Last Action Hero is a 1993 action comedy directed by John McTiernan. The film is a satire of the action genre and its clichés. The film includes within it several parodies of action films, in the form of films within the film.
The film tells the story of Danny, a young boy who likes action movies, particularly those featuring action hero Jack Slater. It is established within the film that Slater is portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who plays himself as well as portraying Slater. Thanks to a "magic ticket", the lines between reality and the movie world blur as Danny is catapulted into Jack Slater IV.
Last Action Hero follows the story of Danny Madigan (Austin O'Brien), a boy whose love of action movies keeps him out of school and in trouble. Danny idolizes Arnold Schwarzenegger (who plays himself), particularly Schwarzenegger's character Jack Slater. ("Jack Slater" is a completely fictional character who appears within the films that exist in the actual movie.)
Danny's obsession with television and movies leads him to befriend an old man named Nick, who runs a beat-up old cinema in downtown New York City. Nick offers Danny a private screening of the new Jack Slater film, Jack Slater IV. Nick then reveals a gold-plated ticket from his pocket and gives it to Danny. Nick tells Danny the ticket was given to him from Harry Houdini, and that it contains magic powers. Danny uses the ticket to enter his private screening.
Danny excitedly begins watching Jack Slater IV During a car chase scene, the stub of the "magic ticket" begins to glow blue. Suddenly, the action from the movie spills into the theater, and Danny is himself thrust into the movie.
Danny ends up accompanying Slater, trying to convince him that he's a fictional character inside a movie. Slater is unconvinced. Eventually Danny uses his knowledge of the Jack Slater story line to help Slater solve mysteries in Jack Slater IV.
The two run into Tony Vivaldi, the crime boss in Jack Slater IV, and his henchman Mr. Benedict (Charles Dance). Benedict overhears Danny discussing his knowledge of Benedict's role in the movie, and -- like Slater, not understanding he himself is in a movie -- is intrigued to find out how Danny could come about such information. Benedict obtains the magic ticket. He discovers its ability to allow him to travel to the real world, but he is reluctant to try it.
Benedict double-crosses Vivaldi, killing him. Benedict awaits Slater's arrival at the mansion. When Slater arrives with Danny, Slater grabs Benedict and throws him at the butler, only to see them both vanish into a wall.
Slater is puzzled. "Usually when I do that it leaves a hole," he muses. Danny guesses that Benedict has the ticket and is now in the real world, Danny's world. Danny convinces Slater that they need to go through and stop Benedict while the hole is still open. The pair step through to see Benedict escaping out of the theater. They give chase but Benedict escapes. Danny returns to his apartment, with Slater following, bewildered.
Danny and Slater hunt for Benedict. Benedict discovers that if he can kill the real Arnold Schwarzenegger, Slater too will die. Benedict uses the ticket to enter other films, and collects "The Ripper", an antagonist from Slater's earlier films. The Ripper attempts to kill Schwarzenegger, but Danny and Slater foil him and the Ripper escapes to the roof. Slater and Danny pursue him; Slater eventually electrocutes the Ripper and saves Danny, but just as the duo think it's over, Benedict shows up and shoots Slater, giving him a mortal wound -- something impossible in the film world, and an apparent fate that Slater does not comprehend. Danny, distraught and infuriated, knocks Benedict's gun over to Slater. Earlier in the film, we learn that Benedict has a glass eye, and that in its stead he often uses cleverly concealed James Bond-like gadgets, such as timed explosives. Slater shoots Benedict's "bomb" glass eye, causing it to explode, killing Benedict.
Seeing that Slater is actually dying from his bullet wound, Danny races to find the magic ticket so that he can return Slater to within Jack Slater IV.
Danny finds the ticket and activates its magic, returning Slater back to his movie world where the fatal injury turns out to be "just a flesh wound". Slater's life is saved. Danny and Slater share a moment about believing in each other. Slater then returns to "his" world back on the job winding up his police chief by telling that the two of them are fictional and Slater wants to stop shooting and blowing things up.
The movie ends with Nick and Danny exiting the theatre. Behind them, on the cinema screen, is a parting shot of Slater riding into the sunset in his car, waving backward at the audience.
Last Action Hero was billed at the time as "the next great summer action movie" and many movie insiders predicted the film to be a huge blockbuster, especially following the success of Schwarzenegger's previous film, Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
Instead, the movie was panned by critics and grossed only $50 million in the United States and an additional $87 million worldwide, totaling US$137 million (a disappointment considering the $85 million budget). In an A&E biography of Schwarzenegger, the actor (who was also the film's executive producer) says that the film failed due to bad timing, since it came out a week after Jurassic Park, the biggest movie phenomenon of that year. Schwarzenegger states that he tried to persuade his co-producers to postpone the film's June 18 release in the US by four weeks, but they turned a deaf ear. Some in the film industry believe that the movie would have been successful (or at least recovered its production costs) if it had been released in mid-July, at the peak of summer.
Another theory has suggested that the poor reaction to the movie was partly due to a belief that the general public did not understand the theme, expecting a serious action epic but instead getting a film laced with a large amount of comedy. Whether this is true or not remains unknown. However, public reaction to the similarly comic but less cartoony True Lies has appeared to be more favorable.
Despite its box office failure, the movie has become somewhat of a sleeper cult hit, and is also regarded in some quarters as a very cerebral science fiction film, which explores the concepts of alternate reality in a meaningful way. The movie has also gained some admiration as a satire on the action genre, as it intentionally parodies almost every action movie cliché.
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. Zak Penn noted himself that it was ironic that the studio then had Shane 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 Zak Penn and Adam Leff were eventually credited with the story of the film but not the screenplay, which is noted as being unusual for a film based on an original screenplay.
Cameos:
Tina Turner makes a cameo appearance at the climax of Jack Slater III as the mayor of Los Angeles; she tries to convince Slater not to enter a hostage situation.
When Danny and Slater arrive at LAPD headquarters, Sharon Stone is near the door lighting a cigarette, dressed as her character in Basic Instinct (1992). Stone had also recently played Schwarzenegger's wife in Total Recall (1990).
Immediately following Sharon Stone's cameo, Robert Patrick strides past the two heroes, in character, as the T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991).
The animated cat named Whiskers was voiced by an uncredited Danny DeVito.
During the premiere of Jack Slater IV in the real world, a number of celebrities make cameo appearances as themselves, including: Maria Shriver (Schwarzenegger's real-life wife), Little Richard, Entertainment Tonight host Leeza Gibbons, James Belushi, Damon Wayans, Chevy Chase, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Timothy Dalton.
Music from the Motion Picture album:
Big Gun (AC/DC) – 4:24
What the Hell Have I (Alice in Chains) – 3:58
Angry Again (Megadeth) – 3:47
Real World (Queensrÿche) – 4:21
Two Steps Behind (Def Leppard) – 4:19
Poison My Eyes (Anthrax) – 7:04
Dream On (Aerosmith) – 5:42
A Little Bitter (Alice in Chains) – 3:53
Cock the Hammer (Cypress Hill) – 4:11
Swim (Fishbone) – 4:13
Last Action Hero (Tesla) – 5:44
Jack and the Ripper (Michael Kamen) (Buckethead: guitar) – 3:43 |
