The Last Stand Review

Alrighty then this is the film I have been waiting to see for ages now (that seems to be a reoccurring theme with the films I’ve seen of recent), finally getting to see Arnold “The Legend” Schwarzenegger back on the big screen after almost a decade of absence. So is The Last Stand a good time or just a waste of time? Read on in this review to find out.

So the story goes a little something like this:

“The leader of a drug cartel busts out of a courthouse and speeds to the Mexican border, where the only thing in his path is a sheriff and his inexperienced staff.”

I thought the story was good for what it was; it moved at a decent pace and was simple and straight to the point. While it is a bit cheesy, generic and predictable at times it still worked. Those looking for a much deeper story need to reassess what kind of film they are watching, action films have always been light on story and in today’s world of action films it is more about the spectacle than the actual story itself.

For me it really was the characters of the film that made The Last Stand so much fun. Let’s start with the big main man himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger as Sheriff Ray Owens. Schwarzenegger was great as this rough-around-the-edges sheriff who protects this quiet town, he’s a nice guy but know when to get serious. Ray is a seasoned warrior who knows what danger is and will put up a good fight. Schwarzenegger though much older than before can still move around, handle a gun, drive fast cars and get into fist fights and make it look good. I liked how the film was aware of Arnie’s age and made scenes for him where he isn’t as fast as he was where he does take time to get from point A to point B and lastly he isn’t invincible like he was in some his previous films like Predator or Terminator 2. Arnie was cool and I also liked some his dialogue and the way he pronounced certain words. Also Johnny Knoxville as Lewis Dinkum was great, he had some great scenes with Arnie and wasn’t nearly as overbearing as I thought he’d be. He was relevant and useful so yeah I enjoyed the crazy and funny antics of Knoxville a lot.

Now let’s talk about Luis Guzmán as Deputy Mike Figuerola, I swear this was like my favourite character in the film. He had the best lines in film and was funny as hell, the way he ran around and was in some of these dangerous and funny situations made him not only hilarious but also cool too. I seriously just want to meet Luis Guzmán in real life and hug him! Then there’s Jaimie Alexander as Deputy Sarah Torrance. Even though this is an action film full of gun shooting, car chases and explosions, Alexander still finds a way to look beautiful as hell. Besides that she handled herself pretty well and had plenty of action throughout the film so good on her. Rodrigo Santoro as Frank Martinez was good too, he was a useful member of the film that I didn’t expect and Zach Gilford as Deputy Jerry Bailey was nice, he had some funny scenes in the film. And lastly Forest Whitaker as Agent John Bannister was pretty good, he had some good scenes, some great exchanges with Arnie and I thought it was funny when he got frustrated and swore in the film, which was just great.

As for the presentation of the film I found it to be pretty good, there were some well-organized gun shoot-out scenes and I liked the car chases too, they were filmed well especially the one part where there was a chase through a cornfield. There were some nice camera work used and I also thought that the violence in the film was nicely done too. I can’t really say much for the soundtrack, it worked where it needed to but it wasn’t overly memorable though.

In conclusion The Last Stand is just a fun little action film that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It is a bit generic, cheesy and predictable, but if you’re willing to look past that then you’ll definitely enjoy the characters and the great chases and action sequences. Just don’t set your expectations too high and you’ll have fun with this film especially if you’re an Arnie fan. It’s great to see Schwarzenegger back on the big screen and hopefully this is the start of many more films to come.

Rating: 7/10

So what did you lot think of Arnie’s return to the big screen in The Last Stand? Did you like or hate it? Whatever your thoughts drop them below and I’ll catch ya on the next review yo! 😀