Cloverfield was pretty good. Not sure about Rambo. I think Sly needs to stop with the hero roles.
True dat, I'll take Stallone at 75 over Vin Diesel, dude is awful.Stallone at 60+ is still 10x the badass compared to the people they're trying to push off as action heroes today.
I agree sir. I believe Stallone at 75 will still be prosperous on film. Vin Diesel, on the other hand is not my cup of tea.
True dat, I'll take Stallone at 75 over Vin Diesel, dude is awful.
Fixed it for ya!.
HOW could you like Vin Diesel? He has zero acting skills and is just bothersome. Sorry man, not trying to put you down, I just don't get it. Do you like "The Rock"?:dl:
I actually like Vin Diesel, but he should have kept going with the sci-fi roles like Pitch Black. That movie was freakin' serious. Instead, we get 'The Pacifier'. Which actually wasnt a bad movie...but Arnold made a multitude of badass films before he went on to soften his image with comedy.
Sly is the reason i dont fear aging!!!
HOW could you like Vin Diesel? He has zero acting skills and is just bothersome. Sorry man, not trying to put you down, I just don't get it. Do you like "The Rock"?
Alex is always hating on Vinny D. Vinny D would "American Me" his gimpy a$$ in 20 seconds. :lol: (sorry semi-inside joke)
I thought Pitch Black was terrible personally. Maybe we have different tastes in movies Big V.
Van Damme > Stallone + Vin D + Arnold :twisted:
Yeah, it's all good bro. I'm a big sci-fi fan, so anything with an alien-type theme get's a few points from me. I did like Pitch Black quite a bit however, thought it was really well done.
I saw Rambo IV last night, and I have to say don't listen to the 'critics' who would give the film 1 star or say its horrible or any **** like that. Your typical asswipe critic may pan the film, but the average fan review is 4/5 stars, and rightfully so.
The movie was pretty badass. Sure, the dialog and acting was kinda throwaway, but Stallone was just a killing machine! Everytime he killed a badguy, the whole theater erupted in applause...it was a really good time.
Action movies are like what you thought in your head as a kid while playing with GI Joe's in the sandbox. They dont have to make sense, or be on the level with The Shawshank Redemption in terms of dramatic flair...the just have to make you stare in awe at this badass dude kicking all kinds of ass through incredible, unbelievable odds.
If you can still watch Arnold's 'Commando' with a smile on your face,then go see Rambo IV - you wont be disappointed.
Meh, I'd disagree, but that's me. Believe it or not (as often times it doesn't seem like it) Action films, though a far derivative, are still forms of cinema. I enjoy action films which at least attempt to create a tangible sense of pathos in the protagonist; that is what makes films, of all genres, good - the feeling of emotional relativity. Even in the most improbable and unexpected situations, the emotive response ingrained in the writing, manifested by the actor, is what makes films good.
Without some semblance of emotional investment within a main character, a film fails in my eyes. Even if I am watching somebody 'blow sh!t up', I want to feel their is a reason which is plausible within the story line; even something like the Matrix, where the individuals were doing impossible physical feats, had a plausible explanation for their actions and developed the characters.
I may be alone on this one, but Christian Bale is one hell of an actor. He makes Batman! Also, the movie Hostile and 3:10 to Yuma are awesome as hell. I know some of those are not action films, but he gives an awesome performance in them.
Sly is awesome! I loved the new Rambo - takes me back to my childhood watching him and Arnold blow the enemy up with one liners. Love IT!
Without some semblance of emotional investment within a main character, a film fails in my eyes. Even if I am watching somebody 'blow sh!t up', I want to feel there is a reason which is plausible within the story line; even something like the Matrix, where the individuals were doing impossible physical feats, had a plausible explanation for their actions and developed the characters.
I'm sorry Sin, but XXX was literally the worst movie ever; ridiculous concept, CGI, acting, plot-line, I actually considered taking my own life whilst watching that movie.
Now you see, with these sorts of action flicks, I prefer them to be ridiculous. **** needs to blow up without logical physically explanation, acting needs to be kinda corny, and a plot line AT ALL is 100% optional. I wanna see crazy stunts, people getting their asses kicked, and things blowing up at the expense of the overall quality of the film.
If I wanna see a "good" movie (with regards to acting, storyline, and character development), I wouldn't be watching a movie with Arnold, Sly, Vin, Jet Lee, or Van Damme in the cast. As for Steven Seagal, well his stuff's just terrible, even for a lame action flick.
For the record though, T2 is the greatest action film of all time; of course, it contains emotive response and an empathetic connection between the Terminator and John Connor as the dominant plot
theme.
I'd add that the drive to watch an often scantily-clad man ooze masculinity on a large screen, especially in congregation with other grown men, is unbelievably homo-erotic. Death has always been an incredibly sexual and romanticized theme, and I think it's ironic that watching these films characterizes prototypical masculine behavior in North American culture; I'd also add that the actors you listed have consistently been sex icons in the gay community (insert joke along the lines of "you would know"). Just a thought.
I have to disagree here - homo-erotic for someone attracted to the same sex maybe. Most muscle-bound hero films come with a full compliment of scantily clad damsel's in distress. In the case of the Terminator films, Linda Hamilton was in her prime and I must say one of the hottest ladies on the big screen.
I don't thing seeing Arnold's physique has anything to do homo-eroticism for anyone who isnt a homosexual. Seeing his movies when I was a kid made we want to take up bodybuilding as soon as I could hoist a dumbell, in part because somewhere in the back of my adolecent brain I figured looking like that would afford me better chances with quality ladies, like the ones that were falling at his feat in nearly all of those films.
This is the nature of homo-eroticism, it is a subversive, latent sexual phenomena (this goes for both sexes), not the purposive, overt act you're making it out to be. These conflations aren't new stuff, quite accepted social phenomena. Themes like death, violence, masculinity, these have always been very hyper-sexual and romanticized activities.
Don't take this as an insinuation that you, or anybody else who watches Arnold, are gay; even if you were, I'd be the last person to take issue with that. Homo-erotic does not equate to homosexual, but I'm surprised you fail to see how two sweaty, muscle bound dudes jostling with each other isn't a little homo-erotic.
EDIT:
I would add this stems from the differing nature of male and female sexual expression. If a scantily-clad female, with a large gun was jostling with another female on the stage, that is homo-erotic as well; a latently expressed sexual tension between members of the same sex. However, as you perceive it, that is normal and you accept that is a somewhat sexual symbol. But, you have trouble grasping how two dudes doing the same thing is homo-erotic, understandable. I mean, really though, Rambo's gun is one large, monolithic, phallic symbol.
I don't mean to go so Freudian, so to speak, over an action-film critique, but in Social Psych/Psych/Soci these are pretty covered themes. Not a big issue by any means, but they are definitely there.
Most Van Damme, Arnold, Stallone, Diesel, and "the Rock" types movies are just about red cars, big guns, and explosions. I gotta go with Mullet on this one, I don't consider these action movies... more like "explosive humor". If I want to see an action movie I'll go with Scorsese, or Mann as their movies will have active dialog along with a semi-believable plot. I mean take movies like "The Departed" or "Collateral" - both were incredible movies, but had very minimal "muscle" or "explosion" scenes, IMO that is what makes a movie "action-worthy". When the plot is ACTIVE and somewhat close to believable. Not when stuff goes "BOOM" and a see one too many Man-torsos. Just my 2 pennies.
I understand what you're saying - but I try not to look that deep into the psychology behind a genre. It gets in the way of the suspension of my disbelief which is key to enjoying the films. I also don't think the people involved in making these movies have the cultural subconscious in mind when developing the plot. Subconsciously, perhaps.![]()
Don't you dare put "The Departed" in the same catagory as "Collateral". Collateral was complete crap and "The Departed" is my new favorite movie since I saw it on DVD when it was first released.
T-Bone... I'm not even sure this argument is worth it, because you totally missed what I was saying, but I too view "The Departed" as one of the best films in creation. I'm sorry you disliked "Collateral" but I was talking about plot believability and active dialog, rather then abundance of giant forearms/machine guns/catch-phases. If you truly cannot understand what I'm saying because you simply just didn't like a film I mentioned, I'm sorry. There are other posts here you may understand/enjoy more.
Most Van Damme, Arnold, Stallone, Diesel, and "the Rock" type movies are just about red cars, big guns, and explosions. I gotta go with Mullet on this one, I don't consider these action movies... more like "explosive humor". If I want to see an action movie I'll go with Scorsese, or Mann as their movies will have active dialog along with a semi-believable plot. I mean take movies like "The Departed" or "Collateral" - both were incredible films IMO, but had very minimal "muscle" or "explosion" scenes. To me, that is what makes a movie "action-worthy". When the plot is ACTIVE, instead of the giant guns, and the story is somewhat close to believable. Not when stuff goes "BOOM!!" and I see one too many naked man-torsos. Just my 2 pennies.
WOW, it was freaking great! Go Sly, bringing action back! There seriously had to be a beheading, or some kill every minute of the movie!
What is the Greatest Action flick of all time in your eyes BV?
So what’s next for Sly? He hints at working with his fellow 80’s relics, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis, which immediately calls the fanboys of the room to rapt attention. “I always talk to Arnold about it,” Sly says with a chuckle. ‘When are you going to get over this job? Let’s go back to having some fun!’ Every weekend, I ask him… I think that Bruce is a possibility.”
Aliens.