Eraser: Reborn review

June 7, 2022 Jeffrey Lyles Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dominic Sherwood, Eddie Ramos, Eraser, Eraser: Reborn, Jacky Lai, McKinley Belcher III

Remakes of classic Arnold Schwarzenegger action films don’t have a great track record.

The 2011 Jason Momoa-led Conan the Barbarian was a dud. Colin Farrell’s 2012 remake of Total Recall was best left forgotten. Eraser: Reboot is another precautionary tale for filmmakers trying to recapture that Schwarzenegger magic.

In the case of Conan and Total Recall reboots, they featured stars somewhat capable of propping up a bad script. The opposite is true with Eraser: Reborn. Lead Dominic Sherwood needs every ounce of charisma his co-stars can provide.

Eraser: Reborn has a lot of problems, but Sherwood’s wooden and stiff performance is the biggest. Theoretically it shouldn’t be that hard to find a lead actor capable of making shaky dialogue passable. Put Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson or John Cena in the lead role and the film might have had a shot.

It feels like Schwarzenegger didn’t get enough credit for bringing a larger-than-life presence to his action films. Sherwood looks the part. He could reasonably pass for Henry Cavill and carries himself well enough in the action scenes.

But this film requires an actor who can pull off the role with a twinkle in his eye. Or that Tom Cruise devil may care charisma that his character can do anything. Sherwood is game, but unlike Neo, he’s not ready to believe in his prowess as an action star.

Sherwood plays Mason Pollard, a federal agent who specializes in erasing witnesses until they can testify in court. We’re shown his prowess as he rescues a witness, Sugar (Eddie Ramos). It’s a nice showcase for Pollard’s talents and director John Pogue pulls it off fine albeit a tad slow.

Pollard’s latest witness, Rina Kimura (Jacky Lai), isn’t as innocent as she appears but she’s got some valuable intel on her crime boss husband. It’s enough to get the mysterious Syndicate on their heels prompting Pollard to bring Rina to his native South Africa.

If nothing else, the film provides a fresh locale for the action. Screenwriter Michael D. Weiss (Journey to the Center of the Earth) dutifully checks off some of the genre cliches like a turncoat agent, a comedic sidekick and an unlikely (and wholly unearned) romantic spark developing.

Far more interestingly, Weiss makes Pollard far less than the usual action hero. This quickly proves to not be the wisest decision as Pollard constantly makes dubious and outright stupid choices. Considering how savvy he seemed earlier in the film, his sudden incompetence is surprising and silly. A superspy incapable of making mistakes is boring, but a hero that constantly makes mistakes is somehow even worse. This is where Sherwood’s charisma-free performance is especially detrimental to the film.

It’s possible Sherwood could make Pollard’s clueless actions salvageable if he gave Pollard a reckless, impulsive streak. Instead, Sherwood plays Pollard as if he’s calculating every move only to realize he was looking at the wrong chess board.

At least Lai, Ramos and a scene-stealing McKinley Belcher III provide some entertainment with essential supporting performances.

There was some weird agenda in having some badly rendered CGI animals join in on the action. Pollard apparently moonlights as Dr. Doolittle on his off days and communicates with animals. These scenes added needlessly bad effects when the basic action movie starter kit shootouts were getting the job done.

Eraser: Reborn’s direct to video nature is an indicator of the expectations here. The film is average and weighed down to a noticeable degree thanks to an uninspired lead performance. For those that just want a basic action distraction it might suffice provided they’ve exhausted other viable options on VOD and streaming platforms.