His latest assignment is to protect corporate whistleblower Leigh (Vanessa Williams). Leigh is in possession of information that could not only bring down her former employers but members of the federal government.
When Leigh is targeted for assassination and Krueger is betrayed by his colleagues, the pair go on the run. Can they survive long enough for Leigh to deliver her evidence?
The last of Arnold Schwarzenegger's solo hits, Eraser is almost forgotten nowadays. While the movie is fairly by the numbers, that averageness always struck me as bizarre - by-the-numbers action fare is not what I would expect from Ah-nuld, and the lions' share of his filmography (at least the biggest hits) do not fit the same template as other action stars of his vintage - other action stars (Eastwood, Bronson, Norris and Stallone) generally share Schwarzenegger's bodycounts and weaponry, but they rarely blend genres, and the tone of those stars' films did not share the tongue-in-cheek tone of his output. You won't find any robots or aliens in most action movies of the 80s, and only Schwarzenegger built his name on genres outside of police thrillers (Dirty Harry) and war films (the Rambo franchise).
The last of Arnold Schwarzenegger's solo hits, Eraser is almost forgotten nowadays. While the movie is fairly by the numbers, that averageness always struck me as bizarre - by-the-numbers action fare is not what I would expect from Ah-nuld, and the lions' share of his filmography (at least the biggest hits) do not fit the same template as other action stars of his vintage - other action stars (Eastwood, Bronson, Norris and Stallone) generally share Schwarzenegger's bodycounts and weaponry, but they rarely blend genres, and the tone of those stars' films did not share the tongue-in-cheek tone of his output. You won't find any robots or aliens in most action movies of the 80s, and only Schwarzenegger built his name on genres outside of police thrillers (Dirty Harry) and war films (the Rambo franchise).
The big problem with Eraser is Schwarzenegger's big hits were never just action movies. They always feature some unique selling point (Predator and Terminator blend action elements with elements of horror and sci-fi; Total Recall and The Running Man aim for dystopian satire to underpin the action).
By contrast, Eraser has a rail gun. It does feature nods to the familiar tropes of its star's past hits, but it lacks a specific flavour of its own.
By contrast, Eraser has a rail gun. It does feature nods to the familiar tropes of its star's past hits, but it lacks a specific flavour of its own.
In retrospect, Eraser was a transitional work, between Schwarzenegger's most successful period, marrying the ex-strongman to high concepts and talented creatives, with his post-peak work - Batman & Robin, End of Days, The 6th Day...
Since it is basically a generic action movie, the closest movie it resembles is Commando. But the differences are key:
Commando is a deceptively simple movie that understood how to best utilise its still-green star. Keep it simple, keep it moving, and keep tongue wedged in cheek.
Eraser has no firm idea of what kind of character Krueger is - he is both an intelligent infiltration agent and a one-man-army. One fits for the character, the other fits for the star. Neither really feel complementary. While the story is more complicated, it lacks the clear stakes, goals and obstacles of Commando.
Eraser has no firm idea of what kind of character Krueger is - he is both an intelligent infiltration agent and a one-man-army. One fits for the character, the other fits for the star. Neither really feel complementary. While the story is more complicated, it lacks the clear stakes, goals and obstacles of Commando.
Simon Brew's Film Stories podcast did an episode on Eraser, detailing a production where the script was constantly in flux. You can feel that indecisiveness everywhere - a burgeoning romantic subplot that is neutered as soon as it is hinted at; a rushed relationship between Krueger and his mentor-turned-villain (James Caan).
Eraser is fun, but there is always a point halfway through (around the point our hero crashes to earth after a mid-air standoff with an airliner) where the movie just feels like its going through the motions. There is no real low-point for our heroes, and there is no real arc or development to their rapport.
It also does not help that the acting is not great. Part of what makes Schwarzenegger's best movies so good is the performances around the star - James Earl Jones as Thulsa Doom in Conan the Barbarian; Linda Hamilton in the Terminators; heck, even a crummy nothing like Running Man has Yaphet Kotto and Richard Dawson. Arnold has grown to become a solid actor, in specific contexts, but what has always helped is the strength of his casts which has helped to smooth over his (distinctive) wooden-ness.
Vanessa Williams has carved out a respectable career as a small screen villain in Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives. As the pure of heart Leigh, she feels miscast. The character goes through a rollercoaster of intense emotional moments but the movie and Williams' performance never quite hit the mark.
One thing I got out of Eraser this time was how it increased my appreciation for Rae Dawn Chong's performance in Commando - she is an ordinary woman in a terrifying situation, and she plays the stakes of the situation. Does she go a bit big? Sure, but in a movie featuring this scene it fits.
With Williams, it feels like a balloon without enough air - her performance will not get this character to float.
In the bad guy corner, Jimmy Caan can play slimy politico, but there is a slightly blaise quality to him - it feels like the direction he was given was to play a James Caan-type villain, with no distinctive shading. He has no meaningful connection with Arnold, and his character is not formidable enough to make him a strong antagonist.
No one is the cast are bad. They are just underwhelming in underwritten roles.
If the movie leaned more into the hi-tech weapons, maybe the movie would have more of its own flavour. One thing I thought would have improved the movie was if the corporate HQ our heroes have to break into had been more of a hi-tech fortress, complete with some ridiculous security measures, necessitating more of the Eraser's skills and Leigh's know-how. As is, it is just underwhelming.
On its terms, Eraser is a fun but forgettable action flick. As a piece of Arnold Schwarzenegger's filmography, it is an inauspicious close to his most successful period, and the portent of what was to come.
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