The Last Stand

When you hear somebody talk about action movie icons, I would imagine the one that really sticks out in your mind is Arnold Schwarzenegger.  This man has starred in some of the most iconic movies of all time: Conan The Barbarian, The Terminator, Commando, Predator, Total Recall, The Running Man, and Red Heat among others.  He has built a career of playing characters that are physically built and imposing and with that Austrian accent of his, he stands out amongst other actors.  The first real role that Arnold sunk his teeth into was Conan The Barbarian, but the film that really made this guy a star is The Terminator, in which he plays the titular villain, and he was incredible.  Since that film, he's had an amazing film career.  After Terminator 3, he left the film industry to become the governor of California for two terms.  After having a cameo in The Expendables, it seemed like it was about time for Schwarzenegger to enter the movie industry again.  Does he still have what it takes to carry a movie like he used to?

The Last Stand stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as a former Los Angeles tactical police officer, Ray Owens, who has decided to become the sheriff of a quiet town near the border of Mexico.  Unbeknownst to him, a Mexican cartel kingpin has escaped federal custody and is heading towards Sheriff Owens' town, and only he and a handful of deputies stand in the kingpin's way.  Okay, so the story is pretty simple, but it gets the job done.  There's really not a whole lot of character development, as this is basically a movie that eases Arnold back into the genre.  That's not to say that the acting's bad.  Not really.  We have a pretty solid cast here.  Jamie Alexander plays the feisty Sarah Torrence, a deputy of Sheriff Owens.  Rodrigo Santoro plays Torrence's ex-boyfriend, Frank Martinez.  Forrest Whitaker plays the head of an FBI tactical unit.  Eduardo Noriega is the cartel kingpin, Cortez.  Luiz Guzman is another deputy.  Some of the next ones are actually pretty good choices for their characters.  Johnny Knoxville is fantastic as the gun-loving nut, Lewis Dinkum and Peter Stormare chews the scenery like no-one else as Cortez's second-in-command, Burrell.  As much fan as it is to watch everyone else, Stormare pretty much steals the show whenever he's on screen.  He has a ton of fun with the character.  Arnold Schwarzenegger is.....Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Despite his age, he handles the action very well, and even at certain points makes light of his age.  Everyone else does a good job.

With The Last Stand being Arnold's first lead role since Terminator 3, you would expect the movie to have some action in it.  Oh, there's action in it.  It definitely earns its R-rating.  It gets pretty bloody.  Explosions, gun fights, fist fights and car chases perforate the whole movie.  It rarely slows down.
The Last Stand has the look and feel of a western.  It borrows a lot of themes from western films.  For instance, the lone sheriff taking a stand against corrupt outlaws.  That's a pretty standard trope for a western.  It feels a lot like a western despite the fact that the film was directed by Korean director, Kim Jee-Woon.  This is Kim's first American and English-speaking film, and he did a fantastic job with it.  It has a very specific feel and look to the whole thing.  It's gritty, brutal and at times, pretty funny, thanks to some of the unique characters like Dinkum.

Even today, Arnold Schwarzenegger has serious screen presence and he's still a hell of a lot of fun to watch.  That being said, there's really nothing in this movie that really screams, "Iconic!"  Aside from Schwarzenegger himself, there really isn't anything here that we haven't seen before.  But, you know what?  For a man who's film career spans more than 30 years, I think we can afford to cut him a little slack.  He's slowly but surely getting back into the genre that really made him a star.  Yeah, he's not as young as he used to be, but he can still bring it.  He's also going to be reprising the two roles that put him on the map, The Terminator and Conan.  Arnold Schwarzenegger can still draw an audience, there's no doubt about that, and honestly, The Last Stand was probably a good choice for him to ease back into the action, even if the film wasn't totally well-received by audiences.  It's still a fun film, and it's a Schwarzenegger to boot.  This one gets a 9/10.

Questions, comments?  Think I'm on right on, or did I miss the broad side of barn?