Date: Fri 22-Nov-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: DONNAM

Illustration: C

Location: A13

Quick Words:

Playing-Eraser-Schwarzenegger

Full Text:

(rev "Eraser" for Now Playing, 11/22/96)

Now Playing-

A Softer Wow!-Factor In "Eraser"

By Trey Paul Alexander III

Among the cluster of films premiering this weekend hoping to cash in on the

holiday moviegoing season is Jingle All the Way , Arnold Schwarzenegger's

newest. This PG-rated comedy continues a pattern the savvy-minded superstar

began to establish back in 1988 when he diversified his screen portfolio with

the hit, Twins . Since then, he has carefully broadened his audience by

pursuing the die-hard hard-core action fans in the summer - with such

blockbusters as Total Recall, Terminator 2 and True Lies - and seeking a

kinder, gentler crowd in the fall/winter with Kindergarten Cop and Junior .

His strategy continues in 1996, and as audiences wait to see if Jingle All the

Way jabs at their funny bones, homebodies can sit before the tube and catch

Eraser , one of the top five rentals in the country and Arnold's summer entry

in the slam-bang sweepstakes.

Schwarzenegger stars as John Kruger, a US marshal working in the federal

witness protection program. His specialty is "erasing" the identity of

individuals whose lives are at high risk of endangerment. His latest case is a

beautiful woman (a plucky Vanessa Williams) whose employer is a defense

contractor looking to illegally ship state-of-the-art weapons (way-cool ray

guns that fire through walls to annihilate their targets) to bad guys

overseas. She decides to blow the whistle on her bosses, but to live to tell

her tale, she is going to need the big guy's help.

Also in the cast of this fast-moving flick are James Caan, Robert Pastorelli

and James Coburn, each of which add some flair to the proceedings and are

given more than one chance to chew the scenery.

Eraser is a decent movie, one whose occasional campiness actually suits the

home viewing experience. There's a shoot out in the New York Zoo, a gun fight

at 20,000 feet, a night-time battle on the Baltimore harbor... well, you get

the point. It's retro Ahnuld that in many ways is reminiscent of his Raw

Deal-Commando canon days (when the most oft-quoted line from Eraser is,

"You're luggage," uttered as Arnie offs a ravenous gator, you know the old

formula has been dusted off). But the movie's guilty pleasures are somewhat

reduced due to the expectations created by the star's rise to the top of the

action film heap.

Ever since 1987's taut Predator , Schwarzenegger has kept upping the ante on

his action films, giving viewers something more (and often something

different) than they'd seen in his other ventures: Total Recall blew away all

Arnold films that came before it; Terminator 2 then took the Austrian actor to

yet another, greater plateau; and True Lies soared to new heights both in

visual effects and in Arnie's acting range. Of course, we're not talking

Shakespeare here, but in the action genre, Schwarzenegger is the undisputed

heavyweight champion. But there is considerably less "WOW!" factor in Eraser

than in previous efforts, and the modest diversion this flick provides - there

are some fun moments and some flashy effects sequences - ends up paling in

comparison to the souped-up joyrides that have preceded it.

Eraser is rated R for profanity and some gruesome violence. Though often

cartoonish, the film has its moments of surprisingly graphic depictions, some

having to do with Arnold himself, who takes more of a beating here than he has

in recent memory (not counting his stint as a metal man in the Terminator

series).