Eraser

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Eraser

R

1996

1h 55m

Action

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

46%

Tomatometer

59 Reviews

40%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

John "The Eraser" Kruger is the top gun in the US Marshall Witness Protection scheme; he erases their past and deals with their future. His latest assignment is whistle-blower Dr. Lee Cullen, who has evidence against a major arms corporation that's selling weapons to terrorists with the collusion of rogue enemy agents within, but there is danger nearer home for Kruger, from within his own department.

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Critics Consensus

Eraser's shoot-'em-up action might show off some cutting edge weaponry, but its rote story is embarrassingly obsolete.

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Joe Morgenstern

Wall Street Journal

07/19/2023

Tree trunk he may be, but Mr. Schwarzenegger has grown new branches with green leaves in this smart action thriller, directed with panache by Charles Russell and written crisply by Tony Puryear and Walon Green.

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

06/14/2022

A few of the set pieces are fussy or overly extended, but the rest is tolerable bone-crunching diversion.

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Anne Billson

Daily Telegraph (UK)

11/27/2017

The stunts, even show-stopping ones such as our man throwing himself out of a plane without a parachute and landing on a car without sustaining injury, have an air of desperation about them.

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Robert Denerstein

Scripps Howard News Service

Jun 29

2.5/4

The one-liners don't have the usual invigorating snarl, and, for all the action, this one feels a little tired.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Jun 22

2.5/4

Even though Eraser has to contend with a pencil-thin (ouch) plot, it still functions as a modestly entertaining vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger.

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Allison Rose

FlickDirect

Jun 17

3.5/5

Eraser remains a generic but entertaining Schwarzenegger action film elevated by its cast and old-school 1990s spectacle.

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Romas M

@Romas 6d

Greetings from Lithuania. "Eraser" (1996) came out for me at the perfect time - a 12 year old dying for Arnold movies. I loved this movie from the get go, watched it more than 20 times back then, and revisiting it in 2026 on newly released 4K UHD disk was a blast. This is one of the most skilfully made, fun and entertaining action film from the 90's with Arnold Schwarzenegger - and it hardly gets better than this. Packed with amazing supporting character star actors like James Coburn, James Caan (what an amazing villain!), and directed by a late great Chuck Russell this movie is a blast. Vanessa Williams brought such a great presence to the movie - she is really amazing in this one. Story was good and involving, and at running time 1 h 50 min I thought it was perfectly paced. Overall, "Eraser" for me is a near perfect action film. The plane sequence even in 2026 will test your sound system and it does look amazing. A last great film with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

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A P.

@FilmFan4547 Jun 18

Classic ‘90s Arnie action!

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Gijs V

@Da_Gista Feb 13

Not the best of his work but for sure entertaining. Movies from that era had the hidden message of right and wrong. We all knew the world not works that way but they showed character. It like treasure island, it's a novel. But those films thought me that if you are decent and don't give up. You are doing alright. Makes me smile 2 decades later stil.

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David S.

@baxter667 Nov 17

One of the better movies of the nineteen nineties,this interesting but underappreciated action film, is certainly a better film than you think. It does have a thin plot, but otherwise a solid action film with a little bit of humor thrown in, not a bad waste of a couple of hours and it still holds up nicely today!!!

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Gregory S

@Gregory566 Nov 14

90s action, Arnold, James Caan, and Vanessa Williams. Take my money

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Ryan H

07/20/2025

Probably Arnold’s last great 90s action film. Full of classic one-liners and action, ERASER is Prime Arnold!

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Chuck Russell

Director

Arnold Schwarzenegger

John "The Eraser" Kruger

James Caan

Robert Deguerin

Vanessa Williams

Lee Cullen

James Coburn

Chief Beller

Robert Pastorelli

Johnny Castelone

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Synopsis

John "The Eraser" Kruger is the top gun in the US Marshall Witness Protection scheme; he erases their past and deals with their future. His latest assignment is whistle-blower Dr. Lee Cullen, who has evidence against a major arms corporation that's selling weapons to terrorists with the collusion of rogue enemy agents within, but there is danger nearer home for Kruger, from within his own department.

Director: Chuck Russell
Producer: Arnold Kopelson, Anne Kopelson
Screenwriter: Walon Green, Tony Puryear
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Warner Bros., Kopelson Entertainment
Rating: R
Genre: Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 21, 1996, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 15, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $101.3M
Runtime: 1h 55m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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