The Last Stand
2013
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Johnny Knoxville, Forrest Whitaker, Rodrigo Santoro, Luis Guzman
Genre: Action
Worldwide Box Office Gross: over $48 million
Plot: The leader of a drug cartel busts out of a courthouse and speeds to the Mexican border, where the only thing in his path is a sheriff and & his inexperienced staff
'Schwarzenneger Flick That Doesn't Have Legs To Stand On'
Airing on Film Four on Monday last night, 2013's The Last Stand was Arnold Schwarzenegger's first real movie outing and big screen comeback, since he quit as governor of California; yet despite being touted as an Arnie action movie, he isn't on screen as much and the film takes far too long for the action to kick into gear.
This is post-1990s Schwarzenneger, and the last film I loved of his is still True Lies. His efforts right after 1994's James Cameron blockbuster and a riff on James Bond, have been largely disappointing, to say the least. & The Last Stand does little to change that opinion, especially given how, as the movie went by, I lost all of my enthusiasm and interest.
A South American drug lord has escaped from custody and the clutches of the FBI led by John Bannister (Forrest Whitaker) and his agents, on their way to a federal prison, it is up to ex L.A narcotics cop turned sheriff Owens to take matters into his own hands.
There is nothing new here I hadn't seen before, and it was such a major bore and precious little to take away that makes me want to revisit and watch it again. The action genre has come a long way, but arguably it has been for the worst with most of these films relegated to straight- to- DVD and TV channel haven on the likes of Movies for Men, whilst commercial action films are now synonymous with superheroes and comic book flicks.
I'm not big on Westerns, and The Last Stand is that type of film set in the modern day with bigger guns.
The story fails to get off the ground and the characters lack any type of personality and train of thought; they just utter their lines, but I didn't sense any real emotion or went along with what they did or say. Because it was just unbelievably dull and tedious and as the action sequences, which mostly consist of shootouts and fast cars unravel and become so bogged down, I lost interest completely; it was recycling the same, similar stuff that I'd seen in Schwarzenneger's earlier efforts. For the most part, they lacked energy, excitement and the ability to amaze and impress me. Forrest Whitaker is wasted, whereas Schwarzenneger's best years are way behind him. His character and performance looks tired and lacks the charm, appeal and oomph his previous counterparts exuded.
Johnny Knoxville's part is similar in a way to Rob Schneider in Judge Dredd as the goofball sidekick, who tries to be funny, yet ultimately, it adds nothing to the film.
Much like with Collateral Damage, it feels nothing like your average Arnie flick with one-liners and one I am so used to; it's just been done to death before and after, and none of it here feels mindblowing or that impressive, really.
Whilst some people and ardent fanatics will still lap this one up, other action and Arnold Schwarzenneger fans are simply better off revisiting the classics in The Terminator, Terminator 2, Predator, Total Recall, True Lies, rather than to sit through what is a toothless, mind-numbing display of shoot-'em-scenes with characters practically shooting each other in a frenzy. It is also so overdone and overproduced that is so far removed, it just feels out of place, nor is it a good fit for him.
Additionally, it lacks any charm, and it's a film I won't ever watch again.
Final Verdict:
The Austrian Oak's legacy in this particular genre in Hollywood movie history will no doubt live on and be remembered for years to come- but for a few exceptions, however; one being The Last Stand, which will not go down as memorable.
Overall:
2013
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Johnny Knoxville, Forrest Whitaker, Rodrigo Santoro, Luis Guzman
Genre: Action
Worldwide Box Office Gross: over $48 million
Plot: The leader of a drug cartel busts out of a courthouse and speeds to the Mexican border, where the only thing in his path is a sheriff and & his inexperienced staff
'Schwarzenneger Flick That Doesn't Have Legs To Stand On'
Airing on Film Four on Monday last night, 2013's The Last Stand was Arnold Schwarzenegger's first real movie outing and big screen comeback, since he quit as governor of California; yet despite being touted as an Arnie action movie, he isn't on screen as much and the film takes far too long for the action to kick into gear.
This is post-1990s Schwarzenneger, and the last film I loved of his is still True Lies. His efforts right after 1994's James Cameron blockbuster and a riff on James Bond, have been largely disappointing, to say the least. & The Last Stand does little to change that opinion, especially given how, as the movie went by, I lost all of my enthusiasm and interest.
A South American drug lord has escaped from custody and the clutches of the FBI led by John Bannister (Forrest Whitaker) and his agents, on their way to a federal prison, it is up to ex L.A narcotics cop turned sheriff Owens to take matters into his own hands.
There is nothing new here I hadn't seen before, and it was such a major bore and precious little to take away that makes me want to revisit and watch it again. The action genre has come a long way, but arguably it has been for the worst with most of these films relegated to straight- to- DVD and TV channel haven on the likes of Movies for Men, whilst commercial action films are now synonymous with superheroes and comic book flicks.
The story fails to get off the ground and the characters lack any type of personality and train of thought; they just utter their lines, but I didn't sense any real emotion or went along with what they did or say. Because it was just unbelievably dull and tedious and as the action sequences, which mostly consist of shootouts and fast cars unravel and become so bogged down, I lost interest completely; it was recycling the same, similar stuff that I'd seen in Schwarzenneger's earlier efforts. For the most part, they lacked energy, excitement and the ability to amaze and impress me. Forrest Whitaker is wasted, whereas Schwarzenneger's best years are way behind him. His character and performance looks tired and lacks the charm, appeal and oomph his previous counterparts exuded.
Johnny Knoxville's part is similar in a way to Rob Schneider in Judge Dredd as the goofball sidekick, who tries to be funny, yet ultimately, it adds nothing to the film.
Much like with Collateral Damage, it feels nothing like your average Arnie flick with one-liners and one I am so used to; it's just been done to death before and after, and none of it here feels mindblowing or that impressive, really.
Whilst some people and ardent fanatics will still lap this one up, other action and Arnold Schwarzenneger fans are simply better off revisiting the classics in The Terminator, Terminator 2, Predator, Total Recall, True Lies, rather than to sit through what is a toothless, mind-numbing display of shoot-'em-scenes with characters practically shooting each other in a frenzy. It is also so overdone and overproduced that is so far removed, it just feels out of place, nor is it a good fit for him.
Additionally, it lacks any charm, and it's a film I won't ever watch again.
Final Verdict:
The Austrian Oak's legacy in this particular genre in Hollywood movie history will no doubt live on and be remembered for years to come- but for a few exceptions, however; one being The Last Stand, which will not go down as memorable.
Overall:
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