History YMMV / LastActionHero

* {{Woolseyism}}: Done brilliantly in the German and French versions, where he calls himself "Arnold Beckenbauer". Google it if you don't know the name; any- and everyone in Germany- wait, ''[[TheWorldCup in the world]]'' does.

* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: Although the film itself is a pretty interesting {{Deconstruction}} of action films, the developers of the tie-in game decided to play everything very straight.

--->'''Benedict:''' [[BlasphemousBoast If God were a villain]], [[AGodAmI he'd be me]]!

* RetroactiveRecognition: At the time ''Last Action Hero'' was made, Charles Dance (Mr. Benedict) was most well known for serious drama films, and he had an extremely limited presence in genre films. (in fact the novelization of the film, based on an earlier script, seems to indicate they were planning to cast William Atherton from ''Die Hard'' and ''Ghostbusters'' instead). Nowadays, after the runaway success of ''Game of Thrones'' and Dance's memorable role as Tywin Lannister, he's a lot more recognizable to a mainstream audience viewing this film.

* SpiritualAdaptation: This is the nearest we'll ever get to a live action [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons McBain]] [[ShowWithinAShow movie]].

*** This is perhaps only equatable to say, the [[Film/JamesBond Bond movies]], where Bond's wife dies shot in the head at the end of ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'', and this is given only the occasional nod in the subsequent entries but never even directly ''acknowledged'' in said film's immediate follow-up. Slater is, after all, stuck with the whim of the writers, and in the 'real world' there could have been a change of writers or a writer's strike and so on, or it could have been like ''Film/BatmanForever'', which was made distinctly lighter due to the slightly poor response to the tone of [[Film/BatmanReturns its predecessor]], which made money but was very, very dark.

* NightmareFuel: Benedict's glass eyes and him changing them on screen; any little kid who went to see the film was probably terrified for years afterwards.
** Benedict's plan to recruit all those movie villains from his speech. Just imagine if he'd gotten ahold of them...

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: When transported into the movie world, Danny's casual glee could be a coping mechanism to keep him from freaking out and his knowledge as a movie buff helps keep him alive.

* SpiritualLicensee: This is the nearest we'll ever get to a live action [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons McBain]] [[ShowWithinAShow movie]].

** FridgeBrilliance: Both Arnold/Jack and Mozart are Austrian.

** Benedict's plan to recruit all those villains movie villain's from his speech. Just imagine if he'd gotten ahold of them...

** The movie's entire soundtrack qualifies, but standout examples would be [[Music/AliceInChains What the Hell Have I, A Little Bitter]], [[Music/{{ACDC}} Big Gun]], and [[Music/{{Anthrax}} Poison in my Eyes.]] The soundtrack to this film has actually become something of a collector's item for fans of hard rock and heavy metal.

* WhatMightHaveBeen: Benedict was originally intended to be Creator/AlanRickman - a line in the shooting script has Danny warn Jack that he almost beat both [[Film/DieHard Bruce Willis]] and [[Film/RobinHoodPrinceOfThieves Kevin Costner]].

** The movie's entire soundtrack qualifies, but standout examples would be [[Music/AliceInChains What the Hell Have I, A Little Bitter]], [[Music/{{ACDC}} Big Gun]], and [[Music/{{Anthrax}} Poison in my Eyes.]]

* NarmCharm: '''DA BED GUYS IN DEAH!!!'''

* SpecialEffectsFailure:
** The launcher that rockets the cop car in the air during the house explosion is clearly visible, as it falls to the ground.
** Jack Slater's game of chicken in the real world also has a rather visible tow cable laying across the alley floor.
* RetroactiveRecognition: At the time ''Last Action Hero'' was made, Charles Dance (Mr. Benedict) was most well known for serious drama films, and he had an extremely limited presence in genre films. (in fact the novelization of the film, based on an earlier script, seems to indicate they were planning to cast William Atherton from ''Die Hard'' and ''Ghostbusters'' instead). Nowadays, after the runaway success of ''Game of Thrones'' and Dance's memorable role as Tywin Lannister, he's a lot more recognizable to a mainstream audience viewing this film.

** Averted for the [[Pinball/LastActionHero pinball,]] which is well-regarded for its deep rules, great music, and nonstop action.

* SpiritualLicensee: This is the nearest we'll ever get to a live action [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons McBain]] [[ShowWithinAShow movie]].
** "Magic ticket my ass [=McBain=]!"

** A climactic scene ends with a bomb exploding in a tar pit surrounded by dinosaur models. ''Last Action Hero'' itself wound up bombing due to the dinosaurs of ''Film/JurassicPark''. Twenty-two years later [[Film/TerminatorSalvation another Arnold Schwarzenegger film]] will bomb against another [[Film/JurassicWorld Jurassic sequel]].

** A climactic scene ends with a bomb exploding in a tar pit surrounded by dinosaur models. ''Last Action Hero'' itself wound up bombing due to the dinosaurs of ''Film/JurassicPark''.

*** This is perhaps only equatable to say, the [[Film/JamesBond Bond movies]], where Bond's wife dies shot in the head at the end of ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'', and this is given only the occasional nod in the subsequent entries but never even directly ''acknowledged'' in said film's immediate follow-up. Slater is, after all, stuck with the whim of the writers, and in the 'real world' there could have been a change of writers or a writer's strike, or so on, or it could have been like ''Film/BatmanForever'', which was made distinctly lighter due to the slightly poor response to the tone of it's predecessor, which made money but was very, very dark.

* SpiritualLicensee: This is the nearest we'll ever get to a live action [[TheSimpsons McBain]] [[ShowWithinAShow movie]].
** "Magic ticket my ass McBain!"

--->'''Benedict:''' If God were a villain - [[AGodAmI he'd be me]]!

*** This is perhaps only equatable to say, the [[Film/JamesBond Bond movies]], where Bond's wife dies shot in the head at the end of one film, and this is given only the occasional nod in the subsequent entries but never even directly ''acknowledged'' in said film's immediate follow-up. Slater is, after all, stuck with the whim of the writers, and in the 'real world' there could have been a change of writers or a writer's strike, or so on, or it could have been like Film/BatmanForever, which was made distinctly lighter due to the slightly poor response to the tone of it's predecessor, which made money but was very, very dark.

* CriticalBacklash: It was roasted upon release, but it isn't ''that'' bad.

** It's the only role where Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver appear together, and it will certainly be the last.
** Especially the scene that had Maria arguing with Arnold

** Also, ''Last Action Hero'' did a lot of what ''[[MainPage TV Tropes]]'' does today—years before there was ''[[MainPage TV Tropes]]''. This website actually makes the movie a lot more hilarious than it was before.

* WhatMightHaveBeen: Benedict was originally intended to be [[Creator/AlanRickman Alan Rickman]] - a line in the shooting script has Danny warn Jack that he almost beat both [[Creator/BruceWillis Bruce Willis]] and [[Creator/KevinCostner Kevin Costner]].