The people at Apple TV+ surely know how to throw money on the screen. I could be wrong, but I don't think there's any other streaming service out there that so consistently cares about CGI. Most shows and even movies nowadays lack that visual polish, and by "visual," I absolutely mean the green screen imagery. But an Apple TV+ series always looks impressive. In fact, I have yet to see an Apple TV+ Original reeking of terrible graphics. The Last Frontier, created by Jon Bokenkamp and Richard D'Ovidio, continues this tradition of keeping the streaming service's head high. It doesn't take long to show off its splendid CGI through an adrenaline-pumping opening scene. The Last Frontier opens with a plane crash sequence that immediately announces that the action blocks here would be ambitiously nutty. As the bodies drop from the sky, you feel as if real people are taking their last breaths before meeting their maker. The first episode is directed by Sam Hargrave, and he brings his video game-like, delightful choreography to the series — the kind that gave vigor to his Extraction movies. I am thinking of the scene where Frank Remnick (Jason Clarke) and his men fight off convicts who taste freedom thanks to the plane crash that opens the story. This entire action block is reminiscent of a mini-survival game, and it gets your blood pumping. Take this as a promise that more such offerings are waiting in store for the audience. Just wait till you get to the one where a chopper takes a truck on a ride.
The Last Frontier, though, doesn't merely rely on these moments to evoke excitement. It conceals crafty twists that do more than adorn the show with superficial embellishments. The story looks basic from the outside: a CIA agent, Havlock (Dominic Cooper), goes rogue, and one of his colleagues, Sidney (Haley Bennett), is dispatched to "take care" of him. Sidney desperately needs to complete this assignment because her reputation is on the line. The agency, for reasons I will leave for you to discover, no longer trusts her, and after handling Havlock, they will also "take care" of her. This is what Sidney tells Frank, a U.S. Marshal in charge of the snowy, peaceful, almost barren city of Fairbanks, Alaska. Frank had just been talking about giving more time to his son, Luke (Tait Blum), and his wife, Sarah (Simone Kessell), when the plane crash incident suddenly brought all his plans to a full stop. The criminals who survived the crash are now roaming freely in Frank's jurisdiction, so it's up to him to catch them as soon as possible. The Last Frontier, in a way, is like a game in which chickens, horses, or sheep escape their confinement, and the player must return them to their original positions. The chickens, horses, or sheep in the show are various types of criminals — some of them die, some make a deal, and some are arrested.
These lawbreakers range from con artists to Yale graduates, who use their wits and skills to evade law enforcement officers. I wish the show had explored this angle further. The bad guys come up with plans all right, but there is something generic about the execution. Except for a conwoman, no other crook adds anything of substance, even if superficial, to the material. Their capture feels preordained — there is no tension, no suspense. This is where the video game-like template reveals its limitations. Even Havlock's last-minute escapes initially border on a been-there-done-that blueprint that simply checks the boxes (Sidney doesn't pull the trigger, and Frank gets hold of a gun a little too late, giving Havlock enough time to break the windshield of a vehicle to make his escape). But The Last Frontier has many tricks up its sleeves. Everything eventually begins to make sense. The series, like any other mystery thriller, indulges in elisions and distortions to later pull the rug from under the feet of the audience. But unlike those other mystery thrillers (or, at least, some of them), its bag full of tricks doesn't merely touch the surface. It scratches it, breaks it, and colors the story with more shades by turning it into a Mr. & Mrs. Smith-style couple game.
There is something else here. The Last Frontier deals with actions that have significant reactions. Frank does something with evidence in the past, and it leads to tragic consequences. Sidney and Havlock build a weapon for the CIA, which comes back to bite them. CIA makes a decision about a Ukrainian agent, which leads to the beginning of their disintegration. What's more, both Frank and Sidney are portrayed as individuals who have dedicated their lives to their careers, consistently submitting themselves to the demanding requirements of their profession. This dedication has often come at the expense of their personal lives. Nevertheless, they have, more often than not, prioritized their work and pushed beyond their comfort zones to achieve their professional objectives. It can be argued that candidates like Frank and Sidney are particularly valued by employers and corporations. But what happens when their job doesn't love them back with equal fervor, with equal intensity? What if there is something deeply wrong with your workplace? What if you have prioritized the wrong people, the wrong agency? The Last Frontier, then, is an attack launched by heartbroken, frustrated workers on their cruel, cold-hearted bosses, who consider the former as disposable chess pieces, valuable only as long as they generate some kind of profit. The show, literally, attacks toxic work culture — an attack carried out with a style that is both appropriate and slick.
All the actors deliver strong performances, but The Last Frontier really belongs to Bennett, whose skin, like a chameleon's, changes with the events of the story. I have always admired the softness and fragility of her countenance, which glows beautifully. Here, that fragility becomes both a mask and a weapon — it takes you by surprise. Bennett's face is the face of this series. Its luminous delicacy blinds you, disarms you, and leaves you stupefied. She provides The Last Frontier with the vitality it needs.
Final Score- [7.5/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times
Note: All ten episodes of Season 1 are screened for this review.
Premiere Date: October 10, 2025, on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes, followed by one episode every Friday.