John Real’s medieval fantasy, The Last Redemption, boasts a stacked cast, good production design, and a generic yet somewhat interesting premise—all of which is rendered meaningless by its abysmal script, questionable narrative choices, and nonexistent characterization. Revolving around a group of outlaws who put their lives on the line to have a chance to absolve themselves, The Last Redemption could have fared much better had the writing and direction matched up with the potential showcased by the rest of the aspects of the movie. The most surprising part of the venture is that, despite being a sword and sorcery-type narrative, there is hardly any fantastical elements present in the movie; the mentions of orcs and goblins will lure interested viewers in for a high fantasy experience, only to leave them disappointed by the end by the bare minimum presence of supernatural elements.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Did the Baelian Brothers Rescue Lily?
King Ferrel of the magical kingdom of Brea has his attention divided between tackling enemies on two fronts: vicious Orcs on one end—whom his valiant warriors, led by his cousin, Sir Roland, face across the valleys—and a group of highwaymen and bandits led by the notorious Leland Nistrol, whom his loyal general Captain Hardin and his troop keep occupied near the wilderness. Roland suggests Ferrel give him the east portion of the kingdom to ensure better security from the Orcs and similar forces, but Ferrel shuts him down, as not only is the land not transferable, but that particular portion is guarded by the trusted, mighty Lord Goran and his bastard son Tyrion. A direct refusal of his proposal triggers Roland’s ambition, and he goes to Nistrol to conspire against Ferrel and reveals he wants them to have the king eliminated and take the throne for himself. In exchange, Roland promises Nistrol an exorbitant amount of money and the assurance that, upon becoming the king, he will allow Nistrol and his men to go scot-free without having the royal army pursuing them any longer.
As the bandits discuss the deal in private, Nistrol’s accomplices, the Baelian Brothers—John, Silent Jack, and Diana—raise questions about Roland’s true intentions, but Nistrol appears too convinced about the entirety of it. Like a number of the outlaws in the gang, the Baelian Brothers consider Nistrol a parental figure and believe it wise to follow his decision, and so they secretly infiltrate the royal palace in the middle of the night and surround the king. A clash ensues between the king’s security and Nistrol’s men, but the Baelian Brothers manage to overpower the opposition quite easily, and Roland ends up killing Ferrel. However, Ferrel’s young daughter, Princess Lily, witnesses the entire scenario unfold, prompting Roland to persuade Nistrol to kill the girl as well. Nistrol’s initial hesitation quickly wanes with Roland’s offer of doubling the amount of money he had promised, but his trusted accomplices—the Baelian Brothers—step in to defend Lily. Unlike Nistrol, who had decided to abandon whatever ethics and principles he had as the leader of the band of bandits, the Baelian Brothers had a stronger moral compass, and killing a child for a scoundrel like Roland is where they drew their line.
Rescuing Lily from Nistrol, John, Jack, and Diana manage to escape from the palace, and knowing his legitimacy as Ferrel’s successor will always be in jeopardy as long as Lily lives, Roland sends his men after them. He convinces Captain Hardin and his troops that the Baelian Brothers assassinated the king and fled with the princess, and that Nistrol risked his life to save Roland—and even though Hardin has his doubts, he can’t ignore the command of the heir to the throne.
Why Did Tyrion Help the Baelion Brothers?
As Hardin and Nistrol scoured the wilderness in search of the Baelian Brothers, Tyrion decided to search on his own and came across a captive bandit leader, Griso, who’d previously captured Lily by forcing the trio to surrender, only to have his men ambushed and slain by them later. Meanwhile, Diana gets into an argument with Jack and John, as she doesn’t see any reason for them to risk their lives for the kid time and time again. Diana goes off on her own for a bit, when she confronts Tyrion in the woods, and the duo get ambushed by orcs. After fighting side by side and repelling the threat, Tyrion decides to corner Diana, who reveals the truth about whatever happened in the palace, revealing that she and her brothers are trying to protect the princess from Roland. Tyrion hesitates to trust Diana’s words, but as Diana reveals that she has faith in Tyrion’s judgment and sense of honor and trusts him to make the right decision, he starts to see things clearly. Like Hardin, Tyrion didn’t trust Roland either, but couldn’t challenge his claim due to Roland’s superior position. Tyrion meets up with Hardin and Nistrol, and after assessing the movement, returns to Diana and the Baelian Brothers to warn them beforehand. Tyrion is branded as a traitor, and the band splits up while escaping. Tyrion and Diana go together on a separate path and decide to meet Jack and John at a rendezvous location. During their journey, Diana and Tyrion fall for each other, and Tyrion decides to expose Roland by revealing the truth to his father, Goran. Knowing that Tyrion will return to Brea, Diana is affected by separation anxiety and distances herself from him.
Was Diana Able To Save Lily At The End?
However, Tyrion is shocked to find Goran not believing his word, insulting his heritage, and denouncing him straight up. The next day, Goran joins the search party as well, and Tyrion faces Hardin and his men as he reveals the truth about Roland. Once again, his words bear no value to anyone, and Hardin orders his men to take Tyrion captive. Goran decides to accompany the group holding Tyrion captive, and at the right time, launches an attack on them, killing most of the soldiers, thereby allowing Tyrion a chance to escape. Goran is revealed to have survived fatal injuries, and before drawing his last breath, he reveals to Tyrion that he’d denounced him earlier in suspicion of their conversation being heard by Roland’s men. A dying Goran shares his pride in having Tyrion as his own son. An injured Tyrion reunites with Diana as they plan to take Lily to safety before it’s too late.
Hardin is tricked and killed by Nistrol, who is soon joined by Roland, who has decided to take matters into his own hands this time, and the duo start hunting down the Baelian Brothers. John takes on Roland’s forces, allowing Diana to escape, but despite fighting valiantly, he falls after being surrounded by the overwhelming forces of Roland and his army. Nistrol manages to catch up to Silent Jack, who had formed a parental relationship with Lily, and Jack fights till his last breath to protect Lily. Tyrion arrives at the last moment to protect Lily from Nistrol but gets overpowered by him as well, and in this crisis situation, Diana has to choose between saving Lily or Tyrion. She chooses to protect the child, as Nistrol kills Tyrion in front of her—thereby honoring the lives and principles of her brothers while sacrificing her love.
Diana kills Nistrol, which is another crushing ordeal for her, given he was like a guardian to her and her brothers, and manages to escape with Lily before Roland’s arrival. Diana takes Lily to the Kingdom of Nora, a land governed by women, who decide to take the princess under their wing. As the movie comes to an end, Diana presumably meets her end after succumbing to her injuries, but at least she knows that all the sacrifices she and people close to her made did not go in vain. In their entire lifetime as bandits, this is one of the good deeds they performed, which granted them an honorable death at the end.
Roland is still in search of Lily, and he will not rest easy until he has captured the true heir to the Kingdom of Brea. Perhaps Lily will grow up to be a fierce warrior someday, and return to Brea to take revenge upon her father’s life, and on the lives of the people who sacrificed their lives to protect her, by killing Roland.
