''Last Action Hero'' is a 1993 American
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures.
The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
action comedy film directed and produced by
John McTiernan
John Campbell McTiernan Jr. (born January 8, 1951) is an American former filmmaker best known for his action films. His work as director includes ''Predator (film), Predator'' (1987), ''Die Hard'' (1988), and ''The Hunt for Red October (film), ...
and co-written by
Shane Black
Shane Black (born December 16, 1961) is an American screenwriter, film director, and actor, known for his distinctive style of Action film, action and action comedy films. He is the original creator of the ''Lethal Weapon (franchise), Lethal Wea ...
and
David Arnott.
It is a satire of the action genre and associated clichés, containing several parodies of action films in the form of
films within the film. The film stars
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
as Jack Slater, a
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
police detective within the ''Jack Slater'' action film franchise, while
Austin O'Brien co-stars as Danny Madigan, a boy magically transported into the ''Slater'' universe, and
Charles Dance as Mr. Benedict, a ruthless assassin from the ''Slater'' universe who escapes to the real world. Schwarzenegger also served as the film's executive producer and plays himself as the actor portraying Jack Slater. The film also marked
Art Carney
Arthur William Matthew Carney (November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an American actor and comedian. A recipient of an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Award, and six Primetime Emmy Awards, he was best kn ...
and
Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...
's last feature film before their deaths in 2003 and 2023, respectively.
''Last Action Hero'' failed to meet the studio's expectations at the box office, and was both a critical and commercial disappointment. Since its release ''Last Action Hero'' gained a
cult following, with some noting it as underrated in Schwarzenegger's catalogue.
Plot
Ten-year-old Danny Madigan lives in a crime-ridden area of
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
with his widowed mother, Irene. Following his father's death, Danny takes comfort in watching action movies, especially a series featuring Los Angeles cop Jack Slater at a condemned movie theatre owned by Nick. Nick gives Danny a golden ticket once owned by
Harry Houdini and invites him to watch ''Jack Slater IV''.
During the film, the ticket stub transports Danny into the fictional world, interrupting Slater during a car chase. Slater takes Danny to the LAPD headquarters, where Danny points out evidence of the fictional nature of Slater's world, such as the presence of numerous attractive women and a cartoon cat detective named Whiskers. Danny says that Slater's friend John Practice should not be trusted as he "killed
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
" (since he is played by the
same actor as
Antonio Salieri
Antonio Salieri (18 August 17507 May 1825) was an Italian composer and teacher of the classical period (music), classical period. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subje ...
in ''
Amadeus''). Though Slater dismisses this as Danny's imagination, Slater's supervisor, Lieutenant Dekker, assigns Danny as his partner and instructs them to investigate criminal activities related to mafia boss Tony Vivaldi.
Danny guides Slater to Vivaldi's mansion, recognising its location from the start of the movie. There, they meet Vivaldi's henchman, Mr. Benedict. Vivaldi and Benedict killed Slater's second cousin, but Slater has no evidence and is forced to leave with Danny; however, Benedict is curious as to how Danny knew, and he and several hired guns follow Slater and Danny back to Slater's home. There, Slater, his daughter Whitney, and Danny thwart the attack, though Benedict gets the ticket stub and discovers that it can transport him into the real world.
Slater deduces Vivaldi's plan to murder the rival mob by releasing a lethal gas. He and Danny go to stop it but are waylaid by Practice, who reveals that Danny was right: he is working for Vivaldi. Whiskers kills Practice, saving Slater and Danny, who prevent any deaths from the gas release. After Vivaldi's plan fails, Benedict kills him and uses the stub to escape into the real world, pursued by Slater and Danny.
Slater becomes despondent upon learning the truth but cheers up after spending time with Irene. Meanwhile, Benedict devises a plan to kill the actor portraying Slater in the movie,
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
, bring other movie villains into the real world, and take over. To help, Benedict brings the Ripper, the villain of ''Jack Slater III'', to ''Jack Slater IV''
's premiere to assassinate Schwarzenegger. Slater saves Schwarzenegger and kills the Ripper. Benedict shoots Slater, critically injuring him. Danny disarms Benedict, allowing Slater to shoot Benedict in his explosive
glass eye, killing him; however, the blast causes the stub to be lost. With Slater losing blood, Danny knows the only way to save him is to return him to the fictional world, where his injury will become a flesh wound.
The ticket stub falls in front of a theatre playing ''
The Seventh Seal,'' where ''The Figure of Death'' emerges from the screen. Death is curious: Jack Slater is missing from his lists of when people will die, and Danny is slated to die as a grandfather. Death then suggests searching for the other half of the ticket. Danny finds it and takes Slater back into his movie, where his wounds instantly heal. Danny returns to the real world before the portal closes. A recovered Slater then embraces the true nature of his reality, appreciating the differences between the two worlds. Danny and Nick bond while reminiscing their past, while Slater drives away on the screen, waving goodbye.
Cast
*
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
as Detective Jack Slater, a fictional LAPD officer who serves as the film's protagonist. Schwarzenegger also portrays
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
and a fictionalized version of himself.
*
Austin O'Brien as Danny Madigan, a ten-year-old boy who is a big fan of the Slater franchise and the film's overarching protagonist.
*
Charles Dance as Mr. Benedict, Vivaldi's right-hand man, a supporting antagonist in ''Jack Slater IV'' who becomes the film's hidden main antagonist.
*
Robert Prosky as Nick the projectionist.
*
Tom Noonan as the Ripper, the main antagonist of ''Jack Slater III''. He also appears as himself at the ''Jack Slater IV'' premiere.
*
Frank McRae as Lieutenant Dekker, Slater's immediate and ill-tempered supervisor, who is always screaming at him.
*
Anthony Quinn
Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known as Anthony Quinn, was an American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental virility" in over 100 ...
as Tony Vivaldi, the main antagonist of ''Jack Slater IV'' until Danny's interference changes events. A running gag with him is his frequent butchering of common phrases.
*
Bridgette Wilson as Whitney Slater, Jack's daughter. Wilson also plays Meredith Caprice, the actress who plays Whitney in the ''Slater'' films
*
F. Murray Abraham as John Practice, Jack's friend, revealed to be a traitor. Danny says not to trust him, saying he killed Mozart, referring to Abraham's
Oscar-winning role as
Antonio Salieri
Antonio Salieri (18 August 17507 May 1825) was an Italian composer and teacher of the classical period (music), classical period. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subje ...
in ''
Amadeus''.
*
Mercedes Ruehl
Mercedes J. Ruehl ( ; born February 28, 1948) is an American screen, stage, and television actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award.
Ruehl won the Academy Award f ...
as Irene Madigan, Danny's mother
*
Art Carney
Arthur William Matthew Carney (November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an American actor and comedian. A recipient of an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Award, and six Primetime Emmy Awards, he was best kn ...
as Frank Slater, Jack's second cousin. This was Carney's final film role.
*
Professor Toru Tanaka (credited as the Tough Asian Man) as Vivaldi and Benedict's bodyguard
* Ryan Todd as Andrew Slater, Jack's son, who was killed in ''Jack Slater III'' by the Ripper.
* Jeffrey Braer as Skeezy
*
Bobbie Brown (credited as Bobbi Brown Lane) as Video Babe
Cameo appearances
*
Franco Columbu's name appears during the opening credits as director of ''Jack Slater IV''. Columbu was a fellow bodybuilder and a close friend of Schwarzenegger.
*
Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...
as the mayor of Los Angeles at the climax of ''Jack Slater III''. This was Turner's final film role.
*
Sharon Stone and
Robert Patrick appear outside the front door of
LAPD
The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...
as
Catherine Tramell (from ''
Basic Instinct'') and the
T-1000 (from ''
Terminator 2: Judgment Day''), respectively. Stone and Patrick had earlier co-starred with Schwarzenegger in ''
Total Recall'' and ''Terminator 2'', respectively.
*
Mike Muscat as a cop in the LAPD headquarters. Muscat previously appeared with Schwarzenegger as Moshier in ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'', and was also
Edward Furlong's acting coach for the same film.
* Veteran stuntmen
Al Leong,
Henry Kingi and
Sven-Ole Thorsen as Vivaldi's henchmen in the car chase
*
Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Gardenzio "Sly" Stallone (; born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. In a Sylvester Stallone filmography, film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received List of awards and nominations received by Syl ...
as
the Terminator
''The Terminator'' is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, written by Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd and produced by Hurd. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cybernetic assassin sent back in t ...
on a poster promoting ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day''. This references the
Schwarzenegger–Stallone rivalry.
*
Angie Everhart as a video store clerk
* During the premiere of ''Jack Slater IV'' in the real world, several celebrities appear as themselves. These include Schwarzenegger's then-wife
Maria Shriver
Maria Owings Shriver ( ; born November 6, 1955)
is an American journalist, author, a member of the prominent Shriver and Kennedy families, former First Lady of California, and the founder of the nonprofit organization The Women's Alzheimer's M ...
,
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...
, ''
Entertainment Tonight
''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Par ...
'' host
Leeza Gibbons
Leeza Kim Gibbons (born March 26, 1957) is an American talk show host. She is best known as a correspondent and co-host for ''Entertainment Tonight'' (1984–2000) as well as for having her own syndicated daytime talk show, ''Leeza'' (1993– ...
,
Jim Belushi (who starred with Schwarzenegger in ''
Red Heat '' Red heat'' is a practice of using colours to determine the temperature of metal
Red Heat may also refer to:
* ''Red Heat'' (1985 film), a 1985 film starring Linda Blair
* ''Red Heat'' (1988 film), a 1988 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger a ...
'' and later ''
Jingle All the Way''),
Damon Wayans
Damon Kyle Wayans Sr. (; born September 4, 1960) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, and writer. A member of the Wayans family of entertainers, Damon performed as a comedian and actor throughout the 1980s, including a brief stint ...
,
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He became the breakout cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1976), where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment b ...
,
Melvin Van Peebles
Melvin Van Peebles (born Melvin Peebles; August 21, 1932 – September 21, 2021) was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. He worked as an active filmmaker into the early 2020s. His feature film debut, ''The Story of a Three-Day Pa ...
, entertainment reporter
Chris Connelly, and
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian martial artist and actor. Born and raised in Brussels, his father enrolled him in a Shotokan karate schoo ...
(who worked with John McTiernan on the Schwarzenegger film ''
Predator
Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...
'' as the original Predator before dropping out, and later co-starred with Schwarzenegger in ''
The Expendables 2'').
* As Jack and Danny enter the movie theater to find Arnold Schwarzenegger,
MC Hammer
Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper known for hit songs such as "U Can't Touch This", "2 Legit 2 Quit", and "Pumps and a Bump", flashy dance movements, e ...
asks Slater about a deal to do the ''Jack Slater V'' soundtrack.
*
Michael V. Gazzo as crime boss Torelli
*
Wilson Phillips
Wilson Phillips is an American pop vocal group formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The group consists of sisters Carnie and Wendy Wilson, the daughters of Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, and Chynna Phillips, the daughter of John and Michelle Phi ...
as themselves
*
Ian McKellen as
Death
Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...
, emerging via the ticket stub's magic from
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film and theatre director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors of all time, his films have been described as "profoun ...
's film ''The Seventh Seal'' (in which the role was originally played by
Bengt Ekerot).
*
Danny DeVito
Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him ...
(uncredited) as Whiskers, the cartoon cat police detective. DeVito had earlier co-starred with Schwarzenegger in ''
Twins
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...
''.
*
Colleen Camp as Officer Ratcliff, the cop who retaliates when harassed by Whiskers in the police station
*
Joan Plowright as the English teacher who shows her class the
1948 film adaptation of ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
'', which starred and was directed by Plowright's husband
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...
.
Production
Development and writing
''Last Action Hero'' was an original screenplay by
Zak Penn and Adam Leff, meant to parody typical action-film screenplays of writers such as
Shane Black
Shane Black (born December 16, 1961) is an American screenwriter, film director, and actor, known for his distinctive style of Action film, action and action comedy films. He is the original creator of the ''Lethal Weapon (franchise), Lethal Wea ...
. Penn himself noted that the studio ironically then had Black rewrite the script. The original screenplay differs heavily from the finished film and is widely available to read online. Although it was still a parody of Hollywood action films, it was set almost entirely in the film world and focused largely on the futile cycle of violence displayed by the hero and the effect it had on people around him. Due to the radical changes, Penn and Leff were eventually credited with the story of the film, but not the screenplay.
Several
script doctors did uncredited work on the script, including
Carrie Fisher
Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the Star Wars original trilogy, original ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983) and reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The F ...
,
Larry Ferguson, and
William Goldman
William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He first came to prominence in the 1950s as a novelist before turning to screenwriting. Among other accolades, Goldman won two Aca ...
.
Penn and Leff disliked various parts of the final film, including the idea of a magic golden ticket. In their draft, the story would not explain how Danny got transported into the film world.
John McTiernan originally turned down the offer to direct the film,
Robert Zemeckis was under consideration to direct, but McTiernan later changed his mind.
Schwarzenegger received a salary of $15 million for his role in the film.
Some scenes were filmed in
a dome adjacent to the RMS ''Queen Mary'' in
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
. The exterior of the film's Pandora Theater was the
Empire Theater on 42nd Street in New York. The interiors were filmed at the
Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles.
Music
The film was scored by composer
Michael Kamen and peaked at No. 7 on
The Billboard 200 chart. The album, which was positively received by active rock radio outlets, was certified platinum on August 24, 1993.
Certifications
Release
Theatrical
At the time of its release, the film was billed as "the next great summer action movie" and many movie insiders predicted it would be a huge
blockbuster, especially following the success of Schwarzenegger's previous film, ''
Terminator 2: Judgment Day''. The film premiered in
Westwood, Los Angeles
Westwood is a commercial and residential neighborhood in the northern central portion of the Westside (Los Angeles County), Westside region of the city of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCL ...
on June 13, 1993, and entered general release in the United States five days later.
It introduced the 1993 Columbia Pictures logo.
Home media
''Last Action Hero'' was released on
VHS and
LaserDisc
LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...
on January 26, 1994, and on
DVD on October 7, 1997. On February 3, 2009, ''Last Action Hero'' was reissued on DVD by
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony.
Background
SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures libra ...
in a double-feature set with the 1986 film ''
Iron Eagle
''Iron Eagle'' is a 1986 action film directed by Sidney J. Furie who co-wrote the screenplay with Kevin Alyn Elders, and starring Jason Gedrick and Louis Gossett Jr.Mann, Roderick"Sidney Furie leads the cheer for 'Iron Eagle'." ''Los Angeles ...
''. It was released on the high-definition
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of ...
format on January 12, 2010. The film double-featured with ''
Hudson Hawk'' on Blu-ray and released by
Umbrella Entertainment on September 4, 2019, in Australia only. An
Ultra HD Blu-ray
Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray supports 4K UHD (3840 × 2160 pixel resolution) video at frame rates up to 60 progre ...
restored version was released on May 18, 2021, and featured a director's commentary track, deleted scenes, an alternative ending, and the original theatrical trailer, all in 4K. The film was re-released with ''
Cliffhanger
A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious situation, facing a difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction or bef ...
'' in a 2-Movie Collection Blu-ray pack on November 2, 2021.
Reception
Box office
The film grossed approximately $1.1 million in previews on the evening of Thursday, June 17, 1993, and opened at number two at the US box office, behind ''
Jurassic Park
''Jurassic Park'', later referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton, centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of De-extinction#Cloning, cloned dinosaurs. It bega ...
''s second weekend, grossing $15,338,241 in its opening weekend, from 2,306 theaters, averaging $6,651 per theater. It ended its run with $50,016,394 in the United States and Canada. The film was released in the United Kingdom on July 30, 1993, on 266 screens and again opened at number two behind ''Jurassic Park'' (on 435 screens) with a gross of $1.34 million for the weekend. In France it opened at number one with a gross of 21 million
French franc
The franc (; , ; currency sign, sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amoun ...
($3.6 million) in its opening week. It grossed $87,202,095 overseas, for a worldwide total of $137,298,489. In an
A&E biography of Schwarzenegger, the actor said that the film could have done better if not for bad timing, since it came out a week after ''Jurassic Park'' which went on to break box-office records as one of the top-grossing films of all time.
Schwarzenegger states that he tried to persuade his coproducers to postpone the film's June 18 release in the United States by four weeks, but they turned a deaf ear on the grounds that the film would have lost millions of dollars in revenue for every weekend of the summer it ended up missing, also fearing that delaying the release would create negative publicity. He told the authors of ''Hit And Run'' that while everyone involved with the production had given their best effort, their attempt to appeal to both action and comedy fans resulted in a film that appealed to neither audience and ultimately succumbed to heavy competition.
Critical response
''Last Action Hero'' received mixed reviews from critics. On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film has an approval rating of 40% based on 53 reviews and an average rating of 5.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "''Last Action Hero'' has most of the right ingredients for a big-budget action spoof, but its scattershot tone and uneven structure only add up to a confused, chaotic mess." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film has a
weighted average score of 44 out of 100 based on 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data.
Background
Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
gave the film 2.5 stars out of 4, writing that despite some entertaining moments, ''Last Action Hero'' "plays more like a bright idea than like a movie that was thought through. It doesn't evoke the mystery of the barrier between audience and screen the way Woody Allen did in ''
The Purple Rose of Cairo'', and a lot of the time it simply seems to be standing around commenting on itself."
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...
likened the film to "a two-hour ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' sketch" and called it "something of a mess, but a frequently enjoyable one".
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for '' Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...
of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' wrote: "''Last Action Hero'' makes such a strenuous show of winking at the audience (and itself) that it seems to be celebrating nothing so much as its own awfulness. In a sense, the movie's incipient commercial failure completes it aesthetically."
''
Variety'' called it "a joyless, soulless machine of a movie, an $80 million-plus mishmash of fantasy, industry in-jokes, self-referential parody, film-buff gags and too-big action set-pieces." ''
Halliwell's Film Guide'' described it as "a film that tries to have it both ways, simultaneously mocking and celebrating the conventions of action movies, which leaves audiences, as well as the actors and director, in a state of bewildered confusion". John Ferguson of ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...
'' was more positive, awarding it four stars out of five and stating, "An Arnold Schwarzenegger backlash had been on the cards for some time and when this extravaganza was released the knives were well and truly out. It was actually all a little unfair, because this is a smart, funny blockbuster
..Schwarzenegger has rarely been better and he is backed up by a never-ending stream of star names in cameo roles
..And, although McTiernan has fun spoofing the conventions of the action genre, he still manages to slip in some spectacular set pieces."
Legacy
About the film's failure and critical response, John McTiernan said:
Initially, it was a wonderful Cinderella
"Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...
story with a nine-year-old boy. We had a pretty good script by Bill Goldman, charming. And this ludicrous hype machine got hold of it, and it got buried under bullshit. It was so overwhelmed with baggage. And then it was whipped out unedited, practically assembled right out of the camera. It was in the theater five or six weeks after I finished shooting. It was kamikaze, stupid, no good reason for it. And then to open the week after ''Jurassic Park''—God! To get to the depth of bad judgment involved in that, you'd need a snorkel.
Later Schwarzenegger blamed the film's poor performance on bad press and the election of
Democratic president
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
, which he said influenced audiences to see 1980s action film stars as lowbrow. In 2017, he said
streaming services
A streaming media service (also simply called a streaming service) is an online platform that allows users to watch or listen to content, such as film, movies, Television show, TV shows, music, or podcasts, over the internet. Instead of downloadi ...
gave the film its chance to reach new audiences unencumbered by the bad press. In Netflix's three-part docuseries ''Arnold'' (released in 2023), the actor recalled how the failure of the movie affected him. "When ''Last Action Hero'' came out I had reached my peak after ''Terminator 2'', having the most successful movie of the year worldwide, I cannot tell you how upset that I was
bout the negative ''Last Action Hero'' reviews It hurts you. It hurts your feelings. It's embarrassing. I didn't want to see anyone for a week but you keep plodding along." Director
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...
said that he had called Schwarzenegger the weekend after ''Last Action Hero'' opened and recalled that it was the only time he's "ever heard him down." Cameron continued, "He took it as a deep blow to his brand. I think it really shook him."
Shane Black was very critical of the movie: "It was a mess. There was a movie in there, struggling to emerge, which would have pleased me. But what they'd made was a jarring, random collection of scenes."
[
Years after its release, the film was the subject of a scathing chapter called "How They Built The ]Bomb
A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...
", in the Nancy Griffin book ''Hit and Run'' which detailed the misadventures at Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...
in the early to mid-1990s. Among the details presented in this chapter relating to ''Last Action Hero''s poor box office returns were:
* Universal moved ''Jurassic Park
''Jurassic Park'', later referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton, centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of De-extinction#Cloning, cloned dinosaurs. It bega ...
'' to June 11, 1993, well after Sony had decided on a June 18 release date for ''Last Action Hero''.
* The movie was reportedly the first to have an advertisement placed on a space-going rocket, which costed an additional $500,000.
* A rough cut, screened in May, was reviewed negatively; Sony destroyed the review cards, and the film's word-of-mouth would prove to be catastrophic, earning a "C+" CinemaScore grade.
* The shooting and editing schedules were so demanding and so close to the June 18 release date that after the movie's release, a source close to the film said that they "shouldn't have had Siskel">eneSiskel and Ebert">ogerEbert telling us the movie is 10 minutes too long".
* With ''Jurassic Park'' continuing to top the box office, ''Last Action Hero'' dropped 47% on its second weekend, dropping to fourth behind two newcomers: '' Sleepless in Seattle'' of Sony subsidary TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is part of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, which is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation.
The compan ...
, and '' Dennis the Menace''.
* ''Last Action Hero'' was the first film to be released using Sony Dynamic Digital Sound, but only a few theaters were set up for the new format, and many of those experienced technical problems with the new system. Insiders at Paramount
Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to:
Entertainment and music companies
* Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS.
**Paramount Picture ...
reportedly referred to it as "Still Doesn't Do Shit".
* The final declared financial loss for the film was $26 million.
In the years since the release of ''Last Action Hero'', the film has developed a strong cult following. Schwarzenegger singled out that movie as his most underrated: "''Last Action Hero'' was great – it wasn't fantastic, but it was underrated. Now, more and more people are seeing it and saying, "I love this movie." I'm getting the residual checks, so I know it's true. It made money – that's always an important thing for me. Because it's show business, right?" Later, Charles Dance said: "I think they just didn't time the release very well. It came out more or less at the same time as something very big", referring to ''Jurassic Park''. "But it was fun to do." He also praised Schwarzenegger: "Arnold is a very smart man, oh yes. Very definitely. And very funny, and very aware."
Accolades
The film was nominated for six Golden Raspberry Award
The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic failures. Co-founded by University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John ...
s: Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Arnold Schwarzenegger), Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, Worst New Star (Austin O'Brien), and Worst Original Song ("Big Gun"), but it did not win any. At the 1993 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, the film received two nominations without wins: Worst Picture and Worst Actor (Schwarzenegger).
The film was also nominated for seven Saturn Awards
The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films bel ...
for Best Fantasy Film, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Writing, Best Performance by a Young Actor, Best Costume, and Best Special Effects, again winning nothing.
Video games
A video game based on the film was released in 1994 on video game consoles, the themed-pinball machine by Data East
, also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game, pinball and electronic engineering company. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, and released 150 video game titles. At one time, the company had annual sales of 20 billion yen in ...
was included and released on '' The Pinball Arcade'' and its spin-off '' Stern Pinball Arcade'' in 2016.
Potential sequel
In October 2019, Schwarzenegger said that he was open to starring in sequels to ''Last Action Hero'' and ''True Lies
''True Lies'' is a 1994 American action comedy film written and directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Harry Tasker, a U.S. government agent, who struggles to balance his double life as a spy with his familial duties, ...
'' (1994) if there was sufficient fan interest.
See also
* List of American films of 1993
* Story within a story
A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a literary device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one). Multiple layers of stories within stories are sometime ...
* List of 8 channel SDDS films
* List of films featuring fictional films
References
Works cited
*
External links
Official website
*
September 9, 1991 first draft script
by Zak Penn and Adam Leff at Awesomefilm
October 10, 1992 composite draft script
by Zak Penn and Adam Leff, current draft by Shane Black and David Arnott, doctored by William Goldman at Awesomefilm
{{Authority control
1993 films
1993 action comedy films
1993 children's films
1993 fantasy films
1990s buddy comedy films
1990s buddy cop films
1990s children's comedy films
1990s fantasy comedy films
1990s parody films
1990s action adventure films
1990s satirical films
American fantasy comedy films
American buddy cop films
American fantasy films
American parody films
American comedy films
American action comedy films
American action adventure films
American buddy comedy films
American films with live action and animation
Films with archival recordings
American police detective films
Metafictional works
Columbia Pictures films
Looney Tunes films
Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner films
Films about friendship
Films about the Los Angeles Police Department
Films set in Los Angeles
Films set in New York City
Films shot in Los Angeles
Films shot in New York City
Films directed by John McTiernan
Films with screenplays by Zak Penn
Films with screenplays by Shane Black
Films scored by Michael Kamen
Films about personifications of death
Films set in a movie theatre
Films produced by John McTiernan
Films with screenplays by David Arnott
American children's comedy films
1990s English-language films
1990s American films
American self-reflexive films
English-language crime films
English-language action adventure films
English-language action comedy films
English-language fantasy films
English-language thriller films
English-language buddy comedy films
Films about parallel universes