Blu-ray Review: FINAL SCORE – Yippee Ki-Yay Dave Bautista
Dave Bautista gets his own Die Hard movie with Final Score, an action packed thriller which sees the big man tackling terrorists during a football match. Scott Mann’s film is derivative, but there’s plenty of bone-crunching fun to be had as Bautista takes down a bunch of baddies led by Ray Stevenson.
Bautista is Michael Knox, a military badass who arrives in London to take his surrogate niece (Lara Peake) to watch West Ham play Dynamo. However, Stevenson’s Arkady is looking for his long-thought dead brother Dimitri (Pierce Brosnan) in the hopes of kick-starting a Russian revolution. Bautista is in the wrong place at the wrong time and with a little help from Amit Shah’s Faisal, he hopes to stop the terrorists and save the thousands of football fans who are oblivious to the danger lurking around the stadium.
Mann knows how to stage the action and Final Score has several well choreographed fight scenes and an impressive roof-top bike chase. Bautista has fun as the outnumbered hero who must use his wits (and his fists) to tackle the baddies and save the day. Stevenson makes for an imposing muscle-bound Hans Gruber, while Shah delivers some entertaining comic relief. Brosnan is good as the mysterious Dimitri , but it’s a small role and it would have been better if he had more to sink his teeth into.
If you’re looking for an action film with a retro tinge and punchy thrills, then Final Score is the movie for you. It might stay a touch too close to the Die Hard template, but you’ll still find much to enjoy as Dave Bautista takes names and kicks-ass. Final Score 2: The Rematch anyone?
Special Features
The blu-ray for Final Score comes with a short, but relatively informative behind-the-scenes piece.
