The Last Temptation of Becky Review: Third Time Isn’t the Charm

The Last Temptation of Becky brings the trilogy to a violent conclusion, pitting Lulu Wilson’s teenage heroine against yet another racist madman. After defeating Kevin James in the original Becky and Seann William Scott in its follow-up, The Wrath of Becky, it’s fitting that she’d go toe-to-toe and gun-to-gun with Neil Patrick Harris in the third installment. While I’m always excited to see Lulu Wilson tear through a Nazi horde, The Last Temptation does so without the magic and humor of its predecessors, and ultimately loses the core elements of what made the first two so enjoyable.

What is The Last Temptation of Becky about?

After surviving two separate, brutal run-ins with different white supremacist groups, young Becky (Lulu Wilson, Annabelle: Creation) finds herself employed as the youngest agent in the CIA. Her unique skills and knack for violence make her a valuable but unpredictable asset. But when Becky finds herself sent on a mission that directly connects to her past, she faces off against the most dangerous foe yet: General Wilhelm Reuss (Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother).

The Last Temptation of Becky review

The magic of Becky exists largely in its premise of a scrappy young girl facing off against an unimaginable evil force. Becky is a teenager dealing with family turmoil who’s unexpectedly forced to face off against a gang of escaped criminals. She’s underestimated and ultimately successful in not only surviving the night, but defeating her far more prepared and experienced attackers. By the third film, that premise has been abandoned. Becky is a young adult, working professionally in the CIA and using the violence and trauma of her past to fuel her aggression. It’s a fitting transition for a character who has, by this point, grown out of her teenage years. But without those core elements, the story struggles to find an interesting angle to explore.

The Last Temptation of Becky continues the tradition of casting comedic actors in the franchise’s villainous roles. When I heard that Neil Patrick Harris would be donning the Nazi uniform and serving as the third film’s antagonist, I was optimistic but nervous. He’s an actor so closely associated with a very particular delivery style that if he could successfully shed that persona and subvert the audience’s expectations, it could make for one of his strongest performances. Unfortunately, he’s unable to convincingly display the depravity and darkness that such a role demands. He grimaces and delivers his lines with menace, but the performance lacks authenticity, and he never feels as frightening as Kevin James and Seann William Scott managed to be. With a villain that feels one-dimensional and bland (despite the horrific actions we see him perform), the showdown doesn’t hold the weight it strives for.

We see less of Becky as a person, and more of an exaggerated caricature of the person she’s become. Where earlier entries explore the difficulties of a young girl struggling with her home life and unable to find her direction in the world, The Last Temptation of Becky imagines her as a fully confident loose cannon. She’s more reminiscent of Dirty Harry than she is of the Becky we knew and rooted for six years ago. And that could be an interesting angle to finish her character arc if it had been executed with more finesse. It strives to be more of an action movie than a thriller, but the action feels slow, unimaginative, and inauthentic.

Is The Last Temptation of Becky worth watching?

For completionists, you’ll want to see the third (and likely final) installment in the Becky franchise, but I’d recommend keeping your expectations tempered. There’s less humor and less suspense. The Last Temptation of Becky ultimately feels like a movie that took the most basic ideas of the first two installments and rushed a third one into existence. It toys with some really interesting ideas in the third act, almost as quickly as they’re introduced. Still, we see Lulu Wilson as Becky dispatching Nazis and that is ultimately what we want from a Becky movie.

The Last Temptation of Becky Review: Third Time Isn’t the Charm