Director Russell fails to provide creativity, is flick's main weaknessBy Michael Horowitz
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Arnold Schwarzenegger is the world's most prized action hero, but even he can't work alone.
The hulking Austrian looks great snapping people's necks and grinning defiantly as villains hold him at gunpoint, but he's never had the chops to pull off drama, so he always needs a director to protect him. Someone needs to keep him from looking stupid, but there is no such person in "Eraser."
James Cameron ("Terminator II," "True Lies") for one, is well aware of Schwarzenegger's limitations; you'll rarely get a laughable scene in any of their collaborations. Ivan Reitman ("Twins," "Kindergarten Cop") has the same ability to hide Schwarzenegger's weaknesses from the audience.
But Charles Russell, the director of the smash hit "The Mask"and the just-opened "Eraser" is less adept. Numerous dialogue scenes in "Eraser" are inadvertently hilarious. Schwarzenegger's even mumbling at one point about the identity inside, "that no one can take from you."
And you can only blame Russell.
"Eraser" takes up right around where "Commando" left off. Not high on the action totem pole, but definitely fulfilling the minimum requirements of a summer action blockbuster. While there are a few welcome updates to the usually conservative genre, this film has none of the stylistic flourishes that marked last summer's "True Lies" or the frenetic pace of "The Rock."
This film's story is a meld between the recent Tom Cruise hit "Mission: Impossible" and last year's Cindy Crawford miss "Fair Game." There's a computer disc to steal, a witness relocation, the need to get into a highly guarded room to use the disc and only one badass who can do it all: Arnold.
Vanessa Williams is Lee Cullen, an employee at weapons manufacturing corporation Cyrez, who comes across some suspicious files and alerts the FBI. They send her in to grab some hard evidence and various vested interests are alerted. Soon, she's hunted by mercenaries, and only one man can protect her.
The film shifts around the United States from one action scene to the next, ultimately involving one of the best parachute sequences ever a must-see. The pace is fast, light on logic and much superior to the lacking "Mission: Impossible."
Schwarzenegger isn't worried about expanding his range in this one. He just uses the same bag of tricks that have served him well. He acts tough, talks minimally and utters one-liners a scant bit brighter than the billions he let loose in "The Running Man."
James Caan provides a worthy adversary, with all the requisite scenery chewing and posturing. He's not convincing in the slightest as a good guy, which is what he's introduced as, but that's par for the course.
Rounding out the principals in the thankless victim role, Vanessa Williams is decent at screaming, running and pausing to look beautiful. She hints at a depth that few of Schwarzenegger's costars display, but this is not the movie to show it. In "Eraser" and its ilk, a woman's worth is measured by how hard she can kick the villain in the balls.
The weakness of the film is behind the camera: his name's Charles Russell. He's best when you don't notice him but never very exciting or innovative. You figure with $80 million, a decent script and the world's biggest action star you could get a little excited about direction. And, you'd expect that excitement to translate to the screen.
Is "Eraser" the best film of the summer? Not by a long shot.
Is it worth checking out? Yes, if only for the parachute scene.
FILM: "Eraser," directed by Charles Russell. Grade: B
Action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger plays John Kruger in "Eraser."
Schwarzenegger isn't worried about expanding his range in this one. He just uses the same bag of tricks that have served him well.