L'eliminatore - Eraser

Eraser is a film typical of its genre. What genre, you ask? Why, the "the terrorists-are-coming-and-it's one-man-against-the-world-so-shoot-em-up, blow-em-up, and save-the-girl-and-the-day" genre, of course. Too complicated for you? Don't worry, because the movie isn't. As a matter of fact, it's readily accessible to anyone over the age of 7 - not that this movie is age-appropriate for everyone over the age of 7 (Note: This was my favorite movie when I was 10) - but rather that the concepts, and thus the plot, are simple. This isn't a movie you go see if you're seeking a two hour thinking experience.

Casting Schwarzenegger for the lead instantly gives the main character, John Kruger, a personality of his own. Though nothing is ever known of his background (even by the end credits), that doesn't matter. Dialogue is used mainly for two purposes: to explain the unfolding saga of the federal scandal in the movie, and for the ever-composed and ever-cool Schwarzenegger to calm Dr. Lee Cullen (Vanessa Williams), a key witness in the scandal saga. Instead, what drives the movie is the action sequences and Schwarzenegger's resourcefulness in a myriad of combat situations where he always finds himself outmanned, outgunned, and beaten to the first punch, yet always manages to gain the upper hand.

Williams does an excellent job, and in many ways, is forced to be more of an "actor," per se, than Schwarzenegger. She has to display a wide array of emotions, from sadness, to fear, to regret, to resolve, and even anger, while Schwarzenegger is only called on to mainly display the final two. James Caan is legitimately a scumbag in his role as Robert DeGuerin, and James Coburn, in a smaller role, is fatherly to Kruger as Chief Beller. Solid, unspectacular performances all around...save that of Caan, who borders on something more.

The action in this movie is incredible for its time. The rail guns are visually impressive if not scientifically plausible (but who cares about that anyway?), and Schwarzenegger's combat ingenuity gives flavor and style to the action sequences. Director Russell seems to show a bizarre fixation with bloody puncture wounds (objects protruding entirely through the skin) throughout, but does show some creativity of his own in placing Schwarzenegger in clever combat situations where he can use his mind to outsmart his many more-heavily-armed enemies. Russell also plays with the moviegoer in several situations, making it unclear whether or not Kruger is alive after several close calls. This keeps moviegoers on the edge of their seats for the nonstop thrill ride that rarely pauses to take a breath. From the first scene to the last, explosions, shooting, and violence are the norm, and it is not meant to be any other way.

A decade ago, this Arnold Schwarzenegger action flick was fairly hot stuff but I wonder if it would have the impact today since special effects are so much better and we've seen so many of these type of action stories in the past 10 years.

One of Arnold's keys to his successful career in films was simply that his movies were entertaining, and that's why people come to the theaters. High-brow critics often forget that. "Eraser" is a prime example. Entertainment alone is how this particular movie survives since common logic doesn't exist while violence and profanity are overdone. But, despite it's low-brow tastes and stupidity, it's still generally fun to watch if you can put your brain on hold for two hours. It's also fun to hear if you have a nice surround system.

This movie has one of the most outrageous action scenes I've ever seen on film, even to this day: one in which Arnold hangs from the outside of a jet airplane, finally lets go, free-falls to catch his parachute that had been ripped off, and then has to worry about the jet plane which had circled around and was going to smash him!!

The audio came into play nicely each time the super rifle that was featured in the movie was shot. Vanessa Williams plays the female lead satisfactorily and James Caan is very effective as the villain. Robert Pastorelli and James Coburn also add to the fun. A few laughs along the way help this no-brainer to become even more entertaining.

At the height of his action superstar career, Arnold Schwarzenegger's movies were all about guns and explosions. 'Eraser' delivers both in abundance.

Fortunately, 'Eraser' is not just a shallow action movie. This action thriller has flesh to the bone, and characters I cared about. We've seen this a million times before, where a victim of circumstance needs protection, being pursued by the bad guys, but few as thrilling and exciting as 'Eraser'.

Vanessa Williams stars as Lee Cullen, a senior executive at a weapons manufacturing company, Cyrez. She contains a disc with information on developing secret, powerful weapons, and some people will kill relentlessly to get their hands on the disc.

What follows, is an action-packed, fast-paced cat and mouse game, filled with intrigue and a few twists. There's loads of action and good visual effects. There are some funny moments, too. The crocodile scene was very well done! 'Eraser' delivers on every level, with an exciting finale.

US Marshal John Kruger (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is an expert at erasing identities at WITSEC. Chief Beller (James Coburn) assigns Lee Cullen (Vanessa Williams) to him. She's a whistle-blower at defense contractor Cyrez Corporation. After getting the evidence for the government, she is resistant to WITSEC and killers come after her with high-tech weapons. Fellow Marshal Robert DeGuerin (James Caan) tells Kruger that someone is killing witnesses.

It's a nice action thriller. There are lots of gun action. The body count is pretty good. Arnold gets to hang out of a plane and battle some crocodiles. It probably needs a few more wisecracks to be as fun as some of Arnold's best. The one-liners aren't quite as good. I like it but people may be tired of his big action movies by that point.

I again want to give this the full five, but not sure. I don't get why more people don't like this. It's so underrated, and yet it's everything people love about Arnold and his movies. Loud, big, violent action, cheesy one-liners, a good villain, and this time it even has entertainingly bad CGI an Vanessa Williams, which are two things I'm always down with watching. Mm

Arnold takes himself more seriously here it seems, at least until the second act. He delivers a great, movie-carrying performance as usual, and is compliment by the weirdly good Vanessa Williams, who ends up not being annoying. James Caan is a great villain, and definitely helps elevate it.

The action is exactly as you'd expect. With a plot involving big, hi-tech "chainguns", you know this is gonna be good. The opening house scene, the cabin scene, the plane scene, the zoo shootout, and the lab shootout are all cool, along with other scenes. The plane scene defies any logic or realism, and is lots of fun. The CGI is bad, but whatever. There's also a scene with a bad CGI crocodile that rips a dude's arm off, and attacks Arnold, who makes up for the effects by kicking it in the face and shooting it. The final battle though, is just perfect. It's total balls-out action, with Arnold becoming a one-man army as usual, and shooting tons of people with two chainguns before fighting James Caan on top of a giant metal container.

I really love this and recommend it. It needs more attention and is as good as most of Arnold's other films.