STARRING: Lulu Wilson, Kate Siegel, Brandon Flynn, Catherine Walker, James Urbaniak, Neil Patrick Harris
DIRECTED BY: Jenn Wexler
WRITTEN BY: Jenn Wexler and Matt Angel
STORY BY: Matt Angel & Suzanne Coote
RATING: Not Yet Rated | RUN TIME: 89 minutes
Only In Theaters November 4, 2026
Trilogies are hard, man. Genre trilogies especially. If a franchise moves beyond the third part, then, very often, lesser parts can start to look better against ever-diminishing returns (Scream, Star Wars, Aliens, The Terminator films, Rambo, etc.), but if, initially, all you’re dealing with is a trilogy, creating three great movies that build upon each other but generally don’t stray too far from the source material seems to be pretty difficult. Are there more stories to tell with the central character? How do you avoid repetition? Should the movies stand on their own to help welcome newcomers, or demand all films be watched from the beginning? So many questions that, so often, are left unasked and unanswered.
For horror, comedy and action junkies, Evil Dead was always the gold standard. Yes, the movies are scrappy; yes, each one ups the comedy from the one before; and yes, they slowly become more polished, but they maintain the same creative team; the through-line, story and rules just about work; and across the three films you get to see the filmmakers improve, grow and do just about every possible practical and in-camera effect from the entire history of movies up to the introduction of CGI. Also, depending on your taste, there’s just about something for everyone in those initial three films.
The “Becky” trilogy was doing very well with its first two instalments - You can hear our reviews on our podcast here - They were small, self-contained stories that worked because there was an emotional hook to each one, as well as plenty of genre tropes; villains we should all be able to agree on (although these days I am not so sure); a welcome young, female protagonist that defied genre stereotypes while also pleasingly living up to each one; a secondary, on-going “key” MacGuffin plot; old-school seventies cinematography with splashes of ’50s and ’80s Americana and iconography thrown in; and the trend of casting actors known for comedies as the worst of the worst, fascist bad guys.
There are only a few people who tie the full trilogy together: Lulu Wilson as Becky, the composer Nima Fakhrara and producers Jordan Yale Levine, Jordan Beckerman and Russ Posternak. Each film has a different director or directing team. Wrath and Last Temptation share the same writers and cinematographer (and there are probably a few other little similarities or linking devices between each one), but this was not a trilogy that was thought out by the same creative team across all three films.
It’s pleasantly surprising, then, that in tone and style, at least, none of the entries deviate too wildly or distinctly from each other.
The curious thing is that it ever made it to film two, let alone film three, when the original Becky lost 3.5 million dollars against a 5 million dollar budget. Online, it states that the budget for Wrath was $199,507, which seems impossible (unless everyone worked for free), and what’s worse is that it barely made that back in box office, with a worldwide gross of only $207,118 - Again, I do not fully trust these numbers. Lastly, considering the first film sets up the key MacGuffin, it’s odd the original writers didn’t stay on the franchise in some capacity to finish out and explain what the key is for, but then, from the look of the financials, it is odd that Wrath and Last Temptation exist at all.
Lulu Wilson as “Becky” on the set of the film, THE LAST TEMPTATION OF BECKY, a Quiver Distribution release. Photo courtesy of Quiver Distribution.
Here’s the issue I have while writing this review: I love the Becky films, I love Lulu Wilson as Becky and I want them to be much better known than they are. Their stint on Netflix certainly helped to raise awareness (and probably contributed to the financing of a third film) and, by a cursory glance of the internet, Last Temptation seems to be being covered, reviewed and promoted on all the usual big websites and podcasts. This is a good thing but also, unfortunately, a bad thing because, as you’ve probably guessed by my preamble, Last Temptation doesn’t quite stick the landing when it comes to closing out the trilogy and, I am very sad to say, is the weakest entry by a long way.
Just to be 100% clear: this is not a scathing review. Last Temptation was a decent film. It was solidly made, had plenty of crowd-pleasing moments, and Lulu Wilson is a name I hope I am writing about for decades to come. It also doesn’t tarnish, in any way, the two films that came before it. If you liked the first two, then definitely go to see it and support it. I would also happily watch a fourth part, should such a film ever emerge.
But as a film nerd and a geek about the Becky films, it just left me underwhelmed, which I wholeheartedly admit is partly on me and my pesky old expectations.
The rest of this review will contain spoilers and so if you haven’t seen it yet, here’s where you go see it and then come back here afterwards.
Lulu Wilson as “Becky” in the film, THE LAST TEMPTATION OF BECKY, a Quiver Distribution release. Photo courtesy of Quiver Distribution.
So, as the end of Wrath set up, Becky is now a bad-ass working for the CIA. I was all prepared for Temptation to go full Army of Darkness, then, as Becky is no longer a nomadic, damaged orphan but part of a big government agency.
However, it’s quickly very apparent that the writers may have blocked themselves into a corner here, because they have already removed one of the things that made the first two so appealing: Becky’s need to live by her wits, without the usual resources, and figure out clever and exciting ways to outwit her enemies. With the resources of the CIA somewhat at her disposal, the only choice for this third film is for Becky to, essentially, go big or go home. Becky would have to go all Rambo 3, and sadly Temptation has neither the budget nor the crew to “go big”, although it really tries, and I do give it points for trying.
However with films like Ballerina delivering endless, soaring, impossible but entertaining-as-hell action spectacle for its running time, and the days of the likes of PM Entertainment being able to put out car-flipping, explosive action classics for the budget of what would barely buy you a 30-second AI-generated advert these days, the only way to truly get the job done on a go-big-Becky third part would be to get Scott Adkins and his stunt/fight team involved, and it is, sadly, abundantly obvious that they didn’t do that.
So, yes, the first issue is that it can’t really deliver on the sort of action we straight-to-video movie fans have begun to expect at this point, but it’s also not delivering the innovative, home-made, resourceful thrills of the first two movies, and there is entirely too much CGI blood, which is just a waste of money at this point.
[L-R] Brandon Flynn as “Jordan Rigby” and Lulu Wilson as “Becky” in the film, THE LAST TEMPTATION OF BECKY, a Quiver Distribution release. Photo courtesy of Quiver Distribution.
The second and biggest issue with the film is perhaps the complete lack of emotional core or growth in the film. Becky spends the film as a CIA operative that resents being low down on the pecking order during missions that, when, invariably, the mission goes sideways, she opts for “Plan C”, which basically involves her just slaughtering everyone in a brutal and unnecessary manner.
I know what the film is trying to do, and we’re meant to be gleefully clapping along as Becky is “unleashed” and ruthlessly violent because “that’s what you’re all here for, folks, right? The violence?”
I have the same problem with any of the new Evil Dead films. From the Fede Alvarez requel onwards, they seem to be saying, “You all like Evil Dead because of the hardcore gore, right?”, which, in my mind, is to completely misunderstand both the first three Evil Dead films and storytelling in general. It’s also a really shitty way to view your audience.
Well, to some extent, this is what Last Temptation wrestles with: if Becky plays by the rules, then where’s the fun? But if Becky doesn’t play by the rules and just flat-out murders everyone on every mission, where’s the motivation? And what government agency would even tolerate that for a minute? It’s these questions that the film never adequately resolves. You either need to set up a new person in Becky’s life for her to lose before the third act (which I think they think they’re doing with Brandon Flynn’s Agent Jordan Rigby, but they’re not really successful, as he is an empty cypher of a character - part protagonist, part antagonist, culminating in a whole lot of nothing), or you have to have Becky grown up a little, maybe leading a small team, deploying her wits and cunning occasionally and beginning to move away from the PTSD of losing everyone she loves. Either way, you would then need that to be unravelled in some way to give you an explosive third act. Sadly, what we get is just a one-note Becky, who is still alone, still damaged, still hell-bent on revenge but learning very little.
And while her handler, Agent Kate Montana, does try and speak some casual wisdom to get her to look at herself, the film forgets that and instead goes for the Sci-Fi, supernatural, we-can’t-think-of-anything-else third act where, again, all Becky is required to do is murder Nazis. Now, don’t get me wrong, watching Lulu Wilson’s Becky murder Nazis is always a delight, but without the emotional weight beneath it and without any character growth, it just feels like a film searching for a crescendo and finding only a few repetitive chords with little melody.
The obvious solution here, of course, would be to have the enemy be the head brass at the CIA, who Becky discovers, while playing ball but still being a bad-ass, are also fascists. Not only would it mean that Becky would’ve had to use cunning and subterfuge to bring them all down, it would also add a layer of distrust, disillusionment and complexity to her character, while being nicely satirical and timely.
Kate Siegel as “Agent Kate Montana” in the film, THE LAST TEMPTATION OF BECKY, a Quiver Distribution release. Photo courtesy of Quiver Distribution.
We come, then, to the villain: Neil Patrick Harris as “General Wilhelm Reuss”. Kevin James and Seann William Scott worked quite well in their respective roles in the previous films but, make no mistake, their casting was still stunt casting. Were they the best people for the roles? No. Did their casting intrigue people enough to watch the movies, who wouldn’t otherwise? Probably. The best thing both those actors did was to not lean into the evil and just play them straight, and maybe a little more menacing than you were used to seeing them. I knew we were in for trouble, though, when Neil Patrick Harris showed up and, the moment after his reveal, literally sneered like an evil Disney cartoon villain. Dude, you’re wearing a full Nazi uniform, swastika pins and all; sneering is not required. Apart from that, he is simply fine in the role and, actually, not really given much to sink his teeth into. The biggest issue is more the fact that it is written that he and Becky square off numerous times and, in order for him to almost make it to the end of the film, Becky does nothing, when we’ve already established that Becky always does something. This would be fine if their final showdown proved to be genuinely climactic, but it isn’t. It’s thoroughly disappointing.
Then there’s the villain’s plan to magically raise Hitler from the dead (with the MacGuffin key) to bring about the Fourth Reich. Now, here is where we leave Becky-land all together and the filmmakers say, “It’s mostly genre fans watching this, right? We can go a bit Sci-Fi and silly with this one, yes?” I would’ve suggested not to, but nobody asked me. If I am fair and less picky, there is a way this could’ve worked: if they’d picked an actor that looked anything like Hitler, for one, and if they had maybe made it look like they’d done something to his head to cover up the fact that Hitler shot himself in his bunker (a metal plate, perhaps, a scarred-up face or, as we’re going full Sci-Fi nonsense, made him part robot; Robo Hitler could’ve been fun!). Sadly, they don’t do that. They raise Hitler from the dead, who looks nothing like Hitler, and then immediately gun him down. I understand that maybe that was the whole joke, but after three films teasing this damn key, for this to be it just felt a little like we were cheated, that’s all.
[L-R] Neil Patrick Harris as “General Wilhelm Reuss” and Lulu Wilson as “Becky” in the film, THE LAST TEMPTATION OF BECKY, a Quiver Distribution release. Photo courtesy of Quiver Distribution.
I suppose, in the end, the feeling I got was just one of mild disappointment. They just didn’t stick the landing how I’d hoped, but I give them high marks for trying. The action scenes weren’t impressive or impactful enough, there wasn’t anything to really get emotionally invested in, the villain’s plan was just a bit silly and a bit pointless, and the script needed a one-liner-writing genius to punch it up. So often, a scene called for some barnstorming, eloquent put-downs, and they just didn’t emerge. However, I don’t want to just relentlessly come down on a film that tries as much and means as well as this one. It feels like all the pieces are there; they just needed to be nudged into place a little differently. If you go in just looking for Becky to murder some Nazis, then you will not be disappointed. I fully expect this is a film that I soften to over time and with repeated viewings. Also, let’s not forget, none of these films past the first one, financially, should even exist, so let’s support and applaud this creative team for getting the trilogy completed at all.
It’s funny because, at a cursory glance, the Letterboxd reviews, mostly from when the film screened at festivals, seem to imply that everyone loved this entry, with some people even saying that, finally, they’re progressing her story and the whole Becky franchise is going somewhere. It’s OK; I am so repeatedly out of sync with what other people think at this point that I am used to it. I am happy that it is getting some attention, as there’s still a lot of fun to be had with the film, and if it encourages people to seek out the other two, then that’s a win-win.
If it means that one day there’s a fourth Becky film, I’ll be the first to buy a ticket.
Lulu Wilson as “Becky” in the film, THE LAST TEMPTATION OF BECKY, a Quiver Distribution release. Photo courtesy of Quiver Distribution.
