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08-04-2004, 10:12 AM
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#1 of 25 
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Member
Join Date: Jun 2004
Local Time: 05:18 PM
Local Date: 10-06-2008
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Has the GOLDEN AGE of ACTION Movies gone?
I like the reaction I'm getting to various threads around here, so I'd thought I'd start another one!
DOES ANYONE AGREE WITH ME THAT THE GOLDEN AGE OF ACTION MOVIES IS GONE?
Obviously, I'm not suggesting a return back to the early '80s days of misogynistic, OTT and right wing Action/Adventure movies like Rambo, Rocky, the Death Wish movies, Chuck Norris movies and John Milius productions.
But I what about the Die Hards, Lethal Weapons, Midnight Runs, Last Boy Scouts, Freejacks, The Rocks and True Lies? Those films were and still are so enjoyable (well, allowing for various personal tastes)!
Just out of curiosity, can anyone tell me what projects (directing-wise) are Richard Donner, Tony Scott, Simon West, John Woo, Steven Norrington, James Cameron (sorry  ), Ridley Scott and maybe... Joel Silver & Michael Bay are working on?
It seems they're silent at the moment or maybe I'm out of the loop! But in the case of John Woo, somebody tell me what the hell is going on? It's been just over a decade since he came to Hollywood and he's only put out ONE decent movie! (You all know what it is AND that it deserves a Special Edition DVD).
I'm sure that John Woo left Hong Kong because he believed he'd acheived all he could there and that America would offer him bigger budgets, better special effects, recognised Stars and improved Marketing & Distribution.
But in effect, all I've seen is that they've neutered him! Sure, the Studios don't want him churning our R Rated, two-gun, multiple body count thrillers ALL the time. They want to see what else he can do, but offering him staid and poor scripts like Broken Arrow and Paycheck is plain insulting, to him and his fans!
When he was offered Face/Off I'm sure his eyes lit up, because it was a treatment that suited his style. It offered themes of dual personalities, one partner versus/needs the other, issues of trust and loyalty, confusion and epic set pieces. Therefore it was his best film.
I admired Windtalkers, if for the sentiment but not for the execution, and it was a personal project that he wanted to get made. But it's sad that he last directed Paycheck as it was one of the most average thrillers that I've seen. ANY director could have taken that on and there was NOTHING in the script that allow John to showcase his skills. I can only guess that he took on the movie in order to play the Hollywood 'system' - whereby you direct standard movies, in order to boost your profile and prove yourself to the bigwigs so you can get you own projects made.
You would think that if Hollywood is the 'land' of the most creative, writing and producing talent, how come we rarely see it? It makes me wonder if that long held catchphrase if true: "Hollywood! The famous town Where Nobody Knows Anything!"
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08-04-2004, 10:35 AM
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#2 of 25
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Member
Join Date: May 2003
Local Time: 01:18 PM
Local Date: 10-06-2008
Posts: 2,565
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Quote:
| But I what about the Die Hards, Lethal Weapons, Midnight Runs, Last Boy Scouts, Freejacks, The Rocks and True Lies? Those films were and still are so enjoyable (well, allowing for various personal tastes)! |
Those films were released over a ten year period (and I can't believe that Freejack would show up on such a list). I think we still get a few really good action pictures per year so I haven't seen that much of a drop in quality.
I think you're letting nostalgia warp your memory a bit. There was a ton of crap action films using the template of Lethal Weapon and Die Hard over that time period. These things tend to go in cycles. The late 80's and early 90s was clearly heavily influenced by Lethal Weapon and Die Hard. Late 90's and early 00's have been heavily influenced by The Matrix and The Rock (itself obviously owing a debt to Die Hard).
Since The Rock in '96 and The Matrix in '99 hyperkinetic editing combined with extensive wire work were in style but I think that's starting to wane a bit. Its becoming increasingly difficult to wow audiences- a big explosion or impressive digital effect just won't do it. I think the success of more grounded (and cost efficient) movies like the Bourne films is a reaction to that and I'm hoping that we'll see studios cut back on some of the spectacle.
Quote:
| Just out of curiosity, can anyone tell me what projects (directing-wise) are Richard Donner, Tony Scott, Simon West, John Woo, Steven Norrington, James Cameron (sorry ), Ridley Scott and maybe... Joel Silver & Michael Bay are working on? |
I don't know their current projects but every single one of them (except Simon West) has had a new film in theaters in the past year so I wouldn't worry about them staying busy.
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08-04-2004, 10:35 AM
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#3 of 25
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Michael Reuben
Administrator
Location: New York City, Lehman Bros. was here
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Quote:
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DOES ANYONE AGREE WITH ME THAT THE GOLDEN AGE OF ACTION MOVIES IS GONE?
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In a summer where The Bourne Supremacy is a major hit, uh, no.
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It seems they're silent at the moment or maybe I'm out of the loop!
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Sorry, but you're out of the loop. - Richard Donner: most recent film was Timeline (Dec. 2003); a bomb, deservedly so
- Tony Scott: released Man on Fire last spring; currently reported to be working on Emma's War with Nicole Kidman
- Simon West: reported to be in pre-production on a film called The Sailmaker
- John Woo: several projects in various stages of development; check IMDb
- Steven Norrington: after the bomb that was The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, it might be a while before we get anything further; some might consider that a plus
- Jamaes Cameron: currently working on some top-secret project using the 3D process from Ghosts of the Abyss
- Ridley Scott: last film was Matchstick Men; current project is Kingdom of Heaven, which is about the Crusades
- Joel Silver: numerous projects; check IMDb
- Michael Bay: rumors, nothing definite
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I'm sure that John Woo left Hong Kong because he believed he'd acheived all he could there and that America would offer him bigger budgets, better special effects, recognised Stars and improved Marketing & Distribution.
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I'll bet the British handover had more to do with it.
M.
"Most people never have to face the fact that, at the right time and the right place, they're capable of anything." -- Chinatown
"What kind of movies would there be if everyone in them had to do what we thought they should do?" -- Roger Ebert
HTF Beginner's Primer and FAQ
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08-04-2004, 10:59 AM
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#5 of 25
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2001
Local Time: 12:18 PM
Local Date: 10-06-2008
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I thought the golden age of action movies was the 60's. The original James Bond films, The Great Escape, The Dirty Dozen, The Magnificent Seven, Spartacus, Bullitt, The Train, Where Eagles Dare, etc.
My point being that there have been great action films for a long time (Adventures of Robin Hood anyone?) and still are (Lord of the Rings?). I don't think there is such a thing as the golden age (unless you make it a very long age), and I could name numerous great action flicks for any decade going back to at least the 40s.
"Movies should be like amusement parks. People should go to them to have fun." - Billy Wilder
"Subtitles good. Hollywood bad." - Tarzan, Sight & Sound 2012 voter.
"My films are not slices of life, they are pieces of cake." - Alfred Hitchcock
"My great humility is just one of the many reasons that I am vastly superior to everyone else." - Ramrod Clerk
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08-04-2004, 11:04 AM
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#6 of 25
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Member
Join Date: Feb 1999
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There is no director working today that knows how to direct action properly. No one. The only directors left that can do it competently are left over from the 70's and 80's: James Cameron (the best, IMO), Steven Spielberg (he shines at directing ANYTHING, including action, when he needs to), and to a much lesser extent, John McTiernan (mostly for his work on Die Hard 1, which is a classic action film in every sense of the word).
I don't consider John Milius an action director per se, but he did direct the original Conan, which is a very well made film considering the low budget.
John Woo is very interesting because he simply hasn't been given any decent material to work with since he set foot on American soil, and we still haven't seen what he's truly capable of (maybe we never will as long as he's working in Hollywood). His Hong Kong films are amazing though, and were the source of inspiration for films like "Die Hard" in the late 80's.
And truly, that's about it. The rest of the guys you mentioned I consider hacks at best. Michael Bay? Simon West? A trained monkey could do better than those guys.
-Dennis
P.S. I just noticed you mentioned "Freejack"...ok I get it now, this is a joke, right?
He must have died while carving it!...
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08-04-2004, 11:50 AM
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#7 of 25
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Member
Join Date: Sep 2003
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I love Freejack!! "The Last Boy Scouts" was the shit to shit on that list 
[c]  [/c]
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08-04-2004, 12:23 PM
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#8 of 25
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Member
Join Date: Jun 2004
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As long as people are talking it's all good!
I chucked in Freejack and Last Boy Scout because they were no brainers. You could just leave your brain outside the movie theater and have a blast! Come on guys, lighten up! I'm sure we ALL have action/adventure movies that we secretly think were great...
John Milius wasn't mentioned in terms of a Director, it was the fact that he produced a lot of right-wing and OTT action movies (Red Dawn went too far and was ludicrous to anyone living outside of America at the time.)
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08-04-2004, 12:34 PM
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#9 of 25
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Member
Join Date: Dec 2000
Local Time: 01:18 PM
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Posts: 1,905
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Quote:
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Just out of curiosity, can anyone tell me what projects (directing-wise) are Richard Donner, Tony Scott, Simon West, John Woo, Steven Norrington, James Cameron (sorry ), Ridley Scott and maybe... Joel Silver & Michael Bay are working on?
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check IMDB.com
 
Lo, there do I see my mother, and my sisters, and my brothers, Lo, there do I see the line of my people, back to the beginning, Lo, they do call to me, they bid me take my place among them, In the halls of Valhalla,where the brave may live...
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