How The 1990’s Wildest Action Movie Survived Disaster To Become A Cult Classic
I saw 1993’s Last Action Hero for the first time on cable when I was five or six years old and distinctly remember talking to my best friend about it at school the following day. Not knowing the name of the movie because I tuned in halfway through on my first watch, I explained to him that it was about a kid who thought he was living in an action movie, to which he replied, “yeah, you were watching a movie.”
It was one of the most frustrating conversations of my young life because I couldn’t yet articulate the idea of a self-aware movie, let alone the layers of meta-humor that made it possible.
He finally understood what I meant when he saw Last Action Hero himself a few weeks later. It became our favorite movie because it was so ridiculous.
Heroes covered in tar wiped themselves clean with a single napkin, ice-cream cones caused fatal head wounds, and cars seemed to drive themselves across a movie lot while Arnold Schwarzenegger fired off round after round without ever having to reload. It melted our first-grade brains, and even back then, we knew it was something special.
To this day, I maintain that Last Action Hero is one of Schwarzenegger’s best movies because he leans into every one of his strengths, not only as an action hero, but as someone who’s willing to poke fun at the very genre that made him a superstar and household name.
A Movie Within A Movie
Last Action Hero kicks off in New York City as our protagonist, Danny Madigan (Austin O’Brien), skips school to sit in an empty theater. He’s obsessed with the Jack Slater franchise, starring a fictionalized version of Arnold Schwarzenegger as the tough-as-nails cop who never misses a punchline or a bad guy.
Austin O’Brien as Danny Madigan in Last Action Hero (1993)
Calling out every action trope as he watches the movie for the bajillionth time, Danny is beyond excited when the theater’s projectionist, Nick (Robert Prosky), invites him back for an advanced midnight screening of Jack Slater IV. Before the show, Nick gives Danny a golden movie ticket that once belonged to Harry Houdini.
Danny, unaware of what kind of powers the ticket holds, is shocked when it starts glowing, the movie screen opens, and he gets sucked into the Jack Slater film during one of its over-the-top action sequences. Suddenly, he finds himself in a fictionalized Los Angeles where Jack Slater’s movies are set, and he can’t believe what’s happening before his very eyes.
Self-Awareness As A Plot Device
Having witnessed the criminal acts of mob boss Tony Vivaldi (Anthony Quinn) before getting pulled into the big screen in Last Action Hero, Danny is eventually able to convince Jack Slater that he’s actually a fictional character based on what he saw, which understandably doesn’t go over well.
Arnold Schwarzenegger as Jack in Last Action Hero (1993)
Jack, whose son died in a previous film, is haunted by his past. It’s a wound made worse when he realizes that the pain he’s carried is nothing more than a plot device for the sake of entertainment in a big-budget blockbuster.
Last Action Hero celebrates its tropes to the point of absurdity. Whenever Jack stops by the precinct to get chewed out by his boss, Lieutenant Dekker (Frank McRae), every single cliché line gets thrown around in the heat of the moment. Of course, the mayor’s going to have his ass, he wrecked 50 cars! Look closely and you’ll spot Robert Patrick from Terminator 2: Judgment Day walking by, suggesting that Last Action Hero somehow exists in the same universe.
Last Action Hero takes action over the edge
Things get even more chaotic when Jack Slater gets transported back to the real world, where he suffers from injuries, runs out of ammo, and runs into the real-life Arnold Schwarzenegger, who assumes he’s a body double hired for a publicity stunt.
Streaming Last Action Hero
So many people wish they could go back and experience their favorite movies or albums for the first time. I’ve heard my songwriting friends say this about listening to Nirvana’s Nevermind with a more refined palate. For me, that experience would be watching Last Action Hero as an adult, fully understanding its mechanics, satire, and self-referential humor, to see it again with fresh eyes. It’s that good.
A Blockbuster video in Last Action Hero (1993)
Never afraid to wear its ridiculousness on its sleeve, Last Action Hero is a one-of-a-kind parody that every action movie fan should experience at least once. As of this writing, you can stream it for free on Tubi.
