"Lucky Strike" Movie Review

The phrase “like father, like son” doesn’t come close to capturing the similarities in looks, cadence, voice, and that all-star squint when comparing Scott Eastwood with his legendary father. As a longtime Clint Eastwood fan, it was nice to kind of see him again up on the silver screen, ironically only days after learning of his official retirement.

It’s a little odd that the movie’s title stems from the brand of cigarettes that presumably most American soldiers smoked during WWII. More so, there was a commonly known “right way” to smoke them, which plays a pivotal part in the film’s culmination. The first 20 minutes played out by introducing three different storylines, which left this viewer a little confused. Even when they all came together into a more coherent narrative, it was apparent that it wasn’t even necessary. And therein lies the main problem with this movie: it was trying to be more than it was. Its desperate attempt to look and feel like an epic war movie, with its choppy storyline, constant use of close-ups, lack of musical score, and, of course, its content, often left it feeling flat.

The film tells the story of one soldier left behind enemy lines during a critical covert operation and his harrowing trek to the assigned extraction location. The movie boasts a “based on a true story” title card, so there’s no denying this story was worth being turned into a movie. It just could have been put into more capable hands, and perhaps given a slightly bigger budget.

All performances were fine, and the story beneath the story was interesting. While it was intended to deliver a sentimental sendoff, the actress who was on the receiving end of the seven-years-overdue “gift” didn’t seem to respond with much gratitude or sentiment.

Any war movie fan, especially one with an interest in the Battle of the Bulge, will get something out of this and have a good time doing so. One warning, though: if you’re going into it because you’re a Colin Hanks fan, who has second billing here, be ready, because he’s got a three-minute scene at the very beginning, after which he must have grabbed his paycheck and bolted.

- Paul Rosen