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The Last of the Finest

The Last of the Finest

Crime · 1990

An elite group of vice cops are fired from the L.A.P.D. for being over-zealous in their war against drugs. It is immediately apparent that some of their superiors are involved in the drug ring. Banded together, four of the banned cops (which quickly becomes three when one is killed early) band together to fight the drug ring undercover. They gain capital for weapons by ripping off minor drug dealers. Then well-armed they go after the kingpin (Boyd).

Movie details

The Last of the Finest

“It's time for heroes again.”

1990 Crime 1h 46m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

5.9 / 10

Community rating

An elite group of vice cops are fired from the L.A.P.D. for being over-zealous in their war against drugs. It is immediately apparent that some of their superiors are involved in the drug ring. Banded together, four of the banned cops (which quickly becomes three when one is killed early) band together to fight the drug ring undercover. They gain capital for weapons by ripping off minor drug dealers. Then well-armed they go after the kingpin (Boyd).

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Last of the Finest?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Mackenzie

Written by

Jere Cunningham · Thomas Lee Wright · George Armitage

Brian Dennehy

Brian Dennehy

Frank Daly

Joe Pantoliano

Joe Pantoliano

Wayne Gross

Jeff Fahey

Jeff Fahey

Ricky Rodriguez

Bill Paxton

Bill Paxton

Howard 'Hojo' Jones

M

Michael C. Gwynne

Anthony Reece

Henry Stolow

Henry Stolow

Stant

Guy Boyd

Guy Boyd

R.J. Norringer

Court is in session

Put The Last of the Finest on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Cool Ironist

“Restraint trusts the audience.”

It leaves emotional space unlabelled, trusting viewers to notice what the characters cannot say aloud.

The prosecution The Sentimental Softie

“Distance mistaken for discipline.”

The chill may look elegant, but withholding a heartbeat is not the same as having complicated feelings.