The Last Word (1979)

Variety International
Directed by Roy Boulting
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(MGMHD)

Richard Harris is miscast as a soft-spoken inventor who takes a cop hostage and barricades his family in their home to protest its impending demolition by the city. Karen Black is also miscast as a TV reporter who gives running commentary to the proceedings. Martin Landau is simply awful as a blue collar cop with an accent that comes and goes depending on the scene. It's all a poor imitation of The China Syndrome with a murky anti-establishment flavor. The inventor angle introduces some silly plot devices like a remote control sun car that gets turned into a bomb and the big finale where Harris takes on a SWAT team. Only in the 70s...