With the glow in the dark success of Furious 7 one thing has become glaring clear to me:
We need new heroes.
The action hero, the true action hero that can snap necks and run knuckles through many a face, is a dying breed. Rare are the films where one man (or woman) runs through a cinematic landscape spraying blood and splaying skulls. While the 70s, 80s and 90s were bulging with the action hero film, now our bad asses move in herds or are eligible for senior discounts at the local massage parlor.
Here are some supporting facts:
The Fast and Furious films do huge business and Vin Diesel and The Rock are marquee selling points but they only pull the masses as part of an ensemble. The Rock last solo attempt (Snitch) drew only $40 million while Vin pulled in the same exact amount for his Riddick flick. When they are in a group, they pull in the diverse crowd, but alone, they struggle.
Then you have the Old Men’s club. One of the biggest action stars of the last few years has been Liam Neeson. He is 62. While his films are entertaining, you can’t help but think that part of the thrill is that a man as old as your grandpa can kick that high. There are also the hold overs from the 80’s that will not go away: Arnold, Sly and Bruce. They have become part of the regurgitation machine as Arnie finishes up his 4th Terminator film, Bruce followed Die Hard 5 with G.I. Joe 2 with RED 2 and Sin City 2 and Sly finished his 3rd Expendables movie. He is currently filming the 7th Rocky flick. While Bruce is younger than Liam at a mere 60, both Arnold and Sylvester are nearing 70.
One of the reasons these guys keep making these movies is that there is no young blood to take their place. Jason Statham has a small following but has never hit it big. Chris Hemsworth tried recently with the horrid Blackhat and failed. Mila Jovovich does pretty good worldwide with her zombie flicks but they are waning. Jet Li is gone. Jackie Chan is gone. Tom Cruise only makes money when the word Impossible is in the title. Tom Hardy and the Mad Max reboot gives me hope but there is no denying that there is a void.
Where is next Seagal, Van Damme? Hell, where is our generation’s Chuck Norris!!!?!!!!!!
I think the sad truth is that we are too cynical to take an American Ninja movie seriously anymore. That is why Furious 7 strikes a chord. We take our action with a grain of absurd willingly but will not spend a billion dollars on tickets for legitimate hard hitting action that doesn’t have a smirk on it’s face.
Also, the Superhero satisfies our bloodlust and we are saturated. In 2016 there will be a superhero movie released on the average of one every 6 weeks. We don’t need any more than that.
But I miss films like Commando or First Blood. Serious stuff. Kick ass stuff. Maybe there was some truth to The Last Action Hero title. While the world stands in line for Furious 7 I think it’s easy to say that the action film is dying.