The Last Stand

From an intriguing (?) or humorous... simple and brief opening scene, to the introduction of our central protagonist and star to another attempt at humor to the beginning of a scene that will (but only after the 10 minute point) establish this as possibly a crime thriller, we get an opening as well put together as this sentence.  I'm writing this while watching the movie.  I'm at the half hour mark right about now.  I like a movie to have multiple textures, to transform before my eyes, but being multiple things at once is usually difficult, or at least comes off as indecisive.  Indecision is ineffective.  But, being an action comedy, high octane action, or suspenseful crime thriller isn't what this movie is about, it's just the hats it's trying to wear at the start.

What this movie, and the most important two scenes by the ten minute point is about is Arnold coming back.  It reminds me of this stage of Clint Eastwood's career, if they can be remotely compared.  Clint had a head of gray hair in The Dead Pool and was still in his 50's.  He was four years younger than Arnold his here when he did Unforgiven, but Arnold was 38th Governor of California for eight years when he was in that age range.  But, the gun in the poster, and the third scene in our first ten minutes seems intentional to draw the parallel to Eastwood.  That's not a bad goal, and so far this seems like the type of movie that Eastwood might have done in the late eighties, like a weird amalgam of Eastwood's film The Rookie and A Perfect World.

Well, the action is getting pretty good, so I'm going to go.  Either way, I needed a movie tonight, and it's good to have Arnold back!