Last Action Hero (1993)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

John McTiernan

Writers (WGA):

Zak Penn (story) &
Adam Leff (story) ...

Release Date:

18 June 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy

Tagline:

Did Someone Say Action? [Theatrical]

Plot:

A young movie fan gets thrown into the movie world of his favourite action film character.

Plot Keywords:

Ticket | Hero | Magic | Projectionist | Action Hero

Awards:

14 nominations

Cast

Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Jack Slater / Himself
F. Murray Abraham	...	John Practice
Austin O'Brien	...	Danny Madigan
Art Carney	...	Frank
Charles Dance	...	Benedict
Frank McRae	...	Lieutenant Dekker
Tom Noonan	...	Ripper / Himself
Robert Prosky	...	Nick
Anthony Quinn	...	Tony Vivaldi
Mercedes Ruehl	...	Irene Madigan
Ian McKellen	...	Death
Professor Toru Tanaka	...	Tough Asian Man
Joan Plowright	...	Teacher
Jason Kelly	...	Lieutenant Governor
Noah Emmerich	...	Rookie

Also Known As:

Extremely Violent (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | SDDS (8 channels) (35 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Finland:K-14 (re-rating) | Finland:K-16 (original rating) | Iceland:12 | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:12 | Malaysia:U | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Chile:14 | Germany:12 | Ireland:15 | Norway:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #32089) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

1100 block of Angelina Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

"Jack Slater" when trying to pose as Arnold Schwarzenegger in the "real world" keeps getting the name wrong, and calling himself "Arnold Braunschweigger." The first part of Arnold's real name, "Schwarz," means "black" in German, while the first part of his wrong name, "Braun," means "brown" in German.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Jack is escaping the red pickup and he drives his car on two wheels to go around the tanker truck, you can see Jack and Danny have been replaced with stunt doubles.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Dekker: This is one hell of a way to spend Christmas...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Incident at Loch Ness (2004)

Soundtrack:

Real World

An Unappreciated Gem

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.