The Last Stand
Directed by: Jee-Woon Kim
Lionsgate
As weird as it sounds, if you like immigrants fighting in a pool of blood, you are going to love Arnold Schwarzenegger in his official return to movies, The Last Stand. Jee-Woon Kim’s first English language film really embraces the 80s action movie genre that has made an icon of our favourite bodybuilder, but with a touch of modernity.
The plot, as usual in the genre, is simple and straightforward. Schwarzenegger plays Sheriff Owens who works in the quiet border town of Sommerton Junction and finally gets a day off, but before he can take his breath cartel criminal Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega) slips from the hands of the F.B.I in a modified super car towards Sommerton Junction with the goal of crossing the U.S Mexican border and it thus falls on the sheriff to make a stand to stop him. If you are looking for the kind of action movie that has a deep message or that will make you shed tears, this isn’t the one.
As usual, Schwarzenegger can’t act, but even on their own, his presence and his cheesy lines delivered in his Austrian accent make it a worthwhile hour and 40 minutes.
While it is an action-comedy, if you thought this was something like True Lies, where the whole family can have a laugh, you will be disappointed. Kim creates amazing action scenes and the several exploded bodies and coarse language makes you wonder if you might have entered the wrong theatre room and ended up watching Django instead.
The main issue with the film was the two secondary characters of Lewis Dinkum (Johnny Knoxville) and Mike Figuerola (Luiz Guzman). They are supposed to be the main comical relief, however the over stereotypicalization of the redneck and the Mexican makes the humour corny and hard to swallow at parts. This seems more of a result of the script rather than their performance.
The Last Stand is an entertaining and enjoyable ride and while it doesn’t require your brain to properly function, your eyes will get what they were looking for: blood, guns, explosions, cars and girls.
