It’s no secret Arnold Schwarzenegger defined an era of action cinema. From The Terminator (1984) until Eraser (1996), his cool one-liners, incomparable physique, and unique charm dominated the genre. But after over a decade of bangers and a stint as Governor of California, he starred in an unsung action gem that has become a hit on a Tubi. The Last Stand, which brought Arnold back to the big screen after a break from acting, is an unwinking celebration of the hits of his past that simultaneously acknowledges his age and abilities.
Arnie stars as Ray Owens, the sheriff of a quiet Arizona town who must stop an escaped drug kingpin from fleeing to Mexico in a 1000 horsepower supercar with only the help of a ragtag ne’er-do-well and three deputies, played by Johnny Knoxville and Luis Guzman, Jamie Alexander, and Rodrigo Santoro respectively. Elegant in its simplicity, the film never over-complicates what it’s trying to do. Instead, it makes the most of its moving parts and follows the fun as its action-movie ancestors did.
Forest Whitaker plays harried federal agent John Bannister who is on the kingpin’s tail. Whitaker is given the heavy lifting in the acting department, which he handles well, and leaves the dry humor and physicality to the big man. The psychotic yet cool kingpin, played by Eduardo Noriega is backed up by his top henchman dragon, played by one of the best to ever do it, Peter Stormare – who occasionally does a southern accent so bizarre it transcends silliness and becomes perfect for his character.
The Underrated Arnie Action Outing Takes a Stand on Free Streaming
Directed by Kim Jee-woon, who also made I Saw The Devil, this 2013 romp has all the chewy tropes of Arnold’s heyday repertoire – R-rated action, practical stunts (for the most part), a gun-loading montage fit for Hot Fuzz, and a Latin-American Big Bad so evil they might as well have made him a resident of Val Verde (the real ones know). The film also requires the same suspension of disbelief from audiences as the bodybuilder’s classic movies. Why is the sheriff of a small Arizona town an Austrian tree trunk? Why don’t the authorities simply lay down a spike-strip for the bad guy’s supercar? And the answer is ‘hush, they gave Arnold another Gatling gun!”
The plot of The Last Stand plays to the strengths of erstwhile action movies – good versus cartoonishly evil, a desperate manhunt, and a trail of destruction leading to a final showdown. The film is truly a modern Western in its sensibilities. If writer Andrew Knauer set it in 1875 and replaced the Big Bad’s supercar with a steam train, almost nothing would change. This makes even more sense when you consider Jee-woon’s first breakout film was the incredibly fun Korean Western, The Good the Bad the Weird.
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The explanation for why some films get more wind in their sails after over a decade since their release is a mystery. The ecosystem of free-to-stream movies on platforms like Tubi and Pluto TV is one that has a unique ability to resurrect forgotten titles and give them a second chance. Some films might have suffered from being in the wrong place at the wrong time when they were released, others might have simply stunk on ice, and the third secret thing could be the whopping watch price of $0. Whatever the reason, The Last Stand is worth a revisit, if not just to see the last of Arnold’s all-caps ACTION swings.
- Release Date
- January 12, 2013
- Cast
- Arnold Schwarzenegger , Johnny Knoxville , Jaimie Alexander , Zach Gilford , Kristen DeVore Rakes , Christiana Leucas , Diana R. Lupo , John Patrick Amedori , Forest Whitaker , Peter Stormare , Luis Guzman , Genesis Rodriguez , Rodrigo Santoro , Daniel Henney , Eduardo Noriega , Harry Dean Stanton , Billy Blair , Titos Menchaca , Arron Shiver , Richard Dillard , Doug Jackson , Mathew Greer , Chris Browning , James Burnett , Rio Alexander , David Midthunder , Tait Fletcher , Mark Sivertsen , David Kilde , David House , Kent Kirkpatrick , Mario Moreno , Don Ambabo , Ross Kelly , Ryan Jason Cook , Elias Gallegos , Kevin Wiggins , Lois Geary , Jermaine Washington , Terry Dale Parks , Allan Padelford , Tim Booth , Cliff Fleming , Eddie J. Fernandez