Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Movie lover Danny Madigan (Austin O'Brien) finds himself transported into the latest Jack Slater (Arnold Schwarzenegger) action film when he's given a magic movie ticket by an elderly theater owner (Art Carney). Danny tried to convince Jack he's a fictional character but he doesn't buy it. His perspective changes when his arch nemesis, Benedict (Charles Dance), steals the ticket and enters the "real world" in order to kill Arnold Schwarzenegger, thus taking out Slater.

Film spoofs generally miss the mark, but John McTiernan's Last Action Hero hits on all cylinders and captures the over-the-top theatrics of the action genre. It helps that his resume includes such films as Die Hard, Predator, and The Hunt for Red October and casting Arnold in the lead role gives the film legitimacy. While it's certainly far-fetched, it doesn’t matter because of the nonstop action, adventure, and comedy.

At first glance, some may not appreciate the complexities of the cinematography employed in the production. Danny's world is dark, colorless, and filled with grain and shadows but when he enters Jack's reality the color palette explodes—real world versus fiction. Resolution is generally good with only the occasional soft shot. While the overall transfer is solid, there are a couple of instances where it's a little rough. For example, at the 1:12:07 and 1:24:06 marks of the film flesh tones turn gray and a majority of the color is sapped from the image. Fortunately, these two instances only last for a couple of seconds and shouldn't detract from the overall experience.

Every action film deserves a kickass soundtrack and the DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix doesn't disappoint. Dialog is firmly rooted in the center channel, and the rear speakers contain a lot of transient noise. In some cases, this can be a tad overbearing, especially at loud volumes. Despite this minor annoyance, action junkies will love this track.

The only supplements on the disc are some movie trailers for other Sony Blu-ray releases and Movie IQ, a BD-Live feature that connects to the Internet for real-time information on the cast, music, and trivia while the film is playing.

My kids haven't been exposed to many of the films spoofed here but they still enjoyed the concept. Arnold is stupendous as the action hero/movie star and the presentation is commendable given the age of the film. The only letdown is the sparse bonus features.

Release Date: January 12, 2009
Studio: Sony

Movie: 6/10
Picture: 8/10
Sound: 8/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Belkin PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics