Last Action Hero Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: A glorified fanboy is magically pulled into the fictional world of his favorite film franchise.

Review: I remember when I first saw "Last Action Hero" in the movie theater and had to practically lie down in my seat since I was in the front row right under the screen. Good times. Anyway, this is truly one of the most underrated movies of all time. I still can't believe the kind of shitty reception it received at release with bad reviews and becoming a major flop. Not sure if audiences didn't get it or what was the problem, but LAH does so many things right that it's unfortunate it failed as tremendously as it did. I mean, this is essentially a less edgy version of "Scary Movie" except designed for the action genre. And yet "Scary Movie" and its imitators were quite successful. Oh well.

I'll go over the problems first since that will more than likely address the reasons for failure. The story is probably more comedic than it needs to be with numerous goofy ideas that don't necessarily work or make sense. Admittedly, there often will be a joke that you will just roll your eyes at or say "whaaaat" in response. The shakiness with the tone probably contributes to the awkwardness of these jokes since the film can't decide how adult it wants to take the material. Connected to this, and no fault to the filmmakers, Arnold hadn't done anything since T2 which was an entirely different beast in comparison. In other words, expectations may have been too high with fans expecting something similar; after all, Arnie had done comedic roles prior and those were well received. I guess another point of contention would be the degree to how annoying the kid character, Danny, can be. For me, he's perfectly fine, but it's not hard to imagine Danny-boy annoying the living fuck out of some audiences. Finally, the scale and scope of the events are smaller than they should be. This is supposed to be a fictional universe brought to life and yet there are only a handful of sets and characters despite the big budget. That level of epic-ness is severely lacking.

With that business out of the way...let's address why LAH is criminally underrated. As I already alluded toward, this film perfectly parodies the tropes and cliches of the action genre (especially '80s action and Arnie's own work); things like the impossible amount of damage characters typically shrug off, the villain never staying dead, someone always being close to retirement, etc. Plus, at this time in film, there were very few instances of a character mentioning other movies and applying what he knew effectively; this is why I refer to Danny as a fanboy. Speaking of other movies, LAH both homages other action flicks and makes direct references to them which includes many cameos from actors--some even in character like Robert Patrick dressed as the T-1000. Hell, Arnie does double duty playing himself and mocking his own life--you gotta appreciate that shit! Then we come to this whole notion of a movie within a movie which is fun unto itself. Charles Dance plays such an awesome villain too that I wanted them to explore more of his potential with the ticket's ability to go to any movie. As such, this plot point was amazing and something that would've been fucking phenomenal had they had a chance for a sequel to delve deeper into what the ticket can really do. Of course, the appearance of Ian McKellen playing Death was a huge plus (by the way, "The Seventh Seal" is a fantastic film). One aspect that was cool--yet not fully realized--was this whole reaction from Slater when he comes to the real world. They sort of hint at how his life has been manipulated by writers yet they don't fully explain how these parallel worlds can work. Still, it's a fun idea in theory. Overall, the basic premise of jumping into different movie universes was a brilliant idea. It's not wholeheartedly original, but the way things are presented is certainly unique.

If you haven't watched "Last Action Hero" in a long time, or even since its release, I'd suggest revisiting it with an open mind. I hate to get pretentious, but the story was ahead of its time in a lot of ways and I don't think audiences back then understood the themes depicted. Arnie turns in his typical performance but in the best of ways. The running time is a tad long, however, the pacing is surprisingly well done to accommodate. If you're a big fan of '80s/90s action movies you will further appreciate what LAH was trying to convey through its parody elements. While the film certainly has its faults, it didn't deserve the sour reception it received. More so, the film delivers exactly what was promised with nods and homages that demonstrate the filmmakers love for the genre and film itself. You can't go wrong there.

Notable Moment: When Danny and Slater go to the video store. Besides having a bunch of hot chicks, it reminds me of the good ol' days of VHS.

Final Rating: 7/10