Last Stand, The : The Last Stand DVD Review



On Blu-ray, DVD and Download to Own and Rent from May 27

The Last Stand



Not In his Town. Not on his Watch


Arnold Schwarzenegger - the ultimate action star is back in The Last Stand.

Sheriff Owens (Schwarzenegger) is the main man in the border town Sommerton Junction, which doesn’t mean much as the place appears to have a population of about 12. To say it’s a sleepy town is a bit of an understatement.

But when a drug-lord escapes from an FBI prisoner convoy and steals a supercar capable of crazy speeds and even sillier stunts, Owens and his unequipped force of rejects is the only thing standing in the way of this major (cartoon) criminal as he makes a run for the boarder of Mexico.

The Last Stand DVDCo-starring Johnny Knoxville and Forest Whitaker, The Last Stand is full of slightly over-the-top action and daft car chases, headed up by a frankly (and sadly) over-the-hill Arnie.

So why has the big man made a return to films? He clearly doesn’t need the money or the fame. The roles that he once filled have mostly been taken over by Vin Diesel, Jason Statham and even the likes of a bulked up Matt Damon. Has he really got a place in today’s action cinema, in his mid 60s? I have to say that apart from The Expendables I don’t think so.

Yet several films action films in post production, or recently announced, such as The Legend of Conan, Escape Plan and Terminator 5 may well prove me wrong.

I do believe that he has a place in cinema but it’s not as an action man anymore. Can he make the sort of transition into more age-appropriate films that Clint Eastwood managed so expertly? Triplets – a follow up to Twins – also recently announced would suggest that it might be possible. I think Arnie would be best to play to his comic skills, rather than he action skills.

Looking back, he really is a legend of action cinema. His back-catalogue of films is a truly unbeatable list of top action films of the 80s and 90s: from low budget gems that turned in to sci-fi/action classics such as Terminator to multi-million dollar budgeted blockbusters like Eraser and True Lies.

This is not Arnie’s last stand. He... Will... Be... Back!

Author : Kevin Stanley