“The Last Stand,” a vehicle for an Arnold Schwarzenegger
come-back, is okay, not as bad as I was expecting. But not as good either. It
has just enough dumb fun, pointless violence and car chases to satisfy most
action fans. But Schwarzenegger is looking all of his 65 years and if anything,
his acting has gotten worse. He’s no longer the imposing physical specimen he
used to be. That’s why his climatic fight scene with the Mexican drug lord, at
least 30 years younger than Schwarzenegger, is so hard to believe. Directed by
Kim Jee-woon, a popular South Korean filmmaker making his US debut, “The Last
Stand” allows Schwarzenegger and company to have some laughs before the heavy
action begins, with police cars flying through the air in fiery crashes,
high-speed pursuits down highways and through corn fields and Schwarzenegger
blasting his way through an army of henchmen.
Ray Owens (Schwarzenegger) is sheriff of Summerton Junction,
a town so small that his bored deputies are out at Lewis Dinkum’s (Johnny
Knoxsville) place, shooting at slabs of meat. But when a notorious Mexican drug
cartel king (Eduardo Noriega) escapes from federal custody and aims his
Corvette ZR1 straight for the border and straight through Summerton Junction,
Sheriff Ray decides that he isn’t going to let him get through. So he rounds up
his bumbling deputies (Luis Guzman, Zach Gilford, Jaimie Alexander) and pulls
out vintage weaponry (Dinkum is a firearms freak). Let the fireworks begin. “The
Last Stand” probably won’t be Schwarzenegger’s last movie. Too bad. He’s beyond
his ‘use by’ date. 1/21/13
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