Normandy: The Last Rescue

A good war drama - NOT jampacked action. Don't be mislead by the poster. It follows a young soldier and his comrades as they try to get to safety in the final months of WWII in France. The presence of the army nurses made this different, and the character introspection made it a heartfelt story that I appreciated. I felt for the characters and their struggles. Pretty good WWII story.

It was a OK movie, it was well produced and edited fine. The biggest problem this film had was that it seems to be a rehash of every war film ever made, the same scenes, dialogue, story line we have seen before. Nothing original at all and that seems sad because there seems to be potential for what could have been a great movie. The one highlight of the film was the supporting lead Tino Struckmann he is a very gifted actor, really good performance. exciting to watch and clearly the most talented actor in the movie. Just sad the movies story did not match a great performance, just as it is a shame he did not have a bigger part, as there were story plots sadly left not pursued by the director. The worst thing was the lead bad guy continuously ranting on in a made up language, not German nor English, that was just a very bad piece of acting and writing if it was written? It could have been much better and missing a lot of action very dull slow going.

Several months after D-Day in northern France, three soldiers and two Army Corps nurses get stuck behind enemy lines and try to make it out alive.

"The Last Rescue" (2015) is a WW2 indie that's small in budget but big in heart. The producers didn't have the resources for authentic German vehicles (tanks or Kubelwagens) or convincing CGI and so did the best they could with what was available. Yet the movie scores well in the most important department, human interest.

This is basically a survival flick focusing on a small group of people who are thrust into a life or death situation and must work together in order to survive. The characters are believable, generally speaking, and the acting is very good. Sure, there are some unlikely elements, like the soldier hiding behind an open door, but all kinds of improbable scenarios like this took place in real-life. This is not to say that the titular rescue at the climax is believable. It's not; but, then again, it IS a movie.

In regards to cast, Elizabeth Rice and Hallie Shepherd appear on the feminine front as Nancy and Vera respectively. Elizabeth starred in the excellent horror indie "From Within" (2008). She's blossomed into a beautiful, intelligent woman.

On the other side of the gender spectrum there's Brett Cullen (the hardened Captain), Cody Kasch (the naïve Pvt. Lewis), Darren Keefe Reiher (Lt. Maxwell) and Tino Struckmann (German Lt. Dittrich).

Bottom line, this is similar to "Saving Private Ryan" (1997) as far as the small band of Americans traversing through northern France and encountering German patrols here and there. The difference is that it includes two women in the main cast and is very much a 'B' movie (with hand-held cameras). So don't expect any Tiger tanks, demolished European cities or authentic French locations.

The film runs 1 hour, 46 minutes, and was shot in Alabama.

GRADE: B-

Cody Keach as the Private is not too bad, but the rest of the male actors leave a bit to be desired. Also, some of the outlandish feats of the private are not too believable. The nurses are fine, but their scripts are a bit uneven at times. The production values also leave a lot to be desired, but considering the budget, they did the best they could.

The story of nurses and soldiers caught between German and American lines after D-Day, seemed more like a Battle of the Bulge situation than D-Day. However, there is no real chemistry between the actors in the film, and ultimately, that is its downfall. Find something else to view.

The Last Rescue try's very hard to make a worthwhile B grade WWII drama/action flick and partly succeeds. The storytelling is reasonable, if predictable, and the acting is actually quite good.

Where this film falls down badly is the choice of locations. Its very obviously not Europe. Worse still its not careful in its use of what is available. Houses used in the film are clearly not European, they look American. I was not surprised to find this film was shot in the USA.

Perhaps this sounds petty but misuse of locations can really ruin the sense of atmosphere that was initially well established in the opening scenes of this drama.

The Last Rescue is a reasonable effort that could have been better again with a more considered choice of locations and buildings. Six out of ten from me.