One Last Shot is the third and final movie in the One Shot franchise and picks up right where One More Shot, the previous entry, left off – with Jake Harris (Scott Adkins) caught in the middle of a deadly conspiracy that was set in motion in the first film*. Just like the previous entries, the story is told in what is designed to feel like one long continuous take with minimal cuts that are often cleverly hidden, putting the viewer in the middle of the action and suspense. This approach has made One Shot one of the most ambitious and impressive DTV action franchises.
In One Final Shot the camera floats from scene to scene and in and out of various rooms, hallways, a four wheeler, and a boat as it follows Harris and an extraction team in their mission to rescue the joint chiefs from Elliot Carter (Steven Cree), who plans to use their biological data to access America’s missile defense system. Especially considering the movie’s modest budget, the filmmaking is dazzling. The intricately planned and executed camera movement and framing with very few cuts while also presenting dynamic action set pieces and stunts are handled seamlessly. I would love to see what director James Nunn (who has helmed all three of the One Shot movies) could do with a larger budget.
Adkins delivers in the conclusion to what has clearly been a passion project for him and Nunn, but surprisingly takes a back seat for much of the first half of the movie before becoming the focus of the final act. The film is at its best when centered on Adkins, especially the action, where his skills as one of the premier martial arts performers elevates the action without the benefit of editing to accentuate it. Steven Cree is fine as Elliot Carter, but the role and movie would have benefited from having another action star cast in the part to rival Adkins similar to how Michael Jai White was used in One More Shot. Dolph Lundgren makes a welcome appearance in a small role as Admiral Mulholland (a character referenced in the previous film but never seen), who calls on Harris to join the rescue mission and tasks him with eliminating Carter, but only has a few minutes of screen time.
Unfortunately, in addition to the pacing and casting issues, the movie is also hampered by some very familiar and derivative plot elements as well as heavy handed political messaging** that plagued previous installments. However, none of these render One Last Shot a misfire. They do prevent it from setting itself apart from the other entries in the franchise but don’t stop it from being a satisfying ending to what has been a dynamic trilogy, with outstanding action and filmatism.
*Since One Last Shot is a continuation of a story that started in the first film and takes place over a couple of days picking up the story only hours after the previous film’s conclusion, I recommend at least watching the second film One More Shot if you are new to the franchise. Otherwise, how the movie just drops you into the action with minimal explanation could be disorienting.
**It’s strange to me that multiple times in the movie Adkins exclaims “I didn’t sign up to kill American Families”. It strikes me as odd that he doesn’t say “I didn’t sign up to kill innocent people and families.” His statement makes it feel like he did sign up to kill families as long as they aren’t American.
One Last Shot hits Digital & DVD on September 22, 2026 from Sony Pictures Entertainment
