Verdict
Summary
Last Rampage has some stellar performances from Patrick, Davison and Graham with some moments of shocking violence that will keep you engaged. The fact it’s based on a true story makes it all the more tense as you know it’s for real.
Plot: The true story of the infamous prison break, of Gary Tison and Randy Greenwalt, from the Arizona State prison in Florence, AZ, in the summer of 1978.
Review: While recovering from jetlag at the weekend I thought I would finally sit down and watch Last Rampage which has been on my Netflix list for a while now. Based on a true story Last Rampage tells the story of Gary Tison (Robert Patrick) a convict who is freed by his sons and goes on the run as they try to evade the law and remove anyone who gets in their way.
Tison’s boys never really knew their dad before he was locked up but they were fed lies by their deluded mother played by Heather Graham who gives arguably the finest performance of her career; she was barely recognizable but played Dorothy to perfection.
So the boys have this idea of who their father is but once he is free they discover that he is not the man they had been told about and is instead a rather vicious killer who has no problem coldly murdering unarmed families (including babies). It’s a harrowing tale and at times rather tense as you wonder what Tison or Randy Greenawalt (Chris Browning) will do next.
This is really more of a crime drama more than an all-out action flick but there are enough shoot-outs and chases to keep things moving.
The acting is all first rate with Patrick in one of his best roles in years and he must have loved some of the choice dialogue he got to say. I particularly liked when he is talking to one of his boys when he says “from your mouth to God’s ears” to which his son says “I though you didn’t believe in God…” “Don’t tell him that” he whispers.
Bruce Davison is fantastic as the heart of the story as a Sheriff who is determined to being Tison back in as he was responsible for killing his friend many years earlier.
I found the ending a little anti-climactic but as it’s based on a true story then I guess there was only so much they could do.
Overall, Last Rampage is an entertaining one-time watch with Robert Patrick and Heather Graham on top form with some shocking moments of violence to keep you on the edge of your seat.