An Underrated Mel Gibson Crime Thriller Is Killing It On Streaming
Last Looks, an underrated mystery starring Mel Gibson and Charlie Hunnam, is currently the number two movie on Hulu.
Mel Gibson is slowly starting to recover from his string of controversies, which are now over a decade old, though he has yet to have another breakout hit. That seems to be working out just fine for the actor, as according to FlixPatrol, his latest film, Last Looks, is currently dominating on Hulu, where it has topped out as the number two film on the entire service. A modern detective film developed on a modest budget is, amazingly, a perfectly serviceable vehicle for Gibson.
Last Looks stars Charlie Hunnam as reclusive former LAPD detective Charlie Waldo, lured back into work by the death of a television star’s wife. Mel Gibson is Alastair Pinch, the bizarre television star accused of murder. The rest of the eccentric cast of characters is played by Morena Baccarin, Lucy Fry, Dominic Monaghan, Rupert Friend, Clancy Brown, and Method Man.
The film is based off of the 2018 crime novel of the same name, with the screenplay also written by the original author, Howard Michael Gould. Directed by Tim Kirkby, a British filmmaker that has worked on Brooklyn 99, Fleabag, and two seasons of Brockmire, Last Looks was never released in the United States, but managed to pull in almost half a million dollars in the U.K. While it was never going to be a blockbuster, Mel Gibson received good reviews from critics for his ability to steal the scene.
With a 68 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, coupled with a 49 percent audience score, Last Looks is widely considered to be a decent film. While that’s good for Mel Gibson as he continues to be accepted back into Hollywood, it’s even better news for the film’s star, Charlie Hunnam. Once considered a rising star and a can’t-miss prospect, the Sons of Anarchy star has been struggling to make the leap to movies.
Mel Gibson did not spend long in Australian television before becoming a world-famous movie star, but Hunnam spent six years as Jax Teller on the hit FX series. Since then, the British star has been cast as the lead in Pacific Rim, The Lost City of Z, and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, with only Pacific Rim a success, though Charlie Hunnam was widely considered the worst part of the film. Just as Gibson is starting to rise again, his younger counterpart is slowly starting to fade out of Hollywood.
Last Looks may be the start of a small franchise for Hunnam, though not Mel Gibson, given his character is only part of the first book. Below the Line, the second novel by Gould following Charlie Waldo, was released in 2019. Combining box office with DVD sales, Last Looks made over a million dollars, which is respectable for a small-scale British/American joint production. Considering a King Arthur: Legend of the Sword sequel will never happen, any franchise that can help Charlie Hunnam become a star is a good thing.
Mel Gibson will next star in Boys of Summer, a fantasy film about a young boy that recruits an old detective to help prove a supernatural being is preying on the children of the town. The film is set to release in March.
