The Last Stand
Directed by Jee-Woon Kim
The Grade: A-
When The Expendables came
out in 2010, I wrote at the time how sad it was that something “that was meant
to remind us of how great action movies were in the 1980’s instead just ends up
reminding us how those days are long gone.” Imagine my surprise then a few days
ago when I saw The Last Stand,
and saw how it succeeded in every way that The Expendables (and its even more embarrassing sequel) failed. The
Last Stand manages to be a great action
movie because the only thing it’s trying to be is a great action movie, instead
of a VH1-like pastiche of every nostalgic trope it thinks its audience is
looking for.
The Last Stand stars
Arnold Schwarzenegger (in his first lead role since 2003, before he became
Governor of California) as the Sheriff of a small Arizona border town,
Sommerton Junction. When an international drug kingpin escapes FBI custody and
plans to use Sommerton to cross the border, it’s up to the Sheriff and his
small band of deputies to stop him. Of course it is. What ensues is predictable
yet wildly fun, and along the way is everything someone could reasonably want
out of an old school action movie. The car chases are fast and intense, the set
pieces are elaborate and creative, the shoot-outs are reminiscent of spaghetti
westerns (but with much bigger
guns), the testosterone is rampant and absurd, and the one-liners are corny and
delicious. Stir two minutes, bake until golden brown.
But even amidst all of that dependable predictability, some
things surprised me. For one, Arnold never took his shirt off. At first this might seem inconsequential, but as I’m seeing the ads for the upcoming Stallone
vehicle Bullet to the Head all over TV,
and his chiseled 66-year old shirtless physique prominently displayed, I
realized a subtle difference between the two: For Sly, it’s all about still
proving to himself that he’s got it; that he can still be Rocky, still be
Rambo, still be the toughest guy in the room. And to convey that, he thinks it
has to be a “Who has the biggest pecs?” contest. But to Arnold, it’s not about
that anymore. He spent decades having
the biggest pecs, but he spent the last eight years wearing a suit and tie
every day. And you get the sense watching The Last Stand that Arnold isn’t here to prove he can still do it,
he’s here because he missed it. I think Arnold just loves making action movies,
he has fun with them, and this represents his first time experiencing that fun in a
long while. It’s contagious on the screen.
The director, Jee-Woon Kim, is a veteran of South Korean
horror films, but he proves here that he’s more than capable of tackling other
genres. His sense of momentum is fantastic, and he brings a violent grittiness
that feels fresh amidst all of the PG-13 franchise movies that action cinema
has slowly become. The entertaining and game supporting cast features Forest
Whitaker, Peter Stormare, Luis Guzman, and Johnny Knoxville, whose stunts are
just insane enough that he probably did them himself. But even with talented people
surrounding him, this is Arnold’s show all the way.
The Last Stand defiantly
is what it is, but it’s damn good at it. Even people with the best taste
sometimes get a craving for a giant plate of sloppy nachos, and this is the
best order of nachos I’ve had in a damn long while. I struggle to imagine
anyone wanting to see The Last Stand and being disappointed by it. How could you be? It delivers everything
an action junkie could want. And even though Arnold has never been a good
actor, this serves as a reminder that he’s still a great movie star. Sometimes
that’s all you need.
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