” Shepard and he was in prison after his dishonorable discharge from service. He is there to have Sal come with him to get another friend from Nam named Richard Mueller. Mueller is a pastor and has changed a lot since their days of service. The reason why Doc is getting a few friends from the old day is because his son, Larry, was recently killed in Iraq and he needs to go get his body for a service.
Richard Linklater who is best known for films such as BOYHOOD and DAZED AND CONFUSED directs LAST FLAG FLYING. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Darryl Ponicsan for this very touching film. It’s based on a sequel novel from decades ago about the three characters but was changed slightly for this film.
The cast is incredible and it just goes to show the range the three actors have. Steve Carell has shown audiences everywhere that the man is a chameleon when it comes to the characters he has portrayed. He also has the ability to make those characters memorable and that really is a gift. In this, the sadness he has feels so genuine that it’s hard to not feel it in some way. Bryan Cranston has always impressed me from the days of SEINFELD and the BREAKING BAD. He evolved immensely in that show from a timid chemistry teacher to one of the underworld’s bad asses. In this, he is that hard ass who never opens up to anyone but these guys have been through something and he knows he can trust them. Laurence Fishburne has always played characters with strong personalities and this role suits him completely. He is a pastor who has become spiritual with a past that he has long forgotten and seeing these two has done two things: he sees that maybe he can help them and be a true friend to someone in need.
Cast
Steve Carell – Larry “Doc” Shepherd
Bryan Cranston – Sal Nealon
Laurence Fishburne – Richard Mueller
J. Quinton Johnson – Charlie Washington
Richard Robichaux – Anorak
Lee Harrington – Jamie
VIDEO QUALITY:
The video is a 1080p AVC presentation and the transfer looks excellent. Every image on screen is crisp and has sharpness that most of the films out of Amazon Studios has released. Certain things like clothing and hair look like individual strands and incredibly lifelike. The movie itself has a colder overtone aside from some indoor scenes that are purposely supposed to look warm and inviting. Some of the colors like in the American flag pop with brilliance.
AUDIO QUALITY:
The audio is a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 that doesn’t get too heavy into any LFEs at all. Some of the music and effects from the vehicles add some depth to the scenes. The scenes in the city come alive with ambient sounds and cars going by. The echoing inside of the Dover AFB and the church create some excellent surround sound placement. This is very dialogue heavy and the voices are clear as well as natural from the center speakers.
SUPPLEMENTS & PACKAGING
-An Unexpected Journey: Making LAST FLAG FLYING: This featurette speaks with the cast and crew about the making of the movie.
-Veterans Day: This is a really nice little extra with the cast being asked what Veterans Day means to them and shooting one of the hardest scenes on the holiday.
-Outtakes
-Deleted Scenes
Disc Details
1 Blu-ray Disc
Digital Copy
Running Time
124 mins
Edition Ratings
Rated R
Region Coding
Region A
Video Resolution
1080p AVC MPEG-4
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio Mixes
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles
English SDH
THE BOTTOM LINE:
I love this movie. The acting, the casting, and the writing all come together for a real sleeper. I have always been a fan of Linklater’s and he has always put his all into his films. This is an important film because unlike a lot of the war-related movies where you see the action and death on the battlefield, this one shows the effects on the families as well as the people who have been trying to forget what has happened to them personally. It comforting to see the support that Doc gets from these old friends from decades ago but heartbreaking to hear what has happened to him. The Blu-ray looks superb and the audio does a decent job as well. This is a movie that, no matter your tastes, I highly recommend picking up.
