Last Action Hero (1993)

While watching Last Action Hero, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Demolition Man. Both featured big action stars (Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, respectively.) Both films came out in 1993 when big-budget action hero films were starting to slip at the box office. Both take a satirical look at the genre but neither film was a financial success. Demolition Man barely recouped its budget in worldwide tickets sales. Last Action Hero earned about $20 million more than its budget. Yet, Last Action Hero is usually considered a colossal failure, while Demolition Man isn’t.

On paper, Last Action Hero sounds like a phenomenal idea: Get Lethal Weapon screenwriter Shane Black to co-write a script that satirizes everything about overblown action films like Cobra and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Cast Arnold Schwarzenegger to be the star. Put Die Hard and Predator director John McTiernan behind the camera. And, while you’re at it, get bands like AC/DC, Alice in Chains, and Def Leppard to contribute to the soundtrack. Throw in a fantasy plot about movies intersecting with the real world.

On film, this ultra-potent combination of elements needs someone to say “Maybe we should rein it in a bit.” And the movie desperately needs another run-through by an editor.

The crux of the film centers around a golden ticket that young action movie fanatic, Danny Madigan (Austin O’Brien,) is given by his projectionist friend, Nick (Robert Prosky.) Nick claims he got the ticket from Harry Houdini but, since he didn’t know what it could do, he never used it for anything. While Danny watches the latest movie from his favorite action star, Jack Slater (Schwarzenegger), the ticket magically transports him into the film. The characters of the movie can see him and he can take part in the action. Danny tries to convince Jack Slater that he knows where the bad guys live and what they’re planning. A villain named Benedict (Charles Dance) figures out that Danny is from the real world and that the ticket is the key to getting there. The majority of the film’s two hour and 10 minute running time is spent building up to a showdown in the real world.

There are glimmers of potential in the send-up of big budget action films. And there are glimmers of potential in the film vs reality concept. But, as it is, Last Action Hero is more focused on being a hit or miss collection of action movie tropes turned into running gags. You know the ones I’m talking about. Guns that never need reloading. People driving without looking where they’re going. Cars exploding at the slightest touch. Constant one-liners from the hero. Villains explaining their motivation instead of just shooting the good guy when they have the chance. Danny notices all of them and points them out to Jack to convince him that he is in a movie. He points them out to us too. Over and over again.

What does work in Last Action Hero works well. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s performance as Jack Slater is a hoot. The special effects and stunts are spectacular. The movie’s many cameos – which constantly remind you that the movie was made in the early 90s — are funny if you can recognize the stars in question. And, the first few references to action film tropes are inventive. What doesn’t work, unfortunately, is much more plentiful.

I’ve read that the film was still shooting just weeks before it was released, which is never a good sign. Director John McTiernan has since been quoted as saying the film “was practically assembled right out of the camera.” I had no idea that was the case when I watched it but it explains the movie’s rough edges and lack of restraint.

One thing that struck me is that the film has all the usual ingredients of a blockbuster action movie and was marketed as such. But, it spends most of its time mocking those ingredients. As a result, the movie essentially mocks the audience that it was made to entertain. Marketing it as a standard action film featuring one of the genre’s biggest stars but actually delivering a parody was a hell of a gamble. And, ultimately, it doesn’t pay off for the audience and it didn’t pay off for Columbia Pictures.