Scott Adkins is back for one last mission and this time he’s brought Dolph Lundgren along for the ride!
James Nunn’s One Last Shot brings the One Shot trilogy to a suitably explosive conclusion, once again putting Scott Adkins in the middle of an increasingly dangerous situation where stopping isn’t really an option.
Adkins returns as Navy SEAL Jake Harris, who is called back into action when former comrade Elliot Carter, played by Steven Cree, takes the Joint Chiefs of Staff hostage and threatens to get his hands on the US missile defence network. With the clock ticking, Harris and his team have to fight their way through heavily armed mercenaries, traps and plenty of bullets before things get completely out of control. if you’ve followed the previous two films, you’ll know that the story isn’t really the main attraction here it’s how James Nunn chooses to put the action on screen.
Once again, the film uses a series of incredibly long takes that are seamlessly stitched together to give the impression that we’re watching events unfold almost in real time. Rather than constantly cutting away during the action, Nunn keeps the camera moving with the characters, following them through corridors, rooms and firefights as the situation develops around them.
It’s an approach that could easily become a gimmick, but by the third film Nunn and his team have really refined the technique. The choreography, camera movement and performances all have to work together, and when it comes together properly, you’re right there in the middle of the chaos.
And there is plenty of chaos!
Scott Adkins once again gets to show exactly why he’s one of the best action stars working today. Whether he’s going hand-to-hand, taking on multiple opponents or working his way through a heavily armed group, Adkins brings the physicality you’d expect, while the long-take approach means we’re able to appreciate much more of the choreography.
And then we have Dolph Lundgren, who brings some serious old-school action movie presence to the party. Seeing Lundgren and Scott Adkins together is always going to put a smile on the face of any action fan, and while this is definitely Adkins’ film, Lundgren adds that extra bit of experience and muscle whenever he’s on screen.
But for me, Steven Cree is one of the film’s biggest surprises.
As Elliot Carter, Cree gets to play a villain with a little more going on than simply being the bad guy waiting for the inevitable showdown. There’s a history between Carter and Harris which gives their confrontation more weight, and Cree really gets stuck into the role. He brings a different energy to the previous villains in the series and makes Carter a much more interesting threat as the story unfolds.
It was great to see Cree stepping into an action role like this, and he clearly looks like he’s having a great time doing it.
What I also like about One Last Shot is that it doesn’t try to reinvent the formula. It knows exactly what its audience has come for: Scott Adkins kicking serious amounts of ass, big guns, close-quarter combat, explosions and an increasingly desperate mission, all wrapped inside that distinctive long-take presentation.
Having now seen the trilogy as a whole, I think One Last Shot is the strongest of the three films. One Shot introduced the concept and One More Shot expanded on it, but this final chapter feels like Nunn has taken everything learned from the previous movies and pushed it further.
The action is bigger, the set pieces feel more ambitious and the long-take technique has become much more polished.
It’s also worth remembering just how difficult this style of filmmaking is. Every movement, fight, camera position and piece of dialogue has to be carefully timed. One mistake can potentially ruin an entire sequence. When you see the finished film, it’s easy to forget how much planning and coordination must have gone into making it look this effortless.
For fans of Scott Adkins and proper old-school action cinema, One Last Shot delivers exactly what you’d hope for.
It’s fast, brutal, energetic and packed with some seriously impressive action work. Add Dolph Lundgren into the mix, give Steven Cree a chance to chew up the scenery as the villain and let James Nunn loose with his camera, and you’ve got a fitting way to bring the trilogy to a close.
If this really is Jake Harris’ final mission, he’s going out with a bang.
⭐ Eastern Film Fans Rating: 4/5
The final shot is the best shot. Scott Adkins, Dolph Lundgren, Steven Cree and James Nunn deliver an explosive finale to one of the most inventive action trilogies of recent years.
