I'll be perfectly honest, despite all my raving about Arnold in the past week or so, I've actually never gotten a chance to see any of his movies in the theaters, given the fact that I'm 18 and most of them came out before I was born, so, excuse me this moment of giddiness in stating how awesome it is to see this guy on the big screen!! Surround Sound Austrian accent...doesn't get much better than that! Here's my review of The Last Stand.
Former LAPD officer Ray Owens (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has settled into a cushy, calm, uneventful post as sheriff for an out-of-the-way border town known as Summerton Junction. His reprieve is called to a halt when it's revealed that notorious Mexican drug lord Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega) has escaped from the FBI's hold and is racing toward the border, on course to head straight through Summerton. So, agent John Bannister (Forest Whitaker) calls on Sheriff Owens and his rag-tag team of deputies (Rodrigo Santoro, Zach Gilford, Jamie Alexander, Luis Guzman, Johnny Knoxville) to help bring Cortez to a halt.
So, the big question, of course, is going to be: how was Arnold??? I'm happy to report that Arnold is, in fact, still the Arnold we all know and love! He may be a bit older and slower, but everything you expect from this legend is absolutely intact! His acting has not changed, whether that translates to you as good or bad. His dialogue is still laced with all the one-liners an Arnold fan could hope for. By the way, the "I am the sheriff!" line from the trailer is much more awesome in context. Just sayin'. But, anyhoo...
Let's talk about the supporting cast. Johnny Knoxville, although appearing in only about a third of the film, is by far the biggest non-Arnold highlight of the entire thing. He is perfectly placed as a crazy, trigger-happy goofball, and provides all the biggest laughs in the film (at least, of the intentional laughs). Eduardo Noriega provides us with a very entertaining villain; an impressive feat, given the fact that for 90% of the movie, he's just sitting in a car with one other person. It definitely testifies to what an interesting character he was.
I was surprised to find that Arnold has not lost any horsepower in terms of action. He may be slower, but he's still as strong as ever, even getting into a wrestling match at one point which was very well done. All the action in this film is spot-on to the type of Schwarzenegger action you'd see in the 80's, and it's all very visually appealing. There are a number of suspension of disbelief moments, however. The film doesn't seem to have a firm grasp on the power behind certain weapons, namely bazookas. But, it's all forgivable, due to the fact that you're having a blast (no pun intended...I swear!!).
Overall, The Last Stand can absolutely be looked at as a triumphant return for Arnold. All of his signature action cheese components are there, the supporting cast is entertaining, the action is a ton of fun, if a bit cartoony, and I was darn proud to add this movie to my 2013 theatrical viewings. It's exactly what Arnold has always stood for: 2 hours of crazy, goofy, one-liner-filled bloody action that keeps your attention all the way through! Thanks for reading! :D
No comments:
Post a Comment