With a considerable lack of movies coming to theaters for the time being, Netflix is picking up the slack with its ever-growing slate of original content, and many of its new and upcoming productions are based on comic books, like the Chris Hemsworth-starring Extraction. This trend will continue with Netflix's upcoming comic book adaptations, like The Old Guard, that will bring indie comics to a wide audience of streaming viewers. Now, Netflix's next comics-based movie, The Last Days of American Crime, is set to be released on Friday.
Directed by Taken franchise veteran Oliver Megaton, the adaptation is based on the 2009 comic book written by Rick Remender and illustrated by Greg Tocchini. The graphic novel follows a group of criminals that attempt to pull that last heist in America. Before the film hits Netflix on June 5, let's take a look at everything you need to know about the comic before checking out the film.
Taking place in the near future, The Last Days of American Crime find the United States is in crisis caused by an economic downturn and a rise in criminal activity. But for the many criminals that revel in the violence and spoils of their world, their way of life is about to come to an end. This is the result of two simple actions from the United States government. For one, all paper currency has been discontinued with the complete move to digital transactions, which allows the government to monitor their citizens. The other is the use of the American Peace Initiative (A.P.I.), a signal that will force all individuals to follow the law and will soon be broadcast throughout the entire country.
The graphic novel follows Graham Bricke, a career criminal who has found little success from his life of crime. Living with his ailing mother, Graham will soon be stuck to their small trailer and a dead-end job. Because of this, Graham plans a heist that is set to take place on the night before the A.P.I. is set to be used and before all currency becomes digital. In the film, Graham is played by Édgar Ramírez, and the trailer for the film has revealed that he will also be motivated by the death of his brother, something not present in the original source material.
After being betrayed by his original partner, Graham is forced to turn to two criminals that he has never seen before. Waiting for them at a bar, Graham is seduced by a mysterious woman who hhe gets to know very well, very quickly. Graham's mysterious new partners are soon revealed to be Shelby Dupree, a hacker and the woman he just met, and Kevin Cash, who happens to be Shelby's fiancee. In the Netflix film, this criminal couple is played by Anna Brewster and Michael Pitt.
Brought together by circumstance and opportunity, Graham continues to become closer with Shelby, as he learns more about the violent and sadistic Kevin. Each comes with their own baggage, and Graham finds less reason to trust either of them as he learns more about their criminal endeavors. While each member of this group is playing their own angle, word of the last American crime has begun to spread, and others attempt to hijack the last moment to commit a crime in this future version of the US.