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Eraser
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 18 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 4 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Action | Drama | Suspense/Thriller
Written by:
Tony Puryear (also story)
Walon Green (also story)
Michael S. Chernuchin (story)
Directed by: Chuck Russell
Release Date:
Theatrical: June 21, 1996
DVD: August 27, 1997
Running Time: 115 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for violent action throughout and some language
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Caan, Vanessa L. Williams, James Coburn, Robert Pastorelli, James Cromwell, Danny Nucci, and Andy Romano
Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as the best of the elite federal marshals working for the Federal Witness Protection Program, one of the government's most clandestine agencies. When all hope is gone, he moves in and saves the lives of those at risk by eliminating all evidence of their existence. He will do anything to keep his witnesses safe. Operating in secrecy by necessity and anonymity by design, he is United States Marshal John Kruger. John Kruger is "Eraser." (Warner Bros.)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Bless the Child The Mask The Scorpion King
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Eraser is more or less what you expect, two hours of mindless nonstop high-tech action, with preposterous situations, a body count in the dozens, and Arnold introducing a new trademark line of dialogue (it's supposed to be "Trust me," but I think "You're luggage" will win on points).
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
Eraser may lack the chameleon wizardry of the the "Terminator" duo, or the imperious mechanics of "True Lies", but the bang-for-the-buck ratio is high enough to appease even the thinnest wallet.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
And the guy is really good at his job: He knows how to combine impossibly macho action plus attractive self-amusement into a reliable rhythm of ooof! and wink-wink.
Read Full Review >Time Richard Corliss
The film, which had a troubled history and a humongous reported price tag of $120 million, could have been a fiasco; instead, it smartly remythologizes this indispensable Hollywood icon. [01 Jul 1996 Pg.65]
Newsweek David Ansen
Director Charles ("The Mask") Russell is no James Cameron. He can produce a requisite amount of suspense and mayhem..., but his filmmaking is strictly B-movie generic. [01 Jul 1996 Pg.62]
Washington Post Rita Kempley
The hero's feats are implausible even by action standards, but screenwriters Tony Puryear and Walon Green have concocted one of the summer's most spectacular action sequences.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
You're not watching anything original, you're just reexperiencing elements you've seen in a jillion other spectacles (including "Die Hard," "True Lies" and even "Mission: Impossible"), only with more heat, more crash, more burn.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
A few of the set pieces are fussy or overly extended, but the rest is tolerable bone-crunching diversion.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
It takes the usual chases, explosions, and shoot-outs, and places them in plot that involves all sorts of computerized and electronic gadgetry. Often, as is the case here, not much attention is paid to whether the "science" is technologically feasible, but if something looks and sounds neat, why not use it?
Read Full Review >USA Today Mike Clark
The middling result, diverting while it lasts but too silly to recommend, is merely this week's funhouse action pic. [21 Jun 1996 Pg.01.D]
Austin Chronicle Joey O'Bryan
However, despite having all the tried-and-true elements set firmly in place, Ah-nold's latest doesn't quite measure up to the action star's finest work, even if it should prove to be a mildly pleasing diversion for fans.
Read Full Review >Variety Todd McCarthy
Compared with high-powered action specialists like James Cameron, director Charles Russell seems content to accomplish just one thing per shot, getting the essentials on the screen but creating no special dynamic or look.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
It's the typical elements that make Eraser no more than a solid bit of fluff: This is one of those movies where good guys don't miss, and bad guys can't shoot to save their lives.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Examiner Barbara Shulgasser
What director Charles Russell ("The Mask") and co-writers Walon Green ("RoboCop 2") and Tony Puryear do right is supply the kind of non-stop action and laconic one-liners we live for in Arnold movies.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Elvis Mitchell
Eraser means to show off the star's standard persona against a backdrop of lavish special effects, which is certainly a formula that's worked before. But this is no "Terminator," since its tricks are so much more arbitrary and over-the-top.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Eraser does have a few big-ticket stunts that hold the attention, but director Charles Russell, fresh from "The Mask," isn't able to infuse them with the intensity and believability that James Cameron brought to comparable sequences in "True Lies."
Read Full Review >TV Guide Staff(not credited)
Derivative and utterly implausible, ERASER is big-budget action filmmaking at its dullest.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
The picture is effectively made, but viewers will want to erase the horrific violence that erupts in scene after scene, leading to an unusually mean-spirited finale.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.5 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Jared C. gave it a10:
The only old movie that has jaw-dropping thrills, action and acting.
[Anonymous] gave it a7:
A decent action flick, with a touch of cool tech, but overall, not much more than that.
