This John McTiernan classic is now 31 years old and can be streamed
It’s not always fair to actors’ attempts to surprise or take the kind of films they dominate further. He likes to point out when a star is stagnating, but the truth is that sometimes risks are expensive. Even if the result is something to be more than proud of, and ends becoming an object of worship over time and by other means.
It is the case of one of the biggest failures of the career of Arnold Schwarzenegger, the great star who dominated action in all possible aspects, from science fiction to comedy. Although his attempt to celebrate this was met with indifference, no matter how one of the best films of his career. We are talking, of course, about ‘The Last Action Hero’ (‘Last Action Hero’, 1993).
Long live action cinema
This great action, comedy and fantasy blockbuster It is now 31 years since its release in cinemaswhich was not a lucky one. In its first weekend it fell behind the phenomenon of the year, ‘Jurassic Park’, and only scraped together 50 million in the domestic market, well below its inflated budget of 85 million. The disappointment is one of the biggest disappointments that Arnie has experienced in his career, but the domestic market and streaming on platforms (in Spain it can be seen through Movistar Plus+) have kept it as the classic that it is.
Here we find a young teenage admirer of Jack Slater, the biggest hero of action cinema who is played by a fictional version of Schwarzenegger in the film. At his favorite movie theater he is given the opportunity to see Slater’s next film, but thanks to a magical golden ticket he manages to enter the violent and explosive world of this police officer who lives on the edge. Cinema and reality collide through the action of this magical elementsomething that the current villain of the film will want to take advantage of.
‘The Last Great Hero’ makes through this character, built around Arnold’s typical characters, a celebration of the kind of frenetic, bestial spectacle that was dominating Hollywood at that time. Two veterans of action and comedy cinema, director John McTiernan and screenwriter Shane Black, team up in the best way to sing the virtues of these mass phenomena.
‘The Last Great Hero’, intelligent and adrenaline-inducing entertainment
Very self-aware, balancing affection for spectacle and parody of darts thrown at Hollywood (including a Schwarzenegger not afraid to laugh at himself a little), the film offers intelligent entertainment as well as adrenaline. Also familiar even though it is explosive, since there are many who found this film in their childhood through the home format and the video store, being completely fascinated with her.
Even being a character that makes some mockery of the kind of heroes he plays, here Arnold Schwarzenegger finds a shoe perfect for him. He can overflow with charisma and physical action, as well as hilarious dialogue, giving perfect dynamism to an amazing film. That he didn’t also become a phenomenon is a shame, because Such a fun and thought-provoking movie. It should not be accompanied by the bittersweet asterisk of failure.
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