The Last Rifleman is a story of three friends, and out of the group, only Artie is alive. What started as a friendship between three teenagers soon became something they could have never imagined.
At a very young age, Artie and Charlie enrolled in the military and went to serve in the war. Only Artie came back and when he returned, he married Maggie who was earlier engaged to Charlie.
The movie begins with showing Artie and Maggie living in a Nursing Home. Maggie passes away leaving Artie all alone. After her death, he embarks on a journey that forms the soul of The Last Rifleman.
The movie doesn’t have much of a plot. It is just about an ex-soldier going to meet his pals who served in the same battalion. With this, he hoped to meet his friend Charlie and even carried a letter. Despite his age, Artie was unstoppable and used various illegal methods to enter France.
Artie is shown to wake up at night due to PTSD. He still is unable to forget what happened in the war and this is commonly seen in the soldiers. What was troublesome was how he had forgotten some parts of his memories, which are revealed at the end.
While the movie might not be for everyone and is just a one-time watch, it will be liked by those who like patriotic films/series. In the end, a twist was introduced which was shocking. From the beginning itself, I wondered what is this 95-minute movie about. In the end, all the pieces come together very smoothly.
The actor playing the role of Artie, Pierce Brosnan, did a wonderful job. His performance will be successful in touching the hearts of the audience. The movie isn’t about what story has been shown and how it moves forward, it is about those people whose lives changed tremendously due to the war.
While I don’t know much about the history of war the film talks about, I did realize the impact it had on the lives of several soldiers. When Artie was shown trying to get into France for D-Day, many people came forward to help him. Although this might not be true in the real world, still watching it on screen was good.
Artie’s character in The Last Rifleman is shown to be 92 years old, and the old soldier had the guts to travel so far away, considering his ailments which included diabetes and blood pressure fluctuations.
The best parts of the film have to be its last scene and the one in which Artie meets a soldier who was a part of their rival army. While I was watching the last scenes and observed Pierce Brosnan’s expressions, it filled me with immense happiness. Artie was finally happy and it was as if what he had done for his country didn’t go to waste. Everyone was there to salute his contribution and the medals attached to his coat shined brighter than diamonds. Then, there is his smile which glowed with the warmth of pride.
I’d highly recommend The Last Rifleman to the viewers who are in the mood for a light film without any drama. Although the first twenty or thirty minutes appear to be confusing as much hasn’t been revealed, it gets better as soon as we approach the middle of the film.
Final Score – [7.5/10]
Reviewed by - Riya Singh
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Publisher at Midgard Times