The wait is over and the triumphant return of the man, the legend, the” Arghargh” Arnold is here! Back to kick ass and take names is Arnold Schwarzenegger in Kim Jee-woon’s action crime thriller, The Last Stand. The set-up for the film is simple: a very dangerous Mexican cartel leader (Eduardo Noriega) escapes from FBI custody (headed by Forest Whitaker) and makes a b-line towards Mexico in a souped-up Corvette ZR1. When some sketchy guys come into Sheriff Ray Owens’ town, his team investigates to find out what they’re up to. Soon enough they all realize that hell has arrived and it’s packing a lot of automatic weapons. The Sheriff decides that his ragtag, inexperienced group of officers (and two deputized citizens) are the last line of defense for the useless FBI and will have to stop the convict when he drives through their town to prevent him from reaching the Mexican border and gaining his freedom.
For fans of the Arnold, this is the movie we’ve been waiting for. No more cameos in The Expendables, this is Arnold doing what everyone wants to see him doing, taking the title of badass, slapping it back on his name tag and going after the bad guys while completely disregarding authority. The film might be a little toned down to emphasizes Arnold’s old age but this is a true return to form for the governator. Kim Ji-woon does a great job orchestrating the action sequences and, staying true to his graphic form, makes sure that when there is a kill sequence, it is bloody crazy and worth yelling “oh damnnn!” or “that guy just got F’d up!”
The Last Stand marks I Saw the Devil and The Good, The Bad, The Weird director’s English language debut and, while the movie was entertaining, I’m still a little bit disappointed in him. Sure he made a really fun movie, but of the few movies of his that I’ve seen this one falls at the bottom of the list. It honestly may not have been his fault as the dialogue in the movie was pretty bad unless Arnold was speaking, but it’s the inclusion of so many side stories, romances, and too much attention paid to the less important supporting characters that take away from what’s awesome about the movie. The audience understands that Arnold’s team of cops is inexperienced compared to him, but we don’t care about the dreams Officer Jerry (Zach Gilford) or about the relationship between Officer Sarah Torrance (Jaimie Alexander) and her current prisoner/ex-boyfriend. While he is a director that truly cares about story, the way this movie unfolds, the sub-plots don’t matter, just the action and the exciting/comical build up to it.
The movie’s saving graces, which luckily represents a good portion of the movie, is Schw
arzenegger kicking ass and delivering hilarious one-liners, the comedic presence of both Luis Guzman and weapons addict/wannabe cop Johnny Knoxville, as well as the sexy beast that is the corvette ZR1. Even in his older age Arnold is still able to kick ass and respond to villains with lines like “You make us immigrants look bad” and “I’m the sheriff” [make sure you say it in his voice to get the effect]. If you’re a fan of cars there are some fantastic sequences with the ridiculously fast ‘vette in which Gabriel Cortez (or the stunt driver) makes the FBI look like kids the way he gets by their roadblocks and escapes from a helicopter. As for the comedy, it’s trickled throughout the picture and Guzman always has a presence but when Knoxville enters the picture toward the final chapter of the film, it’s his use of old fashioned armor like a shield and a battle helmet that gets the crowd going.
The film climaxes when Arnold takes on the convict one on one in a race to the Mexican border, with him catching up to the ‘Vette in a Camaro ZL1. All I’ll say it’s a pretty awesome chase and the hand to hand combat that follows is even better.
While The Last Stand is not the shoot ‘em up film you might have been expecting, it’s still a great return to form for a legend that has been missed from the silver screen for far too long and it’s one damn fun ride that Schwarzenegger fans will embrace with whole heartedly.
Rating: Classic Arnold is back (in an olderbody) and ready to have a good time! (6.7/10)
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