"the action film is carried to a rather intriguing extreme with THE LAST BOY SCOUT, a movie that pushes the world-weary detective stereotype to new, surreal levels. Joe Hallenbeck (Bruce Willis), is a shamus hired by his best friend to protect a stripper who is subsequently killed. her washed-up football playing boyfriend (Damon Wayans) hooks up with Joe to find out whodunit and why. Willis' performance and Black's screenplay combine to produce a portrait of a guy who is so down and out that our first glimpse of him is a shot of him passed out in his own car while being harassed by snotty neighbourhood kids. throughout the whole film, Willis delivers deadpanned one-liners while constantly getting the crap kicked out him. BOY SCOUT is a guilty pleasure. it is mindless, formulaic, and particularly hateful towards women (and men as well) in spots with an uncompromisingly un-PC attitude that is very unusual in this day and age... and very funny. action films don't get any nastier than this one."
The Last Boy scout says it best.
birdstuff | 06/25/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The best action movie of the 90's hands down! All this crap about the film being misogynistic is ridiculous. Willis' character is a burned out, embittered, down and out, has-been PI and former secret service agent ("a long time ago he saved the president's life" )who has seen too much and who has no faith left in anything. He is in a bad marriage, never home, drinks too much, a victim of marital infidelity. But he is still in love with his wife. ("I wish the sky wasn't blue, I wish water wasn't wet. I wish I didn't still love my wife.") He is a man's man of the old school; strong and ever silent with a black and white morality. He is loyal to a fault, taking on the case of the stripper and her boyfriend to avenge the car-bombing death of his best friend (who was sleeping with his wife.) His foul mouthed daughter is screaming for discipline which she finds (and drinks in ) at the end of the film. The one liners are great. The action scenes are awesome. The justice meted out in the end is fitting."
Best Action Movie Ever Made.
Nuisance | 01/18/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I don't know what Jeff Shannon is smoking, but his "review" (it was more like slander) of "The Last Boy Scout" was totally wrongheaded and a little bizarre. Where does this so-called "hatred of women" come in? If anything, the film shows that men can be pretty rotten to women and that they stick around because of loyalty or love. The movie is high-energy action at its best and it's a highlight in the now-low-brow genre of buddy movies. Shane Black got his two million dollars for this script because it's filled with hilarious, quote-worthy dialogue. Anyone who says they haven't at least stolen one line of dialogue from this movie is a liar. Bruce is at his grumpy, self-hating peak here at Joe Hallenbeck. And Damon Waynes gives possibly the only good performance of his career.Take a seat, pop in this DVD, and have a ball. Because that's what this is: a good time. If you're looking, like Shannon was, for something that will change the world or give you a new view of yourself -- look elsewhere. This is entertainment. Pure and simple. And good entertainment is hard to come by."
LOOSE CANNON BOY SCOUT
Michael Butts | Martinsburg, WV USA | 12/04/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"THE LAST BOY SCOUT is filled with the kind of throw away plot and sometimes clever dialogue of LETHAL WEAPON's Shane Black, and the over the top action sequences Tony Scott does so well. Add the eternal down and out cop, Bruce Willis, and you have the makings of a vile, but entertaining, thriller. Damon Wayans is miscast as the "buddy" of Willis. He doesn't look or act like a football player and his self-pitying monologues get repetitious and whiny. Danielle Harris as Bruce's daughter does a fantastic job, but what a foul mouth! Chelsea Field is lovely as Bruce's unfaithful wife. Halle Berry in her pre-Oscar days looks nice, but has the range of Suzanne Somers in this early role. Noble Willingham is effective as the football magnate; Taylor Negro is slimy as the head executioner, and Joe Santos does his gruff cop again for the billionth time. It's all set to some marvelous action pieces and some good one-liners. Willis' hero in this one is definitely not an idol, but the movie delivers what you expect."
The most underrated buddy cop movie of all time
Nuisance | Miami | 10/27/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"You cant talk about underrated action flicks without mentioning The Last Boy Scout. I mean this movie came and went and stayed off the radar for a while. Let me give you a brief description of what its about.
Bruce Willis plays Joe Hallenback, a down on his luck private investigator who comes home and finds his best friend sleeping with his wife. He later teams up with an ex-football player named Jimmy Dix(Damon Wayans) whose girlfriend Cory(Halle Berry) just got murdered. Throw in Joe trying to find out who killed his best friend and a subplot involving gambling.
Opinion: Lets do a quintessential buddy cop checklist and see if this movie meets those requirements.
Does it feature an unlikely pairing? Check.
Does the unlikely pairing work well together? Check.
Does it have moments of humor since one of the stars is a comic? Check.
Does it give you one hell of ride from start to finish? Check
So what the hell are these people expecting? This was made to be a popcorn flick but it was one hell of popcorn flick. Bruce Willis still shined as the action hero of the movie. Damon Wayans was funny but he also fared well when it was time to do a serious scene. I still laugh at the scene where Jimmy claims that Joe has to be the dumbest man on planet Earth because Joe is trying to solve the murder of the same best friend who slept with his wife. The audience still cares even when we come to that realization also. This movie came out at a time when you can expect a good action flick and the director Tony Scott hadnt dropped the ball yet in that department. If you dont expect oscar material you might like this one but I still think its one of the most underrated buddy cop movies of all time."