![[box cover]](../../reviewimgs/e/eraser.jpg)
Eraser
U.S. Marshal John Kruger (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is an expert at "erasing" stool-pigeons' identities for the Federal Witness Protection program, but when a whistle-blower (Vanessa Williams) at an arms-manufacturing corporation gets her hands on evidence that the company is involved in treasonous exports, Kruger finds that he must protect her against some very bad guys who have very advanced weaponry. To be fair to Eraser, it does a good job of keeping the action moving along, avoiding the pointless tangents that often derail action flicks (such as romantic subplots or shopworn sentimentaility). But Ah-nold is still covering familiar territory here, selling us the same hard-assed action hero he's been flogging for years, and director Charles Russell (The Mask) is bold enough to lift shots from Terminator 2 and True Lies, perhaps thinking we wouldn't notice. Despite a few inventive moments, some great action sequences, and the occasional hint of irony, Eraser doesn't efface the Schwarzenegger ouevre as much as it carbon-copies it. Also starring James Caan, James Coburn, Robert Pastorelli, James Cromwell, and perhaps even more actors who have the same initials as James Cameron. Good transfer, trailer, textual supplements.
—JJB
