A fearless, globe-trotting, terrorist-battling secret agent has his life turned upside down when he discovers his wife might be having an affair with a used car salesman while terrorists smuggle nuclear war heads into the United States.
Director:
James Cameron
Stars:
Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Jamie Lee Curtis,
Tom Arnold
A tough Russian policeman is forced to partner up with a cocky Chicago police detective when he is sent to Chicago to apprehend a Georgian drug lord who killed his partner and fled the country.
Director:
Walter Hill
Stars:
Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Jim Belushi,
Peter Boyle
When a man goes for virtual vacation memories of the planet Mars, an unexpected and harrowing series of events forces him to go to the planet for real - or does he?
Director:
Paul Verhoeven
Stars:
Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Sharon Stone,
Michael Ironside
Young Danny Madigan is a big fan of Jack Slater, a larger-than-life action hero played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. When his best friend, Nick the projectionist, gives him a magic ticket to the new Jack Slater film, Danny is transported into Slater's world, where the good guys always win. One of Slater's enemies, Benedict the hitman, gets hold of the ticket and ends up in Danny's world, where he realizes that if he can kill Schwarzenegger, Slater will be no more. Slater and Danny must travel back and stop him.Written by
Alexander Lum <aj_lum@postoffice.utas.edu.au>
This marks the second of three times Danny DeVito appeared with Arnold Schwarzenegger. They starred in Twins (1988) and Junior (1994). See more »
Goofs
Chain visible on Jack's car when it jumps over the trailer escaping the bad guys See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Dekker:
This is one hell of a way to spend Christmas.
See more »
Crazy Credits
The only opening credits in this film are the ones for "Jack Slater IV". See more »
Alternate Versions
The ITV premiere was heavily cut (presumably to fit a two hour schedule); from entire scenes including the burglar at Danny's house and subsequent police station scene to minor cuts to violence such as Arnold kicking a SWAT member in the testicles. See more »
Last Action Hero has to be the most underrated movies I've ever seen. I've seen it at least four times, but I still like it. Stuff the critics and enjoy it for what it is: a spoof of action movies and their clichés. It's something that probably hasn't been done before and hasn't been done since (because this was undeservedly bashed, I'd say). I would say that it was poorly received because audiences expected a mindless Rambo or Terminator-style film, rather than a satire.
The plot concerns this kid Daniel Madigan. He leads a pretty poor life and the only good thing that happens in it is that he gets to go to the movies to watch his favourite movie(s), Jack Slater with Arnold Schwarzenegger. He finds a golden ticket and travels into one such movie: Jack Slater IV. Madigan marvels at his good fortune and observes the many action movie clichés: a police officer getting blown up two days from retirement, Jack Slater evading every blast and machine-gun burst that comes his way, the bad guys never winning, the attractive daughter and not one unattractive woman to be seen. He also witness a whole array of unrealistic characters, including an animated cat and Robert Patrick (AKA Liquid Terminator from Terminator 2), as well as the stereotypical screaming boss. Let's not forget the big explosions and loud noises that always take center-stage in action movies. The sidekick also always get into trouble (i.e when Madigan plays chicken with a car). This is truly brilliant stuff.
If Last Action Hero has a flaw, it's that Daniel Madigan himself is excessively annoying and this doesn't bode well, as he is a major character.
However, that only has a slight effect on the rest of the film. I've said it before, I'll say it again: This is an ingenious satire, a spoof of action movies and their clichés. Not only that, but it is entertaining in a mindless way as well. It is not perfect, but it is about ten times better than the critics say it is.
Ignore them and see this film.
4/5 stars
EDIT (1/4/2013): This movie is slightly more flawed than I remembered. The second half does drag a bit while Austin O'Brien remains annoying. Still grossly underrated though.
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Last Action Hero has to be the most underrated movies I've ever seen. I've seen it at least four times, but I still like it. Stuff the critics and enjoy it for what it is: a spoof of action movies and their clichés. It's something that probably hasn't been done before and hasn't been done since (because this was undeservedly bashed, I'd say). I would say that it was poorly received because audiences expected a mindless Rambo or Terminator-style film, rather than a satire.
The plot concerns this kid Daniel Madigan. He leads a pretty poor life and the only good thing that happens in it is that he gets to go to the movies to watch his favourite movie(s), Jack Slater with Arnold Schwarzenegger. He finds a golden ticket and travels into one such movie: Jack Slater IV. Madigan marvels at his good fortune and observes the many action movie clichés: a police officer getting blown up two days from retirement, Jack Slater evading every blast and machine-gun burst that comes his way, the bad guys never winning, the attractive daughter and not one unattractive woman to be seen. He also witness a whole array of unrealistic characters, including an animated cat and Robert Patrick (AKA Liquid Terminator from Terminator 2), as well as the stereotypical screaming boss. Let's not forget the big explosions and loud noises that always take center-stage in action movies. The sidekick also always get into trouble (i.e when Madigan plays chicken with a car). This is truly brilliant stuff.
If Last Action Hero has a flaw, it's that Daniel Madigan himself is excessively annoying and this doesn't bode well, as he is a major character.
However, that only has a slight effect on the rest of the film. I've said it before, I'll say it again: This is an ingenious satire, a spoof of action movies and their clichés. Not only that, but it is entertaining in a mindless way as well. It is not perfect, but it is about ten times better than the critics say it is.
Ignore them and see this film.
4/5 stars
EDIT (1/4/2013): This movie is slightly more flawed than I remembered. The second half does drag a bit while Austin O'Brien remains annoying. Still grossly underrated though.