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| By Dean Galanis |
Produced byLorenzo di Bonaventura
Written by Andrew Knauer
Directed by Kim Ji-woon
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Forest Whitaker, Johnny Knoxville, Rodrigo Santoro, Luis Guzmán, Jaimie Alexander, Eduardo Noriega, Peter Stormare, Zach Gilford, Genesis Rodriguez, John Patrick Amedori
Lionsgate / Rated R
The next few weeks hold great promise for fans who were weaned on Eighties action films. On February 1, Sylvester Stallone stars in Bullet to the Head, his first collaboration with action guru Walter Hill (48 Hrs., Southern Comfort, Extreme Prejudice). Then on Valentine’s Day, Bruce Willis stars in A Good Day to Die Hard is released – the fifth John McClane film (the trailers aren’t promising, but I still can’t wait).
Up first, though, we have The Last Stand, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s first starring role in a decade. As with the new Die Hard, the trailer didn’t leave me panting for more, but I still held out some hope as I walked into the sneak preview recently.
Well, let’s keep our fingers crossed that Sly and Bruce fare better. Graced with a good, pulpy premise and a strong supporting cast, including Luis Guzman, Forest Whitaker, Eduardo Noriega and John Patrick Amedori, The Last Stand winds up being barely passable entertainment, even with a responsive crowd. Still, it’s not without its (meager) pleasures.
Arnie plays a retired LAPD Narcotics officer who left the excitement of Los Angeles to play sheriff in a tiny Arizona border town where nothing ever happens. Of course, the sleepiness of the town is about to be disrupted by the nefarious plans of a ruthless drug kingpin, who has escaped the clutches of the FBI and is headed for Mexico.
The villain has a small army of vicious thugs who consistently embarrass (and murder) FBI agents and cops. How can Arnie and his small band of deputies be any match for them?!
Well, as luck would have it, Johnny Knoxville is the local goofball/gun nut who happens to have a huge, illegal (and ludicrous) assault weapons arsenal. Whatever your politics, it’s a little disconcerting to see an unhinged good guy character caressing and obsessing over his massive handguns and assault rifles so soon after Sandy Hook. I know it’s a little unfair, as the film was made long before the shootings and is aping the attitudes of the Eighties-era shoot-em-ups that I loved as a teen (many of which I still love). Still, it left a bad taste.
Would that were the film’s only problem…
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