Last Action HeroMovies are a portal that take you into another world; in most cases, that's just a metaphor, but in Last Action Hero, it's the real deal. The young Danny Madigan (Austin O'Brien) is an action movie buff--specifically one series of action movies, the "Jack Slater" series, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the super tough, witty, and cool L.A.P.D. cop with a penchant for guns and explosives, one-liners and catchphrases. Danny's been invited to an exclusive preview screening of the new "Jack Slater IV" by his projectionist buddy, Nick (Robert Prosky), who inducts him with a special ticket, imbued with magic by the late Houdini himself.
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Last Action Hero exists on the premise of the movies it pays homage to, and the unmistakable parallels between them. First and foremost, this is a role designed with "Ah-nold" in mind; not just because of the numerous nods to his oeuvre of blockbuster action flicks, but because of his status as the greatest of action movie icons, then and now. Arnold Schwarzenegger possesses a rare and dominating screen presence and charisma which made him the living legend of the Hollywood action genre. So Danny's fascination with the series of high-action films staring him is not really implausible--the Jack Slater movies are the kind of movies I would expect fans of Die Hard or To Live and Die in L. A. to pop in their video player just as easily. Last Action Hero is effectively broken up into two parts--appropriate, as it is a movie which deals with two worlds: the dreary real world and the larger-than-life, enthralling world of the Jack Slater movies. Danny's immersion in the world of Jack Slater is due to more than just his fandom--it has to do with the magic ticket that opens a gateway, one which Danny falls into quite unaware of the power of the ticket. Danny can't believe his fortune when it sinks in that he is a part of the world of his movie hero. He tries to convince Jack of this to no avail at first, and aid him in his efforts to thwart the treacherous Sicilian mob boss, Tony Vivaldi (Anthony Quinn), and his stylish, cleverer-than-thou assassin, Benedict (Charles Dance), who is responsible for killing Jack's favorite second cousin...big mistake. Jack Slater's fictional interpretation of L. A. is something Danny has a hard time adjusting to, such as a cartoon cat on the force (voiced by Danny DeVito), and immediately recognizable actors in supporting roles, whose body of work precedes them, like Jack's FBI contact, John Practice (F. Murray Abraham), whom Danny immediately distrusts, because he claims he killed Mozart. Last Action Hero doesn't just avoid shying away from knowing allusions to other Hollywood films, it runs headlong into the fray. In one of the more tongue-in-cheek moments of the movie, Jack Slater's nemesis from his previous adventure--Jack Slater III--is "The Ripper", played by Tom Noonan, whose agent even sarcastically asks him if he wants to get stuck being typecast playing serial killers for the rest of his life. Danny's visit to Jack's place of business finds Sharon Stone and Robert Patrick both outside in cameo, both reprising their roles from Basic Instinct and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Jack's opening car chase with the multitude of automatic weapon-wielding thugs even takes him through the spillways of the Los Angeles River, a location featured in numerous Hollywood cinematic set pieces. There is even a clear relationship between Jack and his boss, Lieutenant Dekker (Frank McRae), not at all unlike that between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in the Lethal Weapon movies. And while it is no Hollywood movie, I'm always surprised to see the decidedly arthouse nod in Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal, as Death (played here by Ian McKellen) emerges onto the streets of New York City after a mishap with the magic ticket.
Danny escapes into the movies--figuratively, prior to his exposure to the magic ticket--because his life feels empty. School doesn't satisfy him, so he cuts, only bothering to return when his English teacher puts on a movie, like Laurence Olivier's Hamlet. Even then, Danny re-imagines the film to feature Jack Slater as a more involved counterpart to Shakespeare's notorious "inaction" hero. Danny's mother, Irene (Mercedes Ruehl) reminds Danny of her obligations to take care of him, since she is now a widow. Danny sees a father figure in Jack, a defender of the weak who himself is also a father; his daughter, Whitney (Bridgette Wilson, and not Meredith Caprice) becomes the object of Danny's youthful affections for a bit during his brief tenure in fictional Los Angeles...but who could blame him? Danny worries about Jack when they find they must abandon the relative safety of the movie world for the real grit and grime of New York City, where they'll shoot you to steal your shoes. This is done to pursue Benedict, who gets wise to Danny Madigan's tricks of jumping between parallel worlds and wants to exploit it for himself, and indulge his insidious desires to rule over a cinematic empire of villains wrought from the likes of King Kong and Rosemary's Baby. But Jack soon discovers that the action hero antics which he could get away with in his world do not carry over in the same way when reality gets to call the shots. Bullets don't magically blow up cars, and Jack discovers that punching through a glass window really hurts. Danny's faith in his hero is shaken when he understands that Jack can really be hurt, so Danny must learn to trust Jack not as a projected icon, but as a good man who is trying to stop a real monster like Benedict from literally getting away with murder. And Jack struggles because he realizes that there was so much in life that he was missing out on--being fictional, and all--like classical music, and even just enjoying a nice conversation with a woman like Irene, touches of humanity which sometimes gets shunted aside in favor of developing an action movie persona. Danny sees empowerment in Jack, something he feels he is denied living in his highly dangerous apartment, one in which he gets mugged--and lectured--helpless to do anything to stop it. Danny wants to escape to someplace where he can feel that he can leave his troubles behind, so the movies are his vacation, and in a way his own kind of therapy--in coping with the loss of his dad and learning how to be a hero--even standing up to Death itself. One can learn a lot about life from the movies; and in Last Action Hero, that connection works both ways.
Recommended for: Fans of Arnold Schwarzenegger and his repertoire of guns-a-blazin' popcorn munchers, as well as a savvy comedy about movies in general. I've always found a special spot for Last Action Hero; a kid named Danny with shaggy blonde hair spends all his time going to the movies...can't imagine why?
Danny escapes into the movies--figuratively, prior to his exposure to the magic ticket--because his life feels empty. School doesn't satisfy him, so he cuts, only bothering to return when his English teacher puts on a movie, like Laurence Olivier's Hamlet. Even then, Danny re-imagines the film to feature Jack Slater as a more involved counterpart to Shakespeare's notorious "inaction" hero. Danny's mother, Irene (Mercedes Ruehl) reminds Danny of her obligations to take care of him, since she is now a widow. Danny sees a father figure in Jack, a defender of the weak who himself is also a father; his daughter, Whitney (Bridgette Wilson, and not Meredith Caprice) becomes the object of Danny's youthful affections for a bit during his brief tenure in fictional Los Angeles...but who could blame him? Danny worries about Jack when they find they must abandon the relative safety of the movie world for the real grit and grime of New York City, where they'll shoot you to steal your shoes. This is done to pursue Benedict, who gets wise to Danny Madigan's tricks of jumping between parallel worlds and wants to exploit it for himself, and indulge his insidious desires to rule over a cinematic empire of villains wrought from the likes of King Kong and Rosemary's Baby. But Jack soon discovers that the action hero antics which he could get away with in his world do not carry over in the same way when reality gets to call the shots. Bullets don't magically blow up cars, and Jack discovers that punching through a glass window really hurts. Danny's faith in his hero is shaken when he understands that Jack can really be hurt, so Danny must learn to trust Jack not as a projected icon, but as a good man who is trying to stop a real monster like Benedict from literally getting away with murder. And Jack struggles because he realizes that there was so much in life that he was missing out on--being fictional, and all--like classical music, and even just enjoying a nice conversation with a woman like Irene, touches of humanity which sometimes gets shunted aside in favor of developing an action movie persona. Danny sees empowerment in Jack, something he feels he is denied living in his highly dangerous apartment, one in which he gets mugged--and lectured--helpless to do anything to stop it. Danny wants to escape to someplace where he can feel that he can leave his troubles behind, so the movies are his vacation, and in a way his own kind of therapy--in coping with the loss of his dad and learning how to be a hero--even standing up to Death itself. One can learn a lot about life from the movies; and in Last Action Hero, that connection works both ways.
Recommended for: Fans of Arnold Schwarzenegger and his repertoire of guns-a-blazin' popcorn munchers, as well as a savvy comedy about movies in general. I've always found a special spot for Last Action Hero; a kid named Danny with shaggy blonde hair spends all his time going to the movies...can't imagine why?