After kicking the decade off with a bang thanks to instant classics Total Recall and Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Arnold Schwarzenegger looked set to retain his crown as the biggest star on the planet throughout the 1990s, but Eraser turned out to be just one of several notable misfires.
We’re willing to die on the hill that Last Action Hero deserved to fare a lot better than it did, even if the likes of Batman & Robin and End of Days can’t and shouldn’t be defended under any circumstances. Chuck Russell’s $100 million blockbuster exists somewhere in the middle, in that it was a perfectly serviceable shoot ’em up that did decent box office business, but grew more obsolete by the day in the face of the incoming CGI revolution.
Unsurprisingly, the practical effects still hold up as well as they ever did, but the poorly-rendered crocodile and questionable-looking airborne set piece are very much products of their time, even if there’s still plenty of fun to be had when Schwarzenegger quite clearly overcompensates for something by dual-wielding the biggest hand-cannons you’re ever likely to see onscreen.
Eraser may have aged poorly in the wake of digital barriers being broken down, but it’s at least 100 times superior to the truly terrible reboot that nobody asked for. Mercifully, it’s the original that’s been locking and loading on streaming over the weekend, with FlixPatrol revealing it to be one of the most-watched titles on Starz.
It’s not top-tier Arnold, but it’s a reasonable enough diversion for a lazy weekend or rainy day.