SLY WORRIES, VAN DAMME FADES, BRUCE LOOKS ELSEWHERE,
WHO IS THE PRE-MILLENNIUM ACTION HERO?
By Clint Morris
I recently
read an article with one time big action star, Sylvester Stallone.
In the article, Sly states that no one see's him anymore, that
he is invisible. Are we slowly losing one of our most famous action
heroes? It was always Bruce, Arnie, Sly or Van Damme. Then there
were the try-hard action stars like Dolph Lundgren, Thomas Ian
Grffith and Chuck Norris. This year it looked like Wesley Snipes,
Keanu Reeves and Mel Gibson were the big action heroes - but even
those guys are looking elsewhere for their next film project.
Bruce Willis became big time action man after the "Die Hard" series
and rehashed it for other action numbers like "The Last Boy Scout",
"Striking Distance", "Mercury Rising" and "The Jackal", but even
Mr Willis seems tired of playing big hero.
In "The
Sixth Sense", Bruce is playing a psychiatrist and the film is
now the biggest of his career. Arnie Schwarzenegger isn't as big
as he use to be, he takes too long to put out a film. "Batman
and Robin" didn't help either, it was one of the biggest flops
ever. Schwarzenegger is on the verge of attempting a comeback
with the film "End of Days", he is also looking at doing sequels
to "True Lies", "The Terminator" and "Total Recall". Obviously,
Arnie realises he is not the only contender for action star 1999/2000.
Van Damme
is on the way out. He got so low he had to do a sequel this year,
"Universal Soldier : The Return", and even that made no money.
Latest I see is Van Damme's newest film "Inferno" going straight
to video soon from a B grade company. Don't expect this guy to
stick around much longer, except at the bottom of the video shelf.
Things are changing in the world of the action hero. "The Terminator"
seems to be running out of juice, "Rambo" is out of grenades and
John McClane must be in rehab.
So where
is Hollywood looking for it's next batch of action hero? This
year it looked to the former star of "Bill and Ted's Excellent
Adventure", Keanu Reeves, and realised they had a big time action
superstar on their hands when he headed "The Matrix, the top grossing
science fiction film. Reeves is the one they are looking to for
2000 too, and they have nailed him down to do a couple more "Matrix"
films, among others. George Clooney is still one to watch too.
He may have missed out big time in the films "The Peacemaker"
and "Batman and Robin", but the former star of TV's "ER" has got
what it takes to be a charismatic action hero, he just hasn't
got a good film. "Three Kings" could be different. In the Gulf
War film, he, Ice Cube, and Mark Wahlberg play three soldiers
who find treasure. Obviously others think Clooney is still a contender
too, he was most recently tipped to play the Hulk.
Casper
Van Dien could be worth keeping an eye out. He has the build for
it and attitude. He did well as Johnny Rico in "Starship Troopers",
but we just haven't seen much of him since. He next stars in "The
Omega Code", and you never know it could be a sleeper and be his
big break. Pierce Brosnan seems to be an action star for the moment
too. He just played mr suave for "The Thomas Crown Affair", and
he looks set to play James Bond for a while longer. Brosnan's
latest performance as Bond is in "The World is Not Enough". The
big time 007 adventure looks action-packed and no doubt will ride
the top of the box office.
Tom Cruise
is hoping for a similiar franchise deal with his "Mission: Impossible"
movie series. Cruise brings out "Mission : Impossible II" early
next year, and it could possibly reaffirm the idea that Cruise
is an action star. He also stars in Spielberg's "minority report".
Tommy Lee
Jones has been a strong contender in action films over the past
few years. His most successful films being "The Fugitive" and
"U.S Marshals". Jones stars in "Double Jeopardy", a big time action
thriller at the moment and early next year joins Clint Eastwood
for "Space Cowboys".
Val Kilmer
is having another go at action hero 2000 by starring in "Mission
to Mars". Kilmer's last effort was in "The Saint", even though
it was an OK movie it bombed at the box office. There are also
a heap of other newcomers and stayers to watch for soon they include
: Joshua Jackson (who will be in "Skulls"), Harrison Ford (he
may do another "Indiana Jones" soon!), Patrick Stewart (he's about
to lead "The X Men"!), Ben Affleck (he's about to star in the
actioner "Reindeer Games" and "The Boiler Room"), Robert De Niro
("15 Minutes")and look out for Kevin Sorbo, he's been popular
on TV!
Other big
names entering the action genre, include Russell Crowe, Ed Burns
and Jet Li. Jet Li made such an impression in "Lethal Weapon 4",
it is obvious that he is about to be a major mainstream action
man. Crowe is doing big things in Hollywood and his next film
"Gladiator", looks hot, and could crown Crowe as an action hero,
and finally, Ed Burns swaps the heart on his sleeve he has worn
in such films as "Shes the One" and "Brothers McMullen" for a
role in the De Niro action film "15 Minutes". A new breed of action
hero are joining the current list of heavies. No wonder Sly thinks
the best thing to do is do "Rocky 6".
For more
information on the hottest stars and movies, please come visit
my web site THE MOVIE HOLE at: http://www.members.tripod.com/~Clint_3
