The Last Stand is a 2013 American action thriller film directed by South Korean film director Kim Jee-woon in his American directorial debut. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead role, Forest Whitaker, Johnny Knoxville, Rodrigo Santoro, Jaimie Alexander, Luis Guzmán, Eduardo Noriega, Peter Stormare, Zach Gilford and Genesis Rodriguez and was written by Andrew Knauer. This was Arnold Schwarzenegger's first lead acting role since Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines in 2003. The film focuses on a tough small town sheriff and his deputies who must stop a dangerous drug lord from escaping to Mexico in a modified sports car. Filming took place in Belen, New Mexico and Nevada in late 2011. The film premiered on January 14, 2013, at Grauman's Chinese Theatre and was released on January 18, 2013, by Lionsgate, receiving mixed reviews from critics and grossing $48.3 million worldwide against a $45 million budget. Plot Sheriff Ray Owens resigns himself to a life of crime-fighting in the sleepy border town of Sommerton Junction, Arizona. He left his LAPD post following a bungled operation and leaving him wracked with failure and defeat after his partner was crippled and his team decimated. The crimes experienced in Sommerton range from the Mayor parking his Camaro in the fire lane to vintage arms collector Lewis Dinkum firing off guns at slabs of meat with the deputies. One night, Gabriel Cortez, an international drug lord and race car driver makes a daring escape from FBI custody in Las Vegas and speeds off in a modified Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1, taking Agent Ellen Richards as his hostage as he races southbound toward Mexico at speeds over 200 mph. Agent John Bannister has a blockade set up in Bullhead City, Arizona, but Cortez's men mow down the cops on site and clear the road for him to continue his getaway. Cortez also uses his extraordinary driving skills to immobilize two SWAT vehicles headed toward Summerton Junction. Before flying to Arizona, Agent Bannister has his team do a financial background check on all agents involved to learn about the mole, who has helped Cortez's escape. At 4:30 A.M, Owens dispatches deputies Jerry Bailey and Sarah Torrance to visit the residence of the local farmer Parsons, who has suddenly missed his usual milk delivery at the diner. After discovering that Parsons has been murdered, the deputies follow a trail of tire tracks that lead