Ranking Every Richard Linklater Film Worst To Best
11. Last Flag Flying (2017)
One of the more mainstream but also underrated pictures of his career, Last Flag Flying serves as a frank examination of the endless horror of war and the grief soldiers carry within themselves. It stars Steve Carrell, Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburne as estranged Vietnam war veterans, who come together after one of them (Carrell) loses a son in Iraq.
Though there are times when the film slips into too-corny melodrama, trying a tad too hard to remind audiences of just how terrible war is, it is in its strongest and quietest moments a brave and thoughtful reflection of how people react to loss and tragedy in the face of futile wars.
The way Linklater forms a connection between Vietnam and Iraq allows him to analyse how war is never-changing, serving up some striking assessments about patriotism, heroism and sacrifice. Carrell, Cranston and Fishburne are all also on solid form, keep the film anchored despite its more heavy-handed symbolism and metaphors, and though it isn't as strong as its unofficial predecessor The Last Detail (1970), it is a moving film well worth the time.