Last Action Hero (1993) User Reviews

Underrated post-modern take on action movies

[Sentinel-15 · 7/10 · 29 June 2002]

Highly underrated Arnie movie.

Is it a comedy? An action movie? A spoof of the entire action movie genre? Well, it might be all of them, and more.

This movie could be interpreted in several ways. In it, Arnold is spoofing himself (or his on-screen persona, anyway) and the genre of action movies in general.

What's more, it's a story within a story, making an audience member part of the story, giving the whole thing a post-modern twist. The movie is full of genre in-jokes and self-references, making fun of many of the clichés - while at the same time referring to other films, actors, and even other genres, making this sort of a celebration of the entire film business.

On the other hand - in case you don't care about all of this - as an action movie in itself, it's still very entertaining. If you like Schwarzenegger action movies, you'll like this one as well.

Don't let anyone tell you this is a "bad movie". See it for yourself, and make up your own mind.

Underrated and needs a reappreciation

[seanjenson · 7/10 · 13 December 2018]

This movie came when Arnie was at the height of his career and popularity. However Last Action Hero not only bombed at the box office it was a critical misery as well. However the film is being rediscovered and some have even asked for it to be reconsidered as if not a highly good satire, then at the very least a fun enjoyable charming film of the early 90s. Admittedly, this is not a good action film. Given its billing, director, and title, that's a surprise. On the other hand, Last Action Hero works as an unexpectedly witty comedy.

A fun movie that wasn't ready for its time

[BandSAboutMovies · 7/10 · 1 March 2020]

After Terminator 2: Judgement Day, the monolith known as Arnold Schwarzenegger could do no wrong. But where do you go after you move from Austria to here with no money, take over the world of bodybuilder and then become the biggest movie star in the world?

You make fun of yourself.

That's where the original script for Last Action Hero - written by Zak Penn and Adam Leff - came in. Penn has since gone on to write PCU, X2, X-Men: Last Stand, The Avengers, Ready: Player One and Elektra while directing his own movie, Atari: Game Over. Leff hasn't been as lucky, as his only other writing credits are PCU and Bio-Dome. That said, their screenplay was set in the movie world and concerned a hero named Arno Slater who tries to deal with the never-ending world of violence that takes the lives of everyone around him. Pretty much, it's a meta-aware Shane Black parody.

How weird is it that Black was brought it to do the rewrite, leading to Penn and Leff only getting a story - and not a screenplay - credit?

In Nancy Griffith's How They Built the Bomb, the reasons for this film's failure go beyond it's biggest issue: was it a comedy or an action movie? Sure, it could be both, but the film seems wildly schizophrenic in what it wants to achieve. What are the rules in Jack Slater's world? What are the rules in the real - real as in the movie - world? Why can some people keep their powers and Jack can't? What the hell is going on here?

The issues that Griffith pointed out include Universal moving Jurassic Park to a week before this film would open, negative publicity caused by initial screenings going so poorly, an out-of-control ad campaign that included a NASA rocket that never launched with the movie's logo and being the first film released in Sony Dynamic Digital Sound, which didn't even work in the tiny subset of theaters that even had this set up.

A $26 million loss and the first real bomb on Arnold's record. It stung.

Let me set that up even better: it made $137 million at the box office (over $220 million in today's money) and still was a loser, thanks to the budget, the overruns and the advertising.

Arnold even placed the blame on a shifting geopolitic theme in the United States, telling Business Insider, "It was one of those things where President Clinton was elected and the press somehow made the whole thing kind of political where they thought, "Okay, the '80s action guys are gone here's a perfect example," and they wrote this narrative before anyone saw the movie [...] The action hero era is over, Bill Clinton is in, the highbrow movies are the "in" thing now, I couldn't recuperate."

Danny Madigan (Austin O'Brien, Prehysteria!) is a kid living with his widowed mom (Mercedes Ruehl) in the dingiest, most crime-challenged part of New York City. He escapes by watching Jack Slater movies and gets to see the new one when Nick the projectionist (Robery Proskey, Gremlins 2) gives him a ticket that once belonged to Harry Houdini.

This ticket allows Danny to enter the world of Slater, where he meets his talking cat Whiskers (Danny Devito!) and wonders about his friend John Practice (F. Murray Abraham), who Danny instantly doesn't trust because he was also Salieri, the man who killed Mozart in Amadeus.

Of course, because this is a movie, Slater's supervisor Dekker (Frank McRae, playing a role named for Fred Dekker and basically playing the exact same part that he did in 48 Hrs.) assigns Danny as the supercop's new partner and sends them after mobster Tony Vivaldi (Anthony Quinn!?!).

After plenty of 80's cop hijinks, Charles Dance - as henchman Benedict - gets the golden ticket and leaves for our world, stranding Danny, Slater and his daughter Whitney (Bridgette Wilson). And Benedict hatches a plan - kill Arnold so that no more Slater movies can be made. And that means that Tom Noonan can show up as Slater's big bad, the Ripper. Man, Tom Noonan can be in every movie ever as far as I'm concerned.

The moviemakers wanted Alan Rickman, who was too expensive, so they got Dance instead, who showed up with a shirt proclaiming "I'm cheaper than Alan Rickman!'

Also: Death from The Seventh Seal shows up and instead of Bengt Ekerot, it's Ian McKellen. This movie plays fast and loose with cameos, with everyone from Tina Turner (the mayor of Los Angeles), Sharon Stone (playing Catherine Tramell from Basic Instinct), Robert Patrick (as the T-1000), Sylvester Stallone as a Terminator, Maria Shriver, Little Richard, MC Hammer, Leeza Gibbons, James Belushi, Damon Wayans, Chevy Chase, Timothy Dalton, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Wilson Phillips showing up.

What can you say about a movie that was still filming a week before it was due in theaters? This was a film against incredible odds, odds that got even worse when negative press got in the way. Director John McTiernan would tell Movieline, "Initially, it was a wonderful Cinderella story with a nine-year-old boy. We had a pretty good script by Bill Goldman, charming. And this ludicrous hype machine got hold of it, and it got buried under bs. It was so overwhelmed with baggage. And then it was whipped out unedited, practically assembled right out of the camera. It was in the theater five or six weeks after I finished shooting. It was kamikaze, stupid, no good reason for it. And then to open the week after Jurassic Park - God! To get to the depth of bad judgment involved in that you'd need a snorkel."

McTiernan would follow this up with Die Hard with a Vengeance, so that worked out a bit better for him. Then again, he'd also film the bombs Rollerball and The 13th Warrior.

Sadly, Arnold would later say that this was the beginning of the end of his movie career. But you can't make a movie this big in nine months. Seriously - it just doesn't happen.

But hey - you can see both Art Carney and Professor Toru Tanaka in their last roles. And it's not a completely horrible movie. It just doesn't know what movie it wants to be. And when that much money is on the line, this is what happens.

A MASTERPIECE

[Gmarkjames · 16 September 2002]

This is UNDENIABLY one of the greatest action movies I've ever seen. I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS FLOPPED AT THE BOX OFFICE! Arnie is at his wisecracking/comic/action best in this picture and there's a fantastic supporting cast too! The film includes many cameos from other movie stars like Chevy Chase, James Belushi, Tom Noone (THE RIPPER), Jean-Claude Van Damme and many other! GET IT NOW!!!! 10/10

Last Action Hero

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 29 January 2010]

I remember as a teenager at the time how Last Action Hero was deemed a major commercial flop of the proportions of Heaven's Gate & Waterworld. LAH was considered a sign of Arnold Schwarzenegger's decline in the action market, perhaps signaling to the world that he had lost his appeal. Watching it for the first time in ages, I don't know why it wasn't more successful other than it was PG-13 and more "teen-friendly"(..as in, aimed at a younger audience and without the kind of graphic on-screen violence often associated with Arnold's 80's movies). I like how LAH pokes gleeful fun(..as does the actor himself, always winking)at the persona, image, and movies Arnold has made that led to his financial and cult success.

The knowing, tongue-in-cheek script and playful performances, makes such a ridiculous action movie as LAH easy to swallow, since most of the film occurs in the "cinematic unreal world" of the character of Jack Slater, from the point of view of a kid who adores his films(..a representation of us who grew up watching his R-rated blood-and-guts action movies behind our parents' backs).

A kid, Danny Madigan(Austin O'Brien) receives a "magic ticket" from a movie house proprietor whose theater is being shut down. The kid uses it to enter the world of his favorite action hero and, in turn, gets caught in the middle of Jack Slater's feud with a sadistic, glass-eyed assassin, Benedict(Charles Dance, having fun with his fiendish killer) working for an evil mafioso. As expected, plenty of car chases, explosions, and machine guns firing off rounds of ammunition, not to mention damage to buildings, vehicles, and streets as a result. I think if one might have a beef with this film, it is probably when Slater, Danny, and Benedict exit their world into the very real streets of New York City as his newest movie is about to premiere.

There are some jaw-dropping action stunt set-pieces from great heights, and, as mentioned before, plenty of structural destruction wonderfully lampooning how Slater is always able to survive such devastating feats which would undoubtedly kill mortal men outside of the celluloid universe. Many might find the movie premiere of Arnold's movie quite amusing in it's inclusion of memorable Hollywood faces and how Benedict attempts to use a villain from one of the Slater series to kill the actor himself! It's a diabolical plot to erase Slater by killing the man who portrays him!

I think LAH will probably find the audience today it didn't have back in '93. It's directed with a stunning versatility from a man who knows how to make action movies. Part of the movie's charm is how Danny attempts to clue Slater in on how his world is fictional, make-believe and how Slater allows him to tag along, getting themselves in grand, and dangerous adventures only a movie could concoct. Tom Noonan(..as a hideous heavy in a raincoat) and Ian McKellen(..as Death from Bergman's The Seventh Seal!) have memorable roles as fictitious characters brought to life from movies because of the magic ticket. Dance's Benedict enjoys the fact that blatant open violence in the middle of a New York City street at night after shooting an innocent man doesn't necessarily draw the attention of the police it would in the cinematic world for which he derives. The one-liners and constant nods to action movies of the past are in full force so if you hate these aspects from the genre, beware.

One of the most underrated movies I've ever seen - an ingenious satire of action movie clichés

[alexpeychev · 7/10 · 12 January 2021]

Last Action Hero has to be the most underrated movies I've ever seen. I've seen it at least four times, but I still like it. Stuff the critics and enjoy it for what it is: a spoof of action movies and their clichés. It's something that probably hasn't been done before and hasn't been done since (because this was undeservedly bashed, I'd say). I would say that it was poorly received because audiences expected a mindless Rambo or Terminator-style film, rather than a satire.

No Great Accomplishment, But...

[Voni · 6/10 · 17 September 2000]

I've no profound thing to say about this film, just that I liked it a bit more than I thought I would. I'm not a big Arnold fan. Basically, I liked seeing the characters exit the movie-within-the-movie and intermingle with the real world, including the actors who portrayed them.

Oh, by the way, the funniest thing in the movie: Real-life actor - and I do use the term very loosely - Schwarzenegger is incorrectly identified (by his escaped film character, as I recall) as "Braunschweiger" (imagine it with the accent). No, one funny line doesn't make a movie worth seeing, but I'm sure I'm just not remembering everything worth mentioning about this movie.

There you have it.

Nice effort!

[jrgirones · 6/10 · 31 December 2002]

The concept here is brilliant, as it was in Buster Keaton's "Sherlock Jr." or Woody Allen's "The purple Rose...". Collision between fiction and reality is given an ironical and witty treatment, and that makes "Last action hero" one of the most interesting commercial action films of the late years.

Then, why everybody says it is flawed? Aside from the ambivalence of having born with a smash hit vocation and wanting to be something more, which makes the original premise to lose weight along the way, I would say the principal flaws have its roots in a bad structured screenplay: the plot of the movie within the movie (a vane, not original at all mob story) is given too much importance, and when we come to the real point (the confrontation between fiction and reality) we are almost at the end and then a lot of a good story beats happen quickly and disordered, creating a little bit of a mess.

Anyway, let me insist this is, at least, very curious and fun, and movie lovers will appreciate it above all its flaws.

quick reviews!

[malkane316 · 8/10 · 23 May 2004]

Another underrated movie, and one which few people understand, or try to. This is a spoof of action movies, primarily those starring Arnie and Stallone, ones which director McTiernen has made a living from. That said, the action, stunts, effects are good, the cast, especially Arnie, ham it up as much as possible, and the plot is pretty clever. Tons of in-jokes make this an entertaining film, and I'll admit that's all it is. But that's all it is trying to be. Don't whine to me about artistic merit, character development, internal meditations on life and all that crap-I have those movies on my list too. It's an action movie, where the bad guys are supposed to die, cars are meant to explode when scratched, the good guy is untouchable, and it knows it. 8 out of 10

A good send up of itself

[mjw2305 · 6/10 · 20 January 2007]

Last action Hero, makes fun of the Hollywood action flick and stars one of Hollywood's most successful action hero's. Danny Madigan (Austin O'Brien) is crazy about the screen character Jack Slater (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and when he uses a magic ticket he is pulled into his latest film, where guns don't need to be reloaded, cars can jump the grand canyon, and the hero can't be hurt, etc. When Jack Slater comes over to the real world in pursuit of the bad guy (Charles Dance) the fun really begins, and for once Jack Slater seems out of his depth.

The whole movie is a funny parody of itself, and it's crammed with ludicrous stunts and action throughout. Beneath the fun is a reasonable storyline, but its the concept of the movie that makes i so much fun.

6/10

Say what you want about it . . .

[frankfob · 5/10 · 16 June 2003]

but I actually liked it, and I'm not particularly an Arnie fan (he's not a very good actor and he's a terrible governor). Some of his movies are pretty good, some are pretty lousy, but this one isn't, IMO, anywhere near as bad as its reputation. I happen to think it's a lot of fun. Sure it's cartoonish, but ARNIE is cartoonish! That's what makes this movie so much fun; all of his movies--in fact, all action movies in general--are not much more than live-action cartoons, and this movie gleefully makes fun of them in general, and Arnie in particular, and the best part of it is that he's in on the joke. I don't know why it was savaged so much when it was first released; it really didn't deserve it. Several of his later movies ("Eraser" and "End of Days", for example) were far more deserving of that kind of treatment than this one is.

Anyway, I just like this movie. The action scenes were exciting, there were some very funny lines and a ton of clever in-jokes, some great cameos, and it was just an all-around fun flick. Try it, you'll like it.

An intelligent, under-rated and over-looked satire

[CuriosityKilledShawn · 8/10 · 31 January 2011]

It's sad to think that 18 years after its release Last Action Hero is still trying to find its target audience. Audiences don't like smart movies. Or perhaps I should say audiences don't like to be OUTSMARTED by movies. In the summer of 1993 the world was going crazy for a certain dinosaur movie, almost everything else didn't stand a chance. LAH came out a week after Jurassic Park. The only people who really went to see it were those who were too late for sold-out screenings of Spielberg's movie. Bad word of mouth spread for many reasons.

Those lucky enough to actually see it on the big screen walked away confused and disorientated. They thought they were in for a straight-up action movie, not an existential, meta-fictional parody of the genre they cherish. It was just too much and they weren't ready for it. Arnold had been riding the wave of Total Recall and Terminator 2 before the release of Last Action Hero, no one expected such a radical deviation from the norm.

Danny Madigan is a lonely kid living in a tiny New York apartment with his single MILF. His only friend is Nick, an old-time projectionist at a run down theater (a REAL theater, no multiplex nonsense). Danny likes to escape into the world of action movies, his biggest hero, obviously, being Arnie himself. The latest Arnie blockbuster, the simply-titled Jack Slater IV, is a day away from its premiere, and old Nick has been tasked with checking the print. Before Danny sits down for his own personal pre-premiere midnight screening Nick gives him a magical ticket he's been saving since childhood. Five minutes after Jack Slater IV begins Danny is warped into the cinema screen and becomes part of the movie.

In the movie world Danny quickly learns that the laws of physics and simple logic don't apply (how often has THAT proved to be true?). He's partnered with Slater, a renegade L.A. cop and the absolute zenith of action hero stereotypes, to find who killed his favorite second-cousin Frank (BIG MISTAKE!). Danny and Slater smash their way into a hokey, James Bond-ish plot, though it's not long before suave English henchman Mr. Benedict discovers Danny's secret and plans to escape to the real world. Danny and Slater follow, but Slater's movie-world abilities are rendered useless in reality. Doubt begins seep in for the first time as he ends up questioning his powers as a good cop.

Last Action Hero scores huge points all round. It's technically wonderful, with gorgeous anamorphic Panavision photography full of wide angles and lens flares. The writing is sharp is funny. Arnie is great as an infallible hero in crisis as well as making fun of his screen persona. And the action, both fictional and meta-fictional, is wild, overblown, and exciting. I just love Slater's huge fall from the elevator.

It's interesting to note that it has a lot in common with Loaded Weapon, which came out earlier that year. Both are send-ups of the 'L.A. cop movie' genre, both star F. Murray Abraham in supporting roles. Both feature Frank McRae as a screaming Lieutenant. Both have obvious Die Hard references (also directed by the infamous John McTiernan).

The bad reputation is unjustified. The financial loss was a mistake entirely on Sony's part and their lack of foresight into the 1993 summer season. Last Action Hero and Jurassic Park went head-to-head with their advertising but the dinosaur movie's marketing campaign was just too groundbreaking. They also competed with each other on a technical level. JP was the first film to feature DTS sound, while Last Action Hero was the first to feature SDDS (Sony Dynamic Digital Sound), an eight-channel system that delivers every decibel of Slater's big gun and the multiple explosions of his daily life.

It may be a satire, but Last Action Hero just may be one of the last true action films. Real stunts, real explosions, real destruction, reality gone twisted. It's Arnold's most subversive movie, and it's many things, but bad ain't one of them.

A missed opportunity

[freemantle_uk · 7/10 · 20 October 2013]

Last Action Hero is notorious action film that attempted to be a meta satire, being a box-office and critical flop despite it starring the biggest action hero of the time, Arnold Schwarzenegger and helmed by Die Hard and Predator director John McTiernan.

Danny Madigan (Austin O'Brien) is a movie obsessed kid who skips school so he can watch the over-blown action series Jack Slater, starring Mr. Schwarzenegger. When Danny's friend, the elderly projectionist Nick (Robert Prosky) offer Danny the chance to see the fourth Jack Slater film before anyone else the kid jumps at the chance and Nick gives Danny a magic ticket. But Danny ends up transported to the movie world where he tries to convince Jack Slater he is really a fictional character as the villainous Benedict (Charles Dance) sees an opportunity to be more then a Mafia hit-man.

Last Action Hero had a troubled production and post-production, from getting Shane Black to radically rewrite the script, having an awful test screening, being edited to the last minute and coming out a week after the hugely popular Jurassic Park. Added with the negative reviews Last Action Hero failed. But since its release Last Action Hero has developed a cult following and some see it as a misunderstood classic. I do not share that view point.

As you would expect from McTiernan the action is of a very high standard and wonderfully over the top. There are explosions galore and Schwarzenegger continued to be an action presence. Schwarenegger also did have some funny jokes. But the meta approach of the satire falls flat. The idea of satirising action movies of the 80s and early 90s was fair game and still serves a way to deliver an excellent action film, but it was affected by the framing device of the movie-within-a-movie, allowing Danny to break the clichés down for us instead of letting us figuring it out ourselves. It is a bit like the Scream series but the Scream series was able to get away with it more due to the universe created.

Some of the jokes in Last Action Hero really do fall flat like the cops getting mix-matched partners and it gets puts to extremes like someone getting partnered with a rabbi, another with a cartoon cat and a black-and-white Humphrey Bogart also gets in on the action. Another really ill-advised joke was when the police captain is yelling at Jack Slater so much that steam comes out of his ears.

Dance did make for a good villain and are some decent character actors in supporting roles like Tom Noonan and F. Murray Abraham, but O'Brien was a grating presence as the know-it-all child.

Last Action Hero is far from being Arnie's worst film, it wouldn't even be in the bottom five, but it is a wasted opportunity at satirising the action genre, being too meta for its own good. Hot Fuzz is a much better satire of the buddy cop and action genre.

A curious oddity

[tomgillespie2002 · 5/10 · 19 February 2012]

When young Danny Madigan (Austin O'Brien) is given a magic movie ticket by friendly cinema owner Nick (Robert Prosky) at an advance screening of new action movie Jack Slater IV, he is magically transported into the movie and into the car of supercop Jack Slater (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Danny starts to inform Slater about who the bad guys are after seeing them on screen, and the two are paired up as a mismatched investigative duo by Slater's screaming boss. Glass-eyed bad guy Mr. Benedict (Charles Dance) manages to get his hands on the magic ticket, and escapes into the real world, where he finds things are much easier for the bad guys. Slater must leave his action movie cliché of a world where he is nigh on invincible behind, and enter one where things are slightly more difficult.

Last Action Hero had one of the most expensive and turbulent page-to- screen stories in recent cinema history. Originally written as a self- mocking action movie that embraced the clichés of the genre, that was also a proper action movie in its own right. After an unexpected bidding war, the young scribes Zak Penn and Adam Leff were shocked to find that Arnold Schwarzenegger had taken a personal interest in it (the original hero name was Arno Slater). This was to be the turning point. Arnie saw the potential for a franchise as a kid's film and immediately wanted to tone down the violence, so Penn and Leff were fired, and genre legend Shane Black was hired to spruce up the script. Things changed yet again when director John McTiernan was brought in, and, due to the success of his previous films, was given full control.

A few script re-writes, firings, and storm-outs later, the film was shot and ready to hit the market. A toy franchise and a ridiculously expensive and calamitous advertising campaign (they paid half a million dollars to have the film's name on a NASA rocket, only to have the launched delayed till long after the film's release) were put into motion, and the film's release date was announced for the week after Jurassic Park's. Last Action Hero had disastrous test screenings, but the release date was not changed, and naturally, Jurassic Park stormed the box-office and merchandising range, and Last Action Hero was revealed to be an over-ambitious, confused dud of a movie. However, the legend is rather cruel on Schwarzenegger's biggest flop, as although it is a gigantic mess, it has plenty of interesting ideas than are unfortunately spewed out onto the film in ungraceful belches.

The biggest problem is that it doesn't know what kind of film it is. At its heart, its a kid's film, complete with annoying mop-haired child, a kindly old man, magic tickets and, um, a cartoon cat. Yet on its surface, its a rather uninspired action film that is actually rather violent and, once in the real world, is quite grim. The film never seems to know whether it wants to homage, spoof or simply in-joke. The movie world it creates is itself confused - while it has some funny touches such as the police line pairing together various mismatched partners - it also has women walking around in sexy, futuristic costumes, and the aforementioned cartoon cat called Whiskers (voiced by Danny DeVito). Seriously, whose idea was that? I've never seen a cartoon cat in a live- action action movie!

However, the sheer mess that is the complete film does prove Last Action Hero to be a curious little oddity. There have been much finer examples of action-movie send-ups, namely in Shane Black's own excellent Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), so perhaps the producers weren't ready back in 1993 to take on such an ambitious project. Arnie is pleasantly game for sending himself up, and Charles Dance chews the screen with his gloriously hammy British bad guy. But Last Action Hero will ultimately always be a reminder of how the Hollywood system to suck up an interesting maverick project, f**k it over a few times, and bundle it over the finishing line with such unbelievable inefficiency. I did love it as a kid, however.

www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

Clever Action Parody

[SteelBlue82 · 21 June 2019]

This movie alienates a lot of people. It's an action movie that is making fun of action movies. It's a kid's movie with violence and sexuality. It has a very creative and clever plot, but corny dialogue.

Last Action Hero is one of my personal favorites, but it's very niche.

Silly, Yet Smart

[lord-of-the-lez · 7/10 · 24 November 2018]

This movie is a lot of fun! It offers a clever commentary on the tropes in action films and the humor, while being juvenile and over-the-top wacky at times, is actually quite clever and meta. It also takes a while to warm up and I'd argue that the best part of the movie doesn't come until later, when the action hero finds himself in the real world. This movie is like Who Framed Roger Rabbit in that it's not sure if its target audience is kids or adults, but I think it's silliness mixed with the blood and the adult jokes is what makes it charming. And its ending was surprisingly heart-warming.

Last Action Hero is not Arnold's best movie, but it's worth a watch.

Through the Fourth Wall

[sol- · 7/10 · 4 November 2017]

Transported into the cinematic world of his favourite action hero, a young film fanatic struggles to convince the character that his life is one big movie in this ambitious exercise in meta/self-referential filmmaking starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Not well received upon initial release, the film arguably tackles a bit too much for its own good. It is not only an action movie spoof, but a fourth wall breaking exercise, a surrogate father/son tale and a personal identity drama as the action hero gradually comes to accept that his world is make-believe. If messy and uneven, 'Last Action Hero' is nevertheless a lot of fun. The opening sequence is a bit of a spoof of director John McTiernan's 'Die Hard' and the preteen protagonist even comments on a situation being like in 'Die Hard' towards the end! There are also amusing moments to be had from the boy recognising F. Murray Abraham as the man who "killed Mozart", him imagining Schwarzenegger in Laurence Olivier's 'Hamlet' and a zany sequence involving Bergman's 'The Seventh Seal' near the end. The best moments though come from Schwarzenegger poking fun at himself and constantly mispronouncing his own name.

Blunt parody

[briancham1994 · 7/10 · 2 June 2020]

As a parody of cheesy 90s action movies, this film does the job, though it is blunt and the joke wears thin very quickly. Good thing the story does shift direction to keep the audience on their toes. It didn't fully live up to its potential though, and the protagonist really is a brat.

Fun self-referential spoof; didn't deserve the hate

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 16 August 2016]

John McTiernan's self-referential blockbuster spoof was a major flop on release, mainly because audiences just didn't get it. However time has been kind to this film, and looking back on it today, it proves to be a pleasing alternative to the more standard action fare filling the cinemas at the time.

This time, the typical story is played for laughs as Schwarzenegger does battle with a one-eyed villain, Benedict, played to the hilt by Charles Dance. There are some amazing over the top set pieces to enjoy, with the action completely contrived and unbelievable, and these are the best moments. Take for example when Schwarzenegger is swinging from a crane with a corpse, or the numerous car chases, or many other moments. These scenes are hilarious and are meant to be, commenting on the absurdity of the modern action film.

The film is brimming with a host of stars, mainly in blink and you'll miss 'em roles. Chevy Chase and Jean-Claude Van Damme both turn up briefly, as do Robert Patrick, Tina Turner, and many others. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays his typical cinematic persona, full of wisecracks and brawn, but this time it's a more tongue in cheek performance than is usual for him. He is supported by a standard villainous role from Charles Dance, who is memorable with his glass eye, yet also contrived and generic. Anthony Quinn amongst others lends support to the proceedings, and the only downside is the casting of a young, annoyingly bland child as the co-star. I could have done without the kid.

With lots of gags, winks and clever moments (especially when Schwarzenegger has to gatecrash the premier of a film starring himself, and he meets up with the actor who plays him, and the bit where Dance discovers that nobody cares if he kills somebody), as well as some of the wildest action to ever hit the screens, LAST ACTION HERO is an interesting effort, unfairly maligned by the public but worth a look if you're in the mood for something different. Definitely hit and miss, but I found it to be worth it in the end.

An Unappreciated Gem

[ReelCheese · 10/10 · 20 August 2006]

We all have that one movie we absolutely love but of which no one else seems to think very highly. My 10/10 rating for LAST ACTION HERO signals that this is mine. But before you laugh me out of IMDb, allow me to explain why I think this notorious bomb is in actuality an unappreciated gem.

The central highlight of LAST ACTION HERO is the plot. I've seen this film three times, and in each instance I've been completely drawn into the notion that there exists a magical Movieland where we too could travel if only we had a magic ticket. It's sort of every film buff's fantasy, one that we get to enjoy through young Danny Madigan(Austin O'Brien) as he meets up with clichéd action hero Jack Slater (Arnold Schwarzenegger, of course). It's priceless to see the real-world youth interact with the silver screen community and its cartoon cats, 555 phone numbers, and impossibly perfect women. It's equally entertaining when Slater comes into our world, discovering that he can't effortlessly smash his fist through a vehicle window or blow up his enemies with ease. Love it or hate it, you have to admit the story gets high marks for originality.

The writing is another highpoint, convincingly mixing so many great elements. Those behind the script nicely exploited the vast potential within the storyline. LAST ACTION HERO is on the one hand a satire of so many action films in which the likes of Schwarzenegger have straightfacedly starred. The oft-sequelized Slater chomps a cigar and wields bullets like confetti at a wedding, effortlessly taking out the bad guys and spewing witty quips. At another angle, the movie is a lighthearted romp, with one-liners and plenty of pokes at Hollywood. From another viewpoint, it's a dramatic piece, with Danny struggling to make it through an awkward age and Slater coming to grips with his unreeled existence -- and that in the real world, the bad guys can and do win. Nowhere along the line is it Oscar-caliber stuff, but it is entertaining.

There are other things to like about LAST ACTION HERO. The action is well-paced and well-placed. The acting is more than up to par, with O'Brien and Schwarzenegger great individually and as a tandem. The humor is sharp and effective, with Arnie often hilarious in his self-deprecating ways.

Perhaps much of the negative criticism directed LAST ACTION HERO came from those who didn't understand what it was trying to do. This was never meant to be another one of Arnie's shoot-'em-ups, lame attempts at comedy or even a family film. It was just meant to be fun to watch. And that's what matters most in any film. There are things about the film that don't work, but there are things about THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE that don't work, either. All that really matters is, Are we entertained? On that note, LAST ACTION HERO delivers.

Hate or love it

[tjamp · 7/10 · 20 June 2002]

This movie is definately one of Arnolds best... Why most peóple don't like this beats me... If they cant see that its a total parody on all action films and espeacially arnold flicks, then... well, anyway this really is pretty intelligent film, even though plot tend to drop on occasion, but all time classic scenes like outruning a trillion bullets at the mob funeral and after falling into a pool of tar cleans him self up with a paper napkin... and lines like Ha... You're out of bulletss.... This really is a very wacthable film

Mediocre Action/Comedy, starts fine but falls hard

[Samiam3 · 5/10 · 21 December 2010]

"This'll work, It's a movie, and I'm the good guy." so says young Danny Madigan, as he pedals furiously on a stolen bike towards an oncoming bad guys car. This is the kind of movie that Last Action Hero wants to be.

Danny's hero is the character of Jack Slayer played by Arnold Swartzenegger. Hollywood is about to release the fourth entry in the Slayer series. Danny's projectionist friend has access to a copy of the film, and he offers to give Danny a private screening. A stroke of magic takes Danny into the movie itself, where he becomes Slayer's partner. Together they are going after a notorious drug lord in LA.

So long as it sticks to self parody, Last Action Hero is watchable. dozens of cars (and one ice cream truck) explode in impossible ways, people go flying through mid air, off buildings, across rooms like there is no gravity in the movie, Slayer has more guns and ammo in his glove compartment than is physically possible, and for reasons he cannot figure out, he can't bring himself to say the 'f' word (because as Danny tries to point out, it's a PG-13 movie)And it's not just Action movies that get a comedic treatment, We have jokes from Amadeus, Witness, and The Seventh Seal. It's curious how an eleven year old boy can know so much about movies which he'd be too young to get into.

Despite its ability to wink at itself, Last Action Hero still feels at a loss. It never quite rises about the stuff it mocks, because it still feels like a b-movie experience. And this isn't even the worst problem.

Eventually, director John McTiernan takes the fight out of the movie world and back into the real world. It is here where Last Action Hero crumbles. It's astonishing how long it takes to end. The fluidity and humour just about vanish. The appearance of Slayer at the premier of his movie is amusing, but I found myself getting bored really fast. Another problem is that Swarzenegger and Austin O'Brien, don't make a good pair. Swarzenneger gets good one liners but like most action heroes he delivers them all the same way, and O'Brian acts like he is only half involved in the movie.

The Last Action hero is good for a few laughs early on, but it gets carried away, and the finished project feels too clumsy and unbalanced to recommend.

Great movie! Those who hate it just don't understand the joke.

[Skeletors_Hood · 10/10 · 31 January 2003]

Okay folks, this movie is what's called a spoof, send-up, parody, satire, or all of the above. If you were expecting a serious action movie, well DUHHHH!! No wonder you hated it!

I happen to think that it is real clever that Arnold was willing to spoof the genre that he had been trapped in for most of his life. So few actors are willing to do that, even in a bit of fun. Acting is a job, but it's supposed to be fun as well. Not every movie we see is meant to win an oscar. They are just entertainment. Take it for what it's intended.

This movie is on my top five of my favorite Arnold films, because of it's boldness, and the fact that Arnold can be really funny when he wants to be. It's on my top twenty favorite comedy movies, and it's also in my DVD collection. Don't worry Arnold. Your true fans love this movie.

The Magic Ticket

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 29 January 2017]

The future Guvernator of California stars in this film that literally shatters dimensions. It's all about a ticket more valuable than the one that got you into Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. This one allows young Austin O'Brien to get into one of the films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as Jack Slater hero cop with one of those special weapons that never seem to need reloading.

Young O'Brien's world is taken up with the movies, his is one humdrum and typically anxiety filled life of an adolescent and his preoccupation with the cinema is driving mother Mercedes Ruehl a little batty. But one day the cinema projectionist Robert Prosky gives him a special golden admission ticket that allows O'Brien to enter the Schwarzenegger film and become an additional character.

Since he seems to know what's going on ahead of everybody that becomes a problem for O'Brien. But not half the problem the real world gets when one of the screen villains develops a consciiousness about who he is and invades the real world. In fact Tom Noonan realizes the perfect way to solve all his problems in the film.

Such folks as F. Murray Abraham, Anthony Quinn, and Art Carney get to do some nice characterizations in the film. This was Carney's farewell performance.

Schwarzenegger and O'Brien have a nice chemistry going themselves. And Arnie gets a chance to spoof a bit of himself.

Last Action Hero holds up well as entertainment. It does date however since now the big screen uses those DVDs. Those cans of film you see in the projectionist unintentionally truly date the work.

The world is a better place because of John McTiernon.

[kgprophet · 5/10 · 28 November 2011]

John McTiernan is a master action movie craftsman. He helped change the equation with the blockbuster "Diehard". He made sitting around in a submarine exciting in "Hunt For Red October". He also made "Predator", a great action vehicle for rising star Arnold Schwartzenwhatever. "Last Action Hero" was in reality a different genre than another Hollywood action flick, and is both successful at the attempt and at fault at the execution. McTiernan helped reinvigorate the action genre by turning the action hero into a normal guy in "Diehard". Similarly, the man who saves the day in "Hunt for Red October" is just a CIA analyst who reluctantly gets involved. For Arnold, he had done over-the-top "Total Recall" and been nearly invincible in "Terminator 2". For this director/star pair, it seemed like the next step in 'taking it to the next level'. Both probably realised that any action film that tried to top the last big action film would become a self-parody. So they deliberately poked fun at the ridiculousness of the genre. However, that made the film no longer a big Hollywood action movie, it made it an experimental film, almost like a Godard film.

Playing with the characters, the story conventions, the glitzy production sets, the always great looking actors, etc., the scriptwriters managed to pigeon-hole every cliché into this screenplay, and for the most part it looks like the filmmakers had a ball doing it. The folly came with the primary character being a 13 year old (or so) kid. He was played a little too cliché as well, not realistic enough for supposedly being from the "real world". Then there was the whole gimmick of transporting to the movie world via a "magic ticket". That really had little inspiration and should have been more indistinct (a worm hole, the kid is really dreaming, etc).

What works, ironically, is that however over-the-top the crimes the bad guy commits in the movie world, he seemingly can get away with much more in the real world (at least in the tougher neighbourhoods in New York). The other statement (which reshoots probably backtracked on) is that people actually get hurt in the real world when they go through a plate glass window, or get shot by a bullet. It is easy to see why the movie was not well received. The main objective of a summer movie-going audience is to forget about the troubles of the real world, and basically take a roller coaster ride for 2 hours. The moment the blood or pain we see on the screen is supposed be real, it is no longer fun.

For the first 2/3 of LAH, we are given that roller coaster ride that would later be the norm for director Michael Bay. Flying cars, explosions every few minutes, and bad bad bad dialogue. I found myself smiling along during the wink and nods at the movie clichés, but only to get annoyed when the kid started griping about it constantly. The old theatre guy also felt a bit uninspired. I think McTiernan should feel lucky he was able to get away with making this film, because the world is a better place for it.