Rated R for graphic violence and language.
Starring
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Johnny Knoxville, Rodrigo Santoro, Zach Gilford,
Forest Whitaker, Genesis Rodriguez, Jaimie Alexander, Luis Guzmán,
Peter Stormare, Eduardo Noriega, Harry Dean Stanton.
Directed by Kim Ji-Woon.
Written by Andrew Knauer
GRADE:Two Stars (**)
GOSPEL DOCTRINE-O-METER: One Angel Moroni (*). The only redeeming gospel-oriented quality one can find in The Last Stand is Sheriff Ray Owens' selfless and tenacious commitment to stand up to evil at the risk of his own life - sort of "Captain Moroni-esque." Too sad such a great quality is shrouded by a lot of gory gun play and salty language. At least there wasn't any sex/nudity.
REVIEW:
Arnold
is back, and depending on who you ask, that may or may not be a good
thing. Following his foray into politics and his well-documented
marital/paternal issues, it was only a matter of time before the action
movie icon returned to his roots (despite a few cameos in the
Expendables movies). His first starring role comes in The Last Stand, in
theaters on January 18.
Schwarzenegger stars as Sheriff Ray
Owens (not exactly an Austrian name, but most audiences gave up on
explaining why Arnold has played so many “Americans” with thick accents
years ago), a former Los Angeles special forces and narcotics officer
who has found peace serving as the primary law enforcement in the small
town of Summerton Junction, on the Arizona-Mexico border. As county
sheriff, Ray commands a small force of deputies, including Sarah (Jaime
Alexander), Mike “Figgy” Figueroa (Luiz Guzman) and the baby-faced
rookie deputy Jerry Bailey (Zach Gilford).
Miles away in Las
Vegas, FBI agent John Bannister (Forest Whitaker) falls prey to an
elaborate scheme to help Mexican drug cartel lord Gabriel Cortez
(Eduardo Noriega) escape. During the escape, Cortez also kidnaps a
lovely female agent and keeps her as a hostage while driving a stolen
supercharged Corvette toward the border in Summerton Junction. Cortez's
men, led by the evil Burrell (Peter Stormare), have set up a makeshift
bridge over a nearby narrow canyon to allow their leader to simply drive
unnoticed into freedom while border agents assemble at a more likely
crossing miles away. When Ray's deputies discover Burell's scheme, the
hardened sheriff determines to stand up to Cortez and his small army,
with a little help from a local firearms enthusiast (Johnny Knoxville)
and a former marine (Rodrigo Santoro), who is sitting in his jail.
A great battle in the streets of Summerton Junction ensues, with bloody and action-packed results.
The
Last Stand is in many ways the perfect vehicle for Schwarzenegger to
re-enter the action film world, since the movie closely resembles a
majority of his movie resume. It's full of macho one-liners, improbable
stunts, and the kind of comedy Arnold and his fans became accustomed to
over the years of his heyday.
Sure, the acting is over-the-top,
the script is inane and the story is completely implausible, but people
willing to plop down their hard-earned cash to see Schwarzenegger movies
aren't really expecting Citizen Kane, are they? So, if a lot of gory
gun play, some harsh language and a silly story don't bother you, go
ahead and see The Last Stand. If you're waiting for another Citizen
Kane, keep waiting.
