It's been nearly a decade since Arnold Schwarzenegger has had a leading role in an action film, having spent much of that time as Governor of California. After brief supporting roles in the two Expendables films, Schwarzenegger officially makes his return in The Last Stand. The films centres around a small town sheriff (Schwarzenegger), who takes it upon himself to stop an escaped fugitive crossing over the boarder into Mexico. As you can probably tell from the title, The Last Stand is all about the climatic action scene. Pretty much the entire first half of the film is all set-up for the length sequence, which has everything from a shoot-up to a car chase to a one-on-one showdown. Despite the obligatory jokes about 65 year old Schwarzenegger's age, I thought that the film was an entertaining return for the action star. There are definitely many crowd pleasing moments, usually punctuated by a one-liner by Schwarzenegger. I should also point out that, despite his prominent billing on the poster, Johnny Knoxville's comic relief role is actually quite small, when compared to the other supporting actors in the film. In fact, Forest Whitaker, Luis Guzmán, Jaimie Alexander and Peter Stormare all have much more prominent roles within the film. Also, what's the deal with Harry Dean Stanton making cameos in action films? This is the third film in the last year that he has appeared in. Overall, I would say that The Last Stand was a very enjoyable return for Arnold Schwarzenegger and I look forward to see what he does with the next phase of his career.8 | LIKED IT
