The Last Boy Scout

1991

The Last Boy Scout

Critics Consensus

The buddy-cop movie starts entering the doldrums with this lurching, explosive, misogynistic effort.

46%

TOMATOMETER

Reviews Counted: 35

68%
liked it

Audience Score

User Ratings: 60,187

TOMATOMETER

N/A
All Critics | Top Critics
Average Rating: N/A
Reviews Count: 0
Fresh: 0
Rotten: 0

AUDIENCE SCORE

68%
Average Rating: 3.3/5

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Movie Info

Producer Joel Silver, director Tony Scott, and screenwriters Shane Black and Greg Hicks team up for this gridiron-set action thriller. Bruce Willis stars as Joe Hallenbeck, who was once a top-of-the-line Secret Service agent but has since become an alcoholic, flea-bag detective. While performing the chores of a two-bit shamus, he discovers his wife Sarah (Chelsea Field) is having an affair with his best friend. Joe is hired to protect Cory (Halle Berry), a stripper who has been getting death threats; Joe begins to sober up when Cory is blown to smithereens. Cory's boyfriend, Jimmy Dix (Damon Wayans), was at one time a NFL football quarterback, but was thrown out of the game for gambling and addiction to Demerol. Smelling something fishy, Joe and Jimmy begin to investigate further and discover layers of corruption in professional football circles, leading up to Sheldon Marcone (Noble Willingham), a corrupt team owner who wants to pay off legislators to legalize gambling on pro football games. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
  • Rating:
    R (adult situations/language, violence)
  • Genre:
    Action & Adventure, Drama
  • Directed By:
    Tony Scott
  • Written By:
    Shane Black
  • In Theaters:
     wide
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    Warner Home Video

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Cast

Bruce Willis
as Joe Hallenbeck
Damon Wayans
as Jimmy Dix
Chelsea Field
as Sarah Hallenbeck
Noble Willingham
as Sheldon Marcone
Taylor Negron
as Milo
Danielle Harris
as Darian Hallenbeck
Halle Berry
as Cory
Bruce McGill
as Mike Matthews
Billy Bastiani
Kim Coates
as Chet
Chelcie Ross
as Senator Baynard
Marion Dougherty
Victoria Hochberg
as Henry
Joe Santos
as Bessalo
Michael Papajohn
as Hitman
Michael McCaskey
as Clarence Felder
Tony Longo
as Big Ray Walton
Frank Collison
as Pablo
Clarence Felder
as McCaskey
Bill Medley
as Himself
Badja Djola
as Alley Thug
Verne Lundquist
as Himself
Dick Butkus
as Himself
Lynn Swann
as Himself
Billy Blanks
as Billy Cole
Ken Kells
as Head Coach
Morris Chestnut
as Locker Room Kid
Mike Fisher
as Wounded Player
Doug Simpson
as Wounded Player
Joe El Rady
as Kid
David L. McMillan
as Kid
Benjamin Agee
as Kid
Donna Wilson
as Sleeping Party Girl
Denise Ames
as Jacuzzi Party Girl
Frank Kopyc
as Neighbor
Teal Roberts
as Dancer
Sara Suzanne Brown
as Dancer
Ryan Cutrona
as Harp
Eddie Griffin
as MC
John Cenatiempo
as Main Hitman
Mike Papajohn
as Hitman
Matt Johnston
as Ponytail Hitman
Ed. E. Villa
as Property Cop
James Keane
as Garage Patrolman
Jack Kehler
as Scrabble Man
Duke Valenti
as Jake
Dennis Garber
as Detective
Manny Perry
as cigar Thug
Vic Manni
as Grandad Thug
Frank Ferrara
as Milo's Goon
Erik Onate
as TV Crew Member
Bob Apisa
as Baynard's Bodyguard
Shane Dixon
as Baynard's Bodyguard
Rick Ducommun
as Pool Owner
E. Brian Dean
as Stadium Guard
Dick Ziker
as Marcone's Goon
Fred Lerner
as Marcone's Goon
John Meier
as Marcone's Goon
Don Pulford
as Marcone's Goon
Dennis Packer
as Field Announcer
Gene Borkan
as Stadium Cop
Kevin Bourland
as Stadium Cop
Jeff Hochendoner
as Henry
Steve Picerni
as Helicopter Cop
Steven Picerni
as Helicopter Cop
Craig Pinckes
as Presidential Assassin
Carmine Zozzora
as Secret Service Man
Theresa St. Clair
as Shower Girl
Ed Beheler
as The President
Colby Kline
as Young Darian
Michael Kamen
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Critic Reviews for The Last Boy Scout

All Critics (35) | Top Critics (5)

View All Critic Reviews (35)

Audience Reviews for The Last Boy Scout

½

Early 90s buddy action comedy that really did not age well. While Scott's style is already similar to his later masterpiece True Lies, the story here is simply not all that interesting with its setting in the football betting milieu and lackluster minor characters. There are some good one liners, but even Willis is far too close to his McClane routine to turn this into something special. Even the action isn't much to write home about. Forgettable.

Jens S.
Jens S.

Super Reviewer

Yeah, yeah, guilty as charged. Getting to the movie, I wasn't so involved with its main story because most of the scenes individually were entertaining enough to keep me hooked with the act going on. Bruce Willis has performed similar roles before too, but he's no less incredible here. I don't know the quarterback actor, but he got along well. Willis' dialogue delivery (and the calm attitude in not-so-calm circumstances) is exceptionally brilliant. Besides Willis, its dialogues/one-liners were highly remarkable. Most of the remaining actors contribute their fair share. There were a few hiccups so far as I'm concerned. The quarterback character who (pushes, and hence) joins Willis in the investigation of his girlfriend's murder hardly showed any grief for the loss. In fact, it seemed as if he were on a joyride. Joe's sad personal life bit (his family hardly having any respect for him & whatnot) has been performed to death, and should have rather been left out. And including the kid to join the duo in action in the final sequences didn't add much to the entertainment either. All being said, I've enjoyed a movie to this extent after quite a while. So much that I'm indifferent to include this quite an ordinary flick in my favorites list (for now, if not forever). I highly recommend it. All the same, be prepared; that's bound to help just in case....... And then some.

familiar stranger
familiar stranger

Super Reviewer

"This is the '90s. You can't just walk up and slap a guy, you have to say something cool first." A down and out cynical detective teams up with a down and out ex-quarterback to try and solve a murder case involving a pro football team and a politician.

REVIEW
You look at this movie and what do you see? A patterned action movie. A patterned Bruce Willis vehicle. The simple fact is they just don't make 'em like this anymore. It gives us what we want, when we want it and that's why 'The Last Boy Scout' succeeds. In instant gratification, a comfortable level of predictability and by not pulling any surprise punches. No stranger to the cracking down-and-out tough guy roles, Willis is in form and Damon Wayans makes for a surprisingly good supporting turn. 'The Last Boy Scout' shows he can carry a serious role when his thing has mainly been comedy. Written by Shane Black and with the layers striped away, it's a movie we've seen and heard before plenty 'o times. The good guys versus bad guys is pretty black and white. It's got a crackling script apt with one liners and situations perfect for action showdowns or character moments, but it also seems to have a multiple personality disorder. Dealing with the professional sport of football, the initial tone is quite serious. It all gives away to territory traveled before soon enough, but I wonder if the serious start was just to establish the dark path or was it something more. Something darker never to be? There's glimpses that the story is trying to be more than just an action trip however that sediment is far and away gone by the time we reach the wacky end as only seen in action movies, but it begs the question. At the end of the day, the Last Boy Scout is everything you remember it to be. Loud, violent, politically incorrect, crude, funny and definitely quotable. The kind of light fare rift with lots of junk blowing up, cursing and little in the way of asking the viewer to think. It might pale in comparison to Willis's diverse catalog and again, the start is much stronger than the end, but it's still a hoot if you know what you're looking for!

Lorenzo von Matterhorn
Lorenzo von Matterhorn

Super Reviewer

I love Bruce Willis but why did I waste my life watching this terrible movie.

Megan S
Megan S

Super Reviewer

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