By the time Eraser came out, Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicles had begun losing their status as anticipated event movies; replacing that was a kind of shrugging acknowledgement akin to "Oh, what's Arnold up to this time?" Not strictly bad so much as rote and uninspired, Eraser shows the diminishing returns of the big-budget-action-movie-per-year pace Schwarzenegger had been following since the mid-'80s. It delivers a couple memorable set pieces -- the hero tangling with a crocodile being one -- but devolves into a collection of boring chase scenes and shootouts that leave no lasting impression. Vanessa L. Williams is a nice choice as Schwarzenegger's capable charge, but the usually superlative James Caan is a dud as the villain, and Robert Pastorelli is merely annoying as comic relief. After mixed success in his previous directing stints in horror (the 1988 update of The Blob) and comedy (Jim Carrey's The Mask), Chuck Russell seems uncomfortable helming an action pic that needs more of Arnie collaborator James Cameron's over-the-top bravura. Eraser was the beginning of the end for Schwarzenegger's status as the top action hero in Hollywood; he would follow it up with the critically annihilated trio of Batman & Robin, End of Days, and The 6th Day.