The Last Stand.

Although it's been met with a somewhat mixed critical reaction, I really do think The Last Stand raises the bar for all action films that come after it, find out why, after the jump!

Marking the English language début of director Korean Kim Ji-woon, The Last Stand as said, was met with a rather mixed critical reaction. However, I suppose much in the same fashion as with Wreck-It Ralph, I find myself coming at this from a very different angle.

First, the plot. An ageing sheriff in a backwater town has a drug-cartel speeding at him in what amounts to a jet plane on wheels. This sheriff and his ragtag deputies are the last stand between the cartel and crossing the border into mexico and when the sheriff is Arnie, you better believe that drug-cartel won't be getting past without a fight, if he even gets past at all.

Ironically, as charming as Arnie is, he's probably the weakest part of this film even though the marketing seems to hope his name will sell the movie, which sadly doesn't seem to have been the case. This is the best film of his career since probably Terminator 2 but outside of the action scenes, Arnie really feels out of his depth. The Last Stand puts a remarkable amount of time into story and characters for a film marketed as just a throwback B-Movie and although you can't expect this to be some kind of Oscar winning drama, compared to the many films that obviously influenced it, it may as well be.

Don't get me wrong though, Arnie steals the show when the bullets fly. Claims that Arnie is at his weakest in the action scenes is utter bullshit, yes maybe he may need a few more stunt doubles but he's pushing seventy, give the poor guy a break. Most of that is reserved for third act anyway, which sadly in his case means he spends about a two thirds of the film in the shadows of all the actors around him who seem to be trying a whole lot harder than the film really deserves. And yes I know he's too old to join in with the modern action trend of turning fight sequences into gymnastic tournaments but he embodies the classic brawler action hero from all my favourite 80s and early 90s action films. He isn't there to do flashy dance moves, he is there to hit stuff and although his age is a plotpoint, never once does Arnie feel any less of an unstoppable force of nature. Jaime Alexander really steals the whole show though, although it is disappointing she didn't get a little more to do in the action scenes (although this often seems to be the case with female characters) she gets the most amount of acting set pieces and she really nails them, I don't know why she isn't huge! But sadly, as said, while Arnie is sharing these scenes with her his weak acting is blown up 100 fold.

And you see, Arnie aside, that is why I think The Last Stand deserves more credit than it has really been getting. As I've already said, this is no Oscar nom film and I'll say right off the bat that The Last Stand's story and the characters that populate it are nothing new but there is just this consistent quality throughout the entire film, the film never felt like it was going through the motions when the bullets weren't flying to get back to the violence, it felt like everyone cared as much about their plot and characters as they did their violence and from action movies new or old, that is just something special. And this is especially true of those action classics from the 80s and early 90s, just check out some of the films I've reviewed on this blog to see their half arsed attempts at story and weak characters held up by even weaker actors as they find excuse after excuse for violence. I'm not even saying this is a problem in itself, I know it's an action movie, but seeing an action film that can actually be done well, that can actually be a good film period... I wasn't complaining about the lesser action for the sake of a better film, I'm more than happy with that. In many ways the story and character are more important than the action in The Last Stand and that isn't nearly as shit as that may sound or reviews may have lead you to believe.

And yes, generic plot and characters aside, it is pretty obvious that Jeffrey Nachmanoff wrote a winning rewrite of Andrew Knauer's original screenplay. This isn't just a film to be enjoyed in the cinema on the level of the size of the screen or the quality of the sound, this is a film heightened by an audience too. This is one of the few times where I was roaring out loud with an entire audience around me doing the same and it made those surprisingly dark, emotional moments that much easier to cry at as the whole audience falls into a respective silence. It's rare for a film to manage to balance my roars of laughter with moments where I had to fight back tears without feeling like a conflict of tones but The Last Stand pulled it off. And hey, if nothing else this film managed to make me tolerate Johnny Knoxville.

I just wanted to point all that out because it's irked me somewhat that people have been recommending it on the back of 'it's a fun, action throwback' when I don't really agree with that. The Last Stand isn't just a great action film, it's a great film in general and I can't really think of many action films that are actually really any good outside of their violence. With this in mind, it allowed me to look past a lot of the flaws critics have had with the film. For example many critics complained The Last Stand was boring, that it took itself too seriously and lacked that cheese factor which I suppose I could agree with to some extent but since it established and followed through with being more than the throwback 80s actioner you think this is or think this was meant to be, I didn't really mind the lack of a hammy villain, the time away from the action that is spent on the characters and story and I certainly didn't mind when the film decided to have some dark and dramatic moments, because the actors were all doing such fine jobs.

It isn't all down to the writing and actors though, this is a remarkably well made film. Ji-yong Kim captures the film beautifully with his cinematography and Ji-woon shows huge directing talent, which should come as no surprise given all the great films he already has under his belt with a director credit. And that action man. I got more than a few Django (1966) vibes and it should give you more than enough to chat with over a pint when you realise most of the films bodycount is made up of good guys, not bad guys, as police seemingly line up to be dramatically gunned down by men in balaclavas. I'm not trying to left wing it, I have no problem with it in itself, I was just left surprised with how many police are brutally gunned down and how, ultimately, how few villains get the same treatment back.

What is also nice is this film is a fifteen, so the action is visceral, gory and really fucking creative. Limbs will fly, shit will explode and blood will collect in a fine mist. CGI is either so good I didn't notice it or they kept it to a minimum which made the stylish action sequences still seem utterly believable, you can feel the weight of every hit as people explode in a mist of red and thud to the ground. And yes it probably sounds like a weird mix to have a character drama and a stylish, over the top action film in the same movie...but it just worked. I never felt jarred when it moved into the explosive third act, it was well directed enough to make sense within the diegesis and well made enough to be pulled off.

So do I recommend it? Yes! Isn't that obvious by now? If you hate the mindless actioners of the 80s, check this bad boy out and witness how great the film can be, when you sandwich the awesome 80s action in an actual, good film. And if you love the 80s actioners because of all the shit that comes with them, you at least owe it to yourself to see what it could be like, if one of those films was actually done well. Just go see this!

Think About It!

-Locke, the world's worst film snob.

What would you rate 'The Last Stand'?