Review of The Last Stand (2013) by Omar K — 19 Oct 2013

Schwarzenegger returns in his first lead role since 2003's Terminator 3 and we are all wondering is it more of a successful Total Recall or a sad End of Days failure. Well, first up, the good things - Schwarzenegger is still a good screen presence and the film has its fair share of OTT action with car chases, audacious escapes and gun fights galore.

Also of note is the film's (mostly) avoidance of "I'm too old for this shit" jokes. There are obvious references to Arnie's age but these are done by others not listening to him or shown on screen through his sluggish demeanour.

The reason I hated the Expendables 2 was its insistence that a nod and a wink to the audience every 5 minutes somehow helped the story. It didn't. Despite these good points though the film is unmemorable as it is unremarkable.

The budget is clearly low (no doubt Arnie's pay packet being the biggest of it) and the supporting characters (especially Jackass' Johnny Knoxville) verge from poor to annoying and the final fist fight does unfortunately show Arnie's advancing years and physical limitations.

However, if you are a fan of loud and proud action-fests and can overlook the many flaws, you may find some solace that the Governator is finally back! 6.5/10 Midlands Movies Mike.