Who will be our new Tough Guys?

[Iguana Man]

Now that Arnie and Sly and Bruce and Clint are getting to the point you feel you personally have a chance of whooping their collective asses.....WHO is gonna replace them?

We got Bourne, we got the new Bond, and we got..... shit.

Where are the classic tough as nails, kick your ass actors? And, where are the attempts to replace them? I see none on the horizon, not a one who can come within a hair of the pure toughness these four provide.

Thoughts?

[Pirate]

I think to some extent we as a culture outgrew them. For characters like Rambo to work, you have to believe in their ridiculous situations and over-the-top villains. Even though we still pay to see crap like Aliens vs. Predator, audiences have become more sophisticated, and we don’t buy into these testosterone fantasies like we once did.

The new Bond is a great example of this. Daniel Craig’s 007 is a soulful, vulnerable hero who takes a beating and bleeds like any other man; there’s now a method to his suave madness. And we have Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne, an action hero working against the system, working towards stability and self-understanding. Except for the first Rambo (which was way smarter than its sequels), we really didn’t have any thinking man’s action heroes.

Sure, we still have Jason Statham transporting ass whoopings and Bruce Willis dying hard, but the unintentional cheese and irony of those 80’s action heroes is now purposely infused into modern action cinema so that audiences can enjoy it without feeling silly.

I for one prefer Craig’s Bond and Damon’s Bourne.

[Iguana Man]

Originally Posted by Pirate

I think to some extent we as a culture outgrew them.
..
Sure, we still have Jason Statham transporting ass whoopings and Bruce Willis dying hard, but the unintentional cheese and irony of those 80’s action heroes is now purposely infused into modern action cinema so that audiences can enjoy it without feeling silly.

Hmmm. I guess I haven't outgrown them and still like to feel silly.

[umainebearman]

I definitely haven't out grown them and always like to go back a revisit these types of movies on dvd.

Heres one problem and this is going to get me into some trouble here. NOw I love women but ever since the Spice girls came out or maybe just before younger females have been looking for the "strong female lead". So theres more of the women taking the lead in some big action movies. But when you see a 5'2" skinny as a rail actress kicking everyones ass on screen you think "yeah right.". When You see a huge freakin guy pick up an AK and blow away 20 or 30 guys with one clip you go "Ok I'll buy that.". In this case these movies work better with a male lead. The Chronicles of Riddick just popped into my head. Now that girl did a great job as Vins side kick but I couldn't see there roles being reversed. Plus I think think female actresses are less tolerant of the making of action movies. They just don't want to put up with all that crap.

However there is one actress out there that could be the next big action star. Even though lots of people didn't like her in Death Proof Zoe Bell can kick some serious ass. On the male side th closest thing to an avtion hero is Matt Damon. But like Pirate said the story line had a real purpose, Bourne wasn't just rampaging around killing people. But I don't see Damon using his considerable talents on action movies. When Sly and Arnie came out with a movie you knew what it was going to be, well untill Kindergarten Cop and Twins that is.

This generation has no action heros. You won't see kids running around the yard playing Rambo or Aliens or anything good. The parents would probably make them stop for one because pretending a tree limb is a gun is bad and two parents have been trained that any kind of fake violence will warp your child into a murderous fiend. God I'm glad I grew up in the 80s.

[biglyle]

Originally Posted by Pirate

audiences have become more sophisticated, and we don’t buy into these testosterone fantasies like we once did.

The huge growth of Ultimate fighting (mixed martial arts) within the general public seems to fly in the face of that thinking.

[Ruined]

The Rock and Vin Diesel.

[Pirate]

Originally Posted by biglyle

The huge growth of Ultimate fighting (mixed martial arts) within the general public seems to fly in the face of that thinking.

No, because that’s just violence. We’ll always pay to see people pummel each other.

[iluvalex]

I definitely would welcome an ass kicking female. Pssst - Hollywood, take more chances and make it believable.

On another note I was going to suggest Jason Statham. But you know what, after watching his last few, no thank you. Stratham has one dimension and when you team that up with lame scripts, you have a waste of time. Stratham will end up in the b-movies with Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal.

Jet Li - All I can suggest is for Jet Li to concentrate on his homeland movies. For me it's hit or miss when it comes to american movies. I prefer him in movies like Hero & Fearless.

[Iguana Man]

We, and I mean the world in general, need a new Dirty Harry. That's what I want, and dammit...Hollywood better provide it.

(and before anyone asks me 'why'.....BECAUSE WE NEED IT!)

Have a nice day, punk.

[sub780lime]

Originally Posted by Ruined

The Rock and Vin Diesel.

Thats what I was gonna say as well. Throw in Tony Jaa too. Thats pretty much what we got.

[RaceTripper]

Originally Posted by Ruined

The Rock and Vin Diesel.

Yeah, but don't they have to become actors first, at least just a little bit?

[plissken99]

I think Pirate summed it up pretty well in his initial post. Comparing modern day action stars to those of the 80's, clearly we have a brains over brawn mentality at work here. Personally I like the new action star persona, it's more believable. The original Matrix alone makes you think more than Schwarzeneggers entire resume does.

Fact is, I don't think new Stallaone or Schwarzeneggers are possible. I mean what was the latest wrestler trying to turn action star movie just recently? I knew it was going to stink from the trailers, not only because wrestlers almost always equal bad actors(I say almost, because The Rock actually does ok in this dept) as you have someone trying to immitate the 80's feel. Actually The Rock may be the exception, his movies seem to work so far.

On the other hand, I grew up worshiping the ridiculous escapades of Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Van Damme, Seagal and Norris. Having just recently seen the new Rambo, Stallone can still sell it. I just don't think we have new stars that can, The Rock and Vin Diesel come the closest. And RT, Vin Diesel is already a better actor than Schwarzenegger ever was, that may be part of the reason he can't fully sell the 80's feel lol.

As for another Dirty Harry, my vote goes to Clive Owen. I could see a franchise out of his character from Shoot Em' Up.

Oh and yeah, female action leads of today are a joke. Linda Hamilton was the ultimate female action hero, and practically looked like a dyke(I say dyke only because it sounds tougher than Lesbain for the PC minded), were in not for the beautiful face. Sigourney Weaver is about as femanine as a female action star can get without saying "yeah right" every five minutes.