The great thing about the characters that Arnold Schwarzenegger plays is their unyielding integrity and incorruptible determination. True Lies, Predator, Commando… even in Terminator and Terminator 2 he was entirely faithful to his programming. Eraser is no different and in my opinion that's a good thing, as this time Arnie plays a special operative in the U.S. Marshals' office, responsible for erasing the past lives of people in the witness protection program and setting them up with new ones.

The film begins with a bang as John Kruger (Arnie) bursts in on some thugs who are tying up a man and woman and pouring petrol liberally around their living room. After dispatching with them, he uses fake blood to make it look like the couple are dead, takes a couple of photos and sticks them in a dead thug's pocket, who he dumps outside the house. He then brings in two bodies in black bags and the couple he's just rescued dress the bodies in their own clothes and jewellery, before John calls the cops and sets fire to the house. They've just been erased.

It's a great start to the film and the action doesn't let up, as John's next assignment is to protect a woman who has discovered that the weapons manufacturer she works for are selling weapons to terrorists. Vanessa Willams plays Lee Cullen and her whole life is thrown into chaos when John is betrayed and framed for the murder of several of the people in the protection program. John must now keep Lee alive and stay away from his own department until he can find evidence that proves he wasn't the one who did it.

Eraser features a good storyline that isn't too complicated but has enough twists and turns to keep your interest. It also features some very frightening futuristic EMP weapons that I sincerely hope never become readily available to anyone who might misuse them. Also known as railguns, EMP weapons use an electromagnetic pulse that can penetrate solid walls and instantly kill their target beyond. They also have x-ray scanners that can look through several walls and lock onto a beating human heart - like I said, frightening. These weapons add an extra element to the story (don't worry, there's plenty of machine guns and explosions as well) and they're not the only unusual element either. There's a great fight sequence in a plane and at the end Arnie jumps out to try and catch the parachute that he just lost. He successfully puts it on and opens it but then the plane turns around and attempts to ram him in mid air - I've never seen that before! Also, there's an exciting and tense scene at the zoo where alligators are set loose and make a meal of the bad guys. These scenes are a bit different and make a change from your usual action film.

The direction is good and keeps up a strong pace throughout, the screenplay is pretty intelligent and Arnie is on good form and delivers his lines well (including a couple of great one-liners that only belong in an Arnie film). Vanessa Williams is great and James Caan is good as John's mentor Robert Deguerin, whilst the late great James Coburn adds a touch of class as the director, Beller. For a relatively low-budget film, the stunts and special effects are very good too - the plane scene is convincing and although you can spot the CGI on the alligators they still really make you jump at the right places and are convincing enough. As for the extras - what extras? There's just a few production notes and the presentation and menus look direly outdated.

Eraser is a by-the-numbers action film and the perfect vehicle for Arnie, but with a few original concepts thrown in, not least of which are the futuristic EMP weapons that feature quite heavily in the story. With good direction, writing and acting, this isn't exceptional, but it is a great slice of entertainment and a must see for Arnie fans.

Reviewed by Geoff Holland for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).