L'Effaceur

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.

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.

True Lies is often considered to be the last good/great Arnold Schwarzenegger action film. That is because Eraser it seems (at least to me before actually viewing the film), just did not see the amount of success that Arnold's previous action films achieved. Eraser was released in 1996 and had a troubled production where, if it was not for Schwarzenegger, this film would not have been released. The film was directed by Chuck Russell (The Mask, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, The Scorpion King) and stars (obviously) Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator, Total Recall, and Terminator 2: Judgment Day). The film was a box office hit but was not as well received as Arnold's previous films. But that is not to say that this film has it's fans as I have seen a following for this film.

John Kruger is a US Marshall and works as a person who helps protect witnesses. One particular assignment sees Kruger protecting a woman who has information on a company who are developing high tech weapons that are being sold to the wrong people. It is up to Kruger not only to protect the witness, but to make sure these weapons do not get into the wrong hands.

Let's be real here, Eraser is nowhere close to being Arnold's best. Yet, it is far from being his worst. Eraser, for me, was better than I was expecting for the most part. It reminds me of a Dolph Lundgren film released in 2001 called Hidden Agenda. Just imagine this film, hardly any action and fun, and no high tech weaponry. I was surprised that this film was pretty high tech with the whole "rail gun" being the main focus. I find it too high tech because if you take it out of the film, the film itself is pretty realistic (for an action movie at least). This high tech weapon takes out any sense of realism. Yet, the weapon itself is pretty unique. The weapon has it's own logical issues, but that is action movie logic for you (and don't take that as me defending it). The special effects are, let's say dated. Completely CG and not always convincing. Mostly used with the firing of the "rail gun weapon and a few of the bigger action scenes. Otherwise, I do not have a huge problem with it but considering that this is a point in film history that CG is being used and used fairly well, I would expect a little more from this film. Speaking of the action, the action here is fairly good. There are some scenes here that are just plain fun, something that should be present in any good Schwarzenegger action film. We get maybe one big action scene and the rest are fun little action scenes mostly consisting of shootouts and an explosion here and there. Aside from the action, the film has some good comedic moments and we get the usual Arnold one liners. Though when none of that is present on screen, the film feels pretty generic and that is the overall feel for this film. Arnold is still on his up and up in his role of John Kruger. Arnold does give us a good performance and plays the protector character fairly well. You feel safe when around this character. Vanessa Williams plays the woman being protected and she does fine as well and plays a female character capable of holding her own. The story overall takes a little bit to get interesting and when a nice twist is revealed, the film gets a little bit interesting. Again, the film does not do much by itself to be entirely interesting without the help of action and comedy. I should note that this film's cinematographer, did cinematography for Terminator 2: Judgment Day and it is very apparent and looks amazing here with the lighting and the ability to give us viewers a good view of the action taking place. Lastly, Alan Silvestri does a good job with the music here. It is nice to hear it in the background while the action is taking place.

Eraser, overall, is just an OK film, despite my apparent overwhelming praise. It does not surpass some of Arnold's finest but it is still worth a watch as it does have it's moments.

To enjoy Eraser you must...

1. Already like Schwarzenegger and his films 2. Suspend your disbelief 3. Have popcorn and nibbles on hand while you watch 4. Find a comfy chair 5. Enjoy the ride If you can do that, you'll find that your two hours spent in front of the TV will not be wasted.

Simple as that. Some people called Eraser 'Arnie's last great action film' (not including Terminator 3). That it may be. He got old. He went into politics. Action heroes became younger, better-looking and the stunts they participated in more elaborate and dangerous.

So maybe Eraser is Arnie's 'swansong?' Maybe not. I hear he's gearing up to do some 'post-politics' acting. If so, following in Eraser's footsteps would not be that badder place to start.

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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.