The Film
He said he'd be back.
Making his long-awaited return to the silver screen (if you don't count The Expendables - and I sure don't), Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as a small town sheriff standing between an escaped drug lord and the Mexican border. After escaping FBI custody - in a cleverly-conceived (albeit ridiculous) jail break sequence - our fugitive is now heading south in a modified Corvette ZR1 capable of speeds in excess of 200mph. But he's still gotta get past Ahnuld.
If the idea of a border-bound, impossible-to-catch Corvette sounds a bit ridiculous, that's because it is. Luckily, The Last Stand doesn't take itself too seriously. Directed by Kim Jee-Woon (The Good, The Bad, and the Weird - an underrated gem if ever there was one), The Last Stand is pure popcorn entertainment - an action/comedy that seems to revel in its own silliness at times. Aiding this effort is funnyman Johnny Knoxville, starring as one of the many off-kilter residents of Sommerton Junction. Conveniently, he also owns a small arsenal of collectible weaponry.
The Picture
Lionsgate gives The Last Stand on Blu-ray Disc an excellent, high definition, ultra-wide (2.40:1) presentation. The film's sun-bleached southwest exterior shots look richly-detailed and authentic (and remind me why I live in New England), while colors have a warm and pleasant palette complete with natural skin tones. Black levels fare equally well; the night-time escape and subsequent Corvette scenes exhibit strong shadow delineation and no apparent crushing of detail.
The Sound
Say what you will about the goofy plot and Arnold's trademark one-liners, but there's little to find fault with in this disc's stellar 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. The Last Stand offers crisp, intelligible dialogue, constantly-engaged surround channels, and plenty of low-end oomph thanks to the film's rampant gunfire and Chevy-powered motor muscle. The film's climactic car chase through a cornfield provides a unique visual setting and a complex, immersive sonic mix. If you floor it, he will come...
The Extras
With this type of forgettable action fluff, you can't expect too much in the way of bonus material, but what we get here is fairly decent. In addition to a few deleted and extended scenes, you'll find a handful of featurettes and on-set shenanigans amounting to roughly an hour of content. If nothing else, fans of the aforementioned cornfield chase should check out "Cornfield Chaos" which shows how this clever sequence was brought to life. Pretty cool.
Final Thoughts
Cheesy and predictable? Yes it is. However, the rental-worthy Last Stand is also fun, occasionally funny, surprisingly (and unnecessarily) gruesome, and it wisely embraces the fact that Arnold is getting old. Rather than hide from this fact, Kim Jee-Woon makes good use of the rusty superstar and shows us there's still some gas left in his tank. The Last Stand? For this film, yes it is; don't expect a sequel. But as for Arnold? I think not. He'll be back.
Product Details
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