Te Last Drop: A Low-Budget War Movie


This website was created to promote the 2005 movie The Last Drop.  It did not receive favorable reviews by the audiences at Rotten Tomatoes and the critics didn't even bother with it. The content below is from the website's archived pages and other outside sources including Rotten Tomato reviews.

World War II, September 1944. In an attempt to end the war by Christmas, Winston Churchill conceived an extraordinary plan: send 35,000 soldiers behind enemy lines, the Germans occupied Holland. Among British troops there is a small group of men whose code name is "Matchbox" and with a very different purpose: they have to find an impressive treasure trove of Dutch gold and art works that the Nazis kept in a place seemingly impregnable. In addition, men who make up the group are actually civilians disguised as soldiers, who will face tanned German soldiers in war, capable of killing in cold blood. The challenge has only just begun ... 

Rating:R | Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama | Directed By:Colin Teague | Written By:Colin Teague , Gary Young | In Theaters:Apr 18, 2006 | Wide On DVD:Apr 18, 2006 | Runtime: 98 minutes | Studio:First Look Pictures​

THE BACKGROUND

Operation Market Garden

The Film is based around Operation Market Garden which was proposed by General Bernard Montgomery soon after the D-Day invasion. The combined ground and airborne attack was designed to gain crossings over the large Dutch rivers, the Maas, Waal and Neder Rijn, to aid the armoured advance of the British 2nd Army. On 17th September 1944, three divisions of the 1st Allied Airborne Corps, dropping by parachute and gliders, landed near the Dutch towns of Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Arnhem in order to take the eight key bridges. The planners called this an “airborne carpet" along which the British 30th Corps, advancing at the same time from the Meuse-Escaut Canal, could push through to Germany.

The bridges at Nijmegen and Eindhoven were taken, but a German counter-attack created problems at Arnhem. Of the 9,000 Allied troops at Arnhem, only 2,400 remained when they were ordered to withdraw across the Rhine on 25th September.

THE STORY

"What better time for a robbery, than under the fog of war"

September 1944. In a daring attempt to end the war by Christmas, the British High Command hatch an extraordinary plan - Operation Market Garden - 35,000 allied troops dropped by air into German occupied Holland.

In the midst of the largest airborne invasion in history, one small unit of men, codename 'Matchbox', has its own hidden agenda. While the rest of the British soldiers operate on a strictly need-to-know basis, the seemingly innocuous Corporal POWELL - in reality an undercover intelligence officer - has been given a secret objective.

The true target - sanctioned by no less a figure than Winston Churchill himself - is a vast horde of Dutch gold and art treasures, plundered by the Nazis and stored behind an impregnable bobby-trapped safe, imminently bound for Berlin.

BENITTA and SASKIA, two brave and resourceful women with the Dutch underground have managed to ascertain the location of the treasure and somehow ingratiated themselves with the spectacularly vile SS Major KESSLER to act as housekeepers where the riches are stored. Risking their lives they've communicated to British intelligence in a hope to foil the plan and help liberate their occupied country.

Powell and his men must evade the might of the German counter-attack at Arnhem, locate, secure and retrieve the stolen loot, and find safe passage back to British soil. This near-impossible heist all takes place from beneath the nose of KESSLER and his crack team of Storm troopers.

Difficult enough, but when Matchbox are shot down short of their landing zone and reduced in a firefight to only six men, the odds of their success seem hopeless. With the courageous Captain BANKS killed, Powell is forced into commandeering the help of the remaining soldiers: WELLINGS, a naive medical orderly; IVES, a smart mouthed, petty thief; BAKER, a drunken psychotic with bomb disposal expertise; MCMILLAN, a wounded battle hardened Sergeant, and lastly, OATES, a smooth talking Canadian pilot with a roving eye for the ladies...

However they are not the only ones in search of the treasure. Renegade German soldiers acting like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Lieutenant VOLLER, and Sergeant BECK also intend to snatch the loot from the SS - (Kessler’s operation having originally been established by Voller before he was betrayed by his one time partner, the weasely book-keeper GUSTAF). Kessler arranged for VOLLER to be sent to the Russian front where he miraculously escaped the disaster of Stalingrad. Knowing the war is all-but over, Voller not only intends to steal everything but also wreak his revenge on those that wronged him.


As the three groups race to secure the treasure, the film twists and turns towards an enthralling climax. Will Kessler secure the loot for his masters in Berlin? Will Powell and Matchbox survive and get there in time to make the treasure safe for Churchill? Will Voller & Beck snatch the gold and head for the Swiss border, having first tricked their way through American lines dressed as GI's… or will the snake in the grass Gustaf beat them all to the sucker-punch? Then again it all depends on whether the arriving Allied forces decide to shell them all into oblivion first.

Kelly’s Hero’s meets Oceans Eleven - THE LAST DROP is a daring heist that takes place during a war - it doesn’t get more dangerous than that...

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Rotten Tomatoes  Audience Reviews

 

December 14, 2014

* ½ star Timothy H

This is yet another hidden Nazi treasure grab caper , except with little tension or drama worth the word. All players were required to shamelessly over act their roles, where acting was given any chance at all. Otherwise we saw mostly cardboard cut out steriotypes strutting about, from traditional black leather and knights cross sporting Nazis ( a word used too often in the piece) to a ubercool US pilot wearing a curious mix of British and American gear , with very little authenticity. This is a film sporting two big names, one from each side of the pond of course, that must surely regret their involvement .

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May 14, 2014

* star spitfiremk 51

This is a typical low-budget war movie, with the cheesy plot of a small group of soldiers trapped behined enemy lines, on the hunt for a top secret stash of Nazi loot: famous artifacts stolen from the French. The movie didn't get off to a good start, with a cheep looking CGI glider with the British troops cash landing in Holland. After that a shootout begins between the surviving British troops and some Germans. The shootout scene was pretty bad, and the sound effects for the German machine guns as well as the British rifles sounded like they were copied from the HBO miniseries Band Of Brothers. Then it got boring as the British just walked for a while, as the German SS guy did his stupid stealing plot from his own soldiers. The SS guys plot was one of the worst things in the movie, planing to seal it all for revenge against someone as well as getting rich. As if he could get away with it. Then it all ended with big shootout that was just as bad as the first, with the usual war movie clichà (C) of dressing up like the enemy to do whatever you want, and that happened with both sides at once. So that ended the movie, with all the artifacts blown up, and the pilot guy crashing the escape plane, just for the laughs of him crashing twice. So ya there was some terrible comedy moments, and occasional scenes that made me laugh simply because they were so dumb. So not a good movie at all, with kinda the same idea as Kelly's Hereos or The Monuments Men.

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August 7, 2012

* star Alan.S

Really, really bad movie. Like shockingly bad. There were about 5 plots going on at once which were all fairly uninteresting. The overall story line was also really bad. But the worst thing about this terrible film was, by far, the accents attempted by 2nd-rate actors. German accents sounded Russian. English accents sounded Australian. Scottish accents sounded like who-knows-what. Alex Skarsgard and Billy Zane were just about passable though Zane sounded like he was doing a fake North American accent for some reason. Sean Pertwee and Nick Moran were fairly bad, David Ginola (yup the ex footballer David Ginola) was just completely pointless. I have to say Laurence Fox was just beyond awful as a Nazi with quite possibly the worst German accent ever heard. Really, an appalling movie that should never have seen the light of day. I really was disappointed. I had just come off of a really busy day preparing a business client's construction area for the contractors who were going to begin a major renovation. I had been removing debris and getting things ready all day and was ready for some down time. I really like my job that involves being part of a team that does basic janitorial jobs. Everyday can bring a new challenge since I am part of a specialty cleaning crew. One day it might be graffiti removal and another day it could be floor cleaning and refinishing. When we do post special event cleaning, I am always amazed at the mess left. Anyway one of my co workers had suggested I check The Last Drop out. He had a Netflix cd, so I borrowed it. I took a look on Netflix and it said the movie was like The Borne Ultimatum and Three Kings. Cool, I thought. But no way. If you want to watch a quality war film about stealing Nazi loot watch the brilliant Kelly's Heroes. Forget this one.

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October 27, 2011

* 1/2Paul D

If comedy is supposed to be one of this film's genres, then it is done badly, but then again the heist part is just as terrible.

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September 19, 2011

½* Leena L

10 minutes was enough to turn it off. Geesh. what a waste....

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May 29, 2011

* ½ Nenbelle

The weirdest cast ever...vampires,comedians,killers,Hollywood stars,unknown Brit actors and the worse acting...even the hottie Alexander Skarsgard could not save it.

moviebuff18cab moviebuff18cab May 26, 2011

THE LAST DROP (2005)

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April 28, 2011

* Ionn M

This is a movie about greed and to some extent revenge in wartime Netherlands. An officer belonging to the Waffen-SS is sent out to secure treasures looted from Dutch museums by one of Göring's special commandos before the allied operation Market Garden rolls over the area. Meanwhile a group of German rouges are trying to find these riches for themselves as revenge for the group's leader being sent to the eastern front by said Waffen-SS officer. A group of allied soldiers take part in a covert operation to find these treasures, in order to stop the Germans from taking them to Berlin, and then return them to the Dutch government. So far, so good - but then the movie starts. Oh my...

The production team behind this movie must have learned everything they know about WWII in the European theatre from movies like "The Dirty Dozen" or other B-war movies made in the late 50's or during the 60's. I spotted many mistakes, mistakes that easily could have been avoided if they had consulted with someone - ANYONE with the correct technical know-how. For instance; the detachment of Allied soldiers uses the Sten Mk II sub-machine gun, no problem there as this cheap, mass produced weapon saw action in north Africa and most of Europe - but the ammo magazine IS NOT A HANDLE! Due to the recoil you're more likely to end up with the detached ammo clip in your hand after a couple of rounds. None of the Allied soldiers in this movie holds the sub-machine gun correctly while firing it. Another mistake is perhaps more of a continuity problem: When the Allied takes off from England in their Horsa-gliders; they are pulled by RAF Wellington bombers. But in the following (partial CG) clip the glider tugs have suddenly been exchanged for either the C-33/39 (Douglas DC-2) or the more probable C-47 (Douglas DC-3). Alexander Skarsgård could have done with some more dialogue coaching as his native idiom sounded through at times to the verge of becoming comical. And what purpose did Michael Madsen's character have in this (at best) mediocre story other than securing a big name for the movie?

My favourite part in this movie was when one of the reluctant farm girls, kept to service the German troops guarding the treasures, secretly took a slash in the soup they later served to the unsuspecting soldiers. And a weasel, trying to play all sides in this story, had nothing but praise for the same soup when he too had some later on.

At the end of the day I found this movie to be more or less 1h42' of wasted time. The mistakes I listed here may seem petty, but then again there is no excuse for doing a half-arsed job. Do it right, or don't do it at all.

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April 15, 2011

** Anna C

OK not the greatest War movie Ever, and to be honest wasn't really expectin much, but was better than I expected, and quite funny in places!

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March 30, 2011

* Ej K

Weak story telling, inconsistent, unattractive and cheesy. There were some "alright" moments however.

Low budget, low performance war film. I wouldn't recommend it.

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February 9, 2011

* Order227

This WWI film is set against the backdrop of Operation Market Garden which is also the subject of A Bridge Too Far. The story illustrates the attempt by rogue German deserters to steal a cache of art treasures very valuable in the Netherlands. The endeavor is complicated more by a guard of German regulars. A spy task force of Allies simultaneously is sent to secure the treasures, or if necessary destroy the cache from the Germans.

The SS has orders to remove the contents to Germany. The Allied force uses German uniforms and a Luftwaffe plane in their attempt and are mistaken for the enemy when the American contingent arrives. The German rogue force elements run afoul of the Allied covert group, the Americans and the SS. The film climaxes as all converge in a mad looting free-for-all, with everyone attacking everybody else.

The tragedy is that so many such European treasures were indeed damaged, destroyed, stolen or lost in WWII. The Last Drop is a fictitious scenario about soldiers putting greed ahead of duty. The Last Drop too is concerning the issue of misidentification, second guessing and freindly fire that occurs in war when dereliction of duty or accidents causes deviations from plans.

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November 2, 2010

* ½ Judge L

I knew going into this one not to expect much. Well that is what I got out of it...NOT MUCH.

Not a complete waste of time; there are a few alright moments.

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October 20, 2010

*Terry H

It sucked pretty bad. I should have know that with Michael Madsen in the film. Poor screen play and very badly developed.

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September 11, 2010

* Olivia E

A war film with a difference, it's on the rob! Really great cast, stand out performance from Karel Roden and Alexander(please bite me) Skarsgard!

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June 26, 2010

* ½ Ella H

RAF sketch anyone? but the characters were absolutely brilliant! Hilarious and can't say that I didn't enjoy this!

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April 13, 2010

*Akos V

poor flick about a few soldiers wanna get rich

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April 8, 2010

*gerarddefre

A bad version of 'Kelly's Heroes' set in WWII, during ' Operation Marketgarden', without the tank, Clint or... anything. Avoid.

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March 25, 2010

* Michael D

Strange "war" movie about different groups, including a mix of Brits and Americans, some German Army soldiers, and a group of SS all vie for a hidden stash of gold in Holland. The plot os set against the back drop of Operation Market Garden though the plot has really nothing to do with that. In a certain way it is much like "Kelly's Heroes" and is better in that this film's tone is more consistent, there are no painfully out of place goofball moments. However, the action scenes aren't too stellar so the end result is a weird movie, perhaps worth watching once for action film junkies.

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December 29, 2009

*Jason C. Jason C.

A movie with potential, but did not fulfill any low expectations. I believe it was a rip off of a combination of Public Enemies and Saving Private Ryan. Not worth watching.

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December 11, 2009

*Van R

This marginal World War II thriller takes place late in 1944 against the historic setting of the disastrous Allied mission code-named Operation Market Garden in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands as various elements find themselves contending with each other for horde of Danish treasure that the Gestapo have stored in a booby-trapped barn. A group of British troops have been diverted from Operation Market Garden for another mission code-named Operation Matchbox, but things take a predictable turn for the worst when their C-47 is struck by enemy flak and they crash far from their landing zone. The British commander dies when German troops cut them to pieces on the ground, but the stout-hearted Brits reassemble and wipe out the Germans. Sean Pertwee of EVENT HORIZON plays a rugged British sergeant who is wounded in the leg, and Billy Zane of TITANIC fame is a Canadian glider pilot. Meanwhile, the Nazis are preparing to move the loot when a couple of renegade Germans show up and the Americans, led by Colonel J.T. Colt (Michael Madsen of RESERVOIR DOGS) have just captured a bridge without firing a shot. Director Colin Teague, who helmed episodes from the new 2007 DR. WHO and THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES, has put together a shoddy, low-budget KELLYS HEROES knockoff that lacks either a shred of authenticity or charisma. Virtually everything from the uniforms to the equipment is wrong. For example, when the gliders are towed off the runways of England they are hitched to four-engined Wellington bombers, but when we see them over enemy country they are being towed by U.S. C-47 Dakota transports. Men on both sides masquerade as their respective enemy as the action boils down to a fiery climax.

THE LAST DROP gets off on the right foot with a exciting little battle between the Brits and the Jerries, but afterward the screenplay by Gary Young and Teague degenerates into a series of incidents as everybody tries to steal the loot. There is an amusing scene near the beginning when two Dutch woman prepare a tasty pot of hot soup for their Nazi oppressors and season it with their own urine. One S.S. officer raves about how delicious the soup is. It is difficult to tell whether the filmmakers are trying to treat World War II as an adventure or just a mediocre melodrama. The final quarter-hour is spent with everybody blasting away at everybody else as the Canadian pilot and other steal the seaplane. They save the loot, well, part of it anyway. Colonel Colt snatches the Mona Lisa and the renegade Germans break into the museum where the treasure is stashed after the war and rob it. Sloppy, half-hearted direction mars what could have been an interesting thriller in the vein of a Jack Higgens style World War II auctioneer. The CGI of hundreds of planes towing gliders to Holland is visually arresting, but the remainder of this lackluster war picture fails to measure up. This is an amoral W.W. II movie where comrades on each side try to kill their own. Only World War II buffs will enjoy this and that is stretching the truth. Let us say that only World War II buffs will want to see it and then be depressed by what they have seen. One interesting scene shows a British soldier dripping morphine onto a cigarette and smoking it. There is no nudity.

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