The 1990s were a strange and transitional time for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s career; he began the decade as one of the industry’s biggest and most bankable draws, but ended it facing accusations that his time on top was beginning to wind down to a stop.
Looking back, it’s fair to see how the latter assumption was reached, when the successes of Total Recall, Kindergarten Cop, and Terminator 2: Judgement Day were swiftly followed by a number of disappointments like Last Action Hero, Batman & Robin, and End of Days. 1996 effort Eraser falls somewhere in the middle, but it’s since become a firm favorite among Schwarzenegger supporters.
The CGI looks incredibly dated when viewed through a modern lens, and it wasn’t exactly an acclaimed darling after landing 38% and 39% critic and user scores respectively on Rotten Tomatoes, but it stands out from the crowd as arguably the leading man’s last hurrah at playing the straightforward, square-jawed, and quip-happy hero.
As the title suggests, Arnold’s John Kruger erases high-profile witnesses and gets them out of danger and into protective custody, before his latest assignment uncovers a conspiracy that goes right to the very top of his organization, leaving him unable to trust anyone.
Of course, he overcomes that obstacle by becoming a one-man army and decimating his enemies in suitably overblown fashion, and it’s a ton of dumb fun to see it unfold. As per FlixPatrol, Prime Video subscribers are in agreement, with Eraser currently ranked as one of the platform’s most-watched titles on the global charts.