Film review: The Last Stand is a moderately entertaining film

Film: The Last Stand
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Forest Whitaker, Johnny Knoxville, Rodrigo Santoro, Luis Guzmán, Jaimie Alexander Eduardo Noriega
Director: Jee-woon Kim
Rating:***

The set-up: Small-town sheriff Ray Owens (Ahnold) takes on a Mexican mafioso who is making a get away from the United States in a souped-up wondercar. With the FBI rendered incompetent by the ‘criminal genius’ of the on-the-loose drug crimelord Gabriel Cortez (Noreiga), teaming up with local misfits and half-wits (whose hearts, of course, are in the right place).

Without delving too deeply into the plot, what can be said is that the film, from time to time, delivers on chases, flying punches and machine gun fire. Knoxville, with his usually Jackassery, is quite entertaining as the local gun-crazy simpleton and Guzmán, as always, brings something to a nondescript bit role of a local law enforcer.

The Last Stand – a humble comeback vehicle- isn’t Arnold’s finest moment but neither one of his worst.

The man was always a half-decent actor (well, peers like Steven Seagal and Jean Claude Van Damme would make anyone seem like Laurence Olivier). And to his credit, his physicality still gives him a decent on-screen presence and his famous accent, which has no business being in the Wild West, remaining endearingly intact.

The Last Stand is a watchable action movie that, while having a lot of scope for improvement by way of script writing and more breath-taking stunts, packs a few thrills and laughs. It could have been greater, but then again it could also have been way way worse.