He may be 65, but Arnold Schwarzenegger is far from retiring, and if his performance in The Last Stand is anything to go by, he’ll be on our movie screens for years to come. This terminating action hero kicks, punches and pouts his way through this latest movie blockbuster and delivers an incredible performance – it’s as if he hasn’t aged a day. Well, maybe a wee bit.
Arnie plays Sheriff Ray Owens who has moved from the bright lights and gun-fighting streets of L.A. to a simple life in a small town on the Mexican border. However his relaxing day off is ruined when Mexican drug cartel boss Cortez (Eduardo Noriega) escapes from federal custody and makes a run for the border, heading straight for Arnie’s idyllic town. Determined to stop Cortez and protect his town, Arnie ignores the FBI’s instructions to stand down and instead leads his small team of inexperienced, and slightly misfit deputies into the fight of their lives. Cue the big guns, fast cars, cheesy one-liners and a whole lotta action and you’ve got one pretty impressive ass-kicking movie.
As an oldie, Arnie packs a hefty punch as he battles against the heavily armed invaders of his town. Although you can definitely tell he’s getting on a bit, he still matches up against the younger cast proving his place as an action hero in the film world. With plenty of high flying gun action and an awful lot of bloodshed and body dismembering, The Last Stand is packed full of all the stunts and blood we would expect from any reputable action film.
Not only does the film star one of the greatest movie stars of all time, the supporting cast is also pretty impressive. Forest Whitaker leads the F.B.I. in trying to re-capture Cortez after his escape; however a super, speedy getaway car makes his job near impossible. This is not the best performance of Whitaker by far but he serves his purpose and doesn’t steal the limelight from the big man himself. Arnie’s deputies provide regular comedy relief in the forms of Johnny Knoxville and Luis Guzman. These two have brilliant on-screen chemistry and add a little extra something to an otherwise ordinary, yet awesome, action movie. At one point I was almost crying with laughter – it’s seriously funny. Thor’s very own Jaimie Alexander and our favourite Brazilian beau from Love Actually, Rodrigo Santoro, provide the love, and although it’s only a tiny part of the film, all great movies need some sort of romance… or maybe that’s just a girl thing…
This is definitely a film for all you Arnie buffs out there. It’s packed full of brainless action and has everything you would expect from a Schwarzenegger movie. So if you liked any film by Mr Freeze you’ll probably love this one. The only downside, and that’s only if it is a downside, is that it’s not quite as spectacular as the likes of Predator or Terminator which are complete classics. It’s a great movie but just not as great as Terminator, however I’m not sure what is…
[rating=4]
