The Last Drop (2005)
WMB Rating:
(2 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5) 
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In 2005’s The Last Drop, a team of British paratroopers get diverted on a super-top-secret mission on the heels of Operation Market Garden. As “The Last Drop” (referring to the last glider drop of the operation) they will, well, they don’t know that yet…
All the while, there’s this Nazi SS dude who’s trying to get back at another SS dude through various nefarious SS-dude nasty ways…
And then there’s this American Major charged with holding a bridge… and they all wind up crossing paths at the end.
The target? As you’ll come to find out, is a stash of looted artworks and other assorted treasures hidden beneath a barn in Holland. Oh, and there’s these two chicks there and a sniper, although I never was quite clear which side he was on.
Are you seeing a pattern yet? Honestly the entire thing is somewhat confusing, with just one too many subplots going on to really adequately develop any of them. There really are only two that you need to worry about. The British commando squad, and the “rogue” SS and his sidekick. Actually the movie could have been quite complete had they just focused on the exploits of them alone, and the characters and interactions therein. Sticking to them, you’ve got a fair war movie at hand. The initial botched glider drop with Canadian Pilot Oates (Billy Zane), the strife and conflict in the unit, climaxing with everyone pulling together at the last minute and doing what needs to be done… You’ll actually recognize some faces in this bunch, most notably Baker (Tommy Flanagan), Powell (Neil Newbon), Simkins (Niel Jackson), and McMillan (Sean Pertwee)
but no! There’s the “fight” between the two SS men Voller (Alex Skarsgard) and Kessler (Laurence Fox), both hell-bent on stealing this treasure for themselves, and resolving some sort of conflict which I didn’t really understand, with another fat slimy SS guy caught in the middle. Humorous at times, but completely unecessary.
Then you’ve got the American Colonel, played in a strange over-the-top arrogance by Michael Madsen. About the only real purpose his group plays is to intercept the 3rd SS guy Hansfelt (Steve Speirs) on the bridge, learn of the treasure, find the barn, and then start shelling *everyone* as they flee… Eh?
Now, after all that, you’ll wonder why I’m giving it a fair rating. Because in the end, it turns out to actually be a fair movie. At the end, all the pieces finally come together, and it all makes some kind of sense… It’s just the getting there that’s the hard part. Trying to one-up Kelly’s Heroes at its own game is no small feat, and while they never really quite pull it off, the end result isn’t bad. It’s not great, but not bad.
The Last Drop got watched via Netflix and my handy Roku box… The picture and sound were adequate for the medium.
IMDB:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0398029/
Amazon: The Last Drop
Here’s the trailer:
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