A dark vision of post-apocalyptic survival, the film was shot in black and white and contains only two words of dialogue.

The film opens to a shot of an abandoned office, where the main character (Pierre Jolivet), who is only identified as 'The Man' in the end credits, is having intercourse with a sex doll.

The Man is then seen attempting to salvage parts from abandoned vehicles, but returns to his dwelling empty handed, where he works on building a makeshift aircraft.

The Man, who has been observing the survivors, makes his way to their camp, stabs their leader, 'The Captain' (Fritz Wepper) and retrieves a car battery.

The Brute rings a bell, and 'The Doctor' (Jean Bouise), instructs him to place the canned goods on the ground and back away from the door.

The Brute returns to the hospital with a new box of items, though this time he constructs a device that will keep the door open long enough for him to enter the building.

The plan works, however, once back inside the building The Doctor pulls a lever which closes a secondary iron bar gate preventing The Brute from entering.

The Brute sets fire to the front door of the hospital, though The Doctor and The Man extinguish the flames.

Thinking of all the other abandoned buildings there must be in Paris, Besson decided to create a world where all these places were together, and combined this idea with a previous suggestion that he make a feature-length version of his 1981 debut short film, L'Avant Dernier.

"[11] Steve Macfarlane from Not Coming to a Theater Near You gave a moderately positive review, stating "While the film's heart is syrupy-sentimental (who's shocked?

"[12] Janet Maslin from The New York Times called it "a bravura first film, using the simplest means, yet managing to incorporate humor, pathos, suspense and even a well-articulated definition of basic human needs.

"[13] Dave Kehr from the Chicago Reader also gave a positive review, stating: "The absence of dialogue ... is a cleverly executed stunt, but it is also an effective alibi for a technically proficient filmmaker who really has nothing to say.

"[14] Le Dernier Combat won Best Film,[15] Best Director and the Audience Jury Award at Fantasporto in 1984.

In 2001, Adam Tyner from DVD Talk gave a positive review of its DVD release that August, awarding it 4 out of 5 stars for video, audio and content, though awarding it 0 stars for extras, noting the only extras were trailers for other films.