Intelligent Life On Planet Rock
The best action film since Arnold Schwarzenegger retired from making good films
Arnold Schwarzenegger is the greatest star of all time. Everyone else (Cary Grant, Bruce Willis, James Stewart, Angelina Jolie, Tom Cruise etc) are all mere mortals who you may like, but are still just people. Schwarzenegger on the other hand was a God to my 13-year-old eyes. His films up to True Lies in 1994 are mostly all classics. I’ll take The Running Man over pretty much any modern action film.
Which brings me to Schwarzenegger’s true heir: Jason Statham (he makes the right kind of dumb old-school action films).
Crank is on ITV at 10.45pm tonight. It is an amazing work of absurd shark jumping madness. The only film in the last ten or so years that was so enjoyable that I watched it again the very next day.
One day it will be recognised as a classic of the genre. And if you like Crank, then also see Shoot 'Em Up starring Clive Owen.
These are action films made by clever sardonic indie film makers who bring a freshness, and an endless amount of invention and stupidity to the films.
These films are smartly dumb.
Crank 2 was okay but not a patch on the original. Transporter 2 was borderline brilliant (1 is awful and 3 is alright). And Death Race wasn’t terrible.
What is you favourite post-Schwarzenegger/1994 action film?
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Crank is good
like a PS3 game transported to the big screen. Couldn't get on with the Transporter though.
I’ve just watched
the Crank trailer. Does not even begin to do the film justice. The art of the good trailer is truly dead. I have old 80’s VHS tapes with amazing trailers that make so-so films look so funny and interesting. The last trailer I saw that actually made me want to see a film was The Wedding Crashers. 99% of all trailers put me off a film. They can just never cut the funny or action bits together in an appealing way now. Truly a lost art.
Throw Momma From The Train Theatrical Trailer:
http://www.spike.com/video/throw-moma-from/2979556
The Couch Trip has a great trailer but I can’t find it online. Shame.
sorry are you still
basing your opinion of your 13 years old self or do you still believe Arnie to be the "greatest" star ever . As anyone who's seen Commando will know Arnie is very poor in everything but the 1st Terminator. Oh and then there's twins, kindergarten cop, the one where he's pregnant, the Christmas one.
Oh and if we are talking about action films well you haven't to mentioned Bruce Willis and then it's basically Yippee-ki-yay melon farmer.
Commando
I won't hear a bad thing said against Commando. It's simply superb.
come off it's like a really bad episode of the A team
the scene where arnie is in a shed and it gets shot up the shed gives and more nuisanced and engaging performance than than he does.
He was a God to me when young
and I retain a substantial appreciation of those films. Many of them are still great films. I'm not going to argue with you as you seem to be using a different critical yardstick to judge the films. I just want Arnold to blow shit up while being invincible. Can he act? Who cares, look he's got big muscles, a competent way with a one liner and the action scenes are better and more expensive and more violent than anything else made at the time (and perhaps since?).
I like Bruce Willis, but he's in Bruce Willis movies, not Schwarzenegger films. It's the FILMS, not the actor that counts. A Bruce Willis action film is a very different beast to an Arnold Schwarzenegger action film.
Willis can act and Schwarzenegger can't. So what? Schwarzenegger blows things up more expensively and ludicrously than Willis ever did. And I like Willis by the way (I watched Hudson Hawk two days ago and I enjoyed it).
I'm with you
on this one Chris. Bruce in the Die Hard series every time for me. Yippee-ki-yay indeed.
I loved Shoot 'Em Up
fantastically inventive action sequences and a dry appreciation of its own preposterousness. Just seen that the DVD's only £4.08 at Amazon - mmmm....
Shoot 'Em Up
is fabulous. Paul Giamatti's look as the main villain is oddly reminiscent of Rafa Benitez. As a result - I'm always worried what he might do in a post-match interview given Liverpool's poor recent run.
Also Collateral is pretty good - and features Oakenfold's deeply exciting "Ready Steady Go" on the soundtrack
Max Payne rules.
The others are not fit to pick up his spent cartridges.
The down arrows
This thread to me is a good argument for the return of down arrows. I don't have much to say, other than I totally disagree, but can't be bothered to say why.
A down arrow to click would have been so much quicker.
early Schwarzenegger was good
I agree The Terminator, Total Recall and Predator were good movies. But he got a bit tired after that. These Jason Statham movies are like the old Chuck Norris and Stephen Seagal B movies. Theyre a bit flat on plot and the acting is a bit cartoonish. Shoot em Up was so OTT it almost like watching Sin City.
But to answer the question, the Jason Bourne franchise now sets the standard along with the Daniel Craig Bond movies.
Heat
Is from 1995, and is quite possibly my favorite movie.
As for the low budget action movies, my favorites are Commando and the Steven Seagal Classic Out For Justice.
The best action movie since Arnie... etc.
is the Bourne Supremacy, plain and simple. It's redefined the genre.
Commando, though. Commando rules.
I was with you..
.. right up to "Commando" . Lost me there
now
Predator on the other hand...
Desperado
and its attendant prequel and sequel are yer actual zenith of action films. Replete with lovingly-crafted slo-mo violence with knives being judiciously hurled, serried guns in guitar cases, cordite overload and even the odd bit of chop socky - it's the exemplar of action movies. But then Robert Rodriguez has never made a bad film...I used to say the same thing about Walter Matthau until my best friend said simply: 'Dennis. QED.'