There definitely should have been a greater effort made to distinguish the look and feel of the movie and real worlds. The kid sidekick character does occasionally grate on the nerves ("Holy cow!"). And there's an entire sequence involving the funeral for a flatulent gangster which is just kind of sad. But this movie is a lot more successful and interesting than it is often given credit for.

For folks studying the field of Schwarzeneggenomics (and trust me there are A LOT of us -- okay, just me) this is one of the key texts, because Schwarzenegger interrogates his own image for us. In so many of his movies he plays characters with double lives; usually figuratively (as in TRUE…

Is this film a deconstruction?
A Parody?
A Satire?
Or some mixture of all three?
It really doesn't matter because it's so damn enjoyable! This film lampshades pretty much every action movie trope there is and only gets better as it goes along. This self aware film is packed to the brim with classic Arnold Schwarzenegger, movie shout-outs, & celebrity cameos. Plus Ian Mckellen is Death & Danny DeVito is an animated police cat. Top That!

Then there's this fantastic line:

Benedict: Gentlemen. Since you are about to die anyway, I may as well tell you the entire plot. Think of villains Jack. You want Dracula? Dra-cool-la? Hang on
[takes out the ticket]
Benedict: , I'll fetch him. Dracula? Huh. I can…

Despite its critical mauling and commercial failure I’ve always had a soft spot for Last Action Hero. Unfortunately, having not watched the film in around a decade I was disappointed to find that, despite the game performances, Last Action Hero really isn’t as much fun as I remembered. Unloved and derided it is a film that fully embraces its deconstruction of the action genre to the point that its satirical mockery of ‘80s conventions threaten to overwhelm and derail the entire movie.

It begins brilliantly with an introduction that burns through ever 1980s action cliche imaginable. It sets the irreverent tone perfectly but also blows practically every joke the film then continues to repeat throughout the rest of its needlessly…

biiicho, pra quem pergunta porque diabos eu gosto de ver filmes, este aqui é a resposta definitiva. pois a mensagem é óbvia: cinema > realidade (basicamente, NO FILME, jack slater > arnold schwarzenegger).
aliás, é muita crença na sétima arte. o jogo de luzes (é frequente as lâmpadas em cena), as cores, criam a dicotomia essencial entre o "claro x escuro", "trevas x paraíso", sobretudo "cinema x 'realidade'", etc - as normas que regem a história no "nosso mundo" devem ser alteradas pra satisfazer essa joça. até essa crença no cinema (não à toa, quem ama ver os filmes, de ação, é um pirralho [cinefilia resumida num processo solitário]; mctiernan vê a esperança da cinefilia na juventude, em uma realidade "descrente" em…

I will always defend Last Action Hero. It's the most bonkers meta action movie ever made ... and most likely will ever get made by a studio again.

Schwarzenegger takes the piss out of himself (as does the movie to the action genre) and kills it, putting in one of his most enjoyable performances ever. 

I love the premiere showdown finale of the movie where Schwarzenegger literally bumps into his fictional self who tells the real Arnie, "I don't like you. You've caused me nothing but pain." -- a line that actually holds a lot of weight when you think about it in the entirety of Schwarzenegger's career and public persona, yet the fact that it's hidden in this balls…