The Last Boy Scout

Plot synopsis:
During halftime at a televised football game, L.A. Stallions running back Billy Cole receives a phone call from a mysterious man named Milo, warning him to win the game or he's "history". Cole ingests PCP and, in a drug-induced rage, brings a gun onto the field, shooting three opposing players to reach to the end zone. Cole then shoots himself in the head. Meanwhile, private investigator Joseph Hallenbeck discovers that his wife Sarah is having an affair with his best friend, Mike Matthews. Mike gives Joe an assignment to act as bodyguard for a stripper named Cory. Afterwards, Mike is killed by a car bomb outside Joe's house.
Joe is approached by Cory's boyfriend, former Stallions quarterback Jimmy Dix, who was banned from the league on gambling charges and alleged drug abuse. After an argument where Joe and Jimmy scuffle, an annoyed Jimmy takes Cory from the stage while she is performing. Joe plans to wait outside, where he is knocked out by a team of hitmen. Jimmy and Cory leave the bar in separate cars while Joe is left to dispatch one of the hitmen. When Cory is struck from behind and stops to confront the other driver, she is killed by the hitmen. Jimmy is fired upon and pinned down, but is saved by Joe.
At Cory's house, Jimmy and Joe find a taped phone conversation between Senator Calvin Baynard, who is leading a congressional investigation into gambling in sports, and Stallions owner Shelly Marcone. When the tape is ruined in Joe's faulty car stereo, Jimmy realizes that Cory tried using the tape against Marcone to put Jimmy back on the team, prompting Marcone to send the hitmen. Joe saves Jimmy from a second car bomb, and manages to trick two hitmen into blowing themselves up. However, the explosion destroys the remaining evidence.
Joe reveals to Jimmy that when he was in the Secret Service, he witnessed Baynard torturing a woman in a hotel room and assaulted him to make him stop. Baynard retaliated by having Joe fired from the Secret Service for refusing to cover up the incident. At Joe's house, Jimmy meets Joe's abrasive daughter Darian. When Joe catches Jimmy attempting to use illegal painkillers in the bathroom, Joe kicks him out. As Jimmy leaves, Darian asks him to sign a football trading card, stating that Joe was a fan of Jimmy's and never watched another game after he was banned from the league. He leaves her with the signed card, "To the daughter of the last Boy Scout."
Upon learning of Mike's affair with Sarah, the police assume Joe killed him and move to arrest him. But Milo, Marcone's top henchman, captures Joe first and shoots an officer using Joe's gun. Marcone explains to Joe that he has been buying Senate votes to legalize sports gambling, but that Baynard tried to blackmail Marcone for $6 million. Being aware of Joe's history with Baynard, Marcone explains it would be cheaper to kill the senator and frame Joe for the murder. Joe is forced to hand a briefcase full of money to Baynard's bodyguards, who switched it with a wired briefcase. Joe is rescued by Jimmy and Darian, and acquires both briefcases after running the bodyguards and Milo off the road. However, Milo survives and kidnaps Darian after Joe leaves her to wait for the police.
Heading to the stadium to save Darian, they are caught and brought to Marcone's office. Jimmy creates a diversion, allowing them to fight their way free. Knowing Milo will attempt to shoot Baynard, Joe goes after Milo while sending Jimmy to warn the senator. Grabbing the game ball, Jimmy throws it at Baynard, knocking him down just as Milo starts shooting. Joe knocks Milo to the edge of the stadium light platform, where police shoot him several times. The suitcase of money is recovered and the fleeing Marcone, having escaped with the rigged briefcase, is killed when he opens it at his house. The next day, Joe and Sarah reconcile, and Joe and Jimmy decide to become partners.

Tags: comedy, neo noir, murder, cult, revenge, violence, flashback, humor, suspenseful, entertaining

Review:
Now there are so many special effects in the current action films that it drowns out what used to be the great style of a "popcorn flick".Die Hard paved the way for these type of movies, and some of the offspring of this did well and did not.
What follows is typically Tony Scott  accentuated action, male bonding and loads of violent, gruesome deaths followed by outbursts of comic one-liners.Written by Shane Black (Lethal Weapon) and directed by Scott (Top Gun), Last Boy Scout works thanks to Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans.
Villains are referred to consistently as "the bad guys." Loads of genre clichés are fooled with, spun into jokes  the car chases and action sequences become satirical in nature, whilst the personal life of Hallenbeck  something that might normally be sugar-coated in another genre film  is totally f***ed up, leaving us with a pre-teen daughter who uses profanity like it's going out of style, a cheating wife, and a weary father who stopped giving a crap about it all a long time ago.It's the stuff like this that makes Last Boy Scout succeed past its own sources.
And some of the funniest dialogue you'll ever hear.Bruce Willis was made for this kind of movie, and his shambolic, wise-cracking Joe Hallenbeck is easily his best creation since John McClane.
Damon Wayans is no Danny Glover or Sam Jackson, but there is a definite chemistry with Bruce Willis, and you can really tell on screen how much fun they're having during the shoot.The Last Boy Scout is everything a male action enthusiast can desire: there's enough wit to last three movies and the action is generously displayed by Tony Scott on screen.
The acting of the supporting cast may not be top notch but then again, that wasn't the case for the Lethal Weapon films and they managed to entertain me for four editions.The villains are hilariously dorky but that's part of the fun of watching these 'old' action movies.
With Valentine's Day just past, let me warn the three guys who haven't seen this film yet, that it probably isn't the best one to sit back and watch with your wife/girlfriend/incognito lover during a romantic night at home, as the four dominating elements of the film are; football, crude and explicit buddy jokes, testosterone fueled bloody violence, and women (either trashy strippers or cheating wives, of course) getting shot dead and/or verbally abused at length.
OK, it's been a long time (20 years!) since this film came out...it's also probably the only Bruce Willis action film I hadn't seen and I always wondered why nothing ever really got me interested in it....To be honest, I thought Damon Waynes was the reason...I hate the "hey lets act like a moron" comedy so I thought it would be a horrible buddy cop thing...I never actually thought it was a football film.This reminds me of another Willis film I didn't like at all, Last Man Standing...it has a ton of profanity for no purpose other than to have it in an R rated film.
It doesn't make the film any better lets put it that way....2nd it's got over the top shooting and violence that isn't really edited in a way to make it cool...it's just the early 90's close-ups of machine guns and blood splatter and there's really no style or substance to it...its boring.3rd...the plot...it's really trying to be something deep and cool and different from other action movies and it ends up being too convoluted...it's confusing and not in a cool Inception way.
Finally the ending (don't worry, no spoilers) feels a lot like other Willis movies where the hidden gun and all the sarcastic humor come into play surrounded by bad guys...this type of thing works in Die Hard when there's 2 people and 1 guy isn't paying attention but this has maybe 8 and one has a shotgun pointed point blank at his chest and is the 3rd person to get shot...idkHonestly with 10 minutes to go I just turned it off...the best part in the entire movie is Halle Berry as a stripper but I don't even know if it was actually her or a body double...either way, I know now why I never bothered to watch this...it's horrible...for a Shane Blake written movie see Lethal Weapon or Kiss,Kiss,Bang,Bang...for a good Willis...um, well you know his stuff by now, close your eyes and pick one..
I normally miss most of the stuff he's in because he just doesn't give a damn about how bad a script is before he signs on, but sometimes I need a movie fix and there's nothing on but swill like this.I've always thought Willis looks a lot in some pictures like Dick Powell when Powell starred in those classic hard-boiled film noirs of the 40's and 50's such as Murder, My Sweet and Cry Danger.
A conspiracy of sorts in the world of sports is soon uncovered and action ensues.What makes this film stand out is the characters are surprisingly full of life: they have their problems at home, in their jobs, with their friends and Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans give very well acted performances it was basically a buddy action comedy.
Also the countless one-liners (priceless wit from screenwriter Shane Black) make for a very quotable movie and Tony Scott's high octane direction makes it exciting, and when mixed with the good performances and you've got yourself a classic.
This movie was just excellent!Bruce Willis stars as this cynical and smart detective who has had a rough family life and Damon Wayans stars as an ex-football star.
There is action from start to finish with car chases, explosions, great baddies, and lots of shooting, which lead up to a suitably climactic ending.The witty script and fantastic one liners lift this film above others.
Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans team up in this buddy action flick which is all the better thanks to Shane Black's witty and dark script.Back when explosions were cool, action heroes were badass and one liners were clever and hilarious.Bruce Willis is Joe Hallenbeck, a dark and cynical private detective who has a sarcastic comment for any insult that comes his way.
Like I said the action is rather good, but what really makes this one is the rather dark edged humor as there is a funny scene where Bruce basically tells a guy he is going to kill a guy who hits him.
(1982, another film produced by Joel Silver) and bits of Lethal Weapon (1987, another film written by Shane Black and produced by Silver).Bruce Willis plays Joe Hallenbeck, a former Secret Service agent turned private detective.
She is also an enthusiastic witness to the many gruesome and violent events that culminate in the film's brutal finale.Bruce Willis gives a solid performance, while showing remnants of John McClane from Die Hard (1988) and Damon Wayans gives a comic persona as Jimmy Dix. And Taylor Negron, who is the most despicable villain of all gives a chilling performance as one of the villains who has the annoying habit of calling people by their elongated names.Shane Black's screenplay is filled with funny and intelligent dialogue, a strong use of profanity and vulgarity and snappy one-liners, and director Tony Scott (who directed the terrible sequel, Beverly Hills Cop II [1987]) keeps the film at a dark pace, and surprises us by turning up the volume on car chases, death scenes, and gunshots.
The Last Boy Scout is not a typical sports movie about the edges and turns of pro football, but really about action and suspense all put into an awsome movie from producer Joel Silver (The Matrix, Swordfish) and director Tony Scott (Top Gun, Enemy of the State).Low-life Los Angeles crime detective Joe Hallenbeck (Bruce Willis) has been assigned to protect a showgirl named Cory (Halle Berry) who has apparently been recieving death threats from a serial killer.
Indeed, from the first death that occurs very early in the film, violence, both verbal and visual, starts a never-ending escalate of shock and gruesomeness and what saves the film from being another violent action flick is the combination of a fast-paced editing and a script so rich in priceless lines it manages to redeem it.In this bloody suburban hell, we never have time to question the violence or understand the plot, and whether both matter is clearly something that didn't torture Tony Scott, he had a movie full of action and clever lines, what else could be more important?
With its share of one-dimensional villains, innocent victims present at the wrong time and the wrong moment and wise guys about to get their comeuppances, the film is so exaggerated it rises above any rational attempt to get the story, the film clearly knows its limitations and manages to stick its head above the other classic action films, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone of Steven Seagal.I guess this enjoyment would have been absent if it wasn't for the lead character, Bruce Willis who plays here a detective named Joe Hallenbeck.
And leveraged by Willis' wisecracking talent "The Last Boy Scout" entertains both on the action and writing department, it might be all style but not all substance, and this is what differentiates the movie from any Steven Seagal flick, and when it comes to the action-movie genre, fun is almost a matter of life and death.The humor is omnipresent in "The Last Boy Scout", driven by the Bruce Willis-Damon Wayans duo, a dynamic that works because it's perfectly orchestrated by the two actors who play it with the right level of detachment and seriousness; this is a buddy movie but not a remake of "Lethal Weapon".
Needless to say that "The Last Boy Scout" had quite an impact on me.I don't deny my pacifist nature and in this world of cynicism, I guess movies like "The Last Boy Scout" are often enjoyed for the wrong reasons, because it sets bad examples through characters who're everything but average, and in real-life, if an average Joe wanted to play it like Hallenbeck, he would end up as a dead Joe. But again this is the wrong mindset to appreciate the film, and as soon as you start to find the whole bit funny and stop taking it seriously, the movie develops a sort of re-watchable quality, which already is an achievement.Appreciating "The Last Boy Scout" is a very difficult exercise that can unconsciously lead to desensitization in the perception of deaths but seriously, the line between comedy and fun action is so uncertain that you might give it the benefit of doubt, if only for the sake of enjoying a good old 90's gem starring a young Bruce Willis...
Although there aren't action movies like the Last Boy Scout anymore, but movies do have an old school feel to them now, I mean we have John Rambo coming out next year, and we have Live Free or Die Hard now, and Indiana Jones is comiing back.
There are some action movies today that don't have much special effects, like The Last Boy Scout.Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans are great together, and they both have problems with drug addiction and drunkiness.
I thought that Joe (Bruce Willis) and Jimmy (Damon Wayans) made a really good detective team, especially when they were searching for the murderer of Jimmy's girlfriend, Cory (Halle Berry).
A couple of things I liked about this film were the theme song that played at the beginning of the movie right before the first football game started and whenever Joe and Jimmy kicked the bad guys a****.
It's a shame that no more films like this are produced these days.Bruce Willis had the perfect profile to play Joe, who's not scary to confront criminals in their face with his black sense of humor and professionalism.
Bruce Willis is brilliant as the former secret service agent and Damon Wayans is also great as the washed up football player.The first time I saw this movie the opening scene blew me away, I still think it is one of the best opening scenes you are ever likely to see in a movie.This will never go down as an acting classic but if you like your movies fast paced with some lines that you will quote to your friends for the rest of your lives then this has got to be a must see.
The action sequences are very well done and very entertaining, one liners are still funny and mr.Willis played maybe his best role as dirty, disillusioned, out of luck good guy Joe. Damon Wayans did a good job as funny side kick and Dannielle Harris as Joe Halenbecks daughter is excellent.
Bruce Willis (Die Hard Trilogy, The Sixth Sense) and Damon Wayans (Bulletproof, The Great White Hype) star in this movie.
I would never argue that it's strays from the stereo-typical action movie plot, big explosions, twisted evil bad guys and of course the good guys winning in the grand finale, but in Last Boy Scout the partnership between Willis (who I am no fan of) and Wayans gives the film a truly healthy chemistry and atmosphere.It looks like that both our screen hero's enjoyed making this film and transported the classic one liner humour, we have the pleasure of seeing on screen, off screen also.The first time I watched this movie, I didn't enjoy it!
Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans star as a seedy detective and a disgraced quarterback, they are a dynamic duo, in this non-stop action movie.
Featuring explosive firepower and daredevil stunts makes this a must see for any action fan and if you like Bruce Willis or Damon Wayans you don't want to miss this film..
This is a movie that had it all, ladies and gentlemen, blood; cursing; bad, but funny jokes; car chases; a cool bad guy; funny lines; action; great music; a great story and great direction by one of my favourite directors Tony Scott (great job here too man) I think all of his movies are good, except Days of Thunder and Top Gun. The actors I like too.
Bruce Willis has a lot of good movies and Wayans too has a couple and I think there are great actors within this funny-action type genre.
The Last Boy Scout is a definite career high for both director Tony Scott and screenwriter Shane Black, and maybe even Bruce Willis.
Meet Joe Hallenbeck (Bruce Willis), an ex-secret service agent turned sloppy p.i. with a cheating wife and a foul-mouth daughter, and meet Joe's associate, Jimmy Dix (Damon Wayans), a former football player for the L.A. Stallions with drug problems.
Still, it is a very entertaining action film with a plot more complex than most action films, probably because of the combination of writer Shane Black and director Tony Scott, whose movies make you think a little more.Shane Black's other films (Lethal Weapon, The Long Kiss Goodnight) have a theme similar to The Last Boy Scout:  disgraced detective with low self-worth finds new reasons to enjoy life by the end credits.
This, along with Tony Scott's superior visual quality and fine acting from stars Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans, make The Last Boy Scout a winner..
THE LAST BOY SCOUT (1991) ***1/2 Bruce Willis, Damon Wayans, Chelsea Field, Noble Willingham, Taylor Negron, Danielle Harris, Halle Berry.
Fast moving action/buddy flick with down on his luck/burnt out detective (Willis in his "Die Hard" meets Philip Marlowe mode) investigating the murder of a client and Wayans as an ex-quarterback who gets involved as well with high body count and lots of bad puns/snarky dialogue from Shane Black's lively screenplay.
I think Tony Scott knew exactly what he was doing when he got Shane Black (Lethal Weapon) to write this incredibly fast paced film with lots of twists and turns.Willis and Damons work exceptionally well off each other, and its hard to tell who's the straight man and who's the comic in several of the exchanges.
The movie stars Bruce Willis, Damon Wayans and Halle Berry.
It is my favorite action movie from Tony Scott and Bruce Willis.
1991's The Last Boy Scout paired Bruce Willis with Damien Wayans in this scripted buddy flick from Shane Black who gave us Lethal Weapon.
The Last Boy Scout is a 1991 American action film directed by Tony Scott, starring Bruce Willis, Damon Wayans, Chelsea Field, Noble Willingham, Taylor Negron and Danielle Harris.
Following on from the big flop Hudson Hawk, Bruce Willis, with able support from Damon Wayans and Danielle Harris, comes out all guns blazing in this action classic, directed by Tony Scott.Willis stars as Joe Hallenbeck, a down on his luck Private Investigator who was once a presidential body guard, who is hired (well, sort of...watch the movie) by a stripper named Cory (a very young and very hot Halle Berry) whose received death threats.
Negron is excellent as an OTT villain with some bizarre habits, he acts like a bad guy from a lethal weapon movie.We get to see a lot of explosions and gun play, as you'd expect from a Tony Scott film, while the comedy parts in the script will have you in stitches.
Tony Scott directed this true guilty pleasure that stars Bruce Willis as cynical private detective Joe Hallenbeck, who gets involved in the case of disgraced former Pro Football player Jimmy Dix(played by Damon Wayans) who is a murder suspect who insists on his innocence.
The Last Boy Scout is one of the greatest action movies ever made that's filled with great action,unforgettable one liners,excellent script and fantastic direction and is a true classic of the Action genre.The Last Boy Scout tells the story of a former secret serviceman turned private detective named Joe Hallenbeck(Bruce Willis) and a former football player Jimmy Dix(Damon Wayans) who team up to investigate a murder.
R.I.P Mr. Kamen.In final word,The Last Boy Scout is one of the greatest action movies of the 90's and of all time with great direction,script,and acting.