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If Hamlet was the first action hero (specifically Olivier’s), Schwarzenegger is the last, even if his version of the classic Shakespeare creation totes a machinegun and smokes a cigar. Filmic comparisons aside, Last Action Hero is one of the finest movie-within-a-movie action films ever made. That’s not saying too much considering it’s perhaps the only one of its kind, but led by the unbeatable superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger and directed by “blow-em-up” veteran filmmaker John McTiernan, it sure is a lot of fun. Overlong, a tad too silly, but brimming with jokes, cameos, all of the expected adventure film clichés and hysterically bad one-liners, this unexpectedly smart, cleverly constructed flick is well worth the running time. The opening scene tells it all, with a devilish villain known as The Ripper (Tom Noonan) holding hostage children on the rooftop of the Lincoln Elementary School. In walks Jack Slater (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a rugged cop who never plays by the rules, skipping along the tops of police cars to overstep the professional negotiators and barging his way into the middle of the action. Just as The Ripper slings a fiendishly decorated axe at the unflinching hero (easily the greatest edged-weapon throw in movie history), the film blurs, revealing young Danny Madigan (Austin O’Brien) reclining in a theater seat, watching the recently released Arnold Schwarzenegger actioner, Jack Slater III. |
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In a brilliant twist, Arny is a movie star who ends up playing himself; the elderly theater projectionist (Art Carney) gives Danny a magic movie ticket, handed down from Houdini himself, which transports the excited boy into the world of Jack Slater IV during an advance screening. Suddenly Danny is in the middle of a daring car chase and shootout, and must convince Slater that they’re both inside of a movie. In the process, the unlikely duo must solve an elaborate plot by mob boss Tony Vivaldi (Anthony Quinn) to overthrow a rival, involving the kidnapping of Jack’s favorite second cousin, a henchman lackey with a glass eye (Charles Dance) and Leo the Fat’s lavish funeral. Along the way, every action film cliché is mimicked, every cheesy one-liner mocked, and the overuse of senseless violence and random explosions parodied to no end. The film makes fun of itself and its actors, the constant rock music soundtrack never fades, Danny pegs himself as the comedy sidekick, and the ridiculous contrivances found in almost every action film are utilized both in jest and necessity. The most hilarious sequences of Last Action Hero is when Danny tries to convince Jack that they’re living a movie, strolling through various film sets, and bound by the limitations of a PG-13 rating. “What you feel is so entertaining happens to be my life!” cries the disheartened muscleman. And despite the complicated plot, the blend of stunts, explosions, comedy and adventure is indeed entertaining. - Mike Massie
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