Film Review: "The Last Stand" (2013).

"Retirement is for Sissies." This is The Last Stand. This action film directed by South Korean film director Kim Jee-woon, in his American directorial debut, and written by Andrew Knauer. Once a narcotics officer in the LAPD, Ray Owens has settled into a peaceful life as sheriff of Sommerton Junction, a quiet border town. But that peace is shattered when Gabriel Cortez, a vicious crime lord, escapes from FBI custody and speeds toward Ray's town with a band of mercenaries. Federal agents prepare to capture Cortez, and Ray is at first reluctant to get involved -- but he soon finds he must rally his team and take matters into his own hands.

In June 2009, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura and studio Lionsgate pre-emptively picked up Andrew Knauer's spec script for The Last Stand. In June 2010, South Korean director Kim Jee-woon became attached to the project. Writer Jeffrey Nachmanoff was also brought in to rewrite the script, which di Bonaventura compared the film to a Western film, with a small town being attacked by an analogue to a corrupt cattle baron and a weathered veteran trying to stop him. Liam Neeson was considered for the protagonist, but he passed. In 2011 Lionsgate offered the project to Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had just ended his tenure as Governor of California. In July, he was confirmed in the lead role, marking his first lead role since Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003). Jee-woon was at first apprehensive to have such a big star in the project, but once both discussed the project he noticed both had the same ideas for Ray Owens, aiming for an everyman instead of a "Terminator like feel". Two weeks later, Lionsgate announced a release date of January 18, 2013. By late October, Johnny Knoxville, Forest Whitaker, Jaimie Alexander and Rodrigo Santoro rounded out the film's cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced, and wrapped in early February 2012. Filming took place throughout New Mexico and Nevada. In late December, filming was briefly interrupted, but resumed in early January.

The film stars Schwarzenegger, Knoxville, Whitaker, Alexander and Santoro. One can not help but feel that the performances given by the cast, especially that of Schwarzenegger, are nothing but parodies of parodies.

East meets West again, with disappointing results, in The Last Stand, a Hollywood actioner that draws shamelessly on its Hollywood action forebears without utterly embracing the Koreanism that director Kim Jee-woon is known for. The story’s many advances and reversals can be hard to follow at times. Everything boils down to the action, and what that action means. The film may owe a lot to other films but it is never fresh and mostly boring. This is filmmaking as rodeo ride: bruising and ultimately pointless, but thrilling as hell while it lasts. The film is a jaunty, happy-go-lucky adventure that packs a fistful of dynamite in the spectacular showdown. Kim's filmmaking is generally cartoonish in a bad sense, as he squanders his set pieces, flashbacks, and other attention-getting with sometimes downright wretched staging.

Simon says The Last Stand receives: