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The Last Stand (2013)

Well, if you take this too seriously you're missing the point. It's a comedy, and if not quite a parody of a tough lawman against the odds plot, it pumps up all the clichés nicely. It's fast, well done, and appropriately preposterous. And Arnold Schwarzenegger is true to form, even joking once about his getting old.

In a way, this is Arnold trying to be a bit like Clint. Clint Eastwood that is. Because Schwarzenegger is playing a sheriff in a lonely western town. When a bad boy drug lord (a very cute one) is set to be blast through in his Corvette, this sheriff, Ray Owens, won't tolerate it. Of course. Who would?

In this hyped up against-the-odds yarn, we have some excellent if well-worn clichés. First, the FBI gets its usual due. They are a professional team led by the ever-enjoyable Forrest Whittaker, but of course they are a bit too professional, and arrogant, and they make constant little mistakes of misjudgment. So the bad guy on the loose is on collision course with Owens with his rag-tag friends in his Arizona border town.

I didn't expect to like this, but ended up captivated. It works the same way a "Die Hard" movie works--fast plot, do good hero, nasty bad guys, and jokes. It's not realistic, but the characters are believable. This is in contrast to a movie I saw a couple days ago along the same lines (loner man against evil), "Jack Reacher," which was filled with such strained dialog and absurd plot conditions it was irritating. "The Last Stand" has the advantage of not taking itself seriously, and so it's great fun and well done fun all along.

Yes, it's stupid. I mean, come on, that's the point! But it's smart stupid. If you have an open mind for this stuff, give it a shot.

This is pure guilty-pleasure cinema. You know you can't defend seeing lots of nameless guys in black suits and machine guns mowing down people and that there's only a bullet here or there that might get one of our good guys (and I mean, y'know, Luis Guzman, who is always fun to watch in that very familiar character-actor way by the way, same for Harry Dean Stanton's walk-on), and it hearkens back to that time in the 1980's and 90's when Arnold Schwarzenegger dominated cineplexes with this kind of action trash. But over time, as super glossy and hyper-kinetic and chaotically-shot cinema floods theaters, this almost comes as something of a refreshment. How do I simply say "I got thrilled by the action, laughed at the craziness in the set-pieces, and loved seeing Arnold tear it up and have one-line retorts: "How do you feel?" asks a towns-person - "OLD!")

But aside from the story, which seems to be fairly cookie-cutter with the Mexican cartel kingpin who is getting across from Nevada down to the border to get back to his safe land, and with various tropes that can be read from not too far away (given some heft by the fact that Eduardo Noriega cuts a very sharp figure as a madman with a zest for stunt- driving - like a character one might find almost in Rodriguez/Tarantino's Grindhouse, or a hybrid of such characters they write), what is there? How about that the director, Kim Jee-Woon, has a track record from back in South Korea as being a hardcore, awe-inspiring action and genre director, who can make them very, very intense and harrowing (I Saw the Devil), or truly spooky and harrowing in a quieter, more sinister way (Tale of Two Sisters). But what got him the job, I suspect, was The Good, the Bad and the Weird, his wild homage to everything Western - Spaghetti, yes, but good ol' American variety. He must have read the script and said 'I can do this, this is a Western to the bone just in 21st century garb... matter of fact, it's Rio Bravo on steroids!'

Well, that's my suspicion anyway. Think about it - a Sheriff in a ponam town with not many residents at all (and those that do stick around all day won't leave cause of some gunfire - there's a cheese omelette cooking after all at the diner), and has some good deputies, and some others he has to recruit not by his better judgment but by lack of other good officers, and has a Big Bad Motherflipper coming right his way. "I've seen a lot of blood and death. I know what's coming," says the not-quite quipping Arnold. And the first half does build, somewhat decently if predictably, the pieces of the characters, the basic set-ups of who may die (or will) and what betrayals are happening and who knows what (and what, really, Forest Whitaker can do as the Man in Charge in the suit - powerful, but he's not a Schwarzenegger).

It's the second half of the film, as the preparations intensify and then the big attack comes to Sommerton Junction (even the name is out of a Sam Fuller western or something) that the film REALLY picks up steam. And by steam, I mean lots and lots of bullets, sometimes from huge guns that fire way too many bullets. What helps in Jee-Woon's favor in The Last Stand is how he takes the fantasy of all of this to such a degree that you (or I really) can't help but admire how high it ends up going. It will please hardcore action fans, but unlike the only other recent Schwarzenegger films (so to speak) of the Expendables franchise, it doesn't really insult your intelligence either. The villains on display in this flick are not pushovers, and it leads to some impressive action from the performers, from the cameramen, from the bullets themselves which become their own actors. And the final chase through a cornfield, just when you think the film has nothing else to give you, comes back for a surprise set-piece that feels fresh and inventive; we haven't seen something quite like this where it's a cat and mouse chase through such a big space of land, but we know it is just a matter of seconds.

If you've grown up on Schwarzenegger flicks, it's like visiting the old(er) man at the condo, and jogging his memory full-throttle. I don't know if this is just a brief pop-up appearance for the (how do I write this without laughing but he is) veteran action icon, or a third and final career trajectory after years as a bodybuilder/up-and-comer, and superstar. But for now, it'll do, Johnny Knoxville's rambunctious comic-timing not withstanding.

The Last Stand is famously known as one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's action comebacks. Since his appearances in The Expendables films are limited and doesn't quite satisfies his fans, here he gets to be the lead. The film is also directed by Kim Jee-Woon and he creates a set of awesomely crafted action sequences. There's nothing else in the story but a Western formula with a band of misfits. It's a simple fun action film that has no other ambition than to enjoy the fans of the genre. It may be senseless at some point but the admission is never regrettable.

The plot is like a modernized version of a famous Western story with an FBI to the side. A sheriff who tries to save his small town from a bunch of bad guys who seem incompetent. The good guys are a team of mismatched heroes. There's a veteran, a short Mexican, a crazy gun owner, a tough woman, and an ex-convict. These elements fit to the film's ridiculousness and they worked well enough. The characters are also likable, probably because of our familiarity to the cast. Like we know Ray Owens is a badass sheriff only because he's played by Schwarzenegger, but that's fine since everyone's here for the action.

The action scenes are quick and stylishly shot. It provides a sense of speed and excitement. The most inventive sequence is the cornfield car chase. The best is the old school action with violent gunfights and brutal fistfights. Schwarzenegger still got it in those scenes. In other parts gets a little drama and some silliness. There isn't anything else beneath it but the execution of these ideas in the storyline are beyond adequate. It's quite clear that this only exists to let the audience have fun.

Everybody might disagree once I say this but The Last Stand is kind of like last year's Haywire. The premise is not that original but with an interesting direction and an awesome ensemble cast made it pretty good. The only differences are it's louder, it has an entirely different target audience and the concept is more interesting. It's not brilliant but it gets what it wants to be. It's all about the fun. It's so fun, it's hard to notice some of its flaws. The merits are generally the filmmaking and of course Arnold Schwarzenegger. Some might look for more beneath it, but for action lovers it's a glorious action joy. If you're craving for some nonstop badassery then The Last Stand is definitely for you.

Let me start by saying this is a straight-up good guys vs. bad guys, shoot 'em up action movie. Would you expect anything less from Ahhnold? I'll say that I was happy to hear Arnold was returning to the big screen for starring roles once his Governorship was over. I've been a die hard Arnold fan since I was 6. Sure he's a senior citizen now...but he's ARNOLD! The trailers for this movie don't really hide anything, it's presented exactly how it is. It's an action movie that doesn't take itself too seriously. The movie does try and have these heartfelt moments which come off more as cheesy than anything else. But I will give the movie props for actually trying to develop its characters to the point they're not just cardboard cut outs. They have personality and emotions so you actually care if they live or die. Which is more than I can say for most movies of this type. Unfortunately the movie seemed to be relying heavily on Arnold's return to the big screen to put butts in the theatre seats. The movie only made $6 million on its opening weekend. Making it the bottom of the barrel at the box office. However I went and saw it on a Tuesday night at 7pm and the theatre was packed. So perhaps word is travelling that it's a fun movie and it'll be able to make some money back. Not that I'm crying for Arnold's bank account but it's a shame when a good movie doesn't do well.

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.