Review of The Last Stand (2013) by Vern H — 23 Jun 2013

The Last Stand may serve up as a passable, harmless, and mildly entertaining throwback to 80's action flicks, it tries to add some humor, has a right spirit, and its nice to see Schwarzenegger back on screen again, but it still doesn't entirely excuse the films cliche-ridden script, generic story, and sometimes lack of fluidly kinetic action. Rent it if you want to see Arnold spitting one-liners and totting guns once more, but you won't miss much otherwise.

The story: After The Govenator left office, it seems that he has decided to make return to the silver screen, and you can't really blame him. He doesn't have much to lose, and has got a nostalgia filled fan base of action junkies, a category which I could partially fall under, giddily ready for more excitement. He first returned with the Regan-era star-studded Expendables and it's sequel, is in production for a 3rd, an escape flick with Sly Stallone, others on the way, and decided to fit this one as well on his plate of rusty retribution. The plot is nothing new; a Mexican drug dealer escapes the clutches of the FBI, grabs a lightning-speed car, and races to cross the border into his fatherland. He's taken one of the FBI hostage, and has sucessfully evaded them. But there is one last thing in his way before he can drift into sweet freedom, a little town with a big sheriff. You might be able to guess who dons the badge...The question is, does The Running Man still have his legs? Soft of...

The good: The Last Stand doesn't try to be anything it's not; it isn't entirely self-aware about its script, but does have an understanding. The action sequences don't really dazzle, but they are fine, and still fun to watch. Schwarzenegger has never been the best at delivering all of his lines with the greatest of acting chops, but that has never mattered; the man has always had charm, and it hasn't died very much. He seems to be having a nice time, and puts forth a respectable effort. He also gets the chance to spout some great one-liners that did make me chuckle. The film admirably tries to add humor, and while the jokes hit and miss, at least they tried. It also should be mentioned that the film in general has the right spirit and decently aims just to bring back some popcorn chomping, old-time thrills.

The bad: The film does catch a slight break for its acknowledged, fun 80's shoot-em-up nature, but still the cliches keep on coming thanks to its highly generic screenplay. You've seen and heard all the dialogue before, and many of the jokes fall flat. Also for some reason its action sequences sometimes and their score editing are a bit sloppily paced, but its nothing terrible. Some of the acting is vanilla, but it could be said that the script doesn't help out them out either. The villains aren't anything special, and also fit into a trend I've been seeing a lot of in recent blockbusters; why are all of these antagonists mediocrely acted, oddly accented baddies who deliver some weirdly written lines in an almost understandable fashion? I don't know...but I've noticed it quite a bit.

My take: It knows what it is, but what it is still isn't anything too notable. If you are an action-junkie or have an itch for some old-fashioned gun battling, it won't hurt to give it a look, but still it is a very indifferent and forgettable film that wont effect you much if you skip it.