Student happy with new action films
Thursday, September 30, 2010 at 9:00AM Jeremy Gatlin
Mass communication major
As many of you may know by now, I’m a frequent moviegoer.
Over the past few years, I’ve noticed less and less action movies released.
These days, we have the slick, debonair hero who delivers justice by relying on his intellect.
For example, watch George Clooney’s characters in the “Ocean’s” trilogy and “Michael Clayton.”
The Clooney-type action movies, and not solely Clooney, are good in their own way, but they don’t deliver the excitement as some of the 1980s action films.
The kind of action movie I want to see more of is the one with the tough guy as the hero.
There is some kind of injustice that occurs, and the rugged tough guy takes care of business while causing lots of destruction.
“The Losers,” “The A-Team,” “From Paris with Love” and “Green Zone” fit my description and they all came out this year.
However, three of these movies flopped. “The A-Team” was a moderate success.
Should action fans be worried their favorite genre is endangered?
The answer is no.
Thanks to Sylvester Stallone, the action genre with the tough guys has been resurrected with “The Expendables.”
The movie will go down in history for bringing 1980s and today’s action stars together on screen for the first time.
The movie stars Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li and Dolph Lundgren and it features cameos by Arnold
Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis in a priceless scene with Stallone.
The story centers around a group of mercenaries hired by the mysterious Mr. Church, played by Willis, to embark on a suicidal mission to assassinate a ruthless dictator of a small South American island.
At first, the team refuses to take the job until it sees first-hand what’s at stake.
The last 30 minutes of the movie features some of the best action sequences ever put on film.
“The Expendables” has pulled in close to $100 million domestically and is expected to double that amount internationally, according to www.boxofficemojo.com.
The movie has brought about nostalgia for people who love 1980s action films.
A sequel is already under way.
Hollywood pays close attention to how well genre films perform.
If certain movies make big money, expect to see more of them in the future.
Thank you Stallone for writing, directing and starring in “The Expendables.”
You just saved the action movie.
