Movies - Last Action Hero

Home > Listing Index > Movies > Last Action Hero

	Movies - Last Action Hero

Last Action Hero is a 1993 action movie and comedy film directed by John McTiernan and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as clichéd movie action hero Jack Slater and Austin O'Brien as teenage film buff Danny. After receiving a magic ticket passed down from the top Asian magicians to Houdini, and then to Danny, the lines between reality and the movie world blur as Danny is catapulted into his favorite film series, Jack Slater.

Last Action Hero was billed at the time as "the next great summer action movie" and many movie insiders predicted the film to be a huge blockbuster, especially following the success of Schwarzenegger's previous film, Terminator 2: Judgment Day
. Instead, it was panned by critics and virtually ignored by audiences. The movie grossed approximately $50 million in the United States; fairly dismal compared to the $60 million budget. The movie has since gained some appreciation as a humorous send-up of the action genre, as it intentionally parodies virtually every action movie cliché.

Cast

Arnold Schwarzenegger
as Jack Slater/Himself
Austin O'Brien
as Danny Madigan
Charles Dance
as Benedict
Robert Prosky
as Nick
Tom Noonan
as Ripper/Himself
Joan Plowright
as Danny's Schoolteacher
Frank McRae
as Lieutenant Dekker
Anthony Quinn
as Tony Vivaldi
Bridgette Wilson
as Whitney/Meredith
F. Murray Abraham
as John Practice
Mercedes Ruehl
as Irene Madigan
Art Carney
as Frank
Ian McKellen
as Death
Toru Tanaka as Tough Asian Man

Plot summary

Last Action Hero follows the story of Danny Madigan (O'Brien), a young school kid whose love of action movies keeps him out of school and in trouble. Danny idolizes Arnold Schwarzenegger and is somewhat obsessed with the fictional character in the movie whom Schwarzenegger portrays, Jack Slater (he'd watched the third movie six times).

Danny's obsession with television and movies leads him to befriend an old cinema operator Nick (Prosky), who runs a beat-up old cinema in downtown New York City. Nick allows Danny to watch pre-screenings and reel tests of movies before they are available to the public, which he offers to do with the new Jack Slater film, Jack Slater IV. Danny, however, is in trouble with his school for not attending classes and his single mother finds it increasingly difficult to keep tabs on him whilst holding down a job. Danny is eager to see the Slater film and against his own safety (the first time he opens his door, a man charged him, but left in disgust at the lack of valuables), he ventures out late at night to view the midnight pre-screening.

Danny arrives at the cinema only to be told he requires a ticket to enter. Nick then reveals a gold-plated ticket from his pocket and speaks of his time as a boy when he went backstage after a Houdini show in the same theater, and was presented the ticket. Told by Houdini that it was passed along by the great magicians of the Asias and that it has magical powers yet a mind of its own, Nick had always been too afraid to use it. Disbelieving, Danny allows Nick to nostalgically tear the stub off and start the movie.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Last Action Hero ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Last Action Hero; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Searches on eBay