The Last Full Measure (2019 film)


The Last Full Measure is a 2019 American war drama film written and directed by Todd Robinson and distributed by Roadside Attractions. The story follows the efforts of Pentagon staffer Scott Huffman and many veterans to see the Medal of Honor awarded to William H. Pitsenbarger, a United States Air Force Pararescueman who flew in helicopter rescue missions during the Vietnam War to aid downed soldiers and pilots. The film stars Sebastian Stan, Christopher Plummer, William Hurt, Ed Harris, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Irvine and Peter Fonda, in his final, posthumous film role.
Production began in the United States in 2017, and the film premiered at a special screening for veterans in Westhampton Beach, New York. It was released worldwide on January 24, 2020, and grossed $3 million against a $20 million budget. The film's title is taken from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, where Lincoln honored the fallen, saying that they "gave the last full measure of devotion."

Plot

The true story of Vietnam War hero William H. Pitsenbarger, a U.S. Air Force Pararescueman who personally saved over sixty men. During a rescue mission on April 11, 1966, Pits willingly chose to leave the relative safety of the rescue chopper to aid people on the ground when he saw how bad the situation below was. When others in his team declined to go, he put himself at risk to do more to help his fellow Americans. After saving many already, he was ordered to take the chance to escape on the last helicopter out of a combat zone heavily under fire, but he stayed behind to save and defend the lives of soldiers of the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division, before making the ultimate sacrifice in one of the bloodiest battles of the war.
Thirty-two years later, Pentagon staffer Scott Huffman, on a career fast-track, is reluctantly tasked with investigating a Medal of Honor request for Pitsenbarger made by his best friend and partner on the mission and his parents. Huffman seeks out the testimony of Army veterans who witnessed or were saved by Pitsenbarger’s extraordinary valor, including Takoda, Burr and Mott and Pitsenbarger's parents. Many of them carry their own demons from their experiences and trauma of that day. But as Huffman learns more about Pitsenbarger’s courageous acts, he uncovers a high-level conspiracy behind the decades-long denial of the medal, prompting him to put his own career on the line to seek justice for the fallen airman.
Huffman goes public with the story, and a Medal of Honor is awarded to Pitsenbarger.

Cast

It took nearly 20 years to make the movie. Todd Robinson first learned about the William H. Pitsenbarger story while doing research for another movie in 1999. The story intrigued Robinson for several reasons, including Pitsenbarger's award of the Air Force Cross rather than the Medal of Honor. Robinson and Executive Producer Sidney Sherman pitched the film idea to more than 50 production companies but none of them were interested in making the movie. Robinson decided to write the script without funding or a studio commitment.
After finishing the script Robinson and Sherman continued to search for a studio. New Line Cinema won the deal in 2007, but not long after, New Line was sold to Warner Bros. and the project was canceled. Robinson and Sherman were again without a backer. Over the course of the next decade, they lined up funding and kicked off production in 2017.
It was announced in May 2016 that Scott Eastwood and Ed Harris had been cast in the film, with Laurence Fishburne and Morgan Freeman in negotiations. By March 2017, Eastwood was no longer involved, and the film added Samuel L. Jackson, Sebastian Stan, Christopher Plummer, William Hurt, Bradley Whitford, Michael Imperioli, Linus Roache, John Savage and Diane Ladd to its cast. Filming was set to begin between Atlanta and Costa Rica later that month. Grant Gustin and LisaGay Hamilton were cast as production commenced, with Amy Madigan and Peter Fonda joining in April.
In August 2017, filming concluded in Atlanta and would move to Thailand, with Jeremy Irvine, Ethan Russell, Ser'Darius Blain, Cody Walker, Julian Adams, Tommy Hatto and Zach Roerig cast in the film.
Roadside Attractions acquired the distribution rights to the film in September 2018, with a proposed early 2019 release date in mind. It was released on January 24, 2020.

Release

This film was released by Roadside Attractions on January 24, 2020. The DVD release date was April 21, 2020.

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, The Last Full Measure holds an approval rating of 60% based on 63 critics, with an average rating of 6.21/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "The Last Full Measure struggles to capture the incidents that inspired it, but ultimately prevails thanks to strong performances in service of a remarkable true story." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 52 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."