Action Heroes

[Domesticated]

I know there are a few threads about who thinks who is the best, but this is a different subject.

Just finished watching the Expendables II and I got to thinking, action hero's are beginning to dwindle. I remember growing up and I always wanted to be like Arnold or Sylvester. I watched those movies like Demolition Man and The Last Action Hero I don't know how many times. So we have basically the cast of Expendables plus others like Jackie Chan, Wesley Snipes, and Steven Segal.

But now how many "action heroes" do we have. Jason Statham comes to mind with the classic style. Every movie is good and he's in a ton of them. Robert Downey Jr. is a hit but he wasn't an action star until 2008. The other thing is some of the biggest movies in action don't have "action heroes" anymore. I don't consider Shia Labeouf an action hero even Transformers is probably one of my favorites.

So basically discuss childhood nostalgia for action movies and who are the big action stars of the current time and future. For example some of my action heroes have been around for a while. Arnold has been doing it for 40+ years now.

[Leung]

For me, it would have to be Chow Yun Fat. From growing up and watching him start in TVB's drama series and thrn get into movies like Hard Boiled, Tragic Hero, A Better tomorow trilogy...
That man knows how to kick in a door and shoot someone in the face.
I prefer the 80s and early 90s Triad movies over the CG stuff that everyone is pumping out now.

[Ralphie]

Out of that group....hmmm.

Bruce, Stallone, or Segal.

[toycar]

Bruce or Stallone for me.

I suppose I thought Arnold kicked ass in Predator too.

[Ralphie]

Ya Arnold was the shit in predator and Terminator as well as Judge Dredd and a few others but they weren't so much "action hero" roles I guess.

[toycar]

How bout that gypsi that Brad Pitt plays in snatch?

Hes my hero... He kicks ass!

[deevergote]

Shia Ladouche is definitely not an action star!

I suppose Christian Bale could be considered one, seeing as he's starred in two of the larger action franchises of late: Batman and Terminator. I'm not really a fan, though.

Most of the old guys, essentially, the cast of Expendables, are getting to old to REALLY do any action flicks and be believable.

Statham is probably the exception, as he's not too old yet... though he's aging. He also has a subtle style that will translate well to old age, which is good.


As for up and coming action stars, we don't seem to have many! Most of our current comic book heroes are limited to just their comic book hero roles, so they're not "action stars" (one action role doesn't classify you as a real action star in my book, even if it's a recurring role!)
We don't seem to have action movies like we once did. The older 80s/90s style action movies that have been made relatively recently seem to all star pro wrestlers. The acting sucks, and every fight looks like a wrestling match with different costumes and no ring, but it's the closest to what we used to have!


I think the one actor today that's just recently starting to do action roles (which I find to be very interesting, given his age and rich history in film) is Liam Neeson. After seeing Taken, I'll watch any Liam Neeson flick that comes out!

[RyanD]

Taken was the shit. Never prank call that guy lol

[4U2H8ME]

I loved Mel Gibson in the Lethal Weapon franchise and Payback. Bruce Willis was great in the Die Hard Franchise, and there's another Die hard movie coming soon. But sadly there aren't any real action heroes like there was in the 80's and 90's. It seems like the action heroe movie scenehas gotten watered down. Hollywood is suffering from real movies. Nowadays it's romcoms and feel good movies. Seriously not since "the Titanic" have you seen lines down the block or sold out tickets on a drama, romance or comedy. The action flix are what sell out.

[deevergote]

I think we're heading in the right direction, though. For a while, movies were TOO realistic, and that made them less fun to watch. I WANT to see something that's a bit outside the realm of actual possibility!

The only downside is that the movies that really play into that these days, like Transformers, are almost TOO big.

I agree with the Lethal Weapon and Die Hard franchises. They weren't all bogged down with details. You got a good story, fairly linear, with likeable, well-written characters.

[ExplodingCake]

Schwarzenneger , Stallone & VanDamme.

[Domesticated]

The only downside is that the movies that really play into that these days, like Transformers, are almost TOO big.

I did tear up when Optimus died in the second one.

Maybe the day of the action hero is over. Everybody who is an action hero doesn't make it the biggest part of there job.

[nine_deuce]

I think the problem with movies now a days is, when they find the "perfect" person to play a roll, if at the end of the movie, it looks like there may be a sequel, don't get too attached on that person coming back for part 2. I hate when they have someone in the perfect role, then the next movie, they have some other douche nozzle that clearly has no right being in that roll. This is just an example, probably a very bad one at that, but, it was the first one that came to mind. Take Vin Diesel in XXX, then they had Ice Cube in the next one? Are you fucking kidding me?

[BIGRICH]

what about denzel, liam, and yes....tom cruise?