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| The Last Stand |
January 19 2013 – At this stage in his career and after the litany of recent off screen miss steps, Arnold Schwarzenegger must be happy to return to the safety and security of his latest action comedy in The Last Stand. And unlike the majority of leading Hollywood actors, the natural order of gravity has taken hold and his weather beaten exterior eliciting all the right sensibilities as he portrays disgraced LAPD officer turned sheriff Ray Owens, now living out his latter years in the sleepy one horse town in Sommerton, Arizona.
All is well in Sommerton until a crime syndicate led by hilariously accented Peter Stormare breaks out a notorious cartel kingpin and race car diver Cortez (Eduardo Noriega) with mission impossible execution. Now the race is on to the Mexican border but first he must cross through Sommerton to reach freedom. With FBI agent Bannister (Forest Whitaker) and his high tech ground team blowing every opportunity to capture Cortez, Ray and his rag tag band of locals including mad cap gun hoarder Johnny Knoxville suit up to make The Last Stand into this NRA inspired action comedy.
With this career resuscitating role highlighting Arnold’s ageing strengths, South Korean director Kim Jee-woon hits all the action and comedic grace notes without over reaching. The Last Stand inevitably delivers the standard fare we’ve have come to expect in an alpha male, cop inspired action comedy. This redemption story and Arnold comeback vehicle is classic Saturday afternoon popcorn fare.
Verdict: 3/5. The Last Stand lands on its feet while delivering a hail of bullets.
