I know there are glaring holes in my viewing history, but I have only just caught up with this - nearly 20 years on! (I will never be classed a movie-buff - not that I am seeking that accolade.) Well, where to start with this? I guess any film that falls into the genre categories of Action/Adventure, Comedy and Sci-Fi/Fantasy is spreading itself pretty thin. As the art-work above demonstrates, this film pays homage to the burgeoning Hollywood Action Hero with none other than the Governor playing the title role. It is a pastiche of clichés and is so formulaic in terms of plot, script and setting that it requires no imagination at all to watch. Given the type of film I usually watch and blog about, that's a welcome change!
I think this film's intentional tongue-in-cheek approach sends itself up very well and with Schwarzenegger complicit with the scam, it becomes all the more effective. Is he acting extra-hammy in this or is it natural Austrian hamminess? Either way it fits the context.
Perhaps the game to play whilst watching this is to see how many film scenes you can identify that are copied/ripped off/paid homage to in the movie. I guess it's healthy that Hollywood can fund and produce this kind of introspective hero-fest movie. Perhaps today, more than ever, America - and the rest of us for that matter - need a real hero to save us all. Away in a manger, no crib....
I'll give it 6/10.
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