Where's All Our Action Heroes?
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's Awesome Applesauce: Charles Quevedo
Am I the only one who's been wondering where all our "action heroes" are?
Where's our "Rambos", "John McClanes", and "Jason Bournes"?
Action heroes are that rare breed of brave individuals that throw themselves in front of harm's way to save the innocent. Sometimes, that even means for that individual to sacrifice one's own life to do so.
Anybody who's been reading my articles knows that I love action movies. I love getting that dose of adrenaline from watching them and seeing the hero save the day.
It's the summer ... and I have yet to see a hero in a true "blow 'em up, shoot 'em dead!" action movie. There have been some "swords & sandals" adventure movies lately though.
Back in the 80's & 90's; we were flooded with action movies that bombarded us with whizzing bullets, insane car chases, and over-the-top explosions. Movies that rattled our senses. Our heroes in these movies consisted of Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jean Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagall, Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson, Kevin Coster, Will Smith, Wesley Snipes, and Harrison Ford. They were bigger-than-life. Back then, you couldn't go to a movie theater without seeing a movie where they were knocking some bad guy through a window or blowing up a helicopter.
In the 2000's; we had individuals like Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Chow Yun Fat, Vin Diesel, Jason Stratham, Keanu Reeves, Denzel Washinton, Josh Hartnett, Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Tom Cruise, Pierce Brosnan, and Angelina Jolie who tried the whole shoot 'em up and car chase scenes on the big screen. Some found success in the genre, some didn't. And even we're seeing them less and less with a gun in their hands or their fists smashing into someone's face.
Is Hollywood in short supply of action heroes? It may seem so. Why? The answer is simple ... even action heroes get old. When actors get into their early 60's and find it difficult to do choreographed fight scenes or stunts as quickly as they did when they were 15 or 20 years younger, then maybe it's time to step aside as new younger actors take their place. But there's NOT too many actors who can just step into those shoes.
There are a new crop of younger actors who are willing to try to take over the "action hero" throne ...
Shia LaBeouf has done some thriller and action movies that have made lots of money for the film studios. "Surburbia", "Transformers 1 & 2", and "Eagle Eye" comes to mind as movies that he has starred and impressed me in. Not the classic muscular hero, LaBeouf has the quality to be the regular guy with heroic qualities that come out at the right circumstances when needed.
Aussie actor, Sam Worthington, has been in quite a few action movies the last couple of years. He has starred in "Terminator: Salvation", "Clash of the Titans", and even the all-time box-office hit, "Avatar". His square-jaw good looks and rugged physique make him the ideal candidate to be a classic action hero. He's a natural.
Christian Bale, the actor that starred in the "Batman" franchise ("Batman Begins" & "The Dark Knight"), "Terminator: Salvation", and "3:10 to Yuma"; has proven to be a capable actor to survive the "action" genre. He has a dark "Dirty Harry" quality that makes him a great action hero. He's a handsome charmer with a dangerous edge.
Robert Downey Jr., who has recently thrown his hat into the action arena, has impressed critics and audience members with action movies such as "Sherlock Holmes" and "Iron Man 1 & 2". This is an actor who I NEVER thought would perform in this genre of film, but he does give a fresh kind of energy as the kind of hero with a devilish smirk and smart-ass one-liners. I do have to remind you that it's mainly the CGI "Iron Man" that's making Downey look all badass in those comic book movies (just sayin').
Sylvester Stallone, who has recently made a comeback with such movies like "Rocky Balboa" and "John Rambo", has brought together some of the best tough guys Hollywood has to offer for the upcoming "The Expendables" action movie (due out in theaters on August 13, 2010). This movie brings together a cast unlike any put together before. This is definitely going to be an testosterone-filled movie that's gonna have action junkies lining up to buy tickets for. I'm all giddy about this one.
In the end, one must ask the question ... "Are action heroes on the extinct species list?"
Maybe we no longer need "action heroes". In the era of "nerds", do we really need to see that macho Alpha male on the big screen, shooting terrorists (or some other bad guys) to rescue his girlfriend? We've seen that type of "Die Hard"-type heroics many times before ...
Do we need them? The answer is ... Yes.
Let's admit it. We love action movies and their heroes. They provide shameless entertainment and an escape from our normal lives for 2 hours.
Maybe we just need a new type of action hero. Maybe we need an action hero that uses his brain for once. Anybody ready for a "MacGyver" movie?
Follow Charles on Twitter: @FuglyCharlie