By Geno McGahee
One of the most underrated films that Arnold Schwarzenegger ever made was the 1996 action film ERASER. It made a decent profit but isn’t one of the titles that people talk about when they speak of Arnie’s film career. Now, 26 years later, we revisit the idea without Schwarzenegger but with much of the same storyline and approach.
Released by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, ERASER: REBORN is a very slick film with some great action sequences. Over the past several years, popular titles like BENCHWARMERS and BULLETPROOF have been revisited, but those seemed more like cash grabs than a re-launch of a once popular film. ERASER: REBORN is a solid attempt to capture some of the magic of the original with some variations to make it stand apart from the 1996 entry.
Mason Pollard (Dominic Sherwood) is the new Eraser and his subject is Rina (Jacky Lai). She has some information to take down some crime boss. When her attempt to get information on them doesn’t go according to plan, Pollard becomes her protector and hides her away until the trial approaches, but there’s a lot of bad guys looking to kill her.
The only person that Pollard seems to trust is Whitlock (McKinley Belcher III) and, if you saw the 1996 film, you will see the similarities to Whitlock and the character played by James Caan. This film does play out like a re-imaging or remake of the original without question.
The film follows the ERASER formula and we get the big showdown where Pollard has to come through and save the day and save his subject. I have a lot of mixed feelings about ERASER: REBORN, but I didn’t hate it.
ERASER: REBORN is a legitimate attempt to make a good film but if you have seen the first, you can’t help but to compare. Sherwood does a decent job in the role but he doesn’t have any of the charisma that Arnie has and that is where the problem lies. Sherwood just doesn’t have the presence that it takes to carry a film like this. Lai was good in her role, but, once again, you cannot compare her to Vanessa Williams. As a huge fan of the 1996 ERASER, I had a hard time not thinking about it as I went through scene after scene in this new one.
In the end, I recommend ERASER: REBORN. It has to be seen as its own movie and the 1996 film must not be the standard. This is a love letter to the first and they did a lot of things right, but Sherwood just didn’t have the charisma to make this one a real standout. It’s definitely worth a watch though if you liked the first.
