Arnold Schwarzenegger
plays himself playing the character Jack Slater, hero of a fictional
series of action films. When his biggest fan (Austin O'Brien,
where is he now?) enters the latest sequel via a magic ticket,
Slater is forced to reexamine his existence while delivering
possibly the cheesiest one-liner puns in the history of cinema.
Then, when the villain obtains the magic ticket, Slater must
follow him into the real world where heroism is not so easy
or glamorous.
The film, or rather
the film within a film plays to stock characters and intertextual
references. From the use of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's
golden ticket to the Twilight Zone's travels to another dimension;
from ET's infamous flying bike sequence to Schwarzenegger's
"I'll be back" calling card, Last Action Hero can be understood
as a complex cultural intertext.
The film, and likewise,
the film within a film is structured around the premise that
the fictional character Jack Slater lives in another dimension,
a dimension somewhere above and beyond the space of Arnold
Schwarzenegger's star persona. Moreover, Last Action Hero
fixes the Schwarzenegger star persona by way of the quasi-real
action figures within the actor's filmography. With this in
mind then, this review will pay particular attention to the
Arnold Schwarzenegger star persona as it is played out within
the text.
This is probably the
most critically panned and most controversial movie among
Schwarzenegger enthusiasts, due to its aim at a youth audience
and a fantasy aspect that goes far beyond any of Schwarzenegger's
previous films. While it is not always consistent, the first
90 minutes is brilliant parody, and frankly some of Arnold's
most exciting action scenes.
The wild car chase
and rooftop funeral contain imaginative stuntwork, although
the broad humor ruined it for some. The "real world" segments
are a bit too heavy for such a fantasy film, and by the end
the film breaks its own rules (a definite no-no for any fantasy),
but Schwarzenegger is at his self-deprecating best and the
in-jokes are priceless. Give the film credit for trying to
do something new.
Definately worth a
rental!
|