'The Last Days Of American Crime' Movie Review

Introduction

2 men, 1 woman, a government API signal and the last crime in America. What could go wrong?

Key themes

Graham Bricke or 'Bricke' robs a bank with his gang. The government releases a developing form of an API signal which stops citizens from committing crimes. The signal stuns them whilst robbing the bank, almost stopping them from the error of their ways.

Bricke hides the money stolen from the bank to pay for the gang's new life in Canada, in escape from the American government and their signal controls. Bricke was supposed to give the money to the boss.

Bricke is informed that his brother committed 'suicide' in prison. The news breaks up the gang.

Kevin Cash finds and tells Bricke that the government killed Bricke's brother with the signal and offers him a chance to take revenge by stealing $35 million with him.

Bricke starts a sexual relationship with Kevin's fiancee, Shelby. Shelby is working with two FBI agents. She snitches on Bricke and Kevin's plans, in order to save her sister and help her escape to Canada. Bricke is aware of her betrayal.

Bricke and Kevin visit Kevin's father who is a infamous mobster. Kevin kills his father and takes his guns and weapons.

Bricke instructs Kevin to meet him at a certain time and place and Bricke goes back to his home where Shelby is. Whilst talking about her betrayal, Bricke's boss shows up to get revenge for the stolen money.

The boss takes Shelby and beats up Bricke. Bricke is set on fire. Bricke's friend, Ross, from their former gang, saves Bricke from the fire.

Bricke saves Shelby from the boss. Bricke, Kevin, Shelby and Ross put the plan into action.

Shelby plays dead enabling the men to steal the money truck. Shelby seduces a worker in order to get into the government control centre. She hacks into it in order to stop the API signal.

The men successfully enter the vault and transfer the money into the stolen truck.

The signal is made stable again and Kevin shoots Ross dead, whilst Bricke is under the influence of the signal. Kevin tells Bricke how he became immune to the signal and killed Bricke's brother in prison.

Kevin shoots Bricke in the stomach taking revenge for Bricke's sexual relationship with Shelby, his fiancee. When about to kill Bricke, two FBI agents show up and kill Kevin.

The FBI agents mockingly thank Bricke for helping them kill Kevin and mention how they are going to kill Shelby, who they promised to help if she snitched.

When walking away, Bricke takes some lethal pills and regains strength to shoot the FBI agents dead. Bricke rides off in the money truck, leaving behind four dead men.

Bricke shows up to rescue Shelby, who is in danger at the government control centre. They escape to Canada. Bricke dies at the wheel. Shelby makes it alive and reconnects with her sister in Canada.

Key observations

• Kevin threw his smoked cigarette out of the vehicle window. Suddenly he has another one in his hand that clearly isn't newly lit. Where did the new cigarette come from? When did Kevin light a new cigarette?
• Kevin's sister should have not died instantly from a bullet to her stomach.
• What is the plan? Bricke and Kevin discuss a plan but the audience is not made aware. The expected remains unexpected - what are they going to do? How will they get the money? A heist without a plan seems like a failed mission.
• What happened to the countdown? The film appeared to lose track of time for a while. The film seemed to be so dependent on timing, then a whole part of the film seemed to lose sense of timing ruining the flow of the film.
• How did three duffle bags of money fill up an entire dumpster container?
• When Kevin was shot many times, all over his body, no blood spilt. How is this possible?
• What the the role and purpose of the police officer that was patrolling the streets and that attacked Shelby? He seemed to be important as his actions were highlighted throughout the film, but he never added anything valuable to the story. Why was he so clueless about 'what was going on'? What did his position represent? Was he on the side of the law or the criminals? He disobeyed all the new commands of the government, but still appeared to be working for the badge. What was his purpose?
• How was Bricke able to drive all the way to Canada and safely park the stolen money truck when he was seriously injured? It was a bit cliche that Bricke died at the wheel, when he should have clearly died sooner. Bricke was wounded badly, yet there was not enough blood to account for this. Bricke should have been incapable to muster enough strength to fulfil the mission. Perhaps Shelby should have taken control instead (feminism) and then lost her short-term lover on their journey to freedom. That would have been more believable.
• What about all the money stolen in the truck? Shelby did not take it, so what happened to the money? Did anyone benefit from the last crime? How much money was in the duffel bag that Shelby took? Why didn't Shelby take any money from the truck?
• Where did Shelby's sister stay when she escaped to Canada? How did Shelby find her?
• Why was Kevin wanted by the FBI? Apparently he was looking for a legacy because he was the son of a mobster who was incapable of following in his father's footsteps. Why weren't the FBI looking for Kevin's father? What did Kevin do? What was Kevin's plan? Did Kevin want to kill Bricke or steal the money? What was his real purpose and agenda?
• Did Bricke and Shelby know each other beforehand? Why were they so loyal to one another? Despite Shelby's betrayal to both Bricke and Kevin, Bricke was willing to save her on two accounts. Shelby admitted that she loved Bricke - how is this possible when they supposedly had met and known each other for only 3-4 days? Did Bricke and Shelby have their own plan together all along? How was Bricke able to show up exactly on time to rescue Shelby before she was shot dead? Was this all planned as the timing was immaculate. When Bricke showed up and Shelby escaped death, she animatedly blew out 'gun fingers', hinting that perhaps she knew and planned for Bricke to show up at that time, which could perhaps explain her fearlessness of being shot. The story seemed to have a plan, but an unusual one, which is perhaps why a definite plan was never agreed on and identified before the action. The characters were perhaps interconnected differently than appeared. Perhaps Bricke and Shelby planned to steal money and live happy lives in Canada all along from the beginning, however, they needed the help of others - the FBI agents, Kevin and Ross. Could the 'The Last Days of American Crime' actually be a love story?

Conclusion

Was this all a part of the plan? There were a series of seemingly unexpected events, however, all appeared to be well planned in accordance to perfect timing. For a movie all about crime, not much was committed. The film was more based on betrayal. In fact, the worst crime committed was the lack of loyalty. Bricke betrayed his boss. Shelby betrayed her fiance. The FBI agents betrayed Shelby. Kevin betrayed Bricke and so on. The film plot was engaging, however, time seemed to slow down because crime no longer was the priority of the story line as the film evolved to become a trust war. There may be more to the story than the film led on. There was a story before this story.

The film promotes the concept of flawed conspiracy theories. The futuristic aspect hints at the devastation government dominance can cause, even with some good intentions. Conclusively, there is always a way around good and bad. The price to pay for it though, is death.

Cast

Édgar Ramírez - Bricke

Anna Brewster - Shelby

Michael Pitt - Kevin

Tamar Burjaq - Ross