Customer Reviews

The Last Chapter: The Complete Series

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Last Chapter isn't so much about Bikers as it is about power; deals made and broken, promises not kept, and lies to family and friends. Canada's largest Biker gang, the Triple Sixers, wants a conduit to Ontario. Bob Durelle (Michael Ironside) wants to be that conduit, with 10 new Triple Six chapters of his own, while best friend Ross Desbiens (Roy Dupuis) wants no part of the Sixers. Bob and Ross make a secret deal to divide and conquer, but as Bob grows more and more powerful, can he hold up his end of the deal? Does he still want to?

This series is not about dudes on bikes. It digs so much deeper into the souls of the gang leaders, exposing us to their families, their friends, their loyalties, and their trust. Marini Orsini gives an amazing performance in the role of Bob's wife, who can't believe what's happening before her very eyes. Also outstanding is Michel Forget as Guenette, the police force's Biker "expert," who actually understands the Biker's mindset as he tries desperately to keep the peace, even after "his services are no longer required."

In the Last Chapter Two, loyalty and trust are a thing of the past. Bikers are double- and triple-dealing, and it's a little difficult to keep the players straight as they change allegiances back and forth and back again. Bob learns it isn't always good to be da king, as take-over pressures mount from all sides.

Yes, the Bikers do ride bikes in this series. But this is also the story of how they live, and of how they die.

There are extras on every disk, but I would advise watching the entire series before watching the extras, particularly the "Deleted Scenes" and the "Last Chapter Files." They need to be seen, but they can spoil the story if you haven't watched the entire film.

I discovered this item while browsing for biker stuff. The description said "Sopranos on Harleys" so I invested. This was a miniseries that aired in Canada, and was not shown in the US. I didn't get the Sopranos feel from it, and there truthfully weren't enough riding scenes for my taste, but it was still passable in other ways. I believe this must have been inspired by real events between biker clubs in Canada, I won't name them, but you can find the headlines. They must have had some advisors detailing the way things work inside a club. For instance, they were using chalkboards and talking with their mouths covered to avoid surveillence. A small part of this is in french with subtitles, but it was a Canadian production.
The story is of a small club that patches over (joins by changing their name and colors) to one of the big clubs to consolidate drug deals. There is dissention in the ranks and a few of the little guys refuse to join. Things quickly become unfriendly and the brotherhood erodes with well placed car bombs and drive by shootings. Women will probably root for the pretty boy (Dupuis) but like the real deal, there are no good guys. Michael Ironside excels in showing the slide from the top to deep paranoia. But its the guys in the background that keep it interesting.
This is both parts 1 and 2 and lasts about 9 hours. It is pretty entertaining and also informative, if you know what you're looking at.

You don't have to be particularly interested in bikers to enjoy this mini-series. The plot is complex, with well-developed central characters. The script is top-notch and the cast is uniformly excellent. It's a tragedy that starts playing out its inevitable outcome from the very first episode. Greed, the lust for power, and revenge all play a part in moving its main characters, played by Michael Ironside and Roy Dupuis, to their bitter destinies.

Roy Dupuis and Michael Ironside were the absolute stars of this miniseries. Roy Dupuis shows one more time, how versatile is is as an actor. This man can do anything from comedy to drama. He can make you laugh till you can't catch your breath, and at the same time, your heart will break for the characters he brings to life.

Having been a reader of 1% outlaw motorcycle material, I've had a certain interest in biker stuff (from a distance only). I've read stuff on both sides, from the laws point of view and from the bikers, as well as some biker fiction. Naturally, I was interested in The Sons of Anarchy tv series, and got very involved in it. I was doing a search on Michael Ironside one day and came across The Last Chapter. I read a lot of things here people said, both pro and con, and decide to blind buy it (elsewhere, for cheaper).

I was hesitant, but being a fan of Ironside's work I figured, why not. And I was absolutely not disappointed. Let me try to point out some things here to help others understand if they might want to give this a shot or not.

First off, though there are some similarities to The Sons of Anarchy tv show (which probably was inspired by The Last Chapter), the Sons show has a bigger budget, faster stories, and is more of a fictional action packed thing. Sons of Anarchy is kind of a 1% er's wet dream, i.e., if bikers could do what they would like, have deals going on with corrupt cops, getting away with a lot of stuff without getting caught much, etc. Sons also has more "good" guys to root for. Sons is certainly more geared to win a big audience, and it has done so and done it well. Sons is an intense show worth seeing. Yet in Sons, motorcycles themselves just seem to be a way of getting around, there is not much emphasis in Sons on why motorcycle culture is motorcycle culture, the freedom and love of being on and messing with motorcycles. There are a few moments in Sons, but not much. And the bikes themselves in Sons are not all that diverse. In The Last Chapter, a little more emphasis seems to be placed on the bikes themselves, maybe not much more, but it seems like more shots and efforts went in to showing the bikes.

The Last Chapter is in some ways a more realistic take on the 1% Biker world and its drama. It is certainly more raw in how the series is shot, how the story unfolds, it is not as flashy as Sons. There is much more concentration on the drama of the club that comes from patching over other clubs, and all the inner turmoil and deals that exist, the territory battles, personal battles, and with specific attention paid to details on how the cops monitor the bikers every move with surveillance, pressure, etc. Where there are multiple story threads and multiple character arcs going on with Sons of Anarchy, there is more of a simple singular deep story line here in The Last Chapter (with a few side threads and issues). The Last Chapter seems to dig into organized crime on a much bigger level than Sons of Anarchy does. The territory and scope of the story about the motorcycle club in The Last Chapter is broader than what comes across in Sons Of Anarchy. Several biker clubs from several provinces in Canada get involved throughout the show in The Last Chapter. Plus some drug lords from the "other" side of the fence show up. The Last Chapter seems to take a lot of stuff right out of the playbook with Canada and some of the real life 1% er biker wars that have happened there.

As for some of the criticisms I've seen here, "bikers don't drink wine, don't do art shows, don't live in rich homes, etc., etc." boy are some of you people naive. First off, both The Sons Of Anarchy and The Last Chapter are FICTIONAL biker shows. If they were to portray all that really goes on, the films would be x-rated and not even worth watching. Second, The Last Chapter takes place and is filmed in Canada, with a lot of French Canadians also getting camera time and it shows the diversity of Canadian culture. I'm sure there are some Canadian bikers out there who enjoy wine, among other forms of intoxication. And not all 1% bikers live in trailer parks or trash heaps. Especially those in Canada who have managed to get fairly wealthy in the organized criminal side of the biker wars. I've read about a lot greater excess by the successful few who survived (survived up to a point at least) and prospered and done more than just drinking wine and have a big house somewhere. That does not mean that everything in this show is portrayed perfectly or accurately, but in some ways, The Last Chapter goes a step further than The Sons of Anarchy in portraying the realism, brutality, and paranoia (the justified and the excessive) of the 1% life. The show is certainly not a perfect depiction, but unless you are into nitpicking, there is nothing much here that should present a realism problem. All shows have their issues, but whatever.

As for the show itself, the series is well produced. Decently filmed, though it does have a particular Canadian feeling to the look of the cinematography, after a while it does not seem all that noticeable. It is certainly not as bad as some of the poor quality, made for the sci-fi channel junk (there has been some good sci-fi channel stuff though). All the actors are decent, they do decent and even above average jobs doing their parts. Michael Ironside is always fun to watch whenever he is in front of the camera and he really shines here. So does Roy Dupuis. And this particular set of discs (four disc set) was great. Single sided. Well packaged.

All in all, I'd say that The Last Chapter is a good series to watch alongside The Sons of Anarchy. Both series complement each other in their own ways with their own particular strengths. To a certain degree, it could be said that The Last Chapter concentrates on the darker nature of the 1% motorcycle club world and those around them, and The Sons of Anarchy reveals more regarding the attempt at brotherhood within some parts of the 1% world. If both these shows could be combined, well, I'd be all for it. So I recommend both shows, particularly if you find the biker world, as portrayed on film in a fictional setting, interesting. These kinda crime shows do a great job of showing in an entertaining way why those who rule by power and the strong arm alone, are forever doomed to always having to gain more and more power to protect their position and to advance themselves so as to stay once step ahead of those who would destroy them. It is a never ending consuming fire. (And that is something that can certainly be applied to governments and religion, and not just the biker world.)

So, if you are someone who just happened to like Sons of Anarchy because you like modern action/drama shows, then you might not want to get into The Last Chapter. There is plenty of action in The Last Chapter, but a lot of serious drama and atmospheric feeling. A lot of plotting behind each others back, met by backstabbing and sudden violence. The pacing of The Last Chapter is down a gear or two from Sons of Anarchy (there is more time to catch your wind here with The Last Chapter), the intrigue is deep, and it packs one hell of a solid punch.

After the series LeFemme Nikita ended I hoped that Roy Dupuis would do another series. I soon realized this would probably not happen after reading and seeing several post Nikita interviews. When I heard that he was making a mini-series in Canada I had hoped that it would be shown in the US, but it was not. I was happy to be able to locate it and purchase it on Amazon. It lived up to its name, The Last Chapter. As always Roy Dupuis'performance is thought provoking and real. Without giving away any of the plot his role as Ross is as introspective and riveting as that of Michael Samuel.

This is an awesome mini series. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recomend to all! Once I started watching...I couldn't stop!! I had to go through both vol 1 & 2 marathon. Awesome story...great acting!! If you like the Soprano's...you'll love this!! You won't be disappointed.

This is a drama based on the entrance of a large motorcycle gang into the Ontario market: a thinly veiled depiction of the Hells Angels, called the "triple-sixers". In 2000-2001 the HA entered the Ontario market through a series of patchovers of existing clubs such as the Satan's Choice, Para Dice Riders, Lobos and Vagabonds. The plot is realistic enough, with Canadian production values (fellow Canucks will know what this means): earnest, made in two versions shot concurrently, one for each official language (English and French). If you are interested in the subject, you will find this engaging. Even as a basic crime show it holds up. The police, for the most part, are depicted as more interested in their internal politics than actually catching anyone and the bikers are about what one would expect. Unique in its Canadian setting and loosely based on real life, it is worth a look.

I loved this movie! As a huge fan of Roy Dupuis since his days of La Femme Nikita, I was intrigued and bought the movie, not knowing much about the series. It's about two men,Bob Durelle and Ross Desbiens, played by Michael Ironside and Roy Dupuis respectively, who decide to straddle the biker gang fence. Bob takes his crew and merges with the Sixers whereas Ross makes alliances with another gang, so that the Sixers don't completely take over. These two men are best friends at the start of the series, but by the end, they're bitter enemies. A tragic situation pits Ross early on against Bob and suddenly, their fake feud isn't so fake. This series is about how absolute power corrupts absolutely in the case of Bob Durelle, who becomes high on the good life of being associated with the Triple Sixers. It's a great series. It's been unfairly compared to the Sopranos, but considering I've never seen that series, I loved TLC. This series reminded me of how Roy's Michael (from LFN) would behave if Nikita was dead and he had nothing left to lose. I adored his deviousness in getting revenge and Roy looks incredibly delicious with the long hair. :D His voice is deepened in this series, so it takes getting used to if you were primarily a fan of LFN, but it works. And well.

It was filmed both in French and English and I purchased the series in English. As much as I love Roy's other films, it was nice on the ears to hear him speaking English again...Although, French sounds utterly delicious as well. ;P Enjoy! I sure did.

This is a well acted mini series. It is taut and suspenseful. If you are looking for just a fast moving, shootum
up type of movie, this is not it. It has good dialogue and keeps you guessing as you are never quite sure what to expect. Very good show and worth the price for both part 1 and 2.