Taglines: Retirement is for sissies.
After leaving his LAPD narcotics post following a bungled operation that left him wracked with remorse and regret, Sheriff Ray Owens (Arnold Schwarzenegger) moved out of Los Angeles and settled into a life fighting what little crime takes place in sleepy border town Sommerton Junction. But that peaceful existence is shattered when Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega), the most notorious, wanted drug kingpin in the western hemisphere, makes a deadly yet spectacular escape from an FBI prisoner convoy.
With the help of a fierce band of lawless mercenaries led by the icy Burrell (Peter Stormare), Cortez begins racing towards the US-Mexico border at 250 mph in a specially-outfitted Corvette ZR1 with a hostage in tow. Cortez’ path: straight through Summerton Junction, where the whole of the U.S. law enforcement, including Agent John Bannister (Forest Whitaker) will have their final opportunity to intercept him before the violent fugitive slips across the border forever.
At first reluctant to become involved, and then counted out because of the perceived ineptitude of his small town force, Owens ultimately rallies his team and takes the matter into his own hands, setting the stage for a classic showdown.
The Last Stand is an American action film directed by South Korean film director Kim Jee-woon in his American directorial debut. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Forest Whitaker, Johnny Knoxville and Rodrigo Santoro. This was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s first lead acting role since 2003’s Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. The film was released in the United States on January 18, 2013. The film focuses on a tough small town sheriff and his deputies who must stop a dangerous drug lord from escaping to Mexico in a modified sports car.
About the Production (2013)
In June 2009, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura and studio Lionsgate pre-emptively picked up Andrew Knauer’s spec script for The Last Stand. Back then, the script involved Cortez escaping with a Gumpert Apollo. One year later, South Korean director Kim Jee-woon became attached to the project. di Bonaventura stated that Jee-woon was invited because he felt that in his filmography he “makes the simple feel rich”. Kim in turn declared that he was attracted to the plot of “protecting something important, no matter how small”, and having advanced technology being taken down in “analogue ways”. Writer Jeffrey Nachmanoff was also brought in to write the script,[6] 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 after he passed in 2011 Lionsgate offered the project to Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had just ended his tenure as Governor of California. He was announced on The Last Stand in July 2011. The actor said he considered the project “a lot different for me, even though it’s action-packed, because I have to play a guy who’s sensitive to my team. And we have lots of laughs like in True Lies.” 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.
Filming started on October 17, 2011 in Belen, New Mexico and Nevada.[10] Sommerton was required to be a border town, and Jee-woon also wanted a city that represented “Small Town America”. Belen was eventually chosen for having an abandoned area that could be used by the production for as long as they needed. Two existing buildings became landmarks of Sommerton, the local hotel and a condemned building that became the diner. Six vacant lots were filled with façades, in which production designer Franco-Giacomo Carbone tried to put mixture of styles to heighten that it was a frontier city with much history.
While the producers originally wanted to actually film in Downtown Las Vegas, they eventually found that downtown Albuquerque was visually similar and opted to film there instead and adding the Las Vegas Strip on the background in post-production. The town allowed filming from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., which did not interrupt local businesses. Jee-woon aimed to “create a distinct look and change the style for every space”, with the chaotic environment of the FBI having cold tones and a smarter ambience, and Sommeton having a “peaceful small town feeling” heightened by warm colors such as yellow and orange.
The Last Stand (2013)
Directed by: Jee-woon Kim
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger. Rodrigo Santoro, Jaimie Alexander, Forest Whitaker, Genesis Rodriguez
Screenplay by: Andrew Knauer, Jeffrey Nachmanoff, George Nolfi
Production Design by: Franco-Giacomo Carbone
Cinematography by: Ji-yong Kim
Film Editing by: Steven Kemper
Costume Design by: Michele Michel
Set Decoration by: Carla Curry
Music by: Mowg
MPAA Rating: R for strong bloody violence throughout, and language.
Studio: Lionsgate Films
Release Date: January 18, 2013
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