Director: John McTiernan
Distributor: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Duration: 130 minutes
Last Action Hero (1993) (4K UHD) – Movie Review
If we have to be completely honest, the action movie genre feels a bit dead these last few years. The movie industry either squeezes out the same movies over and over with a different cast, or they are situated around fast cars, or they have a bit of fantasy or sci-fi thrown in the mix. While a lot of enjoyable movies are still made, the glory days often feel like a thing of the past. During the ’80s and ’90s, a lot of people grew up watching iconic (and cheesy) performances by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, Jackie Chan, Wesley Snipes, and so on. Now we seemingly only have movies with Dwayne Johnson, trying to fill that gap on his own. While we do like our dose of ‘The Rock’ from time to time, it just doesn’t feel the same anymore. We were quite stoked when we saw a 4K UHD release for Last Action Hero being promoted by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, and even more so when we were offered the chance to revisit this classic. As always, we won’t dive into a full review, as this movie has received more than enough praise (or critiques) during its day, and thus we’ll be focusing on the relevancy and quality of the 4K UHD release.
We once again get sucked into a world where it’s all about certain ‘childish’ dreams of once experiencing a grand adventure ourselves. This is also the case for young teenager Danny (Austin O’Brien), who is a massive fan of the Jack Slater movies. In these films, the iconic Jack Slater is portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, the latter also being a famous actor in the film’s version of America. Nonetheless, when Danny gets a ticket that was supposedly owned by none other than Harry Houdini, he soon finds himself inside the actual Jack Slater universe, living the story himself. Explaining this to Jack Slater proves to be a lot harder than Danny had imagined. He will have to find a way home, after enjoying his experience for a while.
Is Last Action Hero a somewhat tacky experience? Undoubtedly. Is it very cliché? That’s the point. Has it aged well? Perfectly. While getting negative reviews back in 1993, this movie is an absolute delight if you want to just sit back and relax. Even now the movie feels relevant and portrays the dream of many young children – or even adults for that matter – and it does so with a certain (unappreciated) grace.
It’s quite rare to see some extra features for movies that are nearly three decades old. More than often you just get the original trailer and, if you’re lucky, some commentaries. While not plentiful in content, the 4K UHD edition of Last Action Hero does spice things up. Not only do we have the two aforementioned features, but we also have a music video, some alternate and deleted scenes, and even some behind-the-scenes footage. Even though this is only about twenty to thirty minutes of additional content, it is still very enjoyable to watch.
Conclusion
Trying to be as unbiased as possible, we still believe Last Action Hero is one of Schwarzenegger’s best action movies, not only for its fourth-wall-breaking aspects but the fact that it was an enjoyable experience for young and old. This movie is a testament to how cheesy action movies of that era could be, and that a fun story, appropriate casting and over-the-top acting can even withstand the test of time. After nearly 30 years, this movie still feels relevant and enjoyable, and truly deserves a spot in your 4K collection. While perhaps not getting (any) good reviews at its time of release, this is a movie anyone can enjoy on a quiet evening.
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