Last Day of Summer – DVD Review

Do you hate your job? Your boss? Your life? Consistent loser Joe does to, and in the film Last Day of Summer he decides to do something about it. Is it the right thing to do? Well, probably not.

Last Day of Summer stars DJ Qualls as a young man on the brink of a mental breakdown that eventually happens. When he finally gets pushed over the edge he finds himself in a world of unsavory characters and – oh, yeah – a hostage played by Nikki Reed. With his newfound companion in tow, Joe goes on an odyssey that he never expected.

Bottom line is that the movie’s purpose is to humanize those who act upon their violent, animalistic urges in order for us to identify and care about them. His awful job and horrible boss fuel his downward spiral into madness; both lead him to create a plot of revenge that he plans to videotape and expose to the world.

I found it hard to care about Joe after he took the girl hostage. While I understand the reasons why he felt he needed to do it, I would have much rather seen him kidnap his asshole boss instead.

Last Day of Summer is reminiscent of the Michael Douglas movie Falling Down (1993), where a man gets fed up with the way he’s treated and does something about it; with violent results. Much like Falling Down, Last Day of Summer also includes Joe visiting an arms dealer and checking out very big, very deadly weapons. You can definitely see the influences.

Writer/Director Vlad Yudin does his best to deliver a story that makes us empathize with the hero, but as much as I felt sorry for Joe at the start I wanted him to be taken down by the end of the film. Not a good way to created sympathy or empathy for your main character. Also, the ending really didn’t work for me. Joe faces no consequences for his actions and never has to answer for the misdeeds he’s done.

Bonus features include the trailer and Making-of Featurette.

I didn’t like it. While I understood the filmmaker’s intent, it was hard for me to find any semblance of caring for Joe after he kidnaps the girl (as stated above). While understanding people who do these horrible things is important, I don’t think justifying their actions and almost glorifying them is a step in the right direction.

What did you think of the movie? Leave a comment and let us know!

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