Why do so many people dislike 'Last Action Hero'? (1 Viewer)

[Darren Pillans]

Two words: Austin O'Brien.

He's so nauseatingly annoying it makes my teeth hurt.

 

[Sean Campbell]

I've always liked it, maybe because I was fascinated with the idea of being able to travel into any movie. Charles Dance made a great villian - his scenes in the real world were quite funny indeed. I remember getting quite excited when I saw him flicking through the newspaper cinema listings looking for suitable characters to bring into reality. One of the adverts was for 'Jason & The Argonauts' and I briefly thought that we might see a Harryhausen beastie prowling the streets of LA. Alas, it was not to be. And that 'toon cat should have got more screentime IMO.
Still, twas a quite enjoyable flick.


Ignore me... I actually liked The Postman.

 

[Travis Hedger]

I don't get the critics either!

It's a great popcorn flick with well thought out gags and cliche's.

I think my favorite part is after the canal chase, when the Mini Van comes flying up after the jump, it was so unexpected. It just gets me every time!

 

[Colin Jacobson]

It was considered a disappointment because of all the hype associated with it. It was a Memorial Day release, if I remember correctly.

Actually, it didn't come out until the middle of June. Before summer started, everyone touted the big battle of the box office between Hero and Jurassic Park. Didn't quite work out that way!

 

[Nate Anderson]

I liked it too...It was kind of a wish fufillment fantasy for me to jump into an action movie and particiapte in the destruction...I would probably accept it a little more quickly and just go with the mayhem (while probably anticipating the twists...hehee...)

I dunno...it was just plain silly fun.

 

[MarcinL]

I liked it

I picked it up recently from Walmart for $5.88, For that kind of money its a no brainer.

[Dead assassin tumbles out of closet after Slater has fired into it without warning]
Danny: How'd you know someone was in there?
Jack Slater: There's always someone in there. It costs me a fortune in closet doors

Danny Madigan: You think you are funny, don't you?
Jack Slater: I know I am. I'm the famous comedian Arnold Braunschweiger.
Danny Madigan: Schwarzenegger!
Jack Slater: Gesundheit.

Jack Slater: Could I speak to the drug dealer of the house, please?

Nick: There are lots of things worse than movies: politicians, wars, forest fires, famine, plague, sickness, pain, whores, politicians...
Jack Slater: You already mentioned them.
Nick: I know I did. They are twice as bad as anything else.

Benedict: I wonder if you could help me?
Mechanic: Sure, what do ya need?.
Benedict: Well,.....
[benedict shoots him. He listens for a while, then shouts]
Benedict: I have just shot someone, I did it on purpose. [listens some more, still nothing]
Benedict: I said, I have just killed a man and I wish to confess! [listens some more, someone tells him to shut up. He looks pleased]

 

[JoeMKal]

I thought it was pretty good, definitely one of Arny's better movies imo, yeah I have always wondered why this movie was panned so badly, I remember when it was the universal epitome of bad movies

 

[Cees Alons]

One thing more: It's in the same league as Mars Attacks! Hilarious movie, yet not generally liked. People simply don't get it.

Cees

 

[Al Stuart]

Well I gave it a chance a few years ago and a lot of the problems have already been mentioned, the kid is annoying, the movie is too schmaltzy, especially in the last 45 minutes or so, and the whole thing is too long. But the biggest issue, and it's the exact same problem with Mystery Men, is scale. If the movie were less expensive and less glitzy it would be a whole lot funnier. Like Mystery Man, there are some very funny ideas but the satire is lost when the productions are at an even larger level than the movies they are making fun of. This is why the cheesy looking low-budget version of Mystery Men, The Specials, is much funnier, despite having far less imagination and wit.

 

[Greg_S_H]

There were some genuinely funny moments in Mars Attacks! I love it when the aliens are walking down the street saying, "You have nothing to fear!" while blasting everybody in sight.

 

[Jason Walstrom]

I think mainstream audiences would have rather seen the bad cop movie in the movie than a movie making fun of those types of movies. I saw it twice in the theater. I remember at the time there being lotsa hype about the budget and that always brings a backlash of some type. I thought it was an entertaining guilty pleasure. Charles Dance was great.

 

[Travis_W]

Excellent points everyone. Glad to see I'm not the only one who likes it. For those who don't like it too much I can see your points. It's really a love it or hate it film I guess. Someone said how it was like Mars Attacks or Demolition Man, totally agree, both were really underrated (hell I saw Mars Attacks 4 times at theaters) and overshadowed by other films. The kid is annoying but after the first thirty I got used to him at least he kind of dropped out of the spotlight (guess he wasn't in the spotlight anyway but you know what I mean) after the film.

The DVD is a great deal, even though it's one of Columbia's first the 2.35:1 picture is anamorphic and looks great.

 

[JustinCleveland]

There were some genuinely funny moments in Mars Attacks! I love it when the aliens are walking down the street saying, "You have nothing to fear!" while blasting everybody in sight.

I would agree with your assertion that this moment is hysterical, but by this point in the film, I had no interest in the movie any longer. The setup was so rediculious as to be pointless in my estimation, as well as the pretentious campiness... it wasn't campy in a good way, unfortunately, and it lost me.

 

[FredK]

Mars Attacks lost my interest too, but LAH had a solid take during the "film world" that it's still a winner despite the closing. I'd like to see the DVD get better treatment, because the movie was a great production with the over the top action scenes Arnold pulls off best. The movie was a glimpse into what could be done with an over the top cop action flick, which was essentially realized with True Lies.

 

[Shayne Lebrun]

People dislike it for the same reason they disliked, say, StarShip Troopers; it wasn't what they were expecting.

It's a classic film. And it has Briget Wilson (I think that's her name) who you'd better recognize as Sonya Blade from Mortal Kombat.

 

[Quentin]

This is a love it AND hate it movie for me. I love the first half or so, and HATE the last hour or so.

For those in L.A. who might be interested...on Tuesday, June 24th, the ArcLight in Hollywood is having a screening/seminar called "Look what they did to my movie!". They'll screen Last Action Hero and then the writers will discuss what the hell happened and how/why it changed.

 

[Gary->dee]

I think Last Action Hero was ahead of its time. Back when it came out Arnie was still in the midst of his straight forward action career. Heck he's still doing his thing with T3, but I think if this movie was to be released now it might have a better reception especially since cop movies have been driven into the ground and then some. Basically I think people weren't ready for it.

 

[CharlesD]

I think the problem with LAH was that it tried to have its cake and eat it too. It wanted to be a clever parody of brainless action movies AND be a brainless summer action movie at the same time. I like it for the attempt at parody, but it really falls short because it tries to have it both ways.

 

[Gary->dee]

I don't understand that line of thinking. When someone says that a movie doesn't know what it wants to be or as Charles mentioned LAH tried to have it both ways it indicates to me that perhaps the person either didn't get the movie in question or they prefer less ambitious movies. Isn't a movie like LAH multi-dimensional because at times it's played for laughs yet there are lots of action scenes as well?

Don't get me wrong, I understand if someone thinks a movie fails in its attempt to entertain. But I had no problem with LAH because it had a few layers to it.

 

[Ben Osborne]

When someone says that a movie tries to have it both ways, they usually mean that the movie is conceptually flawed. If a movie tries to convey a sense of danger and suspense but contains gags and over-the-top comedy, it runs the risk of subverting its own intended effect. I would not describe such a movie as ambitious, but as ill-conceived. I would put movies such as Charlie's Angels, Mars Attacks, and the last two Batmans in this category.

Last Action Hero is unique in that the "real world" part of the movie makes it clear that the rules are different than in the movie world. Therefore, even though we don't get much of a sense of danger in the movie world (although I would argue that it does a better job of conveying one than the above-mentioned movies), the real world segment makes it clear that the hero is mortal and is not guaranteed to win in the end.