As a movie Last Action Hero had one thing going for it. The soundtrack was chalked full of awesome goodies, from a variety of styles that help make up the world of Rock and Metal. There's even a little Hip Hop and Nu Metal (which didn't officially exist yet).The main reason everyone, including myself, bought this album was for AC/DC's Big Gun. The boys from Downunder were riding high off the success of their double CD, Live. This was the only radio single the band had for the next four years or more. It was huge for them, and a great example of why some songs go on soundtracks. It's great in that cheesy kind of way.
I've never been a fan of Alice In Chains. What The Hell Have I was recorded during the Dirt album sessions, but was shelved. It later ended up on here, and it's okay. But this is a prime example of what soundtracks are really made of.
Megadeth Angry Again is a song I like. It's a bit of a throw away, and a little commercial, but other than that pretty solid.
Queensryche and Def Leppard help fill out this albums sissy girl quota. In other words they supply the two ballads for this album. Real World, from Queensryche, it at least pretty and nice to listen to. Two Steps Behind on the other hand is the reason I started to really dislike Def Leppard. In fact it was the reason I stopped listening to them for a couple years.
Anthrax is another band I normally have very little use for. East Coast Thrash Metal always seemed so much thinner than it's West Coast countrer parts. Poison My Eyes is one of the songs I've heard from them that I actually enjoy. However, it may just be from the amount of times I've listened to this album.
The Aerosmith version of Dream On is not the original. It was performed with an orchestra for MTV's 10th Anniversary Special. Except for the vocals, I like this version better than the original. The orchestra really adds to it.
A little Bitter is the second song Alice In Chains contributes to the album. Although heavy, and full of the rage I normally like, I can't stand the droning sound found through out all of their music.
Cypress Hill may be one of the few Hip Hop acts back in the early to mid 90's I didn't hate. Cock the Hammer was the reason for this. The only other song from them I knew was Insane In The Membrane, which had gotten way over played by the contingent of students that were stoned thug wannabes. However, this song kept me respecting Cypress Hill as musicians to some extent.
I know nothing of Fishbone. The song Swim is the only song to this day that I ever remember hearing. It was one of those songs that would be the prototype for Nu Metal, but I like this better than most Nu Metal.
Tesla performs the albums title track, or movie theme song if you prefer. Telsa was one of those hair bands I normally avoided. With the exception of their cover of Sign, I can't think of a single song I know by name and my step mom even owned one of their albums.
The last song on the album is the only song that is movie score like. Michael Kamen and The Los Angeles Rock And Roll Ensemble Featuring Buckethead performed Jack the Ripper. Let me start by saying this is the first time I had ever heard of Buckethead. It was also the last time until some point five or more years later. The song is really well done in a very standard action movie score sort of way.
On the whole most of my feelings toward this album are feelings of nostalgia. This album is a shining example of the confused and slightly sad state of music at the time. There was a lot of flash and styling, but the substance was missing. The heart and soul were absent in a body of splashy design. It's like a Corvette with a Chevette engine.
6/10 - content
7/10 - production
7/10 - personal bias
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