MIKE SAYS Last Action Hero is a terribly underrated film. Rotten tomatoes lists the film with a 38%, well within "rotten" territory. While older films generally have a more dramatic gap between critics and audiences, the gap for LAH is small, scoring just 40%. This is really too bad, especially considering just how fun a flick this is. LAH was also a bit before its time, as the type of "meta" humor used here--such as refrences, cliches, and stereotypes being referenced and used to the extreme--has become very common and popular. True, it was a bit of a movement in the 90's, (see The Scream and Naked Gun movies), but today this type of humor isn't just for film geeks anymore. It's kind of standard knowledge.
Hero, while a 90's movie in many ways, really is an homage to the 80's action film: a memorable character, fun one-liners, and movie laws that defy logic. Using Schwarzenegger was pure genius. Not only does he embody the 80's action hero, but his talents as a comedian are rarely utilized so well.
The idea of merging the real world with fiction, of living the fantasies seen before in the movies, was a common theme of the 80's. This film takes this idea and examines it, has fun with it. Danny's role in the film, of understanding where he fits in the fiction world, and then finding his place in the real world, is exactly the journey that we, as film watchers, should take. The trouble is that journey is never really finished.
Where the film really begins to sing, for me, is when Danny and Jack enter the real world. That Danny gives Jack the same advice that we give anyone who dissects a movie to an extreme, "You can't go through life nitpicking every little thing!" is just icing on the cake.
One of the funnest things is the juxtaposition of the two worlds. Even the crime-ridden, dangerous world of Jack Slater is almost candy-coated sweet compared to Danny's reality, a truth that even startles the villain. The film takes on some pretty serious literary concepts, which is surprising in a film that is meant to be a comedy. That the film takes a dark turn towards the end is risky, but also very 80's.
Perhaps the biggest problem of the film is that it doesn't really deliver on some of the concepts it explores. That Jack remains the hero of the film is a major flaw. The problem is that as a fictional character, Jack shouldn't be the one with the character arc-- the growth should be Danny's. Jack should have merely served the purpose that all fictional characters do: that of teaching and helping us to learn a valuable life lesson. Giving Jack the big confrontations takes this away from Danny.
Danny's conversation with Death is the closest he gets to a final confrontation. This feels like a missed opportunity, as the death of Danny's father is never really explored. Danny's confrontation with Death and his love of the invincible hero Jack Slater would have made so much more sense in the context of a child who had lost a parent, and it would have been more emotionally satisfying. Danny's acceptance of the real world, the death of his father, and gaining the courage to face it, would have given the movie the emotional conclusion that it desperately needs.
Instead, the movie stays about Jack, which makes sense given the star billing, but robs the story, and Danny, of any real impact. Jack's character arc of facing his worst nightmares (the Axeman and his son's death) and accepting his role as a fictional hero ("Our lives are ruled by Hollywood writers!") is ultimately wasted, and inappropriate. The only arc Jack really needed was the small knowledge that his life, and tragedies, just serve to teach and inspire people like Danny.
Despite this, the movie is still a lot of fun, and its explorations of the movie universe, and rules, make being a movie fan all that more sweet. I have to wonder, though, if Schwarzenegger enjoyed making the film as much as it appears he did. It takes a special actor to make a movie that both honors and pokes fun at his entire career, and I have to respect him for that.
Hero, while a 90's movie in many ways, really is an homage to the 80's action film: a memorable character, fun one-liners, and movie laws that defy logic. Using Schwarzenegger was pure genius. Not only does he embody the 80's action hero, but his talents as a comedian are rarely utilized so well.
The idea of merging the real world with fiction, of living the fantasies seen before in the movies, was a common theme of the 80's. This film takes this idea and examines it, has fun with it. Danny's role in the film, of understanding where he fits in the fiction world, and then finding his place in the real world, is exactly the journey that we, as film watchers, should take. The trouble is that journey is never really finished.
Where the film really begins to sing, for me, is when Danny and Jack enter the real world. That Danny gives Jack the same advice that we give anyone who dissects a movie to an extreme, "You can't go through life nitpicking every little thing!" is just icing on the cake.
One of the funnest things is the juxtaposition of the two worlds. Even the crime-ridden, dangerous world of Jack Slater is almost candy-coated sweet compared to Danny's reality, a truth that even startles the villain. The film takes on some pretty serious literary concepts, which is surprising in a film that is meant to be a comedy. That the film takes a dark turn towards the end is risky, but also very 80's.
Perhaps the biggest problem of the film is that it doesn't really deliver on some of the concepts it explores. That Jack remains the hero of the film is a major flaw. The problem is that as a fictional character, Jack shouldn't be the one with the character arc-- the growth should be Danny's. Jack should have merely served the purpose that all fictional characters do: that of teaching and helping us to learn a valuable life lesson. Giving Jack the big confrontations takes this away from Danny.
Danny's conversation with Death is the closest he gets to a final confrontation. This feels like a missed opportunity, as the death of Danny's father is never really explored. Danny's confrontation with Death and his love of the invincible hero Jack Slater would have made so much more sense in the context of a child who had lost a parent, and it would have been more emotionally satisfying. Danny's acceptance of the real world, the death of his father, and gaining the courage to face it, would have given the movie the emotional conclusion that it desperately needs.
Instead, the movie stays about Jack, which makes sense given the star billing, but robs the story, and Danny, of any real impact. Jack's character arc of facing his worst nightmares (the Axeman and his son's death) and accepting his role as a fictional hero ("Our lives are ruled by Hollywood writers!") is ultimately wasted, and inappropriate. The only arc Jack really needed was the small knowledge that his life, and tragedies, just serve to teach and inspire people like Danny.
Despite this, the movie is still a lot of fun, and its explorations of the movie universe, and rules, make being a movie fan all that more sweet. I have to wonder, though, if Schwarzenegger enjoyed making the film as much as it appears he did. It takes a special actor to make a movie that both honors and pokes fun at his entire career, and I have to respect him for that.
KATE SAYS I really like this movie. This is probably the third time I’ve
seen it, and I enjoyed it just as much as the first time.
Granted, it is a rip off of Purple Rose of Cairo—which
movie I only vaguely remember—but Woody Allen is too angsty for me anyway. And if
I remember Purple Rose correctly, the themes are not
exactly the same.
One of the themes of Last Action Hero
is the one you would expect--real life isn’t like in the movies!--but I don’t think it is the
theme. Another theme--watching movies can help you be brave in real life--is
slightly more emphasized but not really paid off in the end (we don’t see Danny
standing up to bullies at school, etc.).
To me the real insight/point of the movie occurs in the
scene where Death confronts Jack and Danny in the movie theater. Now, granted,
this is a fictional character (played by Sir Ian McKellan) confronting two more
fictional characters, one of whom is supposed to be a real boy. But Death is a
bigger concept than all that.
Danny asks if Death is going to take Jack.
“I don’t do fiction,” Death sniffs.
To me, this underscores an ongoing idea throughout the movie—NOT
the idea that people in real life die while people in movies don’t (sob sob) but
that all creation/fiction/story is constructed. Death is no more or less a
motif in an action/hero movie than he is in a profound European flick. It’s all
art. It’s all made.
So . . . how is it made?
This to me is the question the writers of Last
Action Hero are asking. The movie is a study in motifs though not
necessarily a criticism of those motifs. The motifs of “flesh wounds” and “comic
relief” simply exist. They simply are what they are. Danny instantly recognizes these motifs; when Jack Slater IV
begins, Danny knows EXACTLY what is going to happen next. Why is that a bad
thing? And what’s the difference between a motif and a cliché and a stereotype
anyway?
The writers don’t come to any conclusions about motifs/clichés,
etc.—which gives the movie an unfinished feel at the end—but they sure have a
lot of fun exploring the problem!
So, there’s a lot of satire going on, and I love the Schwarzenegger
taking out Elsinore scene. But I confess that even more than the Death scene, my favorite parts are the really
off-kilter jokes.
I love the trained dogs, just adore them.
I love the trained dogs, just adore them.
No comments:
Post a Comment