The Last Stand

            I'm starting 2013 off by being pleasantly surprised.  Dare I hope this sets the tone for the year?

            On to the review!

            Almost a decade ago, I picked up a Korean movie that scared the everloving shit out of me.  Though to this day I'm not sure what the hell I saw, I still gleefully recommend it to any and all fans of horror.  Then last year I finally got around to watching a strange comedy/action/western by the same director and really enjoyed it.

            Imagine my surprise when I found out that Jee-woon Kim, director of two of my three favorite Korean films (A Tale of TwoSisters and The Good, The Bad, andthe Weird) was making his English-language debut with none other than Ahhhnold Schwarzenegger.

            Here's what The Last Stand has going for it:  An excellent cast, at least on paper.  Arnold is Sherriff Ray Owens.  Forest Whitaker plays FBI Agent John Bannister.  Luis Guzman is a deputy.  Johnny Knoxville is gun-obsessed Lewis Dinkum.  Peter Stormare plays Burrell and chews all the scenery.

            It's also got a decent budget for special effects and an escape vehicle so sleek and sexy that even though I'm not a car guy, I kinda want to dry hump it.

           

            Here's what The Last Stand has going against it:  This is Arnold's come-back movie after a very notorious time in his life.  Nobody knows if he can pull in an audience. 

            It's basically a 'debut' film, because even though Jee-woon Kim has directed movies, Hollywood is its own beast.

            Well, you already know what happened.  The last Stand made me laugh my ass off while enjoying a fun little action movie.

            The basic premise is that third-generation Cartel leader Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega) is being carted to Federal Prison in the dead of night by Agent Bannister and his team.  Something goes wrong, and he is freed by his goons in the middle of Vegas.  Conveniently, his goons had stolen a Porsche Zero-One. (If I remember correctly.  Again, I'm not a car guy.)  Cortez takes off in the specially modified Porsche and the chase is on.

            Meanwhile, Burrell turns up in Summerton Junction, Sherriff Owen's town.  Owens doesn't like the looks of Burrell, and his suspicions are confirmed when it turns out that Burrell and his men are helping Cortez escape to Mexico.

            It all comes to a head in an excellent, 30-minute fight/chase scene pitting the best mercenaries Cortez can buy against Owen's rag-tag group of Deputies. 

            What I like the most about The Last Stand is that it never quite does what you expect, even when it does.  For a light, action-packed, often-funny film, there is just enough underlying darkness to keep you guessing as to who will or will not die.  Even when you can predict what's going to happen, you're often wrong in how it happens.  This keeps the movie fresh and entertaining until the last reel.

            While Mr. Schwarzenegger may be an ageing star, I really appreciate him showing his age.  He actively acknowledges his advanced years throughout the film and even though he's still an 'Action Hero,' he no longer moves with the same speed and agility.  He may be the hero, but this hero knows he needs help.

            Go check out The Last Stand if you want to see what a good action movie looks like months before a good action movie usually comes out.