In 2003, movie fans were stunned to hear that one of the great movie stars, Arnold Schwarzenegger, had announced his candidacy for governor of California. In the past, he had conquered killer robots from the future, kindergartners, terrorists, a self-aware movie villain, an insane mailman and even the Devil himself. How was he going to fare against immigration laws and tax reforms?
Schwarzenegger left the film business with his last starring role in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and a brief cameo in The Rundown in which he tells wrestling star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to, "Have fun". While Schwarzenegger was in office, Johnson appeared to follow his advice and have an Arnold-like career balancing balls-to-the-wall action movies like Walking Tall and cutesy comedies like Tooth Fairy (which ironically had been offered to Arnold years before). Terminator Salvation moved forward without Schwarzenegger, outside of his granting permission to use his likeness for a CG model Terminator. Soon, an old friend, Sylvester Stallone, made a call to Arnold to ask him to film for one day on his action movie star extravaganza, The Expendables. Arnold agreed and his cameo was one of the highlights of the film.
Acting had finally caught up to Schwarzenegger just as he was leaving office. Stallone once again asked him to return for a larger role in The Expendables 2. Arnold began reading scripts again, considering new sequels to his old films, new films, and a cartoon series as the superhero "The Governator". However, personal issues in Schwarzenegger's home life (notable enough that I don't have to or want to get into them) led to these projects being abandoned. All but one, perhaps fittingly titled: The Last Stand.
All Sheriff Ray Owens (Arnold Schwarzenegger) wanted was a quiet weekend off-duty from protecting the small border town of Sommerton, Arizona. However, he soon learns that the wanted head of a major drug cartel, Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega), has escaped federal custody and is speeding towards Mexico with a hostage in tow. The FBI agent in charge of the investigation, John Bannister (Forest Whitaker), advises Owens to stay away from the situation. However, Owens - ever dedicated to his townspeople - defies Bannister and puts together a squad of deputies to help him fend off the coming kingpin: ex-couple Frank Martinez (Rodrigo Santoro) and Sarah Torrance (Jaimie Alexander); the loyal Mike Figuerola (Luis Guzman); and the gun-crazy Lewis Dinkum (Johnny Knoxville), who donates his gun collection to even the odds. Even with the added firepower, can Owens go head-to-head against a younger, more deadly enemy and emerge victorious?
It's safe to say: Arnold Schwarzenegger is back (in case you're wondering, the closest he comes to "I'll be back" is an offhand "I'll be right back", but it has to be there somewhere, right?). He clearly wanted his first starring role in a decade to be the perfect welcome home to the big screen and, at the same time, a calling card for a new generation. I'll be happy if Schwarzenegger does continue to pick roles that suit his age rather than the other way around. Returning as Conan does sound admittedly interesting (considering it's post-reboot), but it has to be done right. Interesting to note, I think this is the first Arnold film where his character admits that he's an immigrant. But his name is Ray Owens? Nothing European-sounding?
The supporting cast does well, but it's so clearly Arnold's show that they have a tendency to get injured more often by the bad guys. While I do like Johnny Knoxville, his co-star billing on the poster is arguably dubious as he's only in about 40% of the movie. Still, he doesn't mug to the camera as, say, Rob Schneider would. He's great comic foil to the rest of the group. Luis Guzman impressed me, playing his character with understandable nervousness yet rising to the occasion when his town is in trouble. Jaimie Alexander, best known for her role as Lady Sif in Thor, is a welcome sight but we're never given a lot of backstory to her and her ex-boyfriend, Rodrigo Santoro and it does distract. Forest Whitaker as the stressed-out FBI agent has an issue of saying "the f-word" to the point where its laughable. Still, as the only Oscar winner of the cast, he's decent and unoffensive.
Arnold's long-awaited return to the silver screen is a lot of fun. Good car chases, bloody explosions and lots and lots of guns. Just like a good Schwarzenegger film should be. I like that it all takes place in a small town, where the scale of the action can be bigger than the area surrounding it. I'm glad he's back for good this time.
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