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.
