Last Action HeroMovie Reviews

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So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 44 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
13 Iffy for 13+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 70
    Washington Post |

    If there's one thing going for Last Action Hero, it's the construction of it all. Even if this intermixing of kid fantasy and adult shoot'em-up, Hollywood insider jokes and cheap Arnold puns, doesn't completely bowl you over, it's clever and intriguing. Read full review

  • 63
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    For all of its sensational stunts and flashes of wit, however, Last Action Hero plays more like a bright idea than like a movie that was thought through. It doesn't evoke the mystery of the barrier between audience and screen the way Woody Allen did, and a lot of the time it simply seems to be standing around commenting on itself. Read full review

  • 63
    Boston Globe | Jay Carr

    Last Action Hero is a spectacularly uneven movie. Its action is hectic, but scattershot and mostly pretty empty. On the other hand, it is entertaining in surprising ways. [18 Jun 1993, p.41] Read full review

  • 60
    Washington Post | Hal Hinson

    The movie isn't mindless; it just has a mind that's a bit junky and muddled. And to their credit, Arnold and his collaborators haven't played it safe. Last Action Hero is a stretch. Unfortunately, it's a stretch that proves the star wasn't that elastic to begin with. Read full review

  • 60
    The New York Times | Vincent Canby

    Last Action Hero is something of a mess, but a frequently enjoyable one. It tries to be too many things to too many different kinds of audiences, the result being that it will probably confuse, and perhaps even alienate, the hard-core action fans. Read full review

  • 50
    USA Today | Susan Wloszczyna

    This movie-within-a-movie action-comedy spoof is a too long, too loud tease as it toys with the Schwarzen-dude's well-toned cinematic image. [18 Jun 1993, p.1D] Read full review

  • 50
    Austin Chronicle | Marc Savlov

    The film tries so very hard to be The Movie of Summer '93 that it almost makes you sick for what could have been, what should have been, and, in the end, what it is: soulless sound and fury -- action in a vacuum. Read full review

  • 50
    Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan

    Last Action Hero does have occasional moments of humor, but overall it is lacking in fun or magic. [18 Jun 1993, p.1] Read full review

  • 25
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    Last Action Hero makes such a strenuous show of winking at the audience (and itself) that it seems to be celebrating nothing so much as its own awfulness. In a sense, the movie's incipient commercial failure completes it aesthetically. Read full review

  • 0
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    The script is weak and unrelenting. The stunts are unspectacular. The special effects are nothing you haven't seen before. But worst of all, there's the spectacle of Schwarzenegger glorying in the wonder of Schwarzenegger. [18 Jun 1993, p.C1] Read full review


Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 13+ Arnold spoofs action movies, adds more violence.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this spoof/critique of action films has itself an excessive amount of violence, explosions, and killings. While kids may love this, the sheer number of people who are killed or plotted to be killed (at least 15) make it too much for younger kids. Jack's son is killed and daughter kidnapped, and Danny nearly dies as well. Jack is shot and nearly dies, bubbling up blood from his mouth. Also, several characters smoke.
  • Families can talk about the critique this film makes of action films. List some of the differences between the movie world and the real world. What does this film tell you about the world the movie industry creates? How realistic is it? At times, do you believe that the movie world is an accurate depiction of the real world? Why? When?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Lots of sociopathic behavior here, including stealing cars, killing people, plotting to blow people up.
What to watch for
  • violence false5 Violence: Excessive violence with plenty of gun shots, explosions, punches, and kicks. Nerve gas is used and people fall through glass skylights. Jack's son is pushed off a building and falls to his death. Jack is shot in the chest and nearly dies; He coughs blood. Danny is held captive and pushed over a building, nearly dying. Jack's daughter is kidnapped and slapped. A body flies through a windshield. Someone is electrocuted.
  • sex false3 Sex: Jack mentions premature ejaculation. Models in lingerie, including thongs, run around. Ashley kisses Danny. A prostitute offers herself to Benedict.
  • language false3 Language: Some salty language, including "hell," "damn," "goddamn," "smart ass," "asshole," "s--t," and "f--k."
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: The film is a commercial for other action stars and films, including Sylvester Stallone, E.T., Basic Instinct, Terminator, etc.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Jack smokes cigars. People talk about cocaine and crack houses. Several other characters smoke cigarettes.

Last Action Hero Movie Ratings + Reviews

Fans say

So-so 19 fan reviews

Critics say

So-so See all critic reviews

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