Schwarzenegger’s THE LAST STAND Gets Sexy Poster

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Edit: this poster is fanmade.

One of the weirder projects coming out next year is also one than has me most excited. Making his English-language debut, South Korean director Kim Ji-Woon, will direct The Last Stand, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. And, straight outta Comic Con, comes the first poster for the film, via Twitch.

Now, first up – that poster is fucking awesome. Like a lot of people, I’m pretty sick of the lazy “just photoshop their faces onto a generic background and get a fucken beer” approach most studios seem to take. Seriously – that’s what they’ve done for every X-Men film, and they could buy a night with a certain Criminal Complex writer with low self-esteem with one day’s worth of their advertising budgets.

I like the highly stylised look of this one – it hints at the plot, the tone, the themes, looks as testosterone filled as a penis stuffed with a beer can, and promises the over-the-top insanity this film is sure to contain. Here’s the official synopsis:

Sheriff Owens is 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 the 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.

Well, they didn’t go half-way selling that – “one of the most daring face offs in cinema history.” I can’t imagine they’d use hyperbole to sell this, so we’ll assume that they’re just being objective and honest – no room for cynicism here. Best. Thing. Evah. But really, this sounds crazy and awesome. Pew pew pew, bang bang, I’m there.

In his first leading role since his semi-convincing portrayal of a politician on the long running mockumentary, Fox News, Arnold Schwarzenegger (wow – my spell check totally knows “Schwarzenegger.” Putey knows what I love) is stepping back into action mode to play Sheriff Owens (I love it when they give him generic white person names). The cast is rounded out by Forest Whitaker, Johnny Knoxville, Genesis Rodriguez, Luis Guzmán, Harry Dean Stanton and Peter fucken Stormare. Crazy good cast there.

The real reason I’m excited, though – although, everything up to now has had each keystroke accompanied by some happiness vomit – is because of director, Kim Ji-Woon. Ji-Woon has been making superlative films in South Korea for years, and I’ve loved all that I’ve seen. His last film, I Saw The Devil, was a bizarre, disturbing and horrifically funny take on the revenge genre, that pushed cinematic violence to ludicrous levels. It was fantastic. Before that, he helmed The Good, the Bad, the Weird, which was… just see it. It’s crazy, absurd and buckets of fun. Heck, his whole filmography is excellent.

The only real worry here is that Ji-Woon doesn’t end up like John Woo or Hark Tsui, who ended up making hugely watered down, disappointing debuts when they came to the USA.

But for now, at least, I’m going to remain excited about The Last Stand. Don’t prove me wrong, guys.

The Last Stand opens February 21^st, 2013.