This movie came out in 1990, and I remember owning it on VHS. I'm not sure where I bought that VHS from. But anyway, I never bought the movie on DVD. I'm not sure why, but I never felt like watching it. But I picked up a more recent Blu-ray release, which has a better transfer.
It's still a fun movie. It's directed by Paul Verhoven, who also did Starship Troopers. Similarly, both movies are a little too long, but they both have plenty of action. Verhoven also has some very campy sensibilities, and it helps to make the movie both memorable, and just silly enough to be charming without being dumb. Arnold spouts a lot of memorable lines, and his readings are broadly hilarious. "Give these people air!" and "See you at the party, Richter!" are classics. The rest of the cast isn't too important. His love interest is pretty two-dimensional.
What stands out this time through, is how ambitious the movie is. It goes all over the place, lots of sets, lots of action, lots of extras. And the movie is long - almost two hours. It's impressive how much was done with the budget. I noticed a few spots where the props and the set aren't as good as they should be, mostly when cars crash.
Which reminds me, when the Johnny-Cab malfunctions, and starts moving forward, and Arnold gets out of the way, it crashes into a wall, and it explodes in flames. Hilarious!
There are also a whole lot of miniatures used in this movie. I like this. While miniature work has failed out of favor, since CG work can accomplish the same thing with a few greater benefits, I still enjoy the artistry of miniatures. A carefully handled miniature can look spectacular, and it's a shame we don't see them as often.
But the movie was still fun. I'm not sure how often I'll come back to it though.
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