The Last Stand (2013)

People are voting emotionally.

Overrated

Gripping story with well-crafted characters

Crappy film

This movie is exactly what it should be. A fun and exciting action movie. This particular film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jaimie Alexander, and Johnny Knoxville. The film is set in a small southern Arizona town where nothing ever happens, but when a group of strangers arrives in town, some weird things start to happen. It starts with the murder of a local farmer, which then escalates into a shootout on the outskirts of town which results in the death of a deputy. Turns out, a drug kingpin escaped the feds in Las Vegas, Nevada and is on his way to Mexico, and just so happens he plans on crossing the border in this Arizona town, and it is up to Schwarzenegger's team to stop him. A ton of action and races makes this a very enjoyable film. Arnold and Jaimie were great, and so was the rest of the cast (Forest Whitaker, Peter Stormare, etc.). I would give this film an 8/10.

Arnie's not going to win awards for his acting for this, bit will he ever? This a return to what the big guy does best - toughing it out to take down a bad-ass. No over the top CGI or 20 minute unbelievable Jason Bourne choreograph sequences, and all the better for it. The old man comes back from his life of politics to the movies and proves that there's still no- one better at doing a good old fashioned action movie.

A lot of fans of present day action movies don't like this one. What they don't like is it doesn't have "a good story" like modern action movies have.Good story means portray cops or federal agents or Americans as bad guys.It doesn't portray the cops or federal authorities as the bad guys. It has a lot of mindless, over the top action. That's what an action movie is about.Shootouts, explosions, car chases, beat downs - it has it.There are absurd parts. Minutes after we hear this super car is faster than a helicopter, a helicopter catches it and keeps up with it.Who cares.

From one of South Korean cinema's most versatile filmmakers, The Last Stand is director Kim Jee- woon's English-language debut that also marks the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger to the movie industry after a decade of absence and while it's not even close to this director's best works, it still succeeds as a pretty good old-fashioned action comedy.The story of The Last Stand follows Sheriff Owens, a former LAPD officer who now runs the law in a small border town in Arizona. With not much crime happening in the town, it's a post-retirement life for our Sheriff but things are set in motion when a notorious drug cartel escapes from the FBI custody and heads towards the Sheriff's town from where he intends to cross the border.Directed by Kim Jee-woon, The Last Stand is his first stint in Hollywood and while it has its share of positives & negatives, it's not as immersive, compelling & fascinating as his South Korean flicks. The screenplay packs in a narrative that sounds interesting on the surface but is absolutely devoid of any depth, the characters aren't that intriguing either and have only one-note roles to play.Camera-work is aptly carried out, its 107 minutes of runtime is finely paced, and the performances are nothing special. Schwarzenegger easily stands out as Sheriff Owens even if his work isn't that impressive while the input from the rest of the cast is pretty much forgettable. The villain is a total punk who's never intimidating and is outacted by the car he drives. But the shortcomings in acting department doesn't hurt it much.On an overall scale, The Last Stand woks as an enjoyable, entertaining & thrilling B-movie flick but for those who are familiar with Kim Jee-woon's earlier films, it's more or less a disappointment. But Schwarzenegger's fans will be pleased for the actor still possesses his on-screen charisma. While predictable for the most part, The Last Stand makes up for what it lacks with plenty of car chases, shootouts & old-school vibe. Worth a shot.