Movie Review: Eraser

Eraser

In a time of rampant corporate wrongdoing, Eraser seemed to me to be a good choice for an afternoon's entertainment, especially since (being an Arnold Schwarzenegger film) there's a good chance a bad guy or two will die in a particularly painful way. In the movie, Vanessa Williams is a high-ranking executive with a defense contractor. When she discovers what she believes is evidence that company officials are selling technology to foreign countries, she blow the whistle and tries to get proof for the FBI. What Williams doesn't seem to realize is just how far her employers - and the men who've corrupted them - will go to stop her from providing that proof or from testifying against them in court. She also seriously underestimates the ability of the feds to keep her safe.

Enter Arnold Schwarzenegger as John Kruger, a US Marshall with the Witness Protection Program. Kruger is an "eraser", a man who is charged with erasing all evidence of a person's current life and re-establishing them somewhere else as someone else to ensure their safety. Kruger is assigned to protect the beautiful executive, but even he is unaware just how deep the corruption lies.

Williams proves herself an able actress in this,one of her first major film roles. Supporting actors James Caan and James Coburn are good, and a brief appearance by James Cromwell is impressive. Schwarzenegger is, as usual, himself, but that's just who he needs to be to play John Kruger.

Eraser is a movie consisting primarily of chase scenes as Kruger tries desperately to keep his witness safe until the trial, running all the while from the people who want nothing more than to silence the witness and, eventually, Kruger as well. There is some very cool weaponry featured in Eraser, and a scene in the reptile house of a zoo should be violent enough for even the most jaded of action fans. A few of the special effects have become a little dated in the six years since Eraser was originally released, but the fight scenes are terrific and the amazing weaponry I mentioned is, well amazing! If you're just looking to have a good time with a movie, and you're at all an action fan, Eraser's not a bad way to do it.

FAMILY SUITABILITY: Eraser is rated R due to its very graphic violence. If your kids are, however, old enough to know the difference between a movie and reality, I'd say anyone 12 and up could enjoy popping this one into the VCR.