Synopsis:
After a Mexican drug lord breaks free of FBI custody, he makes for the border with the help of a band of heavily-armed criminals, taking them through a quiet town run by a hardened Sherriff who dedicated to stopping the maniacs by any means possible.

Who’s in It:
Arnold Schwarzenegger reprises his role as American action hero, this time playing a small town Sherriff (should be titled The Last Sherriff) where everyone knows your name, and most people are packing heat. The friendly townspeople include the hysterical Johnny Knoxville, Greendale Community College alum Luis Guzmán, and for reasons passing understanding, Academy Award winning actor Forest Whitaker shows up playing a very serious FBI Agent.

Review:
In 2008, Jee-woon Kim wrote and directed the very entertaining and ridiculous Japanese action western The Good, the Bad, the Weird. It’s a fitting title and descriptor for The Last Stand, a hysterical and surprising worthy action flick, reminiscent of Con Air, Fast Five, and more self-aware than most of Arnold’s body of work.

We have clear good and bad, but the weird comes early and often. Academy Award winning actor Forest Whitaker (which is how he should be referred to in every review of this film), is one very frustrated FBI Agent, pounding his fist, muttering under his breath, and offering absurd insight on the criminal he just let escape. Remember in Con Air when John Cusack describes Diamond Dog and Cyrus the Virus? This is more ridiculous.

But it’s tons of giddy fun. Jee-woon is a talented director, perfectly pacing and fleshing out this flick filled with loud engines and big guns. Arnold with his taut, leather-like face garbles words, but does offer a few one-liners that actually really funny (see: encounter with Old Lady). It’s just unfortunate we don’t have a villain of any caliber; he is boring, silly, and possesses a thicker and more incomprehensible accent than Arnold. Still, what you want out of this film is what you get back ten-fold.

Should I See It?
Yes, especially if you’re trying to get in to see all the Oscars films before the event. This will break things up nicely, perhaps after Amour and before Zero Dark Thirty.

Memorable Quote:
There are oh so many, as Arnold delivers what you want.  Everything Academy Award winning actor Forest Whitaker says is laugh-out-loud, but he doesn’t quite know it. One golden nugget, in reference to our escaped villain, who, oh, just so happens to be a professional race car driver:

“We’ve got a psycho in a Batmobile!”

(Allow for laughter)

[star v=3]