Review: The Last Stand
Let's not beat around the bush; The Last Stand is a film based purely around Arnold Schwarzenegger's make or break solo comeback (two cameos in the star-studded Expendables franchise not withstanding).
It's lucky for him then, that The Last Stand is an exciting adrenaline blast filled with some decent performances, humour in all the right places and a nod back to the old 80's and 90's action flicks, the likes of which the "Governator" starred in. There are a few glitches here and there, such as a one-dimensional villain and some pretty unbelievable set pieces, but overall The Last Stand entertains on almost every level.
After a botched mission as a narcotics officer in the LAPD leaves Arnie's Ray Owens wracked with regret, he moves into the quiet border town of Sommerton where, as sheriff, he enjoys a calm life dedicated to keeping the peace. Yet that peaceful existence is shattered when he is contacted by the FBI and informed that the most notorious drug kingpin in the United States has escaped custody and is now making a ridiculously fast break for the Mexican border - right through his town. Ray has two options: safely turn his back and declare the matter out of his hands, or risk the lives of his small town police force in order to bring the wanted criminal to justice.
Okay, so the film is hardly going to win any awards for most original screenplay. Still the somewhat silly story is exciting enough, featuring some contractually awesome one-liners from Arnie ("Put these cuffs on. Or I will."), and some great action, particularly from his own force in Sommerton. Thor's Jaime Alexander is great as his second in command while Johnny Knoxville, despite being the token idiot, manages to provide plenty of comic relief.
Okay, so the film is hardly going to win any awards for most original screenplay. Still the somewhat silly story is exciting enough, featuring some contractually awesome one-liners from Arnie ("Put these cuffs on. Or I will."), and some great action, particularly from his own force in Sommerton. Thor's Jaime Alexander is great as his second in command while Johnny Knoxville, despite being the token idiot, manages to provide plenty of comic relief.
Arnie himself is a little stiff, and some back story for his character requires him to add some emotional punch to his performance - a punch which amounts to little more than a light slap. Yet the old Terminator has plenty of kick-ass action shots, firing on all cylinders as he takes out all the bad guys in classic shoot-em-up style and it's clear that he's enjoying taking centre stage once again.
Less enjoyable, however, is a ridiculous escape scene in which Cortez, the criminal in question escapes from the FBI - with the help of a giant magnet...I know, right? That's the kind of thing you'd see in a superhero movie. This set piece isn't helped by a very cartoon-esque Forrest Whitaker screaming and shouting left and right to "find him!" constantly.
Still, when Cortez gets on the road and drives off at a relentless speed, dodging cops in his race to the Mexican border, the action is breathtaking. The film even casts a shadow over the Fast and Furious movies, as the brilliant car chase stunts are sure to impress fans of that particular genre. Add to that some brilliantly chaotic edge-of-the-border disorder in Sommerton (involving some fantastic, stylish kills) and The Last Stand kicks in to top gear.
Unfortunately though, during the first half of the film those car chases highlight the boredom in Arnie's town. A subplot involving the death of a local farmer simply slows down the action, and while this time is used to develop the sherrif's team, all of them are "token" characters and their arcs are very predictable. Equally, as he sits up slowly and grunts "This should be a quiet weekend," the sherriff's age is consistently drilled into us. "I'm old," he blatantly announces later, just in case you missed it. If the movie stopped poking fun at itself and its star so much it could have been taken much more seriously.
Less enjoyable, however, is a ridiculous escape scene in which Cortez, the criminal in question escapes from the FBI - with the help of a giant magnet...I know, right? That's the kind of thing you'd see in a superhero movie. This set piece isn't helped by a very cartoon-esque Forrest Whitaker screaming and shouting left and right to "find him!" constantly.
Still, when Cortez gets on the road and drives off at a relentless speed, dodging cops in his race to the Mexican border, the action is breathtaking. The film even casts a shadow over the Fast and Furious movies, as the brilliant car chase stunts are sure to impress fans of that particular genre. Add to that some brilliantly chaotic edge-of-the-border disorder in Sommerton (involving some fantastic, stylish kills) and The Last Stand kicks in to top gear.
Unfortunately though, during the first half of the film those car chases highlight the boredom in Arnie's town. A subplot involving the death of a local farmer simply slows down the action, and while this time is used to develop the sherrif's team, all of them are "token" characters and their arcs are very predictable. Equally, as he sits up slowly and grunts "This should be a quiet weekend," the sherriff's age is consistently drilled into us. "I'm old," he blatantly announces later, just in case you missed it. If the movie stopped poking fun at itself and its star so much it could have been taken much more seriously.
Summary
While it's great to see Arnold Schwarzenegger back on the big screen (in a big way), The Last Stand does have an over reliance on self deprecatingly mocking its ageing hero. Yet there's something about his comeback that is just irresistible, whether it be the amusingly cartoon-ish action sequences, the breathless races through the desert or the tense fistfight finale on a bridge. The performances are decent enough, and the comedy is entertaining, particularly Luis Guzman and Johnny Knoxville who are surprisingly much less annoying than the trailers suggest. So if you can get through the silly plot, The Last Stand excellently kicks off 2013's love letter to the great action films of the 80's, with Stallone's Bullet To The Head and Willis's A Good Day To Die Hard still to come.
7/10 - Good
See it if you liked: 3:10 To Yuma (2007), The Expendables 2 (2011), Django Unchained (2012)
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