The Last Warrior (1989) User Reviews

Entertaining, But Not As Good As I'd Liked It To Be

[Bill357 · 6/10 · 21 June 2009]

Gary Graham is his usual (enjoyably) cocky self as a lone radio operator spending WWII on a barely inhabited island watching the surf, boinking the natives, and (literally) playing with his monkey. The unexpected arrival of Japanese forces him to fight possibly for the first time in his life.

The old video box made it seem like it was a knockoff of Hell In The Pacific which it really wasn't. It was more of a knockoff of Two Mules For Sister Sarah, for he spends nearly the first half of the film protecting and escorting a nun to safety, a subplot I could've done without but ultimately wasn't as annoying as it could have been.

All the best scenes involve the fanatical Japanese warrior and his attempts to find some point in what he's doing by making his undisciplined nemesis die a warrior's death. His performance was incredible and the final battle between himself and Graham really worthwhile.

I think The Last Warrior (thank God they changed it from the generic Coastwatcher) would have benefited from one of the two characters knowing the other's language. Graham's character didn't really appear to change much throughout the film. He never learned what the other man was trying to do and never gained any insight into him, eventually killing him the way a scared person would step on a really big spider.

On one point I disagree with the other reviewers. I think it was competently shot but it wasn't as well photographed as it could have been. The camera stayed too close to it's subjects for the most part and the film could have benefited from some long shots that really showed off the beaches and the jungle scenery.

Should Warrant A Look On DVD

[ccthemovieman-1 · 6/10 · 7 April 2006]

There are only a few actors in this film, which makes it somewhat of an oddity.

Gary Graham plays an American soldier fighting off the Japanese on a remote Pacific island in the last few days of World War II. He is accompanied by a missionary nun, Maria Holvoe, who looks anything like a nun. Maria is a sultry, sexy woman and complete miscast here. Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa plays Graham's main adversary. He is a noble fighter who wants to win fair-and-square....and that costs him.

The main attribute of this film is the stylish photography and it needed a DVD treatment because many of the scenes are in darkness and not easy to see. It's wonderfully filmed and the story is decent enough to warrant a better look, so I may buy it. The only viewing I had of this was on VHS.

Well shot, and pretty engaging

[on_the_peripheral · 6/10 · 26 May 2006]

When i bought the DVD release and watched it for the first time, i had no clue what to expect. I'd not heard anything about this movie so i was expecting it to not be so good. :P But i was pleasantly surprised, especially with the beginning half of the film.

The cinematography is a big pull in this film, with some beautiful visual moments and some really gripping fight and stalking scenes. The use of light and water was brilliant, and the setting complimented perfectly. By the 20 minutes mark, i unfortunately wanted to throttle the music composer, but luckily the repetitive throbbing tones that accompanied a particular fight subsided and didn't return to any great extent.

It also gets big plot points for not going at all in the direction i was expecting. It was something of a double-take for me in the latter half, and in a good way. Despite being touted as a martial-arts type film, i'd not put too much expectation on that side of the action. The fights are pleasingly realistic, meaning there's less martial and more grappling and desperation. I prefer a film to be gritty, and i like the way this one went.

The cast worked well, Gary Graham held the film together pretty good and communicated a character i'd want to know more about. Another viewer commented on the small cast, and i agree it was quite unusual and quite nice too - it left room for focus on scenes, shots and the visual aspect.

There were only a few cringe moments, and they were overwhelmed with the good. Definitely worth a look, not least for the cinematography.

A Good Film for a World War 2 Film Buff

[Evilmike · 7/10 · 30 March 2002]

I saw this movie a couple of times on an off-brand "network" TV and I found it pretty enjoyable to watch. I would highly recomend it to any fan of war or action/war movie IF they can't find anything better to rent or IF they happen to catch it on TV or in TV Guide. The film provides a descent balance of action and suspence and a very good portrait of the main Japanesse soldier. Perhaps the films strongest asset is how balanced it is. One gets a good dose of action, history, character devolopment and plot and even if any one of these aspects are not very strong taken by itself, as a whole it makes for a very worthwhile movie experiance. It is a shame that this film hasn't gotten much attention as it is definitly a lot better than some of the flotasm floating around out there.

Subpar WW II drama

[lor_ · 10 April 2023]

My review was written in May 1989 after a Cannes Film Festival Market screening.

"The Last Warrior", alternatively called "Coastwatcher", is a subpar World War II drama whose penchant for closeups, even during action scenes, betrays its video targeting.

Filmmaker Martin Wragge misses the boat right at the outset by choosing and styling a loner hero (Gary Graham) who is strictly modern '80s though cast as a U. S. soldier at a surveillance post in the South Pacific in April 1945.

A Japanese warship arrives and kidnaps al the native and missionaries on the island, except for Graham and a beautiful blonde nun-in-training, Maria Holvoe.

It's a very poor man's "Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison", as the two bicker but survive together, with Graham excessively lucky that the Japanese soldiers always choose to attack him singly. Relentlessly padded film climaxes halfway through when skilled warrior Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa decides to spare Graham's life so he can (quite improbably) train him to fight as an equal.

Mumbo-jumbo about "honor" and learning how to die properly won't fool an audience that will easily sniff out the artificial prolonging of a skimpy story.

Some attractive forest and mountain locations perk up the action, with the highlight scenes taking place on a rusted old shp that looks suspiciously like th4e set used for Wragge's previous South African-lensed sci-fier "Survivor". Director's overuse of slow motion during shootouts and sword fights is a drag.

While Graham obviously is miscast, Holvoe as the novice nun is a ringer, ready for entry in a wet t-shirt contest. Tagawa gives a stalwart performance that works toward overcoming the idiotic nature of his character, a killing machine without the killer instinct.