0
0
Lock, load, and stand by for impact. Action titans Scott Adkins and Dolph Lundgren gear up one last time as they reunite for One Last Shot, the third and final mission in James Nunn’s blistering tactical franchise. Once again, Nunn unleashes all the gunfire, chaos, and carnage in a single continuous take, and this finale goes full-auto into a climactic, all-gas-no-brakes conclusion to one of the most ambitious and satisfying action trilogies in years. Adkins doesn’t have anything left to prove, yet he still storms the screen with one-man-army bravado and breakneck, bone-rattling mayhem that has become his signature calling card. Director James Nunn, at the helm for all three entries, flexes serious brains and grit as he orchestrates an unbroken storm of tactical insanity that drops the audience right into the kill zone like a Call of Duty mission injected with pure adrenaline.
Picking up after the chaos of the first two films, One Last Shot drops besieged Navy SEAL Jake Harris (Adkins) back into the fire when domestic terrorists move to unleash a nuclear dirty bomb during the State of the Union Address. The final boss pulling the strings is Elliot Carter (Steven Cree), Harris’ former brother-in-arms turned disillusioned warrior who believes his country has betrayed elite operators like him. As the Joint Chiefs of Staff convene to contain the threat, they walk straight into Carter’s trap and his tier-one squad of hardened loyalists. Carter wants the nuclear codes each Joint Chief carries and takes them hostage, extracting what he needs to execute his masterplan. With the clock ticking and an entire nation on the brink, Adm. Mulholland (Dolph Lundgren) pulls Harris back into the fight with a fresh team of SEALs to infiltrate Carter’s stronghold. What follows is a breathless, bombastic gauntlet of gunfire and betrayal as Harris cuts his way through lethal mercenaries and turncoats to shut Carter down and save millions of lives.
One Last Shot doesn’t just stick the landing—it outguns its predecessors and floors it with the elite, precision action design that has defined this franchise and Adkins’ career. This is tactical carnage done right, a full-throttle masterclass in staging and execution that big studios should be studying frame by frame. Tim Man, one of the premier action directors and choreographers in the game, re-teams with Adkins to unleash a barrage of aggressive, meticulously crafted set pieces, and fans know the second they see both names together that something special is about to detonate. Since first joining forces on Ninja 2, Adkins and Man have become a go-to tag team for blistering martial arts and close-quarters combat, fusing fluid technique with battlefield ferocity in a way few can match.
At this point, what’s left to say about Scott Adkins that his work hasn’t already shouted at full volume? He’s the best of the best, and once again he hits every mark with ruthless efficiency. Everyone involved clearly set out to make this the exclamation point on the series—and they do exactly that. One Last Shot balances explosive gunplay and crunching hand-to-hand beatdowns with lethal precision, with the final forty-plus minutes detonating off the screen in a relentless barrage that channels the Gun Fu brilliance of John Wick and the emotional charge of the Has Fallen series with Gerard Butler. Adkins has found another marquee franchise for his hardcore fanbase, and while Boyka still wears the crown, Lt. Jake Harris stands right beside him when it comes to grit, bravado, and rapid-fire skill. This is epic action built on limited means, resources, time, and budget, yet the cast and crew push all three films into another stratosphere. This final chapter is a grand arena loaded with bullets, beatdowns, and level-up set pieces.
As has been clear for a while now, franchise architect James Nunn has found his ideal muse in action and martial arts icon Scott Adkins. The two have teamed up multiple times and, at this point, operate like a unified force, locked in on delivering the most impactful action possible. This trilogy is a bold swing that leaves plenty of bigger-budget competitors choking on its dust. There’s no shortage of tactical action films out there, but the One Shot franchise stands out on every front, pulling viewers into a brutal, grounded, kinetic world that feels tactile and immediate. Watching all three films in sequence is like running and gunning alongside the cast in real time. You can practically feel your pulse spike as the tension tightens, the blades flash, and the firefights roar. It’s like playing the ultimate version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, only with nastier stunts and bigger, meaner set pieces.
What pushes One Last Shot over the top as a must-watch for action fans is how Nunn and Adkins surround themselves with a killer supporting lineup from the worlds of action and martial arts cinema. Even in a smaller, non-action-heavy role, legend Dolph Lundgren radiates authority every time he’s on screen. The man beat cancer and came back swinging, and he still owns the frame whether he’s behind a desk or on the front lines. He’s one of those rare icons who instantly elevates everything around him. His scenes with Adkins crackle, and his character, Mulholland, carries surprising layers for someone with limited screen time. He’s laser-focused on neutralizing the enemy by any means necessary—even if that includes sanctioning the assassination of one of their own.
Everything funnels toward the showdown with the final boss. Steven Cree, familiar to many from Outlander, dials in a measured but menacing performance as Elliot Carter. He’s cut from the same cloth as Ed Harris’ iconic general in The Rock: a hardened veteran desperate to spotlight how, in his eyes, the military’s elite operators have been discarded and disrespected. For Carter, it’s always about the man beside you—the brotherhood, the blood, the bond—and he’s willing to unleash absolute devastation to force the world to recognize that. Making Carter a former comrade and brother in arms to Jake Harris doesn’t just juice the conflict; it deepens the emotional stakes at every turn.
Across all three missions, this tier-one franchise has always woven real emotion into its ballistic mayhem, but in this final chapter, those beats hit even harder. Adkins plays Harris as a man who has gone above and beyond, who’s earned his way home and just wants to get back to his family. Each film features a key emotional moment where Harris talks to his wife over Facetime—brief exchanges that still land like gut punches. In those scenes, Adkins peels back the armor to reveal a fighter who’s human, vulnerable, and exhausted. Harris bleeds, stumbles, and bends under the weight of what’s asked of him—but he never breaks, shouldering the burden of an entire nation as he makes one last push to defuse an explosive, world-shaking crisis.
On the action front, One Last Shot comes locked and loaded with blistering shootouts and a fan-dream rematch straight out of Ninja 2. Martial arts star Kane Kosugi (son of ninja legend Sho Kosugi) steps in as Lee, Carter’s lethal right-hand man, and he’s not wasted for a second. Kosugi is in a big chunk of the film and throws down with Adkins not once, but twice, in savage, beautifully staged battles crafted by Tim Man. Their second clash is a standout barnburner: a multi-level stairway war that has Harris and Lee trading blows while Harris is also picking off enemy shooters with his sidearm mid-fight. It’s the perfect fusion of ballistic fury and brutal hand-to-hand, all unfolding in continuous-take chaos as the camera ducks, weaves, and glides through the carnage, capturing every bit of Gun Fu artistry in razor-sharp detail. These are two action titans going all-in for the audience, wrecking their bodies to deliver some of the finest close-quarters combat in recent memory. Kosugi even accidentally cracked one of Adkins’ ribs in their first fight—a testament to just how raw and committed these performers are.
The climax plays like a high-end video game on overdrive as Harris launches a last-ditch assault to end Carter and whoever’s still standing at his side. Nunn once again empties the clip, ripping into a rapid-fire sequence built around ATV mayhem that feels like a tactical spin on Fast and Furious. It’s one of the standout showpieces of the trilogy, a pounding, pedal-to-the-floor chase that leaves the audience breathless. What’s impressive is how each film builds on the last—escalating scale, danger, and spectacle without losing the franchise’s grounded intensity. We’ve seen Adkins unleash his trademark arsenal before, but here he gets to mix things up and still deliver huge crowd-pleasing payoffs.
Overall, One Last Shot feels like the hard-won culmination of blood, sweat, and pure fight-or-die commitment from a cast and crew hell-bent on delivering a tactically sharp love letter to action fans. Scott Adkins proves yet again why he’s an elite icon, pouring every bit of his physical prowess and dramatic weight into a bruising, heartfelt send-off for another character who’ll stand proudly alongside his most complete fighter. The tactical firefights are immersive and kinetic, the hand-to-hand throwdowns are executed with ruthless precision, and every performer knows exactly how to sell the impact. The continuous-shot approach remains this franchise’s secret weapon, dropping viewers straight into the chaos and making every inch of the battlefield feel immediate. The supporting cast comes to play, and watching Adkins go toe-to-toe with Kosugi again is a chest-thumping, rip-roaring blast, with Tim Man hurling everything—including the kitchen sink—into the adrenaline-drenched set pieces. To put it simply, One Last Shot is a non-stop, one-take chef’s kiss of hyper-fierce action and high-octane intensity, with the best of the best firing on all cylinders from first frame to last!
VERDICT: 4.5 Out of 5 Stars
ONE LAST SHOT is Now Available on DVD & Digital!
Check Out My Exclusive Interview with Action/Martial Arts Legends Scott Adkins & Kane Kosugi on the Ultimate Adkins Action Podcast!
Check Out My Video Review of One Last Shot and Exclusive Interview with Franchise Director James Nunn & Final Boss Steven Cree on the Ultimate Adkins Podcast!
Check Out the Action-Flix Exclusive Clip from One Last Shot!
