There’s no way to describe the overwhelming excitement we here at AITH feel for THE LAST STAND. Not only is it Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return to the frontlines of big-screen badassery, it’s the English-language debut of the great Kim Ji-woon (I SAW THE DEVIL; THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD). Also, it just sounds like a fantastic, old-school modern-day western with a heavy ladling of suspense and violence.
We already know that Arnie and Peter Stormare are on board THE LAST STAND, and now it sounds like we can add one more name to the mix: Rodrigo Santoro. Santoro made a big impression in 2007 when he played the towering Xerxes in Zack Snyder’s 300. He made an even bigger impression – for all the wrong reasons – on “Lost”, as the much-hated “Paolo”.
According to Latino Review, Santoro is in line to play “Frank Martinez”. The description for the character:
Frank Martinez is described as Latino, 20s – 30s. An outgoing, laid-back, and personable man who also works as a police officer in Sommerton Junction under Sheriff Ray Owens. He is reliable but likes to occasionally cut loose and party when he has the chance. Frank is good buddies with his fellow officer Jerry. The two of them enjoy hunting together on weekends. Frank soon encounters the worst problem his town has ever had when violent gangs with ties to a drug cartel begin rampaging through the town.
And here’s the official plot synopsis, so it all ties together:
Schwarzenegger will be starring as Sheriff Owens, a man who has resigned himself to a life of fighting what little crime takes place in sleepy border town Sommerton Junction after leaving his LAPD post following a bungled operation that left him wracked with failure and defeat after his partner was crippled. After a spectacular escape from an FBI prisoner convoy, the most notorious, wanted drug kingpin in the hemisphere is hurtling toward the border at 200 mph in a specially outfitted car with a hostage and a fierce army of gang members. He is headed, it turns out, straight for Summerton Junction, where the whole of U.S. law enforcement will have their last opportunity to make a stand and intercept him before he slips across the border forever. At first reluctant to become involved, and then counted out because of the perceived ineptitude of his small town force, Owens ultimately accepts responsibility for one of the most daring face offs in cinema history.
We have to wait until JANUARY 18, 2013 before THE LAST STAND graces us with its presence.
Santoro’s “Lost” co-star, Kiele Sanchez