Eraser

Directed by Chuck Russell, Eraser follows Vanessa Williams’ Lee Cullen as she’s forced to go into hiding after blowing the whistle on her shady employer – with the film subsequently detailing the ongoing efforts of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s John Kruger to keep her safe. Filmmaker Russell, armed with Tony Puryear and Walon Green’s screenplay, offers up an overlong yet mostly satisfying endeavor that benefits from the top-notch work of its various performers, as Schwarzenegger’s expectedly engrossing turn is matched by a first-class supporting cast that includes James Caan, Robert Pastorelli, and James Coburn – which does ensure, for the most part, that the picture fares just as well in its quieter moments as it does in its big set-pieces. There’s little doubt, however, that Eraser‘s success is due primarily to its plethora of exciting, agreeably over-the-top action sequences, as Russell does an effective job of flooding the proceedings with inventive interludes that go a long way towards keeping things interesting throughout – with, especially, the larger-than-life battle aboard a plane, which culminates in said plane turning around and targeting a parachuting survivor, certainly standing as the picture’s high-water-mark. (There’s also a shootout in a zoo that couldn’t possibly be more fun.) And although the picture demonstrably peters out during its larger-than-life climax (ie it’s just overwhelming, ultimately), Eraser has long-since cemented its place as a solid piece of work that delivers exactly what one might’ve anticipated (and hoped for) based on the premise.

*** out of ****