How entertaining? ★★★★☆
Thought provoking? ★☆☆☆☆ 23 January 2013
This a movie review of THE LAST STAND. |
“It’s my day off. Should be a quiet weekend,” Ray
Since Hollywood legend Arnold Schwarzenegger put his acting on hiatus to become Governor of California, there has been:
- A Terminator movie (SALVATION),
- Terminator television show (THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES),
- Predator film (PREDATORS),
- CONAN THE BARBARIAN flick, and
- TOTAL RECALL remake.
All these franchises he helped conceive, and these latest iterations felt strangely anaemic without his unquantifiable presence. Not a particularly versatile actor, but a supernova in terms of charisma, and a knack for picking and bending projects to his strengths. Who does not love, and I mean love, the following:
- TERMINATOR 2: JUSGEMENT DAY,
- THE TERMINATOR,
- CONAN THE BARBARIAN,
- TOTAL RECALL,
- COMMANDO,
- TRUE LIES,
- THE RUNNING MAN, and
- PREDATOR?
I’m even a massive fan of THE LAST ACTION HERO. And it was with huge anticipation I awaited his return.
Since Hollywood legend Arnold Schwarzenegger put his acting on hiatus to become Governor of California, there has been:
- A Terminator movie (SALVATION),
- Terminator television show (THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES),
- Predator film (PREDATORS),
- CONAN THE BARBARIAN flick, and
- TOTAL RECALL remake.
All these franchises he helped conceive, and these latest iterations felt strangely anaemic without his unquantifiable presence. Not a particularly versatile actor, but a supernova in terms of charisma, and a knack for picking and bending projects to his strengths. Who does not love, and I mean love, the following:
- TERMINATOR 2: JUSGEMENT DAY,
- THE TERMINATOR,
- CONAN THE BARBARIAN,
- TOTAL RECALL,
- COMMANDO,
- TRUE LIES,
- THE RUNNING MAN, and
- PREDATOR?
I’m even a massive fan of THE LAST ACTION HERO. And it was with huge anticipation I awaited his return.
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Rest easy peeps, not only does Arnie deliver action thrills and humour, but, dare I say it, his most nuanced performance. A conscientious and courteous sheriff of a small town, Schwarzenegger’s Ray Owens has the swagger toned down, and replacing braggadocio with, as the big man said at the press conference, a “vulnerable character”. There is an acknowledgement of aging, sans crummy statements along the lines of being too old for this sh*t. Don’t get me wrong, this new incarnation of the Schwarzenegger alpha male is still able to open a six pack of whoop-ass, it’s just that he takes longer to dust himself down.
THE LAST STAND is a full-blooded Hollywood action flick that gratifyingly marries the crime and western genres. The premise is lean: A drug lord, Gabriel Cortez, is being transported to federal death row, though in a daring escape flees the F.B.I., whom are now hot on his trail as he zooms, in a souped-up concept car, from Las Vegas to the Mexican border. The operation is led by Agent John Bannister (the always awesome Forest Whitaker). And typical of the casting choices – most roles are filled by an enjoyable who’s who of the seasoned and newbie: Luis Guzmán, Peter Stomare, Jaime Alexander, Johnny Knoxville, Rodrigo Santoro, Genesis Rodriguez and Harry Dean Stanton. But the real ace up the sleeve is the choice of director, Jee-woon Kim, the ridiculously gifted filmmaker behind:
- I SAW THE DEVIL
- THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD, and
- A BITTERSWEET LIFE.
As an orchestrator of devastating carnage, on an emotional and physical level, few are at his skill level. The set-pieces in THE LAST STAND have an incongruously satisfying tang of being unabashedly violent, while softened by cartoonish excess and humour. Urban combat, small town conflict and rural showdowns, a cornucopia for those who enjoy their geography varied when it comes to shoot-outs and fisticuffs. However, the mayhem is not turned up to 11, as it perhaps should’ve been. This is not 13 ASSASSINS.
Eduardo Noriega’s Cortez does provide a resourceful adversary leading a small army towards Ray and his deputies. Perhaps THE LAST STAND might be taught as an example of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.