Who is the greatest action movie hero of all time?
Well, I imagine this will be my last post until I come back from my holiday, so let's try and make it a good one, hmmm?
Action movies, then. We no doubt own a fair few in our DVD collections, and (I would wager) the majority of them are more than ten years old. Why is that? Well, (I don't NEED to wager) that's because action movies nowadays are complete shit.
No stars, you see. Back in the late eighties we were spoiled for choice, with Arnie and Stallone, Seagal, Van Damme - even great actors like Harrison Ford and Bruce Willis were still kicking ass, not to mention the likes of Jackie Chan doing all that stuff "for real", and it's fair to say it was a genuine golden age for action movies, where great characters and stupid plots made for quite simply brilliant movies.
But of all the action movie stars (not just the ones I've mentioned, feel free to pitch in some more), who was the BEST? Who's name in big capital letters above the movie title made you part with your hard-earned?
For me, it's an obvious two horse race; Stallone and Ahhnold. A few years back I would have said Arnie without even thinking about it, but recently Stallone has gained nuff respect from the IHM. I mean, damn, he WROTE most of the movies he starred in, from ace 80's junk like Cobra to his genre defining turn in Rambo (the end speech and Stallone's performance, are nothing short of incredible), and let's not forget the Rocky franchise, dodgy "politics" of Rocky IV aside. He was born with pretty severe disabilities, and so his rise to the top (and not just for having muscles) is to be applauded. True, his misses add up to more than his hits ("Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot," anyone? And let's not even touch "Judge Dredd") but Stallone is quite possibly the best action hero - even if he hasn't been in the best movies.
That accolade goes to Arnie. What he lacks in screenwriting skill and any measure of acting talent, he more than made up for in screen presence, the desire to make fun of himself and one fucking GOOD agent. While Stallone was starring in clunkers like Over The Top, Arnie was notching up mega hits in superb brain-fodder like Predator and Terminator 2, not to mention The Running Man and Total Recall. Face it - you own ALL of those films. And face it again - you've seen Kindergarten Cop more than twice.
So that's my two cents - Stallone gets the nod towards the best star, in terms of acting and writing ability, but Arnie wins out in the end for the sheer amount of great action movies under his belt.
So, now it’s your turn. This is the spot to talk about great action movies in general (or, hey - even bad ones). Who did you like? Who did you hate? Is the traditional action genre dead in the water?
And of course - who YOU think is the best action hero of all time.
Now THAT hidd de spod!
7 comments:
Hmmm.. interesting choice. I never really thought down that road because to label someone like Pacino as an "action movie star" seems like a bit of an insult. I mean, is the Godfather an "action" movie? Same with Scarface. Now, if it were a discussion about the best GANGSTER movies then fair enough..
Never was a big fan of Stallone, though I didn't know he wrote his own films so that definitely racks up some respect points for ol' Sly. But I'm down with my governor on that argument, Ahnold -Mr. Freeze portrayal aside- is just a legend in every sense of the word. But as far as my all-time favorite goes, the only name on my mind is Bruce Lee. Sure, he only completed some four films before he was tragically taken from us, but this guy was a real life action hero, he didn't just play one on TV. The documentary "Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey" made me practically worship the man; his real life story is as inspirational, intriguing, and action-packed as any movie I've seen. I could go on for hours about how awesome his films are, but I assume you've all at least seen "Enter the Dragon" so I'll let that speak for itself. Pacino is a total badass too, but I don't know if I'd qualify his films as "action" either.
Mmm, good call on Bruce Lee. I've seen a couple of his movies, (and I've got some Green Hornet DVD's if that counts..) and even if it was a little on the "whu..?" side, I thought "Dragon" was awesome.
In a real life fight - nobody not no how, could beat Bruce Lee.
what about of chuck norris, he works in several kick ass action movies in the eighties like; P.O.W, silent rage, Invasion U.S.A, delta force, Octagon, and like special guest in Enter the Dragon.
Hello anonymous. Well, hmm.. Chuck Norris... gah, I can't do it. I know he's been in about 1000 action movies (and a whole host of tongue in cheek websites) but his movies have never really matched the likes of Terminator or Rambo.
But hey, he could kick my ass so what do I know?
Ben - yeah, fair point. But my idea was that he's far too good an actor to be labelled an action hero. But then, Bruce Willis is a good actor too so..
(Head explodes.)
Maybe you are FORGETTING some-one here, but what about the Man, the Myth, the LEGEND, known as DALTON from the movie ROAD-HOUSE!? Do I REALLY need to tell you the actor who portrayed this philisophical, zen-like, bar-bouncer!? I know that you know....I'm just waiting to see if you acknowlage it. Do I have any supporters here!? Have any of you seen STEEL-DAWN!? Perhaps a character in that movie named NOMAD!? Yeah, NOW you know who I'm speaking of. Dalton+Nomad= the greatest action-hero of the time in which you are speaking. Thus, the action-actor who gains the title? Fill in the blank: ______________.
That's what I THOUGHT. Did I mention a little film called Red Dawn!? Never-mind. If you don't know who I'm talking about, please go rent a Ven-Deishel film. You obviously can't separate the greats from the toilet. Later.
p.s. Do NOT judge this man I speak of by the time he was unfortunately cast in the movie called Donny Darko. The people that made it OBVIOUSLY had the intention to ruin his career. I can only hope he will recover by bringing Dalton back for a big-budget sequel to that franchise. Imagine what Dalton would DO to Darko the next time around!!!
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