June 30, 1996 -- Arnold Schwarzenegger, one of the smartest actors in Hollywood, appeared to have lost his way with "The Last Action Hero" has found it again with "True Lies" and now, "Eraser."

In "Eraser," Schwarzenegger plays John Kruger, a special government agent who "erases" witnesses' former lives and gives them a new identity.

Kruger is given the job of protecting Lee Cullen (Vanessa Williams). She is a witness against a large arms dealer selling top secret weapons to foreign countries.

Kruger has his hands full with this job. Every low-life mercenary in Washington D.C. (and there appear to be hundreds of them) are hired to snuff Cullen before she can testify. And, of course, there is a secret computer disk too.

One of the secret weapons being sold by the bad guys is a portable "rail gun" that can shoot projectiles at near light speed. It also has a scope on it that allows the shooter to target people through solid walls. And we're supposed to believe the U.S. military doesn't want this thing?

The scope effects and stunts are very good. Director Charles Russell does a good job of keeping the action going so you don't have time to think about how silly the plot is, or about how Schwarzenegger can't act. The rail guns are goofy, but they do blow things up real good.

The film also gets a big boost from veteran actor James Caan, who chews up the scenery being a really nasty bad guy. "Eraser" is not great moviemaking, but it is fun. It rates a C+.

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