Genre Guesstimation – Last Action Hero (1993)

The idea behind this feature (Genre Guesstimation) is for me to watch a bunch of new movies (or ones that I haven’t seen many times) from the chosen monthly GG genre in order to expand my knowledge of movies within that particular genre.

This month’s Genre has been chosen by Ashleigh of The Movie Oracle and it is Spoof/Parody Movies.

Please get me your submissions by the 25th of November (today!!) by sending them to spoofashleigh@movierob.net

Try to think out of the box! Great choice Ashleigh!

Let’s see if I felt that this movie would be worthy of being in the company of my others favorite movies in the genre of Parody/Spoof Movies.…

“Did Nicholson show up for the premiere of “Batman” dressed as the Joker? I don’t THINK so!” – Ripper’s Agent

Number of Times Seen – Between 5-10 times (Theater in ’93, cable, video and 21 Nov 2017)

Brief Synopsis – A movie obsessed kid gets a magic ‘ticket’ that transports him into the world of the movies.

My Take on it – This is a film that I recall so fondly because it’s a movie about Hollywood making fun of the way Hollywood churns out action films.

This film knows when to take itself completely seriously and when to smile and laugh at the way things are done.

As always, this role is a perfect fit for Arnold Schwarzenegger and it’s so easy to believe that his character could conceivably be real.

Arnie also does a great job playing himself as an actor in the few scenes where he appears.

The bets part of this film is the chemistry between Arnie and his co-star Austin O’Brien who get the father-son kind of  relationship stereotype along with the cop buddy-buddy stereotype just perfect.

What helps keep things in perspective here is the fact that the film does an amazing job parodying the genre.

Director John McTiernan adds some superb subtle homages to a few of his previous hits and it’s great catching them.

I loved this film as a 19 year old when it came out and even now 25 years later, I still wish I could be that kid who gets to dive into a real movie and interact with the characters onscreen.

Bottom Line – Such a fun movie that knows when it take itsefl seriously and when not to. Arnie is great in the lead and I loved the way he played himself as the actor. The interactions between Arnie and the kid played by Austin O’Brien are great and we get the feelings of both a father-son connection and a buddy-buddy one.  They do an amazing job parodying the genre and this helps keep things in perspective the whole time. Lvoed the way that McTiernan created a few homages to some of his previous hits also. Even after 25 years, I still wish I was that kid. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Charles Dance said in interviews that, after being told that he had won a part turned down by Alan Rickman because of the salary, he wore a t-shirt on set which read; “I’m Cheaper Than Alan Rickman!”. (From IMDB)

Genre Grandeur Worthy? – So close. This is such a fun film that knows when to take itself seriously and when not to.  Does a wonderful job parodying films of the genre.

Rating – Globe Worthy

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