It’s really easy to imagine the elevator pitch for Final Score: “It’s just like Die Hard…but in a soccer stadium!”. The man listening to the pitch takes a moment to think and asks “Great idea, but how are we going to sell this?”. He hears that it’s easy, because you just need to have a well known action hero actor in the main role. Unfortunately Dwayne Johnson isn’t available, Schwarzenegger and Stallone are too old to do what is necessary. Then they think of Dave Bautista, “he’s just like Dwayne Johnson, a former wrestler who started acting. Plus he has been really popular since his role in Guardians of the Galaxy”. The idea is finalized and Final Score is the result. But was this really a good idea?
Michael Knox (Bautista) is a former soldier who still feels responsible for the people left behind after a colleague of his died during a mission. He travels to the UK to visit him and decides to take his “niece” to a soccer game. Meanwhile the stadium is infiltrated by terrorists who seal it off and place bombs everywhere, while they search for a specific person. Michael loses track of his niece and quickly finds out something is going on. With his past experience in the military he decides to do something.
With his roles in movies like Blade Runner and Guardians of the Galaxy Bautista has shown that he is capable to do more than just simple action. It is something which isn’t used and here he’s simply an unstoppable one man army. Although the film has some comedy in the form of Amit Shah, this is a hard as nails action movie which has a few stand out moments, but regularly takes things over the top (at least I don’t know anyone who can put his hands in a frying pan to take out a gun and use them afterwards). The story is simple and that makes Final Score a very light snack to the experienced action fan. There is no movie which has taken the template used by Die Hard and made a better film, so it might be a good idea not to try anymore and make something a little more original.
[score5]
Good call mate, the work on this film was mediocre at best. I think it certainly had potential, and Buttista makes a great action shiloette, if only the writing and development of his character (and of those around him) was worth the paper it’s printed on. As far as the action goes, I found it okay but not awesome, and the kitchen-fight was laughably silly. Give him a good script and avoid the inane “humour” a little more, make it a straight up “Taken” clone, it would have worked a heck of a lot better.
Yeah, he has much more potential and can really do cool stuff if the script and writing is better. Would love him in a Taken like clone…