Eraser (1996)
Director: Chuck Russell
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vanessa Williams, James Caan, James Coburn
Primary genre: Action
Nominated for: Best sounds effect editing
Coming hot from his success with James Cameron’s True Lies (1994), Arnold continued to do what he does best - kick all types of ass through his muscular and Titan-like frame in Eraser. After taking a crack at comedy and more restrained roles, the Austrian Hercules returns to the movie type that became synonymous with his name. An easily digestible (and quickly forgotten) film, Eraser is mostly remembered for its ludicrous special effects.
The plot is pedestrian and an excuse really to string together outrageous action sequences and a high body count around a conspiracy of selling weapons overseas. It is a by-the-numbers story and the big twist of who is pulling the strings is an unnecessary gimmick since we can seen that from the very first frame.
“You are luggage!”
Thus, we are left with Arnie’s action charisma and his solid chemistry with the stunning Vanessa Williams who is surprisingly more than a damsel in distress. The fights are - let’s face it, ridiculous - Arnie faces off a plane in a sequence that is straight out of a videogame boasting nostalgia appealing but dated special effects, a skirmish in the Central Park zoo that has became legendary in its own right, and a climax in which the Austrian behemoth rapid fires whizzy shots to unsuspected goons while everything else around him explodes in tiny little pieces.
Chuck Russell (of The Blob (1988) and The Mask (1994) fame) has always been great at capturing technically challenging flicks and Eraser is no exception. He handles the overblown witness protection shenanigans well even if towards the second half, he kinda muddles the tone with the typical Arnie quips, off-beat humor, slow pace, and quirky Italian-American stereotypes.
This pricy blockbuster - rumored to have cost around $100 million dollars - was a success and it is not hard to see why. Its flashy and it is fun but ultimately, remains one of the lesser good outputs of the legendary actor; a hollow entertainment spectacle for a quick night in with lots of explosions to keep your sound system busy.
Erasing bad guys like nothing
+Arnie
+Williams is stunning and more than a simple victim
+OTT action!
+Entertaining
-OTT action!
-Non existing plot
-2nd half has pacing and tonal issues
-Pointless villain reveal