Last Sentinel (not to be confused with 2007’s The Last Sentinel) does a lot with a little. Using basically one set and a small cast that never really gets bigger, Academy Award-nominated Director Tanel Toom puts us in a claustrophobic outpost in a post-apocalyptic watery world.
Kate Bosworth, Lucien Lavisco, Thomas Kretschmann , and Martin McCann are four competent soldiers who are prepared to take on enemies they’ve never seen. From their fixed tower, all they can see is fog and ocean to infinity.
Set in the near future, we’re told that the world ignored all dire warnings about climate change. The sea levels rose to cover almost everything, save a few land masses – so, of course, those two lands are at war.
But months after their three year tour of duty has expired, our soldiers haven’t seen a single second of action.
Nope – the drama comes from within. The conflicts come in the form of madness, an easily accessible “red button” that can end the rest of the world in seconds (and don’t think we won’t see the old digital counter counting down trope a time of two.)
Among the many films from which Last Sentinel shows its influences are Alien and Dead Calm – the latter in the form of a mysterious boat that drifts into range – is it the help they have been waiting for, or something far more sinister?
Of course, I’ll never tell, but I can say that a plot twist awaits in a well-acted, slickly produced, and complete story that lacks (intentionally) in bombastic threads, but plays like a tense two-act play that makes for an enjoyable view.
Last Sentinel will be theatrically released on March 24th. Look for subsequent digital release. 3 ½ out of 4 Stars | from Vertical Entertainment
