10 Key Titles in Action Cinema

With Stallone’s Expendables sequel blasting its way onto our screens this summer and The Raid introducing director Gareth Evans and star Iko Uwaiswas as names to watch, 2012 could be a significant year for action movies. 

So here I present ten movies that helped shape the genre.

1. The Wild Bunch (1969)

 

Famously using more blank rounds than during the entire actual Mexican Revolution of 1914, The Wild Bunch is modern cinema’s first example of total balls-out shooting mayhem.  Events culminate in a Gatling gun, six-shooter and rifle orgy of violence as the dusty landscape is painted blood red. 

Legacy:  The level of violence displayed onscreen; any action movie that climaxes in a massive shoot-out (that’s all of them, then).

Fun fact:  The climatic gun battle sequence took 12 days to film.   

2. Dirty Harry (1971)

 The Clint Eastwood-starring iconic police procedural is a benchmark for one man and his gun powerhouse cinema:  in a world where he can’t rely on his fellow cops to keep the streets clean, Inspector Harry Callahan has to take his sideburns and Smith & Wesson Model 29 and do the dirty work of testing punks’ luck all by himself.

Legacy:  Cop-orientated fare like Lethal Weapon; a vigilante taking care of things His Way such as in The Crow; Keanu Reeves discarding his badge at the end of Point Break.

Fun fact:  The movie was loosely based on the real-life current case of the Zodiac Killer in San Francisco, made into a more straight-up thriller in David Fincher’s Zodiac.

3. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

Indy’s dabbles into the realms of child kidnapping, possession and human heart extraction were, strangely, at odds with the family-friendly PG rating in the US, and thus the first Jones sequel is attributed with introducing the PG-13.  For the UK, see the fuss over Spiderman (2002) and the 12A, although The Bourne Identity was the first film to receive the new classification.

Legacy:  Watered down action movies ever since, but especially in the last ten years.

Fun fact:  Temple of Doom is the only film in the saga where Indy tries to sacrifice his love interest to an ancient Hindu Goddess.

4. Commando (1985)

Col. John Matrix’s (Arnold Schwarzenegger) daughter Chenny is kidnapped by evil vaguely South American types for some unimportant reason, resulting in the big guy tracking her down and playing a real life version of those classic shoot-the-screen arcade games with a never-ending succession of extras sporting invisible targets.

Legacy:  The one-man killing machine; the cementing of Arnie as an action legend.

Fun fact:  Future star Bill Paxton has a cameo as a coastguard.

5. Lethal Weapon (1987)

Mel Gibson is the suicidal loner ying to Danny Glover’s family-man yang in this classic, and decidedly dark, chalk and cheese cops comedy-thriller.

Legacy:  Too many mis-matched buddy-buddy movies to mention, some good (The Last Boy Scout, Bad Boys) some painful (the Rush Hour series).

Fun fact:  Gibson’s anguished performance as Martin Riggs earned him a stab at playing the original tormented soul in Franco Zeffirelli’s adaptation of Hamlet.

6. Die Hard (1988)

Blue collar copper John McClane (Bruce Willis) evades Alan Rickman’s group of Euro-scum terrorists who have taken over his wife’s office building, saving both the day and his marriage.  All whilst barefoot.

Legacy:  The ‘Die Hard on a…’ sub-genre:  any film featuring hostages and their liberation by one brave hero. See Under Siege (train), Speed (bus), The Rock (disused off-shore prison), etc.

Fun fact:  TV star Willis wasn’t deemed famous enough to have his mug on early posters of the movie, which instead focused on its principal building, the distinctive Nakatomi Plaza (really LA’s Flox Plaza).

7. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)

The return of Arnie’s (almost) indestructible cyborg wasn’t rendered any less potent by him being the good guy, thanks to the sinister efforts of the eye-bogglingly effective ‘liquid metal’ T-1000 and director James Cameron’s liberal doses of top class chases and gun fights.

Legacy:  The film broke the boundaries of the use of special effects in thrill-flicks, and even today you can’t see the joins.

Fun fact:  Was the most expensive movie of its time.

8. Hard Boiled (1992)

‘Bullet ballet’; ‘an orgy of violence’; ‘heroic bloodshed’ – all terms used to describe John Woo’s last Hong Kong flick before his foray into Hollywood.  The Killer is the superior movie, but for sheer unadulterated carnage it doesn’t get much better than this particular example of Chow Yun-Fat jumping around holding two guns and blasting holes into everybody.  

Legacy:  Hollywood had seen the future of action, and it came from the East.  The bar had been raised.

Fun fact:  The climatic hospital shoot-out includes a two minutes, forty-two seconds single take sequence.  And it’s bloody brilliant.

9. The Matrix (1999)

Hacker Neo discovers that our existence on Earth is really a dream world and we are being harvested by a non-friendly alien species.  Only one thing to do then, and it involves ‘guns, lots of guns.’

Legacy:  Bullet time, a new physics-bending way to film action sequences. Something original for the first time in ages, even if the novelty wore off pretty quickly.

Fun fact:  The sequels are crap.

10. Rambo (2008)

Stallone drags his weary, rubber-faced John Rambo back into the battlefield.  Heads, arms, legs and plenty of other things that don’t usually detach go flying.  Complete nonsense in the best possible way.

Legacy:  So far this this splatter fest hasn't seen a return to Eighties style ultra-violence (boo!), but certainly it showed modern audiences that the old boys could still have some gas in the tank.

Fun fact:  Working titles included the enticing Rambo: To Hell And Back and the somewhat muddled Rambo: First Blood Part IV.

Speed (1994)

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, 

Sandra Bullock, Jeff Daniels

Directed by: Jan De Bont

Written by: Graham Yost

Duration: 1hr 56mins

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Speed. I have issues with Speed.  I’ve had issues with it ever since I first watched it during my 12th birthday sleepover party, when my pals and I were all hyped up for a thrill-a-minute ride that turned out to be a tepid disappointment.

I have issues with Keanu Reeves, who is totally miscast.  For him to work in an action role it has to acknowledge his unique slacker persona:  Point Break has him surfing, The Matrix includes that bit where he reacts to Laurence Fishburne’s leap between buildings with a dumbfounded ‘Woah!’.  In this, he’s just a crew-cutted gum-chewing knucklehead. 

WHO CAN FATHOM THE INTRICATE MIND OF JACK TRAVEN?

I have issues with how, for a so-called action movie, it doesn't have a single shoot-out.  Reeves' LAPD cop Jack Traven carries a sub-machine gun for a bit at the start… um… then later on he shoots a lock off a door with his service pistol.  Go, boy!

JOHN WOO MUST HAVE BEEN SHITTING HIMSELF

I have issues with Sandra Bullock, who whilst being lovely to look at, is rather annoying in this.

PRETTY, BUT ALSO PRETTY ANNOYING

I have issues with Jan De Bont’s direction, or rather lack of.  Oh my God it’s so intense, are they going to get off the bus?  Will they make that jump in the road? Will I be able to stay awa… *snore*.  De Bont manages to wring zero tension from the admittedly genius scenario, and his lack of ability as an action director was further evidenced by the string of duds that followed (Twister, Speed 2: Cruise Control, The Haunting, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life).

 

OH, THE SUSPENSE

I have issues with Dennis Hopper.  A decent villain, sure, but being in such pantomime popcorn fare sent his career off into a trajectory as a psycho-for-hire that meant that we would never again bear witness to the raw evil of Blue Velvet’s Frank.  Plus Hopper’s Howard Payne supposedly has only one thumb, yet at one point clicks his fingers off screen whilst holding a phone with his good hand.  That has always irritated me.

"POP QUIZ, HOTSHOT!"

I have issues with portly Jeff Daniels playing a SWAT officer.  What was the casting director smoking?
 

DANIELS SHOOTS HIS AGENT A DISBELIEVING LOOK

I have issues with Reeves trying to ‘do an Arnie’ with quips like, “Yeah? Well I’m taller!” proving that not everyone can deliver cheesy one-liners effectively.  I also hate the clumsy exchange between Joe Morton’s SWAT leader and our hero at the start:  “Anything else that'll keep this elevator from falling?” “Yeah, the basement.”

I have issues with how, essentially, if you take away the budget and Hollywood players, what you really have is a dull TV Movie disaster flick, annoying supporting characters/possible victims included.

ALAN RUCK:  SMARMY YUPPIE BUS CRASH FODDER

 
Speed has to be the most overrated movie of the 1990s; an OK time-waster but nothing more, and certainly not one of the best in its genre.  If you want a blockbuster from the summer of 1994, rent True Lies.  If you want action movies with Reeves, Bullock or Hopper, check out Point Break, Demolition Man and Waterworld respectively.  Broken Arrow is a more fun handling of a Graham Yost script.  And if you want a decent Jan De Bont movie…uh… hmm.   **1/2

Out for Justice (1991)

Starring:  Steven Seagal, William Forsythe, 

Jerry Orbach, Gina Gershon        

Directed by: John Flynn

Written by: David Lee Henry

Duration: 1hr 31 mins

Rating: 4 out of 5

So here we are at the end of my look at Seagal’s debut tetralogy (of sorts).  Through Above the Law, Hard to Kill and Marked for Death many bones have been broken, whispered one-liners spoken and, er, Steven using his hand for bad guys to choke on.  So what does his last effort before he boarded a ship and went steller, Out for Justice, have to offer?

WELL, DO YOU ASSOCIATE THIS MAN
WITH THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION?

The movie starts with a literary quote, of all things.  It comes from Arthur Miller, a man for whom I have huge respect:  Death of a Salesman, A View from the Bridge, bedding Marilyn Monroe.  Miller was born in Brooklyn, where Out for Justice takes place, and the quote (“While to the stranger’s eyes one street was no different from another, we all knew where our ‘neighborhood’ somehow ended.  Beyond that, a person was…  a stranger”) promises a tale about remembering your roots, respecting boundaries, and sticking up for your own.

WHO NEEDS SUB-PLOTS WHEN YOU'VE GOT DOG BISCUITS?

So the scene is set for this to be quite different to Seagal’s previous films…  except that it isn't really at all.  Steven is still a cop, Steven’s loved one still gets hurt/threatened/killed, Steven still takes brutal revenge.  However, now I’ve embraced the Early Seagal Movie Template, this doesn't grate.  And this one definitely eclipses the three that came before.  Out for Justice delivers enough fist fights, one-liners and shoot-outs to hold its head up as an action romp, but excels within its own small league for two reasons: its brevity and its adversary.

  

Whereas the three previous movies required as long as an hour to get to the point that every viewer is waiting for – where Mr. Seagal unleashes foots, fists and Colt M1911 rounds upon hoards of bleeding heavies – Out for Justice gets to the vengeance part of the story within TEN MINUTES.  We meet Seagal’s Gino and his partner Bobby, see them take down a pimp-type who’s roughing up some hoes, observe how well respected Gino is in the ‘hood by mobsters and hoodlums alike, and then BANG – Bobby is mowed down in a hail of bullets.  Now that’s what I call well-trimmed scripting; it even substitutes the notion of a sub-plot for an on-going strand where Gino adopts a stray dog, showing his – aw, shucks! – caring side.

GREASY HAIR, 'TASCHE, SNARL...
YEP, WE HAVE OURSELVES A BAD GUY

The rest of the movie keeps Gino and his target away from each other as the former searches for his prey in dive bars (naturally) and strip clubs (double naturally) and the latter avoids capture by engaging in his favourite pastimes of killing people on a whim, smoking crack and teasing a guy in a wheelchair.

The man Gino spends over an hour tearing up the city looking for is Richie, who is played with sleazy menace by William Forsythe.  Totally unhinged and amoral, Richie is a real piece of work who explodes into wild rages totally unprompted; you truly expect him to pull out his revolver and pop someone at any given moment – and he often does, as an irate female motorist finds out to her peril.

ACTUALLY,

'BAD'

DOESN'T

QUITE

CUT

IT...

Regrettably, Forsythe is rather too tubby and weasely to be much of a physical threat to Seagal in their final showdown, but this doesn't make it any less satisfying when Gino beats seven shades of shit out of him.

"I'M GONNA KEEP COMING BACK UNTIL
SOMEONE REMEMBERS SEEING RICHIE!"

This flick is a lot more involving than its predecessors.  Gino is scouring the streets he's lived on his whole life for a man he grew up with who has now killed his best friend, creating both a personal and professional conflict; it's a journey that generates much complexity and no little suspense.  Along the way there is the best bar scene since Eddie Murphy in 48 Hrs. ("Anyone seen Richie?") and some unexpected pathos as Gino’s split loyalties result in him having to arrest Richie’s Dad (played with dignity by Dominic Chianese, The Soprano’s Uncle Junior), the man who is his own father figure.

So a fitting end to an ultimately worthwhile look at a member of the action fraternity whose star never rose as high as maybe it should have.  He’s derided by many today – perhaps fairly based on his 21^st century output – but digging out his first four films is a reminder that Steven Frederic Seagal was formally a filmic fighting force not to be fucked with.  ****

See also:

Above the law (1988)

Hard to Kill (1990)

Marked for Death (1990)

Commando (1985)

Starring:  Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vernon Wells, 

Rae Dawn Chong, Dan Hedaya, Bill Duke, Alyssa Milano

Directed by: Mark L. Lester

Written by: Steven E. de Souza

Duration: 1hr 30mins

Rating: 5 out of 5

Commando transcends any attempt at analysis to such a degree that it’s impossible to do this work of art justice by restricting it to a conventional template.  

So, as such, I present to you Commando:  a reviw by poem.

To call Commando 'amazing' would surely be

The truest statement I could ever decree

The tale of a love as pure as fresh water

John Matrix and Chenny, father and daughter

 

Bennett, the fiend, wants to break up this bond

Matrix’s old ally – they once were so fond!

Kill a dictator (or something like that)

Is the vague plan of this moustachioed twat

But Matrix is seething, and exits the ‘plane

(His escort’s “dead tired”, his quip to explain)

Lying to Sully, shrugging off mall cops

And into Cindy’s car our hero then hops.

To rescue Chenny is Matrix’s plan

Fighting a whole army? This is your man!

 

Bennett’s island base is where Matrix docks

War paint he applies and many guns he cocks

And now the massacre has truly begun

Official body count reaching 81

Finally to Bennett to thwart his regime

Homoerotic sparring sure lets off steam

Reunited with Chenny – mission complete!

And Cindy makes three – a new family, how sweet!

So we’ve witnessed carnage way off the scale

Mixed with a touching parental love tale

 

Can any movie match this bold stance?

As Matrix would put it:

"NO CHANCE!"

*****

Marked for Death (1990)

Starring: Steven Seagal, Basil Wallace, 

Keith David, Joanna Pacula

Directed by: Dwight H. Little

Written by: Michael Grais, Mark Victor

Duration: 1hr 33mins

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Every action hero needs at least one movie where he plays someone called John.  With Marked for Death, Steven Seagal adds his name to a roster that includes Arnie (Matrix, Kimble, Kruger), Sly (Rambo, Spartan), Bruce Willis (McClane, Smith), Wesley Snipes (Cutter), Harrison Ford (Ryan, Book) and Keanu Reeves (Utah, Mnemonic, Constantine). 

Yes, here our man plays John Hatcher, DEA agent extraordinaire, introduced bounding through the streets of a Colombian slum chasing a Danny Trejo lookalike.

HOLD ON A SEC...  THAT IS DANNY TREJO!

Hatcher and his partner’s undercover operation in South America then leads them to a strip club (of course) where “the deal’s going down in the back”.  Unfortunately they’re made as American cops, so *crack* *slam* *smack* later and… Seagal’s gone and sliced a guy’s hand clean off!  Perhaps with this movie he’s moving away from breaking limbs and more towards cutting them off altogether, a shift that I would wholeheartedly support. 

INSERT "LEND HIM A HAND " JOKE HERE  

But it’s not all fun and body-mutilation games.  Hatcher’s partner is gunned down by a pistol-wielding prostitute, prompting Hatcher to return to the US and declare to his boss (played by John Carpenter favourite Peter Jason, another random and welcome cameo) that he’s quitting the cop game, then swiftly head to his family home back in the sleepy Chicago suburb he grew up in to reassess his life.

SOME KIDS HAVE SPORTS TROPHIES ON THEIR WALLS.  OTHERS...

That’s right, this is one of those action movies where the leading man vows to put aside his violent ways, and the pony-tailed one duly (and dully) spends most of the first act actively avoiding conflict.  Happily, we are reminded that a retraction of this uncharacteristic pacifist attitude is never far away, not least by the impressive gun collection Hatcher keeps on the wall of his boyhood bedroom.  Holy moly.

Hatcher takes a stroll around the pitch with school football coach buddy Keith David, wherein his old pal brings him up to speed on the town’s escalating drug problem.  Indeed, we intercut with Jamaican dealers trying to peddle crack to the WASP-y student body – including one who looks like a young Hilary Swank.

HOLD ON A SEC...  OH, NEVER MIND

For a while it seems like this is going to be a preachy Just Say No movie, with Steve as Chief Enforcement Officer – sticking his nose in (to wit: “You want some blow?"  “Yeah, I want some blow – put your hands up or I’ll blow your head off.”) but keeping his fists more or less to himself.  That is, until the event that seems to be a Seagal movie staple turns up: the Jamaicans target his family.  This is the line for John Hatcher!

"YOU FUCK WITH MY FAMILY, YOU DIE!"
(WHICH IS ALSO THE FILM'S PLOT IN ONE LINE) 

So he and his equally-vexed mate (no one does pissed-off quite like Keith David) react accordingly:

DAMN...  IF I WAS THOSE JAMAICANS, I'D BE JUMPING
ON THE FIRST PLANE BACK TO KINGSTON 

From this point on, Marked for Death is a succession of action set-pieces, hand-to-hand combat (Steve still breaks plenty of bones, and even graduates to a decapitation!), and quips (“Give me what I need and I'll leave here a nice guy.  If you don't, I'm gonna fuck you up.”). One particularly effective car chase climaxes with the baddies’ car jumping the curb and smashing into a damn jewellers. 

ONE SOLUTION TO INADEQUATE URBAN PARKING FACILITIES

It’s a shame that the plot is essentially the same as in Hard to Kill – and, come to think of it, Above the Law: Steven’s loved ones are threatened, he retaliates, job done.  But the vengeance is executed in a satisfyingly ruthless manner, especially during a climatic trip to Jamaica, where the tropical scenery makes a welcome change and our hero ultimately atones for any fanciful notion that he would no longer get his hands dirty.  It lacks the humour of HTK, but makes up for it with some top-drawer violence and is an entertaining enough time waster, Mr Seagal delivering exactly what's required of him.  ***1/2

JAMAICAN ME ANGRY... (SORRY, REALLY SORRY)

Coming soon: the final part of my look at early Seagal, Out for Justice!






*UPDATE* 24 January 2012 


Here is as comprehensive a list of action movie Johns as you are ever likely to find:  http://www.imdb.com/board/bd0000122/nest/193240342.
(And I've also since been reminded about Johnny Rico in Starship Troopers.)


See also: 
Above the Law (1988)
Hard to Kill (1990)
Out for Justice (1991)