The Last Stand
Director: Jee Woon Kim
Actors: Johnny Knoxville, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Eduardo Noriega, Forest Whitaker
Release Date: Monday 30th November -0001
Genre(s): Action, Crime
Running time: TBC (TBC) minutes
Huge drug boss Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega) is being secretly transported to prison by FBI Agent Bannister (Whitaker) and his team, but one OTT escape plan later and we find Cortez bombing it to the Mexican border in his super pimped out muscle-car, leading to the description "We've got a psychopath driving the Batmobile." Meanwhile, in the sleepy border town of Sommerton, Cortez's criminal team are busy making his border-crossing as easy as possible, but their arrival in town has caught the attention of Sheriff Owens (Schwarzenegger) and his deputies. Once they've realised who it is that plans to use their town to make a quick getaway, the good guys rally together to make sure the bad guys don't get away without a fight.
The problem with The Last Stand is that it is two very different movies mushed together; on the one hand we have a very serious action thriller with the boring Whitaker explaining the boring exposition about why boring bad guy Noriega is such a villain. But on the other we have Schwarzenegger having a lot of fun with his motley crew - Johnny Knoxville as Zany Support #1, Luis Guzman as Zany Support #2, Jaimie Alexander as Obligatory Female Presence - and Peter Stormare as Cortez's second in command who's a much better villain than Cortez himself.
It takes a while to pick up steam, but once the action localizes in the town, all hell breaks loose, with Arnie still more than able to punch, shoot and pick shards of glass out of his leg like the best of them. Yes, he's looking the worse for wear, and yes, the movie is a little low-key for the former King Of Action Blockbusters, but there is quite a bit of violent, explode-y entertainment to be had before the end credits roll.
Compared to Stallone's Bullet To The Head, The Last Stand is more fun, but no less forgettable.
