After 10 years, Schwartz returned to the film industry with a proud and confident gait. Did he manage to take a confident position in the same genre of action movie? A hundred percent yes! Arnold proved that there is still gunpowder in his powerful gunpowder, because the fighting scenes of the film are set very confidently. Schwartz powerfully conducts stifling techniques to his enemy, throws him like a wrestler, showing his muscles and simply defeats everyone, as it was before. That's why we love him.
The only problem is, was this movie necessary in 2013? Yes, and again yes, everyone missed simple action movies, without much meaning, which you can watch as many times as you like, because of your favorite actor, and good shootouts and chases.
The characters of the film do not cause Spanish shame, it is interesting to watch everyone, they joke, and in general, positive characters show themselves very well. A secondary villain is generally beautiful, for such an action villain is a salvation. And the main villain I was a little disappointed, although the final 15 minutes of the film, as for me, just please the eye.
9 out of 10
When Arnold Schwarzenegger decided to leave Hollywood and try his hand at politics, it seemed like an unexpected decision. And yet he managed to win the California governor's election twice, winning far more fans than detractors. But after 10 years in the chair of an important official, Schwarzenegger got a little tired of politics and decided to return to the movies. And his full-fledged return was the action movie “The Last Hero” with a budget of more than $ 40 million.
In the center of the plot is the sheriff of a small provincial town Ray Owens. In the past, he was quite a significant figure in the Los Angeles Department of Drugs and Organized Crime, but it so happened that his squad got into a serious alteration. As a result of the clash with the bandits, many colleagues of Owens died and he took the blow of the authorities on himself. Leaving a large metropolis behind, Owens found himself in a modest town, but here he can not wait for peace.
A major criminal and drug dealer caught by the authorities must be transported from one point to another and the path of a paramilitary motorcade must pass through the city where the sheriff carries out his service. And the bandit’s henchmen just want to free him and plan to organize an ambush right in the town under Owens’ nose. Upon learning of this, the sheriff assembles a new team and decides to select a gang that will stop at nothing. But this time it's important to save the lives of everyone who defends the law and for Owens, that's a priority.
Interestingly, despite the hype surrounding the film, which brought Schwarzenegger back to the set, the box office of “The Last Hero” was very low. This happened mainly due to the fact that at the time of 2013, the classic action movie could collect the cash register only in the format of a cabbage of the “Expendables” level, and the tapes where only one character shines are often uninteresting to the audience.
Admittedly, the plot of The Last Hero is quite simple and it has also become a payback issue. We have here a classic action movie with elements of a modern western. A small desert town, a sheriff, a couple of locals on the back and a gang of villains without principles – these are all the key details of the story that are here. This is very simple and predictable.
"The Last Hero" came out quite typical, ordinary and predictable action movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the title role. The film does not offer anything surprising, but at the same time it is a high-quality genre work, which, nevertheless, after watching, is immediately forgotten.
7 out of 10
Arnold Schwarzenegger is Arnold Schwarzenegger. Regardless of age, this wonderful actor will remain himself and will delight the audience of different ages. Cinema may have lost a lot when the former governor of California temporarily suspended his film career and began his career in politics, but Arnie is back with us. The hero is back!
And it happened in the film “The Last Frontier”, which was released in Russia under the title “The Return of the Hero”.
This film black and white prescribes the story of the actor himself, presenting his character as once the coolest cop of Los Angeles (Arnie himself was incredibly cool in the 80s and 90s), now retired, but decisive to return to the path of justice (a direct pointer to the return of the actor to the world of big cinema). Movie Sheriff Ray Owens played by Arnold Schwarzenegger is Arnold Schwarzenegger himself in his performance!
When a gang of criminals is sent to a small town near the border with Mexico, Owens has no choice but to clear all the guns available and not take up a circular defense along with his few assistants.
Yes, Kim-Je-win's movie is entirely cliche and cliche - a lone hero, all against him, he's mega cool (even Chuck Norris quietly freaks out from such coolness), there's even a local jester (Johnny Knoxville), who, on certain consideration, looks like Rob Schneider's character from Judge Dredd in 1995. However, all these stamps return the viewer to the stunning times of the 80s and 90s, when one was in the field of a warrior and was able to stop at least six hijackers of a passenger plane, even an army of Colombian drug dealers! “The Return of the Hero” is a nostalgic work of irretrievably bygone times.
Of course, the years do not spare anyone and Arnie is no exception, but to see one of his idols on the screen is not an amazing pleasure that can be obtained from watching a movie? Tell me, the rocker Taylor Lautner from Twilight, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson or who else trying to break into the heroes of the action movies today will be able to achieve at least half the glory that Stallone, Schwarzenegger or who else had and have? Nope! Images of Destroyers, Washers, Cobra, Rambo, Captain Matrix and others will always remain iconic!
The film turned out to be driving and spectacular. With a lot of gunfights and blood, a lot of corpses and a hail of bullets. In short, the way a fighter should be.
But look at you. I do not impose my opinion on anyone.
The “golden era” of militants dates back to the early 1980s and ends in the late 1990s of the last century. In the 80s, crowds of Soviet viewers packed cinemas and video parlors to watch the new outlandish American cinema and breathe in the fresh air of “true freedom.” Such films as: “The Octagon”, “Rambo”, “Cobra”, “Nico”, “Commando” at that time, moviegoers were in great honor. But as time passed, the audience grew older, the actors became decrepit, and the fresh air of “true freedom” turned out to be the usual smell from sewage treatment plants. The genre of film fighters was littered with another indistinct copies of several dozen “flagship” films. New heroes appeared, but they could not outshine the heroes of previous years. In the end, only the most persistent and odious characters remained. In the 2000s, the fashion for the genre finally left. And once fashionable goods began to sell at a specially low price - five for the price of one ("The Expendables" - a perfect illustration of how low an actor can fall.)! So, there were real athletes and martial arts masters among these odious heroes, but there were, as popular rumor calls them, "dumb rollers." The last one is old Arnie. In the track record of Schwarzenegger there are heels of significant tapes and as many good ones in which he pronounces a couple of famous phrases. An actor of one role is a sentence, and it's about Schwartz. Such a sad fate for almost all the main characters of those years. Despite his poor acting skills, Arnold is governor of California. And behind him firmly fixed the phrase: "Governor-terminator". Not to be surprised by such a rise in the career ladder, at that time in the United States the famous intellectual George W. Bush was president. Once at the Republican Congress, Arnie gave a fiery speech, the essence of which was the greatness of the United States and how, as a child, the Austrian Schwarzenegger, fell under the “bloody” Soviet occupation, how he tried not to look into the eyes of Soviet soldiers so that he would not be taken into slavery in the USSR! But this “postmodernism” could not digest even the American media and caught the governor in a lie, because this is enchanting nonsense. Except for the greatness of the United States, of course. After serving his term as governor, the Terminator is back!
About this
The plot of the film “The Last Resistance” (in our box office “The Return of the Hero”) tells about the persecution of a criminal who escaped from the FBI and goes to the border with Mexico, where the town of Somerset and his valiant sheriff, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, meet on the way.
Pahan of the Mafia (Eduardo Noriega), thanks to his accomplices, escapes during his escort. The escape itself looks ridiculous. Bandits installed a crane on the roof of a high-rise building. How did they manage to do this without witnesses and municipal authorities, damn it. Maybe they're Copperfields? Escape on an expensive sports car, a single copy, for the movie looks spectacular, but in real life, it is about the same as leaving a passport at the crime scene. To leave by such a car, of course, it is possible, but not far, to the nearest intersection, to the nearest traffic jam. In addition, there are police fences, in the form of thorns, about which the film says nothing. The police and special services in the film are not ready for anything, but the bandits are fully armed, they have automatic weapons and various special equipment. The brigadier of bandits, played by actor Peter Stormare, looks good, but is not particularly memorable. Stormare has already eaten the dog on such roles as scum and other thugs of various poshbi, only the roles of Russian guys he turns out ridiculous and funny, which is familiar and dear to the heart of the American audience.
Despite the presence of sports cars, in this movie there are no dizzying chases and high-speed duels, everything fits into a couple of scenes with overcoming various barriers from cars. Oh, miracle! In one of these scenes, a sports car rams, pushing an SUV out of the way! Again, just one bullet fired from a police pistol or rifle at one tire of this vaunted supercar would leave no chance of escape, except for a forced, brutal stop on the roof, in a ditch, somewhere far beyond the roadway. But these little things don't bother the Korean butcher!
And about
Elements of thrash have long been firmly rooted in horror films and are gradually taking over new territories of other genres, including comedies. And this is bad, if in horrors and thrillers it is at least somehow appropriate, and after all their main task is to scare, and not to cause nausea and disgust, then for most comedies it is an obvious overkill. And this trend of modern American cinema is dictated by the gradual addiction of mankind to violence. Round-the-clock news reports: from the fields of battles, disasters, murders, terrorist attacks and other types of violence alternate with a fascinating virtual reality in which the same violence. Humanity, especially its western part, is so fed up and lives a boring life that it needs to constantly invigorate its dormant brain with another shake-up in the form of any perversion, drugs or another “action”. A craze for computer games, for several generations blurs consciousness and blurs the line between fantasy and reality. The most terrible thing is that these people grow up and occupy various positions, including those on which it will depend whether war begins or not.
That's what happens in this movie. Inadequate behavior of the characters alternates with bloody scenes in the style of “Tresh”. Killings and shootings on the screen are fun with humor, and the blood is just a consequence of fun! Shoot and kill, because it's not going to happen, it's the bad guys! The Asian director's insanity mixes with stupid American jokes. The perfect cocktail for a psychiatric clinic!
Schwarzenegger has long been a grandfather, and this is immediately striking, especially when he puts on reading glasses. Arnie's getting old, of course, but the sand is falling! His hero, an experienced sheriff, stands on the side of the Good. He is a servant of the Law, without fear or reproach, ready to honestly serve society and the state. And protect them by any means necessary. And in that sense, the film is flawless. The final battle of the sheriff with the villain will enter the annals and annals of a funny movie.
After “The Devil’s Ridge”, Eduardo Noriega clearly lowered the bar of his acting abilities, but what just can not go to in order to gain a foothold in Hollywood.
Smiled the participation of Gary Dean Stanton, who played the episodic role of an old regime farmer.
Total
The film “Hero Returns” is a mediocre comedy action movie, with a weak plot and undisclosed characters, shot by a mediocre Korean director, in the title role, which is a young pensioner-millionaire who thinks he is a great actor.
By the way, there is a video on the Internet with a survey of US citizens, some of them claim that Arnold Schwarzenegger is Russian. They're doing great in there, aren't they? Such "citizens" are very unpretentious in use.
He's back! The legendary Iron Arnie is back on the road. He proved this by playing retired Sheriff Ray Owens in The Last Stand. I will not spread my thoughts over the tree and sing like a nightingale regarding the translation of the name of the ribbon into Russian, but I will immediately proceed to the sabzh.
Kim Ji Un shot a lot of quality products, and therefore this time he tried his best. The film turned out to be good, old school, where the balance of humor, dialogue, action is fully observed. Although no, there are problems with the latter! The fact is that the picture is not as much as I would like action scenes, especially with Arnold Schwarzenegger, which is not at all permissible. So you came to see Schwartz, and you only got a couple of shootouts and one fight with him? It's not a case! All of this is done at the highest level, with taste.
The plot in this film, as it often happens in action films, is simple and banal. I'm not even going to get his attention. I will only say that, despite its simplicity, the film still motivates the viewer to watch, and pleasant dialogue, a small amount of humor and drama contribute to this.
I can't help but celebrate the cast! In addition to the great Arnie in the film, we will meet the colorful Johnny Knoxville, the charming Jamie Alexander, the cool Luis Guzman, and, of course, Eduardo Noriega, who gave us the cold-blooded antagonist Gabriel Cortez.
So, we have a pretty strong action movie of 2013, albeit with its small but large shoals. The film delivered!
Unfortunately, this movie smells like the 90s. What's wrong? Because what inexperienced viewers of those years seemed to be the pinnacle of skill, in 2013 (at the time of the film’s creation) already looked ridiculous. What about our days? . .
The film abounds in low-order clichés. For example, the “malicious villain” is the main antagonist, about whom almost nothing is known. The film does not really explain the motives, nor the evidence of his cruel nature, nor the reasons for the conviction to the death penalty. Obviously, the writers considered this a secondary matter, and preferred to focus on the racing aspect of the picture.
The “cool car” in the form of the Chevrolet ZR1 series also refers to the 90s, when the Z series became especially popular. An ultra-high-speed sports car is only needed to get to the Mexican border with the breeze... but any other car would do it. Well, I wanted the Americans to once again flaunt the achievements of their car industry.
There are incompetent FBI sheep in the film, hinting at the conflict between the “urban upstart” and “village superman”. In the best traditions of the genre, the FBI sheep buckle, fail operation after operation and are late with help.
Stoic Conan-Barbarian, who managed during his long career to drive to Mars, fight with the Predator and shoot a bunch of bad guys, as in the old days sprinkles with heroic pearls, like:
- Who are you?
- I'm the law!
However, at the same time, it seems that he is also ready to “fall down” at any time, given the advanced age of Grandpa Arnie. At least the whole film I did not leave the comic image of the Sea Hero from SpongeBob.
In general, the film did not turn out any action movie, no comedy, no parody.
Verdict: Sometimes the memory of heroes is better than their return.
“He who refuses silver, receives lead.”
All film lovers, and especially action fans, have been waiting for the day when Arnold Schwarzenegger gets tired of doing boring politics, and he returns to the game. It happened in Sylvester Stallone's old-school action movie The Expendables. True, there the iron Arnie, still occupying the governor's chair of California, had a bright, but still episodic role. Not worthy of a person of this magnitude. Fans of the militants continued to wait for his solo project. And that day came in February 2013. For the first time in many years, Schwarzenegger played the main role in the action film, which promised during the advertising campaign to become almost the main movie attraction of that winter. The director's name was a Korean named Kim Ji Un. But confidence in the project was inspired by a very brisk trailer, an abundance of “Rednikovsky” humor, and producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura. It was not expected in any case a masterpiece of the genre, but at least a tightly shot down action movie, in the best traditions of the old school, and with modern bells and whistles (computer graphics, realistic action and car races in the style of “Farsage”). But as it turned out, “The Last Frontier” (which is how the original called “The Return of the Hero”) – something incomprehensible and completely passable. It is not clear just what is doing there is a very old and (what is a sin to hide) surrendered in charisma hero of the militant N1?
“Sheriff, do you have such a relief... How long have you been rocking?”
Strangely enough, such a scenario might have seemed appropriate, usually always demanding on Arnie's material. The plot of how a dangerous Mexican drug lord escaped from the FBI during his own transportation and went to the border on a stolen racing corvette is clearly absurd. What prevents you from informing the local regular troops and blocking the road? Instead, the entire FBI General Staff sits by the map and the computers, and their director is not tearing his hair in one place. Next, we are presented with the local heroes, the old sheriff and his negligent assistants (if Jamie Alexander was pleasant to look at for obvious reasons, then Louis Guzman frankly annoyed almost at all his appearance). Sheriff Owens, as you can see, plays himself. And until it comes to fights and shootings, it's hard to see Arnie grow old. His attempts to give out former grins and branded grins look like a parody of himself. And the character of Johnny Knoxville turns the action movie into a comedy and a show. With humor in the story clearly overdone. It's with stupid humor, as well as idiotic post-modern jokes (like, "Are you the Terminator?"). -Almost guessed. As you can understand, the route of an escaped Mexican criminal runs through a hole-town forgotten by God, in which the hero of Schwarzenegger follows the law. And of course, the old warrior will not allow the bandit and his henchmen to cross the state border. There will be car chases, shootings in the street (in the best traditions of the Western) and bloody murders. That’s just “hard” in my opinion, it’s completely out of place, and the most textured characters too quickly let into the expense (Peter Stormare, for example). Although it was nice to see in the small role of an elderly and stubborn farmer, as always perfect for such roles Harry Dean Stanton.
“We will not allow them to pass through our city without a fight!”
There's also a nitpicking about the script, purely visual, so to speak. The confrontation between the sheriff and the bandits begins with the murder of one of his people - a young boy who has not yet sniffed gunpowder, although he had previously expressed a desire to participate in this "case". And well, he died as pretentiously and heroically (and this could be quite removed - they together with the girl - assistant sheriff were ambushed and fired off the overwhelming number of the enemy). No, he was shot in the leg first, and when he tried to get into hiding, he was shot in the back. And the sheriff repeatedly told his guys that they should detain the drug lord in memory of this couple, so that his death would not be in vain. It's kind of silly, it's all tied together, and it doesn't look heroic, but rather ridiculous. This is especially true of the head of the FBI (Forest Whitaker), who is always so genuinely surprised at everything, and looks at any news ("Oh, he stole a racing car!", "Oh, there is a bridge!", "Oh, is there a traitor among us?!" and so on on on any point). By the way, the identification of a traitor among FBI agents - this does not add much to the plot of intrigue. You could have done without that. And so - in the finale there is an extra, and completely unnecessary comedic touch. And the finale again. Well, what is it?! Arnold Schwarzenegger is a hero of childhood militants, here he converges in a hand-to-hand fight with this very Cortez-drugbaron (Eduard Noriega), and strives to defeat him! In the old days, he used to eat packs of Mexicans like that! And the finale reminded me of the comedy “Operation Y”. Since, nevertheless, through the power of defeating the opponent, the hero instead of pathetic care and a black joke (as it happened before), turns into a kind of "Grandma of God Dandelion" - and brings a bound, following the car bandit who finally arrived to FBI agents ...
I think authors should not be surprised that the rental of their film could not pay off. He's too ugly. Yeah, what's wrong with you? It didn't work out at all. And if it were not for the participation of Arnold Schwarzenegger himself in this pun, everyone would have forgotten about the film long ago. When I left the theater, I rated the film even lower than I do now. But I haven't seen Schwartz's next "solar" yet. “Sabotage” simply destroyed, and therefore I decided to throw “The Return of the Hero” an extra ball. All the same – how not to spin, and Anold Schwarzenegger is a memory of childhood.
6 out of 10
After a long break, Iron Arnie returned to the big screens with a new film The Return of the Hero, um... maybe the Last Frontier, Russian distributors probably have not everything in order once such a title in the film. Oh, come on. After all, the star of the militants of the 80-90s now again years rush into battle. Now for the movie.
The plot of the picture is simple and even typical for an action movie. A suicide bomber escapes, a tough drug lord. On a supercar under the cover of a squad of professional mercenaries, he breaks through to the border, sweeping away all the barriers. The FBI and border guards do not have time, and the U.S.-Mexico border is literally a short way away, there is only one small town to drive through. The town is dusty, sleepy, the police in it except that only coffee is drunk and cats are removed from the trees. The sheriff, an elderly man, calm and friendly (that's what Arnie plays) just lives himself and does not remember that he once served in a completely different place. And then the action begins. More precisely, first quick preparation for the battle and then the actual battle.
As for Arnie himself, as we all know, he is no longer young, but even in the seventh ten looks like an action hero. Of course, such a bellicose awe as in his best years does not cause, but he copes with the “bad guys” with dignity. Perhaps he should have put aside the story of an aging provincial sheriff in favor of more ambitious projects, but the return, I believe, was a worthy and successful one. The positive emotions after watching gave me hope for new bright appearances Arnie on the screen in the coming years.
Johnny Knoxville is amusing even though he was not enough in the film, but he still played a kind of humorous guy who loves guns, is ready to run under bullets, is ready to do something crazy.
The huge number of explosions, the shooting of endless rounds of ammunition, the invulnerable protagonist - all this still causes some puppy delight, forcing you to return to these films again and again to recreate the very atmosphere of the 80s. But time inexorably moves forward, everything ends, like any movie: the most insidious villains are destroyed, the world is saved once again, and the hero retired, becoming the governor of the entire state.
Bottom line: Fans of militants and Arnie to watch strongly recommend because the combine occurred also very unexpectedly.
8 out of 10
“I have seen a lot of death and blood. I know what awaits us. – Sheriff Ray Owens
The success of recent years Justin Lin (John Wu is not taken into account) and his current reputation in Hollywood as a director of good and high-quality action, prompted the bosses of American film studios to invite many promising directors from the Asian market. Directors who could shake up the genre of the action movie, make it some new trends, adding their extraordinary vision to the pictures. Korean Kim Ji-un was considered and invited by producers on the basis of these principles and assumptions.
And as far as the bet justified itself, each viewer evaluates for himself. That "The Last Stand" wasn't a commercial hit is obvious. But the fact remains that from the relatively small budget declared by Hollywood standards, the director squeezes everything and it turns out on the one hand, akin to that provincial town in the film, a small picture in its scale and scope of action, but on the other hand it is sufficiently high-quality and interesting in entertainment terms.
This weekend for Ray Owens (Arnold Schwarzenegger) sheriff of an ordinary small American town on the border with Mexico!!! should go quietly and foreshadow nothing supernatural. However, in the next day, the calm of the city is disturbed by one of the bosses of the drug cartel, breaking through to the border. The problem is, SWAT and the feds are just on their way, so Owens and his men are on their own. But the sheriff is not going to surrender the city without a fight and hide in a shelter. After many years, he is still quite charismatic and cool and has not forgotten how to shoot, so he is ready for a moody “return”.
On the one hand, the Return of the Hero was expected, of course, with incredible excitement, and on the other with a slight sense of anxiety. The logic of the producers was absolutely clear, focusing on the resumption of the acting career of Arnie and the return of the legendary actor. But at the same time, “The Last Stand” is not just another picture. "Return" should have answered several relevant questions at once. Is the genre already alive, it seems, the long-forgotten action movie of the 90s and is Arnold able to attract the viewer to cinemas after a long break?
Expendables in their current guise, as a brand, are already playing for themselves. Sylvester Stallone's flammable bid to reunite the legends of the militants of the past has played out successfully. This was followed by a series of “single” paintings, in which first of all it was Arnie and Sly who had to prove their worth in what is happening on the screen and in their genre in particular. The interest of the public in this, in view of the possible subsequent commercial success, also played an important role. The role of financing such projects is partly in the future.
What happened happened happened. Arnold, to the many fanatic "Hurrah!", is back. The return for his fans, who were looking forward to the film, was probably less ambitious than expected. Arnold's current lucrative potential, after a long absence, naturally remained unclear. Therefore, the budget was quite average, and the whole promotional company was primarily built on the return of Schwarzenegger as an actor, and the desire of his fans to see the idol on the big screen again in a full-fledged leading role.
The hamstrings about Arnie’s relief and whether he has been rocking for a long time, comparisons with the “old man” and references to his hero’s combat past are certainly a kind of self-irony of Arnold over himself, without which the picture would lose a piece of its attractiveness. However, despite the fact that “The Return of the Hero” turned out to be a fairly well-made militant, but the picture turned out to be hostage to its small scale, which does not correspond to the charisma of Schwarzenegger. But at the same time, it is a qualitatively staged entertaining and emotional film.
But whether the charisma of Schwarzenegger actor, as in the 90s, to decide, of course, the viewer. However, there is no discussion for fans...
The film pleased, as they say, the old horse will not spoil the furrow, but will not plow deeply. Arnie plowed in spite of his years, this grandfather kept well.
Honestly, I decided to watch this film after watching the equally interesting film “Escape Plan” in which, in addition to the iron Arnie, no less beloved actor Sylvester Stallone starred, to be honest, these guys did not set me up well to watch the film “The Last Stand” and honestly, the viewing was successful.
The film pleased with the dynamism and brightness, under the word brightness I highlight a lot of blood. Of course, it was not without sad moments, but not a little cheerful, pleased with the old, kind and harmless jokes.
Cool guns, a lot of blood, a funny plot jump over all the flaws in the film and make it look in one breath. And when the back door of the bus opened, I realized that that's what I've been waiting for the whole movie, a machine gun in the tradition of old-school action movies.
The film as a whole, of course, not bad, but much among the rest of the endless stream of the American film industry, it would not be different, if not for a few refinements. Of course, perhaps everyone who has already watched this film, or even those who are just going to do it, knows, “Hero Returns” is the first film with the participation of the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger, who starred in the lead role after a 10-year break. During his political service and after its completion, Schwarzenegger, except for a cameo role in the action “The Expendables 2”, almost did not appear in films. Iron Arnie has not been seen in the lead role since the third Terminator. I can say with absolute certainty that he is back! Already released "Escape Plan", where next to him - another legendary "expendable" - Sylvester Stallone, and this Schwarzenegger is not going to stop.
In general, 2012-2013 was the period of return of many heroes of the past. "Real Guys", "The Expendables 2", "The Expendable", "Die Hard 5" and others. And although “Hero Return” did not shine in the lists of commercially popular films, I think it’s worth watching. It is worth those who remember the legendary action films of the 80-90s, who are familiar with the former work of these actors, and who know the very spirit of the atmosphere of the films of that era - whatever you say, accents, and techniques, as well as times - have changed greatly.
Korean director Kim Ji-un is new to Hollywood. According to Arnold, he quite managed to create a classic old-fashioned really live action movie, in which there is little computer graphics, but a lot of work of stuntmen. That’s why the movie turned out so natural, fun and powerful. “The Return of the Hero” successfully combines not only good acting, celebrities in front of TV cameras, a good, albeit banal plot, powerful action, chases, shootouts, but also a fair share of humor. Moreover, the actors will not fail to tease each other, using the glory of their rival - this is done at least in the title of the film. His characters are constantly asking:
What are you, Terminator?
"Almost guessed it."
“Have you ever seen a movie?”
Together with the “steel Arnie” we meet his light and ironic partner, played by the famous comedy actor Johnny Knoxville. This contrast makes the film even more successful, and the director managed to find that fine line, the way out of which would turn the picture into a simple parody. The appearance of the hero Knoxville in tough shootouts each time makes them unexpectedly funny and ironic. One member of the crew admitted: Johnny Knoxville managed to create a real comic hero. What is so important for such a picture?
In the film, there are many cliches, scenes that will remind us of a long-gone era, but in this melancholy, which seems to fill the entire film, and is the main meaning of “Hero Return”.
Arnold Schwarzenegger before the premiere of the film admitted: I think I’m lucky that with this film I return to the movies. This is a good universal film that will be understood in Russia and America, and Austria and Africa and Australia, so it all depends on the fans. We will see how big my return will be. And yet the question of his further acting career related to how to perceive this picture, he was very worried. After all, it is quite difficult to return to big cinema after such a long break, and to a new stream of viewers, some of whom are not very familiar with the old Arnie. Schwarzenegger played a small-town sheriff, a former police officer who, along with his team, tries to stop a drug lord who escaped from FBI agents. I don’t think I should have been afraid of anything, because before my official return to the cinema, I played in Sylvester Stallone’s film The Expendables. And when I saw the reaction of people to this picture, the crowd at the end of the film applauded. I felt people would love to see me come back on screen, so I’m really excited to have chosen this character, Ray Owens. This is a real American sheriff in a small town on the border with Mexico. Everyone thinks that he is old and has long baked, but proves that this is not so. I have never played such interesting characters. That's why I liked it so much.
Personally, I really liked the film, because it was a good opportunity to plunge into my childhood, to experience the whole range of seemingly forgotten emotions again. “The Return of the Hero” is quite suitable for having fun and pleasant time, just do not expect a strict and serious movie from him.
10 out of 10
“You create a bad name for us immigrants,” Arnold Schwarzenegger tells a Mexican drug lord, the main villain of The Last Stand, the Governor’s recent attempt to return to the world of reckless militants. Arnold, by the way, is not the only immigrant in the film - it is directed by Korean director Kim Ji-won (" I Saw the Devil). Kim seems to be an ideal contender for directing the film, where the roof-bearing action coexists with unplayed sadism, and the postmodern western with the impressive figure of Schwarzenegger.
The latter plays Sheriff Ray Owens, a veteran police officer from Los Angeles, whose limit of dreams is a quiet old age and retirement in a quiet state town, which is Sommerton Junction. And indeed, before the events of the film, the most dangerous thing the sheriff has to face is to calm down a local weirdo (Johnny Knoxville), who is amused by shooting a 357 caliber pistol at meat carcasses.
However, when a criminal leader breaks out of prison and begins to break through to the Mexican border, and the FBI hangs on his tail, Owens has to shake the old days and recall the past to apprehend a dangerous criminal. The chase will take place at a speed of more than three hundred kilometers per hour - we will be explained that no helicopter can keep up with the gangster Corvette ZR1. And given how many scoundrel henchmen, there will be a lot of not only chases, but also shootings in the cinema.
Both Kim Ji-won gives us in abundance. In 2013, there is a real wave of South Korean filmmakers making films in the United States, so it is not surprising that Schwarzenegger chose him for his triumphant return to big cinema. Koreans Park Chan-Wook and Bong Joon-ho are also releasing their Hollywood debuts this year, so Kim just had time before. "Hero Returns" is a real blast of action, from the initial joke to the prison escape scene. Cars and bullets fly here, of course, quickly, but what else can you expect from this film?
It is only after viewers get acquainted with Sheriff Owens and the sleepy town of Somerton Junction that the more playful (some would call it hilarious) side of the film becomes visible. Schwarzenegger complains of old age and wears waterproof shoes. His deputies, Louis Guzman, Jamie Alexander, and Zach Guilford, play calm and frostbitten cops (we call it “seeing nothing, hearing nothing”), who retain this attitude even as the film turns on the bloody path trodden by Asian predecessors.
Kim, clearly dissatisfied with the fact that blood and pieces of brains are just splashing the heroes, at this point, slightly oversteps the stick and makes the torn parts of the bodies fall on their heads. After that, he happily shoots Knoxville and Schwarzenegger as they no less happily shoot the bad guys with a Gatling machine gun. Imagine the joy on set that day.
With every joke and every bullet flying, Schwarzenegger returns to life from his former glory. It's not moving as fast as it used to, and in the last one-on-one battle, this becomes especially evident. The action hero of past years has long passed the torch of the championship to tough guys like Dwayne Johnson, but that doesn’t mean he can’t go back to the big movie and kick the villains as he sees fit. That seems to be exactly what's going on here, Schwarzenegger clearly enjoys stomping his boots through the streets of his town, approaching and staring menacingly at Peter Stormare, who, you guessed it, plays the bad guy.
“Hero Returns” is a reminder that Schwarzenegger, even in his sixty-five years, is still able to give good flops to the right people, and to prove this thesis, he used the services of such an unusual person as Kim Ji-won to even in a new era lead a talented Asian director to American success. It's always a nice surprise when Hollywood imports talent, not ideas. Take the Oppa Gangnam Style. Seriously, guys, take him.
Your time is gone, old man, mine is just beginning.
This line begins the final fight between drug lord and hero Arnie, and it all begins with the fact that we see a very old and beloved Arnold Schwarzeneger in not very good shape. Somewhere he goes with his hair crumpled and everything says he's the sheriff. And where does she come from in good shape? Age takes its toll and we are seeing the aging of all Hollywood stars who fell in love for popular roles in movies.
It catches the eye that Arnie barely walks, it can be seen by the very heavy gait.
Why are we being fed what someone has already eaten? Of course, there was a time when this was popular and the genre of the action movie flourished, and everyone was not lazy in this genre. But I think a bit of water has leaked, but a lot of time has passed to take the viewer the same hero (but old), the same plot (but worn), the same finale (but without continuation).
Of course, I am waiting for the new roles of Arnold and I perceive this as a part-time job of a megastar, but something I am beginning to fear that if the film continues to develop in the same direction, then soon we will witness some biographical comedy filmed live from the funeral ... typh, typh, typh.
I think you can clearly imagine how many Russians grew up on Stallone and Schwarzenegger? But if the “Italian stallion” was filmed constantly, without great pauses and breaks, then Iron Arnie took a forced break in connection with leaving for politics. It's been ten years. There were, of course, Arnie roles, but very small, not serious, so that the viewer did not forget his idol. Then there were two appearances in The Expendables, where Arnie warmed up to appear with a full-fledged character in front of the audience in some other movie. And now the moment has come - Arnie is finally back!
But for this it was worth inviting a specialist because of the bumper - apparently, old-school fighters with strict ratings in Hollywood have already forgotten how to shoot. Whatever it was, Arnie's return was elegant - he again, as old as he is, confronts the criminals almost alone. Help him in this inexperienced assistants in the person of Louis Guzman, Johnny Knoxville (for him, the genre of action is uncharacteristic, but he plays the role that is usual for him - a fool), Rodrigo Santoro (we all remember him for the role of Xerxes in "300 Spartans") and Jamie Alexander. Confront brave defenders of justice little-known Eduardo Noriega (his character according to the script is a fierce maniac, but not very similar) and Peter Stormare. And on behalf of the FBI, we're watching Forest Whitaker. That is, the cast is quite strong, however, I will not say that everyone played flawlessly.
The plot, as in the militants of the 90s, is banal to the point of impossibility. There are incredibly tough bad guys on the one hand, and on the other hand a brave sheriff who has gunpowder in the powderboxes for the third world war with more than enough. Who wins in the confrontation, you know, do not go to the fortune teller.
The action in the film is quite saturated, there are chases, there are shootings, a lot of blood, muzzle - in short, there is everything for which we all love the 16+ rating. Without this rating, there would be nothing to watch in the film. At least you won't be bored.
The result is not a bad movie. Yes, genre clichés pond, and the plot is simple, and there is no such thing in reality. Who, for example, would give up $20 million in old age without harming their health? Either a fool or a hero. Arnie's a hero, no doubt. There are illogical moments in the plot, but you can even close your eyes to them, because this is the return of the old hero. In short, the film will be loved by everyone who knows what VHS is. The others probably won't like it.
Oh, come back to the screen. Sometimes it begins to seem that the heroes of the militants are worse than the elderly divas: they cling to their images in the cinema with no less force than the main ballet artist - for the role of Odette. It would seem, well, guys, well, the age is not the same, no one can be forever young, humble yourself, and...
On the other hand, isn’t that what people are waiting for? Aren't militants a significant fraction of the nineties for which society is so desperately nostalgic? After all, modernity offers nothing but a pseudo-exquisite postmodern, a drama about office plankton, constantly whining about the crisis of modern man and the ideological insufficiency of modern culture. In this case, references, stylizations, and just the revival of genres are in fact like a breath in the desert: if there is nothing new, why not remember the good old? And the guys who starred in those movies can do something else, right?
Yeah, they can. “The Return of the Hero” was supposed to be proof. One gap is that in addition to the good aspects of the classic action movie of the 90s, it inherited all its shortcomings – that is, literally everything. A good game of actors - boring characters, only dying out their plot functions and being only a edging for the image of the main character, uninteresting and not catchy; great action - a ridiculous plot in the style of "Escape from Los Angeles" - yes, with the plot everything is so bad, people. Of course, he has never been a strong side of the militant, because the most important thing is that the cannons of puff-puff, the corpses of Mer-Mer, and Schwarzenegger was so cool, but still you need to have a limit of delusion. It's not even thrash! ...
But, on the other hand, Schwarzenegger is still thorough and harsh, cars fly into the air like birds ... well, to give credit - Last Action is not without charm and style. He is not very prominent or memorable, and there are at least spectacular scenes in him - at least of those that first come to mind, only a shootout in the city, and the murder of his grandfather with a shotgun, but he is also not completely faceless. It’s not good that the first picture that pops up in the mind when you remember this film is the harsh profile of the stern Schwarzenegger against the harsh background of the harsh border town... but, on the other hand, that’s what the film is designed for. Not on action, shooting, etc., but on perpetuating the already great image of Arnie; and this is the task Kim Ji-un coped with perfectly.
Few people are unaware of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return to the big screen after his political career ended. And if during his time as governor of California, Schwartz sometimes starred in second roles (“Around the World in 80 Days” (Around the World in 80 Days, 2004) or “The Expendables” (The Expendables, 2010) etc.), and after leaving political affairs – as one of the actors of the film (“The Expendables 2” (The Expendables 2, 2012)), then in the film “The Return of the Hero” (or “The Last Fight” or “The Last Stand”), the great Arnie for the first time in 11 years plays the main role. And it seems to be in vain...
First, the film is positioned as a serious action movie, even a criminal thriller, but in fact it comes out something like a three-comedy action movie in the style of Hot Shots! (1991). By the way, even individual frames almost absolutely look copied from the "Heads", like a shot from a rocket gun. There are also analogies with the Russian film “Brother 2” in terms of acquiring weapons from a crazed gunman and the presence of the Maxim machine gun among the arsenal of this hero.
Schwarzenegger is no longer like the glorious Arnie he has been in our memory since The Terminator (1984; Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) or Last Action Hero (1993). Now Schwartz is a tired grandfather who wants peace and peace, so he runs to the end of the world to a town forgotten by God to find his last stronghold.
But it didn't happen as desired. The great Arnie is again waiting for a large-scale war with the criminal world. He is challenged by one of the most influential world drug lords - Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega), who literally destroys the entire American army of FBI agents and calmly across the state with the desire to cross the border with Mexico reaches the town of Sommerton Jaxen, whose sheriff is Ray Owens (Arnold Schwarzenegger). After a fierce fight, which is more reminiscent of comedy situations from the Police Academy (1984-1994, 7 parts), the elderly sheriff destroys an entire criminal gang of drug dealers and arrests Cortez to turn him over to the American Themis. The plot is banal and sucked out of a finger only to make a movie about poor Arnie, who even in old age can not be left alone. After all, while he was gone, cinema began to decline, and now his mission is not to drink cocktails on the sunny beaches of California and rest from life, but to save his native cinema from the dominance of zombies and vampires, personified in the film “Hero Return” are drug dealers – forgotten antiheroes of films with Arnie.
The picture is generously sprinkled with parallels with the real life of Arnie - here you are tired of Los Angeles, and a warning to the young not to rush to Sin City, and Arnie's emigrant past. The patriotic note of the film deserves special attention. After all, all weapons (except the machine gun "Maxim") and all cars are entirely American-made, the spirit of the film is extreme patriotism in the style of "Brothers" Balabanov for Russians, and the crew itself and almost the entire cast, in return, are not Americans: Arnold Schwarzenegger (Austrian), Edward Noriega (Spanish), Peter Stormare (Swed), Rodrigo Santoro (Brazilian), director Kim Ji-un (South Korean), cameraman Kim Ji-Yong and others. How could such an international team make such an American film? It seems to me, without political strategists Arnie during the governorship as screenwriters and assistant directors in the film did not do?
Aside from humor, the film is quite simple and I would rather watch it than not watch it, but only for the sake of maintaining a good mood. The unobtrusiveness of the plot, its predictability and a bunch of funny situations will lift the mood, in case of desire for blood, shootouts and meat - you made the wrong film and Schwartz.
Who should watch: supporters of light comedies, light action films, light thrash films, fans of Arnie in any of his guises, fans of American patriotic films.
Who should not watch: Communists and Latin Americans (especially Mexicans), connoisseurs of Iron Arnie and Arni-Conan, lovers of auto racing and action in the style of the “Washer”, children who have not yet seen the “Terminator” and the classic image of the Iron Arnie.
Yours, Ilko Bilenko-Schumacher.
Korean at the helm, Austrian in the lead role. Let's go!
On the screen there is an inscription “The Last Stand”. Voice-over broadcasts impassively - "The Return of the Hero." Funny.
Arnie has aged (think, yes!), but has not lost his passion for big guns. The machine gun "Maxim", the last time major lit up in the "Brother 2". And here he got a small role. The Last Stand is the return of two old men.
The movie consists of two parts: the beginning and the end. A calm beginning, a turbulent ending. In the end, they make themselves known the budget and genre. Jokes and blood are included, the proportions are good. Grandma's a bitch! Don't go on private property! And the villain is painfully stamped, the name is stamped, he is unconvincing. No fear, no interest. And the music is weird, naive. Except that the final credits sounded good track.
It's a good action movie. I wanted more, but I guess my lip is long. Arnie's return has just begun. He'll show you. This is not the last confrontation (the Russian translator is right). Not bad at first.
6 out of 10
P.S. Lead is sometimes more expensive than silver.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is a legend who not only embodied the famous American dream, but became its symbol, despite even scandals in his personal life. Athlete, actor, governor, actor – this is Arnold’s career. Many believed that since 2003, his acting work will no longer please us, since Mr. Schwarzenegger has ceased to be a Terminator, and became a real Governor, but nothing in this world is not eternal and politics again faded into the background. After defending the second election term, Schwarzenegger plunged headlong into the world of cinema. His first notable appearance in years was as rival friend Barney Ross in The Expendables 2 (2012). But this is only the second plan, and Arnold is always used to being in sight and after some six months on the screens comes the picture "The Return of the Hero" with Schwarzenegger in the lead role! Two factors contributed to its appearance on the screens: 1. The dying genre of classic action films of the 80s and 90s again collects hundreds of millions at the box office (the Stallone franchise “The Expendables”). 2. Arnold returned to the cinema and this factor attracted a lot of attention to his person. In general, the producers of Lionsgate studio, which is gaining incredible power, believed that they could break the bank at the box office, given that the budget for “Hero Return” by today’s standards is very modest – $ 45 million. Yes, “The Return of the Hero”, as well as a neighbor at the box office, Sylvester Stallone’s solo project “The Expendable”, did not justify the financial hopes of its creators and simply failed both in the home and world box office. It becomes clear that the audience likes to look at the heroes of the past years only when they are united in a team. Then the plot is not important at all, and the fees justify all the costs. But if you reject the box office figures, then it is worth stopping at the artistic components of the picture, starting with the plot.
So, the picture describes to us the working life of an elderly sheriff Ray Owens (Schwarzenegger), who left his native Los Angeles and the fight against the drug mafia and went to a quiet town near the Mexican border to work out to retirement in a quieter, calmer atmosphere. Since there are no real criminals in the area, the police station under Owens at first glance does not cause any sense of real security. In addition to the chief, officers such as Sarah Torrance (Jamie Alexander), Mike Figuerola (Louis Guzman), Jerry Bailey (Zach Gilford) and the local semi-psychopath and gun collector Lewis (Johnny Knoxville) work in the station. The troubled life of a small town ends when America’s most dangerous drug lord, Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega), escapes from FBI agents led by John Bannister (Forest Whitaker) in a supercar, overtaking even a helicopter (though there are questions...). Mexico, located very close to the town of Sheriff Owens, is the target of the criminal. And to help him escape must faithful assistant Burrell (Peter Stormare), who prepares ways to go abroad, and also terrorizes the city along with a gang of thugs. And only Sheriff Owens and his team will stand in the way of a dangerous gang, because all the power of the FBI is unable to stop the mad race of Cortez and the Burrell killers.
First of all, I want to say that it is desperately trying to combine the good old action movies of the 80s and 90s, as well as modern action with its stylistic details. As a result, we have two hundred percent heroes from the past – honest, incorruptible, and simply perfect Sheriff Owens, as well as a classic villain with megalomania Burrell, who eclipses even his boss Cortez. As for Schwarzenegger specifically, the filmmakers decided to endow his character with a greater range of feelings and experiences than was the case earlier in his career. Not the last role in this is played by the age of the actor, who exceeded 65 years. Of course, the acting skills of Arnold no longer became, and dramatic scenes are not the strongest horse. In addition, the years make themselves felt and its physical form is not as striking as before. Now before us appears wise decades of service hero, patronizing young colleagues, helping the sick and disadvantaged, and at the same time did not say goodbye to the ghosts of the past, did not create family comfort. To be honest, Schwarzenegger does not quite fit this role. Almost he is the only actor who breaks out of the overall ensemble. And if in his career before 2003 this also happened, but he was young and cheerful, now, in old age, this is not entirely appropriate. His hero, Owens, despite time and imaginary experiences, still tries to show that he is the coolest here, he is the main one, he is the center of the film. Of course it is, but the whole entourage, all the young actors in all this absolutely do not fit. But I absolutely do not want to throw Arnold off the books and I think he still has many paintings in front of him, in which he will fit more organically.
Absolutely unnecessary in the film is the storyline with FBI agents led by the hero Whitaker. Their only goal is to chase Cortez uselessly and see all his skills as a rider. But from the rest of the characters, it is worth highlighting two comedians who from film to film act as relaxing elements that distract the viewer from the tense storyline - Louis Guzman and Johnny Knoxville.
In the directors of the film, the producers chose the little-known Korean director Kim Ji-un. But he lacked the same Asian fire that sometimes captures their paintings from beginning to end. “The Return of the Hero” cannot compete on the drive with the same works of Schwarzenegger as “The Eraser”, “True Lies”. To pay tribute to antiquity and at the same time to keep up with the modern love of drama, you need something more than blindly following the script - you need a zest that brings all the action into a balanced film. But when it comes to the long-awaited shootouts, the film begins to glow. And in such scenes, Schwarzenegger still looks in his place, albeit with a slight irony about his age. There are no questions about the technical level of staging, tricks, camera work and musical accompaniment at all. All level. It is especially nice to see in the frame the machine gun "Maxim", surprisingly got on the set. The unstoppable firing is attached to it in exactly the same way as Arnold's crown short phrases in the likeness of "I am the law!".
In the end, I want to say that "The Return of the Hero" is a strong action movie that will definitely appeal to fans of the genre and Arnold Schwarzenegger in particular. But still it will never become the pearl of the genre, as the authors could not balance in one film action, drama, youth and old age. However, there are really worthwhile scenes that make you put at least a small, but still a plus in the filmography of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
6 out of 10
He was the Terminator. He was the Governor. And now he is an ordinary and gray-haired Sheriff Owens in a small border town with Mexico, who, by the will of fate, will face a confrontation with the Mexican drug lord Gabriel Cortez, rushing in full steam to the border, and his bloodthirsty gang, which in their methods is not very inventive and picky. The laws of the genre are inexorable, although the usual Mexican duels are hardly worth waiting for.
2013 is remembered for the high-profile Hollywood debuts of two South Korean masters of author cinema. But, if Chang Wuk-Pak flashed an impressive visually honed pseudonoir “Stoker”, without changing his directorial tone, then Kim Ji-un presented to the public and critics the film “Hero Return” with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the title role, deftly playing on the genre field of the classic American action film, surpassing in fact many samples of the pseudoold school this year. Kim Ji-un sacrificed the deliberate formalist aesthetics of his previous works in “The Return of the Hero” in favor of a stylish and bloodletting action, dressed, however, in ironic intonations, literally transferred to this film from his cult “Good, Bad, Fucked”. “The Return of the Hero” is at the same time a solid classic action movie with all the attributes inherent in the genre, and a high-quality multi-genre fusion with elements of a detective, a thriller in the style of Charles Bronson’s films, and a comedy characterized by unobtrusive and original humor to the accompaniment of a dynamic soundtrack from Moug and the spectacular camera work of Ji-yen Kim.
The hero of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sheriff Owens, seems to have come down from the old film of the famous Sergioleonic westerns, only the age is not the same, the sword of Damocles of fatigue hangs over him and the burden of the law is heavier for him than ever, weighted on the now not so strong and powerful shoulders. “I am the law!” is pronounced in the film with the intonations of rusted steel and, quite possibly for Owens, this heroic confrontation will be if not quite the last, then one of the last. Writer Andrew Knauer and director Kim Ji Un dissected the entertaining action movie into something unusual and seeking to overcome genre clichés, playing them in an ironic and dramatic intonation.
The plot design of the film does not set the artistic trajectory of the conflict of one against all, for Owens is not a superhero, not a single hero, although the finale adds to the character of Schwarzenegger certain features of this cinematic archetype. Therefore, in the picture, without shading the central characters in the person of Owens and Cortez, who was brilliantly and charismatically played in the film by the Spanish actor Eduardo Noriega, there was a place and a lot of interesting secondary characters that create multiple sounding characters in the film. Especially stand out in this regard are the heroes of Johnny Knoxville, who again appears in the image of a colorful and crazy person, Peter Stormare, who always faces the images of antagonists, and Rodrigo Santoro, who plays the most interesting performance in the picture. Also, an extremely convincing hero came out from Forest Whitaker, although he did not add anything new to the palette of the picture.
So, the film “Hero Returns” is an interesting and exciting film adventure and a successful attempt by Arnold Schwarzenegger to return to the big movie. Despite the huge and undeserved box office failure, the film causes only the most positive feelings, leaving the aftertaste of a whole and stylish movie, which has not only action and humor. It is recommended and the pleasure is guaranteed!
One of the world’s most dangerous drug lords has been relocated. Naturally, he manages to escape and now he races at high speed to the Mexican border, where he will be completely inaccessible to various intelligence agencies. American smarts decided to stop the villain on the way there, but this was not the case, because he would not be so dangerous and unpredictable. In the end, all attempts to interrupt the high-speed procession of the criminal on American soil end in complete failure. The last frontier on the way to the protected Mexican wilderness becomes a small town in which the henchmen of the criminal authority build a bridge across the canyon, so that their boss calmly crossed the border and continued to create chaos. But these insidious plans are not destined to come true, because one of the residents is a very strong nut. The battle of dangerous bandits is ready to give the local sheriff, for whom this confrontation will be a real test of strength and an occasion to shake the old days.
The return to the big screens of one of the most famous action-actors of our time, absolutely everyone expected with great impatience. After several appearances in The Expendables, Arnold Schwarzenegger finally became the main star of the feature film, moreover, released in the favorite genre of the ex-Governor of California. That's just with the long-awaited appearance came some overlap, in the form of an incomprehensible scenario and prohibitively outdated action, looking at the level of militants of the nineties. Personally, I did not expect such a return from the iron Arnie, who even against the background of stereotypical and little interested in all that is happening colleagues, looked oh how unconvincing. And his desperate attempts to show the presence of gunpowder in the powder magazines result in tense fights, during which the genre veteran becomes scary. And not because his character is about to clean the snout.
In general, from “Hero Return”, which would be more correct to call “The Last Frontier”, I was not happy. It’s worth noting that if Arnold had a better script, something worthwhile might have come out. Well, to build on such a standard, tortured and predictable banalism, your second coming, in the first place, is not entirely logical. Also, I would like to decry the incorrect use of even such material by the Korean director Kim Ji Un. A good part of the film was spent on empty and painfully clogged beds about heroes and villains. A worthy action, in the form of shootouts and a chase began only in the final, made of course on conscience, but not able to make forget about the unusually long entry. And the hero himself begins to act only half an hour after the start, and this, with a total hour and a half duration, is not enough to satisfy the appetite excited by saturated commercials.
If the plot and production causes a lot of complaints, then it is generally difficult to correctly express about humor. Almost all allegedly funny moments are associated with the exploitation of old images of Schwarzenegger, and once again laugh at jokes about the similarity of the main character with the Terminator, no longer want. Another source of cheerful mood was to be the mad partner of the sheriff in the performance of Johnny Knoxville, better known for his antics in “Dumbs”. But nothing good was ever heard from him. It feels like Knoxville has reincarnated into his character from the movie Walking Wide. At least the character of both characters is very similar. What else caused the reproach, is a limited amount of everything that is so famous for the dynamic genre of action film. It is clear that “Return of the hero” was not such a big budget, but so poor to show explosions and shooting, albeit with small allocated funds, it is impossible in any case. Because of this, even the epic final fight looks a little cheap.
In a good way, this film distinguishes from second-rate crafts only the average budget and famous performers in the first roles, because in addition to Schwarzenegger and Knoxville, several good actors were involved here. Forest Whitaker tried to move away from the tired image of an intelligent and serious man, and decided to fool around here, playing the head of the special service, so closely watching the actions of the drug lord that he managed to escape from them at the first opportunity. Absolutely nothing remembered Rodrigo Santoro, Jamie Alexander and Luis Guzman, who played the role of henchmen of the brave sheriff. This trio just left the room and did not even try. Typical was one of the villains in Peter Stormare, also not particularly interested in depicting at least some emotions on the face of his character. In general, most of the cast simply worked out their fee, showing off in front of the camera and decorating a primitive picture.
As a result, nothing good turned out from the “Hero Return” and Schwarzenegger chose a very unsuccessful project for his comeback. The film has nothing to boast about. Do not be proud of the weak semblance of the plot, outdated action and an even older main character, who is already difficult not only to hold a blow, but also to adequately respond to his offender. I expected something better, so the overall assessment of what I saw is only this:
6 out of 10
The film could not be captured in one breath. I watched it only after reading a review of Arnold’s film in his autobiography. In short, he's happy with the movie. Then I decided to watch the movie.
I don’t know why I’m making movies like that now. They were relevant in the 80-90s. But now completely different films are in demand. It seems to me that the audience is no longer completely predictable plot, with splashing blood, duty jokes, and tons of spent ammunition. These films were good at the time, and Arnold was good at them. But now it all looks, to put it mildly, "sucked" from the finger.
I won't describe the plot. There's about a million stories like that. And it could have been pulled by the actors, the complexity of the tricks, or a non-standard ending. Unfortunately, there is none here.
I don’t want to think that Arnold’s time as a film actor is in the last millennium. Perhaps he will find a suitable place for himself in the current cinema, but certainly not in a movie like this.
6 out of 10
I am writing to you because I cannot speak. I just don't have words to describe how happy I am to have you back. Please forgive me in advance for the uneven handwriting, but my hand trembles with excitement as I write these lines.
My dearest wife and I almost lost our feelings as soon as the news of your resignation reached our province. Oh, no, I don't mean to say that a political career isn't for you. I just couldn’t wait to finish it. And now you are with us, and our prayers have been heard.
I must say, we missed you very much. While you were working for the state of California, there was no one to stand up for the weak and oppressed. The dashing people are all over themselves. Mexican drug lords no longer fear the wrath of God. Robbers and dashing men walk along the roads, doing ugliness with impunity. We lacked the strength of heroism to stand up for justice. But now everything will be the same as in the good old days.
It is with pleasure, which I find difficult to describe, that I watched your latest film. I have to tell you right away, the police uniform suits you very well, and the huge revolver complements it perfectly. And full of you complain about age, wrinkles do not age you at all. Such a hero and gray face! That's just help you better find helpers, or they are painfully awkward. Some of them are even weird.
The bandits, by the way, were not very smart either. They could not overcome by number or skill. I wouldn't be surprised if they just haven't heard of you, so they're on the run. And the most important thing is that they seem to be dexterous, and as it came to the case, it was a little weak. However, where he, the malacholor, the power to compete with you. I can tell you right away, I wouldn’t.
We really liked your movie. The whole family was watching. And my wife clapped her hands with joy every time you gave the heat. It is a pity that not all viewers liked it. Some critics said it was too weak to return. It's okay, you don't get upset. Remember, you still have some sincere fans. We are waiting for new movies and new returns. Work hard and believe in yourself.
Long ago, at a time when Hollywood cinema of all categories began to appear on the then Soviet screens, was transmitted and resold on VHS with consistently low image quality and the voices of Gavrilov, Volodarsky and Mikhalev, shooting pearls no less than the actors themselves, then the genre of militants came to the country.
The huge number of explosions, the shooting of endless rounds of ammunition, the invulnerable protagonist - all this still causes some puppy delight, forcing you to return to these films again and again to recreate the very atmosphere of the 80s. But time inexorably moves forward, everything ends, like any movie: the most insidious villains are destroyed, the world is saved once again, and the hero retired, becoming the governor of the entire state.
And then, like everything in the same movie, we will continue!
And already pretty old, but with the same charisma and impenetrable, the main character decorates the screen, trying on large and VERY large "guns", shoots endless rounds at bandits, in his incomprehensibility hiding near barrels of fuel, saves a small town, weighing jokes, and waits for the arrival of the "cavalry", limp on both legs.
The return of the hero according to all canons of the genre can be considered accomplished.
I thought I'd see a rusty Terminator, but I saw a real hero!
There is such a category of people, people Two-thousanders, fed like mother’s milk, such timeless action films as: “Terminator”, “Die Hard”, “In the Siege”, “Lethal Weapon”, “Alien”, “Rocky” and a couple of unforgettable, soul-seated works of entertainment cinema. This is now from the days of soap and popcorn directors such as Michael Bay, although his initial work had a semantic load, the action movie became only those two hours of our precious life when we can live popcorn staring at a hefty screen lazily lifting their thick patches of uncomfortable 3D glasses, and like fat pigs rush to pour into their thick, cellulite bodies an extra liter of “dead water”, whose name is “Pepsi”. Before what? Previously, these precious fighters influenced the formation of our character and worldview. That evil must lose, for good is stronger, for good is truth.
It’s like a joke you’ve probably heard:
There are two boys sitting on the roof, good and bad, and they throw stones at passers-by who will hit the most. The good hit five times and the bad three, because good always conquers evil.
Arnold is a character actor, an actor of one role. I wouldn't trust him to play Hamlet. And take my word for it, it's not about age, I wouldn't even trust young Conan Barbara to do this. Or if I went further down the Shakespearean characters, I wouldn't trust him to play King Lear or Richard III. Just my subconscious will not be able to fully empathize with such Lyra, and without empathy, how can you talk about catharsis, well, of course, if you know what it is.
The acting game did not fade into the background, as it often happens, from all these tumbles, computer special effects, the virtuosity of the operator and the cocky editor. There was no one in this ensemble who did not finish or replay, everyone was in his place, and everyone completed the task that was required of him or her. .
I will tell you honestly, not with my heart, that I personally madly missed such films: saturated pathos of Hollywood heroes. If I don’t watch movies like this for a long time, I start to think the world is in danger. I want to see the world saved every day. It gives me confidence in the future, if you don't get it, it's ironic, don't think I'm a total nut job with acne and a damp palm in my underwear.
If you have two or three more minutes of free time, I will say a few words about the other premieres of this year.
“Die Hard: It’s a good day to die, he puked! With every fiber of your soul, Bruce, you really found a good day to die in my eyes.
"The Expendables 1.2" - wept, and not so much as over the tragedies of Saphocles, but with horror, how much Stalone is sure of the stupidity of the everyday viewer. It’s a pity, but his rental turned out to be successful, apparently Sylvester was right about us.
Lots of Statham movies. Sometimes I think it's a bunch of cloned, drugged freaks named Jason Statham. I have a wish:
Buy a bunch of CDs with his movies and make a fire in the name of art, although no, from the sale of DVD they will pay off the budget of the shit movie.
The Terminator for me, as for millions of others, ended with Judgment Day.
Let’s return to our emerald, light in the dark realm, the action movie “The Return of the Hero”.
5 million, 10 million, 20 million, just let me through.
My honor is not for sale!
How powerful it is, how cool it is! I want to be an invincible Arnold again as a child!
Good director! I'm not going to say anything else about him.
The plot of the film is simple, to some extent even banal, but this did not prevent me from putting 9 out of 10.
I'll explain why, I'm a little pissed off and pissed off, Russians wearing Ushanka hats. I had enough Armagedon, a Russian cosmonaut in a hat and a wrench! I guess that's all.
Watch this movie if you want to return to your youth. All! Have a good view!
Recently, often in the cinema there are films in the main roles in which the legends of the past are removed. As a rule, their main goal is to make money on the well-known “face”. And is there a plot in the film, well, no one really cares about it, because people still go, go, counting on the fact that such a great actor simply cannot sleep in a bad movie, and in the movie they will be disappointed... Of course, if there are a lot of stars, then the viewer will be pleased. It happened with The Expendables. Yes, everyone who saw this film was pleased, but at the same time everyone understands that there is no plot in it at all.
Despite all this, the film “The Return of the Hero” came out just great, nothing superfluous, a thoughtful plot, a good action movie, a completely new story that is not like everything that was before. The magnificent game of Schwartz himself... Yes, there is nothing in the film to advise his friends, write fan fiction about him and so on. But at the same time, the film gives us a chance to just relax, not to delve into the fate of the characters, although they are, but everything we need to know, we will be told, not to delve into the plot, but just enjoy it.
I bet it’s not “Titanic”, which will be talked about for a long time, the film is basically a one-time movie. But this one won’t make you bored.
It is impossible to underestimate the importance of such a figure as Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (such is his full name). The culturist, who became an unshakable statue during his lifetime as the hero of the N1 classic militants of the 80-90s of the last century, who went into big politics and became the governor of California. After the end of his term of office, he returns to the big cinema, where it is not to say that he was not expected, this return was almost the event of the year.
Return Iron Arnie occurred in 2012, where he played, however, a secondary role in the picture Sylvester Stallone "The Expendables 2", so a full-fledged retour of the native of Austria should still be considered the picture of the 2013th year of release "The Return of the Hero". The last time Arnold was in the forefront back in 2001, twelve years without Arnie on the screen.
The translation of the original title of the film "The Last Stand" can be translated as "The Last Battle", but this is not correlated with the fact that the main role will be played by the hero of the militants, so our translators came to the conclusion that "The Return of the Hero" is the very same for the new film Arnold Schwarzenegger, perhaps we can agree with their arguments.
Our good old friend will play the sheriff of a small town, in which little is happening, but, as is clear, after a long lull comes the storm, and the textured old man (forgive me fans Arnie and himself Arnie for the word "old man") will have to enter into a fierce battle with a dangerous criminal who escaped from prison and rushing at maximum speed towards the border. But the sheriff is not so easy to give way to him, so action is provided for us.
As the director of the film chose the South Korean director Kim Ji Un. With the work done at home, he gained popularity not only in South Korea, but also abroad, as evidenced by the evaluation of his films on IMDb and www.kinopoisk.ru. Why not try yourself in the Land of Dreams? Moreover, such a happy case turns up - Arnold Schwarzenegger himself fully returns to the screens, with whom all directors who profile on action films would like to work, and the genre itself is not familiar.
And to me, the South Korean didn't fail. He perfectly understood that there is no need to invent something like this, because the viewer is waiting for the revival of the old school style from the film with Schwarzenegger, waiting for action, waiting for rage, strength, that is, all that this style personifies. Kim Ji Un did not prude, but did everything as expected by the viewer. In addition, he understood that Schwarzenegger is not the same, he is not thirty years old, he can no longer neutralize his enemies with bare hands and muscle bundles. In "The Return of the Hero" the hero Shwartz will shoot his heart, and in the very finale he will prove his superiority in a fight with the main villain. Arnold must be returned a little bit, prepare him, and not immediately from the fire and into the fire. Like, here's Arnold Schwarzenegger again, only he's a little decrepit, but still the same victorious hero. It does not happen, you can not demand everything at once. For Arnold Schwarzenegger now you need to build a new image, with the old nothing worthwhile now will not work. In addition, let’s not forget what age Arnie is, and pay tribute to his form.
Besides Arnie, I'll speak for other actors. Who did you like? Of course, Johnny Knoxville is entertaining and funny with his not quite balanced character. Louis Guzman and his partner are not so bad and second-rate. And the characters from Eduardo Noriega and Peter Stormare have already become template and repetitive, nothing new acrobatic, standard, as for these actors negative characters with ingrained criminal outbursts of violence.
I didn’t expect the movie to blow up theaters, but the fact that people would reach for them was one hundred percent sure. Spectacular action, something funny, and he also with a share of nostalgia, absolutely does not let down his style of old school.
7 out of 10
The big ship has a great voyage. So goes the old saying, which was ignored by the creators of the film “Hero Return”.
Here we go. The return of the famous, cult hero of the militants Arnold Schwarzenegger, turned out to be very, unpleasantly strange. To say the least. Namely, the release of the action movie in 2013, with the legendary Arnold in the title role, caused more bewilderment and surprise than the actual delight in the return of the good old hero.
The plot is simple to deliberately imitate classic action films. The sheriff of a small town, on the border of the United States, in the past a tough policeman, lives quietly, does not touch anyone, sips cocoa in a local cafe where everyone knows each other and here, their quiet quiet life, is violated by the main villain Mexican, drug lord and bully. Further, it is clear that Schwarzenegger’s partner, a young cop, is killed, to whom the old wise Schwarzenegger-Sheriff lectured and taught reason and actually rushed to dance the province. Stop the villain drug lord with a dozen associates of bandits, of course, can only Schwarzenegger. Because the special forces and the FBI, finally and irrevocably stupid, like a traffic jam and can not nail the girdle.
The plot is so simple, just incredibly simple and primitive. Here's the good guy, here's the bad guys. And how to sprinkle them!
It's nothing but 2013 in the backyard. And Arnold's not young. And militants have outlived themselves. Yes, and there is no film, no raisins: not at least the minimum depth of Eastwood, nor the enthusiasm of Rodriguez, nor even the atmosphere of the latest films by E. Dominic or P. Travis.
So it's just a simple, primitive action movie with Schwarzenegger, classic. Get it and sign it.
Next, of course, the cast, consisting of exactly one whole Schwarzenegger and other small secondary and not particularly necessary for the plot characters. This is a black fool from the FBI and faceless special forces in the episode and a few things, residents of a small town in which there are no residents in the film. They went somewhere right at the beginning of the film, so as not to tinker. These are also sheriff's deputies in the form of some madman with a Russian machine gun and two policemen - no fish or meat.
In fact, the film itself is an empty western town, where bandits come with weapons, obedient to a small Mexican hooligan, who just had no luck, to run into the whole Schwarzenegger.
Yes, shootings are not bad in places, Arnold is charismatic, bloody moments are present and even a severed hand is there, the “batmobile” is racing, the madman is fooling around, the bandits are hooligans ... But if all this is combined together, it receives not irritation and not grief, namely surprise. Surprisingly, firstly, the reason that in the old years, like a punk, Arnold could crush with one finger, is it great to restrain a dozen bandits. For a fighter, this is a five-minute question. Give a kick to the big little asshole so he can fly off and beat his gang. That is, we are not talking about saving the world and not about some alien terrorists-conspiracies, but about a small, parochial problem. It's just a bit of nonsense.
Secondly, the irrelevance is obvious, the combination of this, the middle hand of the film and Schwarzenegger himself, who, like no other, is a huge figure in the cinematic world. For such a stone and cut in theory should be appropriate. If to shoot, then the film, as a film was, and not as a firefight in an empty town, a dozen hooligans, which the sheriff gives the back of the head.
Thirdly, if Arnold returned to the cinema, it was necessary to do it wisely, at least as in the case of Clint Eastwood, who quite decently met the cinematic old age.
Why would Schwarzenegger fight with his fists at that age? Why?
As a result, the film causes legitimate surprise and questions. Why is he like this? Why is he like that and not someone else? Why is it now? Why now such a film with such a hero and with such a pathetic title in our saturated 2013?
In fact, there was no return, much less a hero.
... But I can get up from my knees with difficulty.
Very expected - all the waiters ate! - a solo performance of Schwarzenegger, we have named with an o-very distant sight "Hero Return". The original name for the last fight is still true.
Yeah, yeah.
Instead of the intended review, there will be a continuous whining.
In the fact that I unexpectedly did not look at the second “Expendables”, the director and screenwriter are guilty, but not the actors – they pulled off as much as they could, “waving wider in the old framework.” In any case, the old men looked very cheerful - as Polygraph Polygrafych said, "I wish everyone." And when — after the picture — I looked at the date of birth of Chuck Norris, and even hung a beard.
But the "Return" impression spoiled tightly. Back in 2003, Schwarzenegger himself joked about the possible future of the Terminator, they say, it will be called the Terminator on a gurney. Well, prophet. If he gave out a film a year, maybe he would have kept at least some form, but sitting in the chair of the governor so clearly did not benefit that even a little embarrassing.
It would seem, isn’t the life type – an elderly sheriff preparing for retirement idleness, with sciatica, cheques and gout in the history? Von Stallone in “Police” something similar and designed. But the script forces the old man to fly to the envy of Tarzan, jump on the envy of Chelopuk and shoot Burt Gummer out of all the scorching envy. And it looks really bad.
In my opinion, the sheriff should not have been forced to run around like Carlson with a propeller, but should have been given the opportunity to shine with delight and years of experience. It would be less spectacular, but more reliable, I think. However, his role would cease to be the main one, and the producers could not go for it.
For one unforgettable “I let him go” you can give all the heavy-handed attempts to joke in this film.
The wacky hero of Knoxville, of course, brings some animation, but so, the poor fellow, is afraid to pull a blanket at least around the corner. What Stormare did in the film is no less unclear than his role in Hans and Greta. On some flat types, he began to subscribe. About Whitaker just keep silent - for the can of beer, spread over old yeast, appeals to sentimentality and serves to soften the passions of people.
However, the verdict of the “Return” is not lenient. You can watch the film only out of pity, and its failure is natural (although, they say, everything is known in comparison: it is worth watching the fifth “Nuts”, and “Last stand” will jump into the section of masterpieces).
And now I’m afraid to include “The Expendable” (another fiery greeting and sending some rays to localizers!). And with no less apprehension I expect the "Grave", which seems to be renamed "Escape Plan".
Arnold Schwarzenegger is back in the lead role in the action movie. Great news! Finally, he's done all the bullshit and back to doing what he's supposed to do - shoot bad guys.
When I went to the theater to see this movie, I thought I just couldn’t help but like it. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a fighter, many familiar actors. I didn't expect anything great, but this. . .
The plot is banal to the point of impossibility, but this would not be a disadvantage if there were not so many stupid moments in it. The villain escaped from prison under the noses of the stupid FBI and let's get away from them in a sports car. I understand, of course, but how can a sports car push a huge SUV out of the way in a frontal attack? Hiding behind a car when a dozen thugs are shooting at you is very clever. On the side of the shooters, the whole car is in bullet holes, and on the other side only the windows were broken, what is there inside the car that no bullet can penetrate it? Spatial-temporal connections during the movement of the main villain cause misunderstanding, he apparently made a couple of leaps in time along the way. And those moments make up the whole movie. In the '80s, '90s, it may have been normal, but it's not rolling now. Knoxville's character is clearly from another movie, his curves were not funny at all. Yes, even this would not pay attention if the film was interesting to watch, but it is wildly boring. I no longer want to look for shortcomings, so it is clear that the film turned out to be very unsuccessful, the fees confirm this.
I didn’t like the blood, like in the Tarantine movies. When Grandpa was killed on the tractor, it seemed inappropriate.
And Schwarzenegger did great! He showed exactly what I expected from him and not his fault, that the director made such a clown around him. I believe that the next Legends movie will be much better.
I was surprised by the high ratings of this film. I think if it wasn’t for Schwarzenegger in the lead role, this film would have gone completely unnoticed and had a rating of no more than 4 points. And I get the movie from me.
5 out of 10