The Last Drop

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The Last Drop
Last Drop2.JPG
Directed by Colin Teague
Written by Colin Teague
Gary Young
Produced byHamish Skeggs
Andrei Boncea
Starring Billy Zane
Michael Madsen
Karel Roden
Tommy Flanagan
Cinematography Maxime Alexandre
Edited byMichael Ellis
Music by David Julyan
Production
companies
Carnaby International
Media Pro Pictures
Distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (UK)
Release date
  • 8 March 2006 (2006-03-08)(UK)
Running time
103 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
Romania
LanguageEnglish

The Last Drop is a 2006 British-Romanian adventure war film by Colin Teague that was released direct to video. Teague collaborated with Gary Young, with whom he had previously worked with on British crime drama films Shooters and Spivs .

Contents

Plot

The film is set during World War II, amidst Operation Market Garden. Captain Edward Banks (Andrew Howard) and Corporal Powell (Neil Newbon), both SOE undercover British Intelligence officers, are given command of a small unit dubbed "Matchbox".

The objective of Matchbox is to retrieve Dutch gold and art treasures plundered by the Nazis, concealed within an underground bunker rigged with traps. Matchbox's mission is disrupted as they are downed before reaching their drop zone after facing hostile fire from German forces, which results in casualties. The surviving members include Powell, Private Alan Ives (Nick Moran), Flight Lieutenant Robert Oates (Billy Zane), Private David Wellings (Rafe Spall), and Sergeant Bill McMillan (Sean Pertwee). Oates, as the senior member, is appointed to lead the group, as they do not know Powell and Banks are Intelligence Agents.

Renegade German forces led by Lieutenant Jergen Voller (Alexander Skarsgård) who is Kessler's brother, alongside Corporal Dieter Max (David Ginola) and Sergeant Hans Beck (Karel Roden), also attempt to retrieve the Dutch gold and art treasures. Voller captures Gustav Hansfeldt (Steve Speirs), right hand man of SS Major Kessler (Laurence Fox). Gustav escorts them to the bunker in Arnhem where the treasure is stored.

Dutch resistance fighters Benitta (Lucy Gaskell) and Saskia (Coral Beed) locate the stolen loot beneath their farm and upon finding that it is about to transported to Berlin by Kessler, inform the British Intelligence. Benitta meets Powell at a nearby church, who then discloses his affiliation with British Intelligence to Matchbox.

Oates leads his troops to Arnhem, while Baker and Powell head to the bunker. Baker diffuses booby traps along the way and they soon secure the loot. Realising Kessler is coming, the group booby traps the bunker with explosives. Powell plans to steal a sea plane and divert it to Britain with the loot on board.

Following a shoot out between the two forces in which Baker is shot, Powell traps Kessler inside the bunker but is shot before boarding the plane. Baker wakes up and detonates the bombs, killing Kessler. The rest of the British crew make it out, and Voller and Beck sneak aboard posing as Americans. The loot was delivered to the British Government and displayed in a museum. Beck and Voller steal the loot from the museum and head to Switzerland. A few years later, the British survivors return to Arnhem.

Cast

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