Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1996 action movie Eraser was announced to be getting a reboot in September last year. At the same time, it was revealed that the film had already been shot over the summer during the Covid-pandemic. While the announcement caught everyone off-guard, it obviously also brought instant negativity from fans of the original, which was a commercial success, if not a critical one. Now we have been given a first look at the trailer for Eraser Reborn, which sees Dominic Sherwood taking the lead role of U.S. Marshal Mason Pollard, who, like Schwarzenegger’s character in the original, specializes in “erasing” trial witnesses to protect them until their day in court.
Directed by John Pogue, Sherwood is joined in the movie by Jacky Lai, McKinley Belcher III and Eddie Ramos. The official movie synopsis reads: “U.S. Marshal Mason Pollard specializes in “erasing” people – faking the deaths of high-risk witnesses. With the technological advances of the last 25 years, the game has upgraded, and it’s just another day at the office when he’s assigned to Rina Kimura, a crime boss’ wife who’s decided to turn state’s evidence. As the two flee to Cape Town, South Africa, with a team of merciless assassins on their trail, Pollard discovers he’s been set up. Double-crossed and fueled by adrenaline, he needs to be at the top of his game, or he’ll be the one who’s erased. Permanently.”
For those wanting to see the first look at the reboot, you can check out the trailer below:
Although Eraser Reborn certainly seems to enter into the spirit of the Schwarzenegger movie, with plenty of guns, explosions, and punches, the inclusion of what appears to be a very ropey CGI hippopotamus and some other budget-looking effects and a distinct lack of Arnie-action has led to a wave of negativity towards the movie. Just like many remakes of movies that originally starred iconic actors, the fact that reboot does not feature Schwarzenegger immediately gives it a mountain to climb because no matter how bad the movie is, everyone knows what to expect from Arnie’s movies and that is what brings audiences into cinemas.
Eraser Reborn doesn’t seem to fare well on its special effects either, with references being made to the appearance of a CGI hippopotamus which harks back to equally bad crocodiles in the original movie and clearly shows that the film has probably been working on a budget much lower than the $100 million spent on the 1996 film. Probably for that reason, Eraser Reborn will not be getting a cinematic release but will instead head to Blu-ray and Digital formats on June 7th and will stream on HBO Max later in the year. There is no doubt that the film will get some attention from those curious to see how the movie compares with the original, although it may lead to Arnie’s version seeing a resurgence in sales and audience numbers wherever it streams.
