Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton
Week of June 29, 2026
Lucky Strike
Rated R for language, violence and some grisly images
Rotten Tomatoes Score 57%
In Theaters
Based on true events, Lucky Strike tells the story of a soldier (Scott Eastwood) during The Battle of the Bulge who finds himself the lone survivor of an attack, but deep behind enemy lines without any aid to come get him. Using his wits and a desire to survive, he must make his way through the German lines and back to safety. Director Rod Lurie (The Contender) has given us some really great films over the years, so expectations were high. I found the movie to have a 70’s feel to it, like maybe a vehicle for Steve McQueen or even Eastwood’s dad, Clint. It is definitely a one-man show, and Scott is good enough here. The action is tight, at least tighter than the script. The dialogue was predictable and what you would expect from a screenwriter who grew up on these types of films. The story was also something that most have seen before, but if you’re new to war movies, you might not get the sense of that. To get down into it, the movie at times gives you the feel that you are watching the movie within the movie. In Quentin Tarantino’s film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Leonardo DiCaprio plays a character much like our hero here in a film called the The 14 Fists of McCluskey, which gets fully fleshed flashbacks. DiCaprio plays a character similar to Clint Eastwood in that film, which to me makes sense with this new story. Alas, I was distracted enough during the film to not take it as seriously as it wanted to be taken, thinking up these alternate scenarios. Perhaps if they got a bigger star, the film could have held more interest. As a theatrical release, I think it is going to suffer under the weight of the tentpole films at every corner. But it might possibly find a home on streaming soon, giving it a home with an audience who thrives on these kinds of projects. C+