Well, the governator finally got his day job back. I finally got a chance to see Arnold Schwarzeneggar's most recent action opus. And I must say, what started out as a dumb, brainless, imitation of a bad action film ends up being a dumb, brainless bad action film, but boy, is it a fun ride.
The movie starts in a sleepy little Arizona border town where our hero Arnold is the town sheriff. Not much happens there, which is exactly how he likes it. Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, the most "violent drug dealer since Pablo Escobar" is secretly being transferred to death row. I guess Las Vegas, a major metropolitan city, doesn't have an electric chair. Anyway, you see where this is going. Little Escobar escapes, gets in a stolen Corvette C6 ZR1 (TM) and hottails it to the border. The only thing standing in the way of the Corvette C6 ZR1 (TM) is our sheriff and his delightfully kooky posse of sidekicks. As the Corvette C6 ZR1 (TM) speeds down the highway, the Corvette C6 ZR1 (TM) has an army of men who are dedicated to get the Corvette C6 ZR1 (TM) across the border. After a brief firefight in the town, the army is killed and then Arnold jumps into the mayor's Camaro (TM) and chases after the Corvette C6 ZR1 (TM) through an impressive pursuit through a cornfield, pitting the Corvette C6 ZR1 (TM) against the Camaro (TM). After a brief battle of the super cars where it seems the Corvette C6 ZR1 (TM) just may triumph over the Camaro (TM), the Camaro (TM) finally beats the Corvette C6 ZR1 (TM). The Chevy (TM) symbol brightly glinting in the sun, as the Corvette C6 ZR1 (TM) is smoking and dead. (This car chase, cough! movie! brought to you by General Motors. Buy American! (Did you get the Corvette C6 ZR1 (TM) logo in the shot?))
So, the movie is fun, and brings us an older, wiser Arnold who's not yet ready to bow out. Nor should he. If the posters aren't enough to tell you what to expect from this fare and you were disappointed, you are probably the wrong demographic for this film. Surprisingly though, it IS entertaining. It takes awhile to get started, but once the action gets going, it doesn't slow down. It seems they shot the first forty minutes in two days and spent the next four months filming the action stuff. Whatever. It's very well done and choreographed, expertly shot by director Kim Jee-Woon. The script even has some really good jokes. My favorites: Bad Guy (after his Corvette C6 ZR1 (TM) is totaled) "You f@cked up my car." Arnold "You f@cked up my day off." And just before the final showdown, Arnold stares down the driver of the Corvette C6 ZR1 (TM) as only he can and says, "You give us immigrants a bad name." Despite that most of the movie is a long commercial for General Motors (TM), it is fun, dumb and will leave your brain numb, kind of like eating your favorite ice cream flavor a little too fast. A little painful, but in the end, satisfying.
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