In the movie "The Last Stand," currently in theaters, Arnold Schwarzenegger plays
Sheriff Ray Owens. As there seems to be
little crime in the small town of Sommerton Junction, Arizona, most view him as
little more than a figurehead. No one,
not even the mayor, shows him any respect.
When Owens points out that the mayor has parked his brand new Camero ZL1
in the fire lane, the man tosses him the keys, before accompanying the school
sports team to a local game. He simply
cannot imagine anything—even a fire—disturbing the peace in their quiet little town.
Likewise, Owens’ deputies don’t regard their
role in Sommerton Junction as important.
He catches Jerry Bailey and Mike Figuerola hanging out with Lewis
Dinkum, the local wild man who has somehow gotten a permit to collect all
manner of weapons. As Owen arrives,
young Bailey demonstrates that he can’t handle one of Dinkum’s larger
pistols. When Owens asks him to run the license
plates on a semi-truck passing through town, Figuerola must again show Bailey
how to work the computer. Yet when Bailey
approaches Owens later that night, he asks the Sheriff to help him get
transferred to the big city, where he believes he can do something worthwhile
with his life.
When Gabriel Cortez, a Mexican drug lord escapes FBI
custody, he races toward Sommerton Junction in a modified Corvette stolen from
an auto show. Thanks to skills honed on
a race track built by his father, and the help of armed associates, he evades
everyone sent his way. His plan: to
cross over the Mexican border near Sommerton.
I wasn’t expecting much from Schwarzenegger’s
first starring vehicle in ten years. "The Last Stand" reminded me of “Raw Deal,” and some of the other small movies he
starred in after his success in “Conan The Barbarian.” Nor did Johnny Knoxville’s name, featured so
prominently on billboards, inspire confidence. But I found the story well thought out and
constructed. As the rest of the cast
played their roles seriously, Knoxville’s brief moments onscreen provided
welcome comic relief, and prevented the little action movie from taking itself
too seriously. Above all else, I really
enjoyed Schwarzenegger’s performance as Sheriff Owens, who has seen enough of
violence and death, and knows the terrible price that drugs cost individuals
and society. The FBI and his deputies may want him to stand down, to look the other way, but Owens knows he cannot simply let Cortez pass through his town without trying to arrest him.
The movie portrays so many great truths about our lives, but
if I had to pick just one, it would be this.
It’s easy to do the job or task you feel called to when others applaud
your efforts. It’s immensely harder when
no one believes that what you are doing is important. Often, people shout that they are “Taking a
stand,” or doing great things, but most of them abandon their efforts if they receive no discernible recognition or benefits after
awhile. It is only those who truly
believe in what they do, whose self worth derives not from others but
from within, who carry on when no one notices.
That is the ultimate test of character: to continue doing what you
believe is important, even when everyone else has written you off.
Oh, and one other thing.
Whatever you do, don’t park your car in a Fire Zone. Especially not when Sheriff Ray Owens is around.
Dragon Dave
No comments:
Post a Comment