The Last Stand

An excellent modern western that has absolutely everything it should have. Plus Arnold Schwarzenegger. The action scenes are imaginative and clear, the cast is one of a kind (Peter Stormare enjoying himself!), the script rides the nostalgic wave and, thanks to a generous portion of humor, it can afford to use even hackneyed clichés without getting on one's nerves. Arnold is simply wonderful in the role of the uncompromising Austrian buffer who stands in the way of the fleeing thug. There is no point in criticizing his acting - he is still the same action actor, who just needs to say one sentence, throw one harsh look, then shoot one magazine and crown everything with one funny line. The Last Stand is entertaining (a really long shootout lightened by funny moments of all kinds), it is suspenseful (the first clash with Stormare's gang), breathtaking (the car chase in the cornfield really blew me away), and it doesn’t need much to be a lot better than The Expendables 2 (the ending on the bridge). (15/02/2013)

The classic comes alive, maybe not to the same extent as in the hyped-up The Expendables, but enough to bring a heady and warm feeling to the heart of action fans with its pure character (lots of catchphrases, big guns, bad guys and fast cars) and straightforwardness. It's been a long time since I've watched an action film with such a likeable cast and such a great balance of humour, which can often outshine a cheesy cliché or logic hole. Of course, looming over it all is the great Schwarzenegger, a huge star who only needs to appear on screen and throw one of his trademark glances, something he still manages with absolute bravado. Stormare is fine as the bad guy, Whitaker was not a happy choice and Knoxville with his permanently open mouth has to be endured. But when I think of The Last Stand with the benefit of hindsight, all I can recall is a far-fetched and incredibly stupid B-movie, the kind we have seen in the hundreds, but this, believe me, can not completely refute any of the aforementioned positives. 65% (02/07/2013)

The people behind this film fortunately quickly realized that this won't be another Terminator 2 and that it won't work "directly" with Arnold anymore, so they went about it cleverly. Thanks to skillful editing and camera work, the main protagonist is quite watchable, although many other things here are downright hopeless. An awfully boring and generic villain, inconsistent action (excellently edited shots intertwine with horribly confusing and chaotic ones), uneven pace, average one-liners. Sometimes I felt a brackish feeling. Yes, self-parody doesn't hurt (sometimes there is nothing else left) and it's still quite alright, but don't expect anything groundbreaking. It's not in any way progressive or clever from a creative standpoint. Just an average action movie with a few very interesting chases in a cornfield. (25/03/2013)

If I had seen this movie ten years ago, I would have probably peed myself for sheer joy. I like great sports cars, slinky girls and mainly Arnold! I gained a couple more wrinkles on my face (but fewer than the Austrian oak, it must be said) and I want a few more. But it’s still more than just good fun and in some places it holds some very pleasant surprises. One definite asset is Jee-woon Kim, who squeezes the maximum out of it, with half an eye on old westerns, he is properly bloodthirsty and tries not to take the beaten track, but when he has to, he shows off about it. In terms of acting, this is the inoffensive standard playing supporting roles for old man Arnold who is exactly the way we like him best. Luckily, Knoxville doesn’t bother us much. There are a couple of really effective scenes that pull The Last Stand up to above average, the best of which is the ingenious chase through the corn field. Mainly, Arnold is back with all the trimmings, it’s a shame that more people aren’t visiting the theaters to greet him. (13/02/2013)

OK, let the main character, written somewhere between Wayne and Eastwood, play a guy with a heavy Germanic accent. In more emotionally tense scenes, he resembles a bulldozer accidentally parked at a bicycle show and makes jokes about being an immigrant. Place under it the soundtrack, which partly springs up in heavy bass offensives, sometimes pays modernity, sometimes shifts to (probably ironic) classics, and often also the western ancestors. And let a Korean film it all, so that it sometimes resembles a border western, sometimes series crap about Texas rangers, sometimes an 80's action film and sometimes modern (I still can't decide whether the überdigital cuts in some of the action were a stylish intention or not). A film is most likely to be made that works best in segments where no one is acting or talking. The problem is that there are very few of those segments, and also the fact that Arnie doesn't act in comic / dramatic scenes any better in the new millennium than in his golden years - and there are very few scenes where he can give his sarcastic one-liners. The significant difference from the eighties is that the crowds will no longer be rushing to go see it. It's a pity - the last The Expendables showed the path that these old tanks can still go down. It just takes more exaggeration, self-reflection and fewer attempts to "make character". During the final fight on the digital bridge, I couldn't decide whether to feel amusement or slight regret over that anachronism. A bit of both in the end, this is The Last Stand. (07/02/2013)