The Last Stand

Jee-woon Kim's ability to make the viewer tolerate unbelievable plot twists and WTF characters and their motivations lies in creating a fictional micro-universe that, if you embrace it, gave you the experience the director wanted you to have. The Last Stand may have had all the makings to follow its predecessors in this, but somehow it all got screwed up. The FBI command room destroys the illusion of the fatalistic isolation of the heroes, the governor is an extremely inept actor (one you'd almost forget), and no one has drilled into the director's head enough that there's a marked difference between making a movie in Korea and the US. That's why some of the action scenes look pretty lame, even as the camera whizzes past on a crane when the characters are just standing around and talking. As a result, The Last Stand doesn't so much resuscitate Arnold's career, but the era of 90s B-movies with Van Damme, where main street stands in for an entire city, the supporting characters shoot the bad guys with one hand, fall in love with each other with the other, and the heroes don't give their honor away for free. I don't blame the director, though. Given that he still didn't know a word of English during filming, the blame clearly lies with his translator. (11/02/2013)

To me, Arnold Schwarzenegger is a character that is associated with Saturday nights, when I was looking forward to another action flick in which Arnie never ever disappointed me. That was the way it worked when I was young, and I got so used to Arnold that to me, he became the greatest action hero. But then he stopped making movies, which made me really angry, only to return in 2013 with a mouthful of great lines. When the movie The Last Stand opened in cinemas, I tried to find the time to go see it. I eventually managed to find some time in the middle of the week, only to find out I was the only person in the movie theater, which made me pretty sad because in my opinion a star of Arnold’s caliber does not deserve that. And what makes the whole thing even sadder is that this is actually an absolutely honest self-reflection by Arnold, who pokes fun at himself and his career as governor. On top of that, you get a great story and you will fall in love with pretty much every character in that sleepy American country town. Anyways, I had one problem with the movie and that was the crazy and shaky camera operated by the director Ji-un Kim. It’s strange that a director who does not even speak English is now making a movie that marks the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger. All in all, he did a good job – it was a bit unusual, but you can get over that. It’s just I am not used to this kind of filmmaking is all. As regards Arnold himself, I didn’t believe that he would get back in such great shape, but he still did put in an absolutely amazing performance that kept me entertained throughout the entire movie and I am really glad that he is once again a part of Hollywood. Hopefully, he will keep stirring things up. By the way, when Arnie uttered the last line on emigrants to the USA, I realized that there are very few American-born actors in this movie. Was it on purpose? It may have been, but despite that it’s an absolutely honest movie that will keep you entertained for 107 minutes and that’s the main reason why you should watch it and give it a chance. Arnold is simply the man. (24/02/2013)

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)

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)

Three starts because, despite all its shortcomings (from my subjective perspective), the film was fun and didn’t make me want to turn it off. What’s hopeless, though, are its attempts at humour, and it’s sad to see that Arnold’s overacting has infected everyone around him (Stormare!!!). The final fight on the bridge is also a self-parody almost. But all that notwithstanding, I had pretty good fun. (25/04/2013)