The Last Stand

This movie is a lot of fun for what it is, a mindless, bloody, shoot em up action movie complete with some Schwarzenegger one liners.

I grew up watching Arnold, I own every film of his, I am what you would call a serious Schwarzenegger fan. I have waited a decade for his return to the cinema, and I wasn't disappointed. The Last Stand isn't perfect, but Arnold fans can rejoice, for he truly is back!!

The premise (for those that haven't watched the trailer a dozen times like me) is a Mexican cartel boss (Eduardo Noriega) has escaped custody during transport and is heading to the Mexican border, and he is going to get there by going through the sleepy town of Sommerton, Arizona. Arnold is the Sheriff in this sleepy little town, and he is the FBI's last hope at stopping the ruthless gangster.

This movie is full of intense, bloody action, exciting car chases (thanks to a supped up Corvette ZR1 with over one thousand horsepower!) and funny one liner's. The film never takes itself too serious (which is good thing) and is surprisingly funny throughout. Arnold's acting is a little rusty, but he more than made up for it in the action scenes. And the (many) action sequences were exciting and bloody, the theater kept cheering out loud. The pacing was perfect, the film flew by.

The cast was great...Luis Guzman is hilarious as Arnold's Deputy, Forest Whitaker as the lead FBI agent, Peter Stormare as the maniacal "right hand man" villain, Johnny Knoxville as the town clown, Harry Dean Stanton as the crotchety old farmer, the list goes on...

The film was everything I wanted from an Arnold movie, it's fun(!), full of fast paced action and lots of (funny) one liner's. The non-Arnold fan probably won't get much from this, but this movie was made for Arnold fans, and it delivers.

A lot of my favourite films growing up and to this day are some of Arnold's Classics like T2, Predator and countless others. Although not one of his best, The Last Stand is one of Schwarzeneggers better films and perfect for him to do what he does best - shoot bad guys and crack one liners. This film is a quality made action film that contains some innovative stuff blending old school car chases, blazing gunfights and an intriguing yet simple story in a solid modern action movie. Other than the action,the film blends comedy very nicely. The whole theatre was cracking up especially at the characters of Johnny Knoxville and Luiz Guzman. The movie overall is a solid, fun and entertaining film that keeps the momentum going to the final climax which is sure not to disappoint. If that sounds appealing to you, Check it out and you'll be sure to enjoy.

Overall: Solid 7/10

Ray Owens used to be part of an elite LAPD anti-narcotics task force but now he is enjoying a quieter life as a small Arizona town on the Mexican border. His peace and quiet is about to be shattered... drug lord Gabriel Cortez is being moved by the FBI but following a dramatic escape he flees south in a stolen 200MPH supercar and an FBI agent hostage. As he heads south his heavily armed associates set about placing a mobile assault bridge over the narrow canyon near Sheriff Owens's town. They kill the landowner causing somebody who misses him to contact Owens. An investigation leads to a confrontation that leaves one deputy dead. As Cortez heads to the border Owen and his surviving deputies get ready for his arrival; before that though they will have to face his henchmen in a showdown on Main Street.

This action film is a lot of fun; it starts well with the spectacular escape. It then turns into an effective western as the small town sheriff and his small number of deputies prepare for the arrival of a superior force of bad guys while they know help will not arrive in time. Arnold Schwarzenegger shows that he still has what it takes to play the lead role in an action film. The supporting cast, which includes some familiar faces is also solid enough. South Korean director Kim Jee-Woon, best known for 'Oriental western' 'The Good, The Bad, The Weird' once again combines action, some of which is quite bloody, with an enjoyable degree of humour without tipping it into being a comedy. The action is nicely varied with car chases, smashing through road blocks, fights and shootouts... one of which involves Arnie using a Vickers machinegun! Overall I'd say that this is an enjoyably action film full of western tropes; it might not be a must-see but it is still worth watching if you are a fan of the genre.

After brief cameos in films like the Rundown and Expendables, we finally got a glimpse of a possible return to form for Arnold Schwarzenegger. Finally his first full length solo action film is here with The Last Stand. As if this wasn't exciting enough, add to the mix I Saw The Devil director Jee-woon Kim at the helm, it has the makings of a great comeback.

The Last Stand follows a former LAPD detective who is now the sheriff of a small quiet town and enjoying the peaceful life. When a notorious drug kingpin escapes FBI custody in a supped up corvette the only thing standing between him and the border is this small town and the sheriff who has vowed to protect it. The story here is pretty simple and in anyone else's hands would have probably been a throw away film. Thankfully Jee-woon Kim brings his signature dynamic style taking this film to a much more entertaining visual level. If there was any concern with Arnold being able to live up to his famous line "I'll be back" being accurate you can relax because he is back in a big way. This film takes a bit of a step back and moves a bit slowly at first letting the story build a bit instead of just flooding it with action. When the smaller action pieces, if you can call any of them that, do occur they are pretty high octane and fun to watch. All this builds up to a full on blood bath ensuing old west action show down featuring all the explosions, guns, blood and fun you could want in an Arnold film. Make no mistake this is a popcorn action film that hearkens back to the old school action films of the 80's and 90's when they delivered. The cast is great and each delivers a fun performance featuring Johnny Knoxville who while brief brings some of the funniest moments, Luis Guzman who is right there holding his own, Forest Whitaker, and Peter Stormare. Arnold still delivers his cheesy one-liners like a pro, but has moved on from the usual ones that were starting to run their course. His years in office clearly have made him a better speaker, hence a better actor.

Arnold may not be as fast or agile as he once was, but he still manages to show he can hold his own with the best of them. This film not only gets Arnold back where he belongs on the big screen it also kicks off a movie year that almost feels like the old days of action again with numerous franchise and action icons bringing the pain in 2013. Arnold has always said he would be back and he is better than ever. If you were ever an Arnold fan, then get ready for a film that will spark the visual crazy fun that's been missing in this genre for a long time.