I have been a huge Schwarzenegger fan for a long time now. Hell, I practically grew up with his movies. The Last Stand is being heralded as the return of the world's greatest action hero, and boy does it not disappoint. This was my first time seeing an Arnie flick in theaters, so I was pretty psyched but fully aware that this film had the potential to suck HARD....so, how was it?
The Last Stand follows Ray Owens (Arnold), an experienced narcotics agent turned sheriff of a small town called Sommerton . Ray left the federal world for a more laid back lifestyle, and he quite enjoys the new setting and change of pace. It's his day off and Ray is expecting to relax for a change, but fate has other plans for him. A nasty drug lord (Eduardo Noriega) has escaped from prison and has armed himself with a speedy, spiffy new car and is making a run for the Mexican border, the only thing standing in his way is Sommerton and Ray isn't going to let him pass through without a fight. Along with deputies Louis Guzman, Jaime Alexander, ex-army man Sonny Landham and local wacko Johnny Knoxville...Sommerton prepares to make a risky stand against the criminal.
Every member of the cast as stated above does a surprisingly great job, with Knoxville fitting his suitably wacky role like a glove (he is nowhere near as grating or annoying as you would think he would be, in fact, he's actually kind of awesome here) and Jaime Alexander showing a good range of emotion when need be while still managing to make for a good action co-star. Luis Guzman is also a believable, reluctant bad-ass here, he gets to wield a machine gun like a boss (easily his most bad-ass role to date....same with Knoxville who gets to do his own share of kick-ass antics as well) Forest Whitaker also puts his all into his role of Federal Agent John Bannister, who is hot on the escaped drug lord's trail.
Speaking of the drug lord, the car he spends most of his time driving in is a star all in itself.The car is a Corvette ZR1 and it's sexy, sleek and fast as hell (the way Jee-woon Kim shoots the action scenes with the car makes you feel like you are speeding right alongside it). The stunts that the car pulls off are fantastic and seat-clenchingly cool, and it even gets to duke it out with Bumblebee (undercover here as a red Camaro) at one point in the film. I definitely want one.
The cool car and the talented supporting cast aside, the REAL star of the film is Arnie himself, which should come as no surprise. Here he is basically playing himself as we learn in a neat scene where he goes over his past history. He moved to Los Angeles to become a Narcotics Agent, hoping to get a piece of the action.....he grows tired of all the death, destruction, chaos and violence and removes his badge to pick up a job as a small town sheriff in an area far away from LA. That's right folks, the Arnie we grew up with changed his name and escaped to Sommerton to get away from all the violence. Arnold is finally back in full kick-ass mode and not only gets to fire a shotgun, a 1930's "Nazi Killer" gun, and a pistol, he also gets to throwdown old school style with his bare fists via some wrestling antics near the end and he gets to also show that he can still act as he shows a surprisingly great range of emotions here from regret, to sadness (were those real tears?), to determination, and finally anger. Yes folks, Arnie is back and just as good as we remember him. I'm almost positive that this film was made specifically for Arnold, as some sort of cool gift....and his gift also becomes the world's.
The Last Stand is classic bad-ass action, just like Hollywood used to make 'em. The film is very silly, very cool, and is filled with various kick-ass, full throttle scenes and cool lines for Arnie to growl on occasion. Jee-woon Kim makes for a nice fit as director, and the way he choreographs the action scenes is a thing of beauty. One of the nicest surprises about the film, is that it had me on the edge of my seat quite a bit. Don't expect an Academy nominee here guys....You're going to get plenty of action, plenty of kick-ass lines, and even a sprinkling of drama and tension...oh, and you'll also get more Arnie than you can shake a stick at. The Last Stand has just about everything an action-fan or Arnie lover could want. It's a joyous, entertaining, blood-soaked (oh yes, the blood does fly), cheer worthy good time at the movies.....exactly what I was expecting and exactly what we need. You want a classic, old-fashioned action film? I say look no further.
4 STARS
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