This post is inspired mostly in part by the opening of Bruce Willis' latest action installment, Live Free or Die Hard... The genre focuses on the archetypal 'Lone Ranger'; a solo act, thrust unwillingly into the melee of action, who single handedly saves the day, throwing out (hopefully) amusing verbal quips and many well-placed punches along the way. Seeing as I'm a girl, and sometimes a girly girl at that, I have no expert grounding upon which to found my views on said manly men. Neither do I post this in a hate-boy, cynical "where are all the REAL manly men?!" matter. I only wish to tip my hat to those down-and-dirty guys that you trust will always win the fight. These are the men who are the most comfortable in dusty khaki, but if necessary, will don the impeccably tailored Italian suits (there, that's my girly side coming out, to show off their physiques that were acquired not by gym memberships, but pure chasing down the bad guys and beating them to pulps, hanging off mile-high beams, running after cars, etc.), but only as a means to an end, because the Italian suit usually ends up tattered and shredded by the end of whatever scene in which he donned it.
My addition to making these men "true" heroes is the smidgen of humanity they display... because face it, I am a girl, and girls relate to humans they can actually converse with, or share some sort of empathy/affinity for anything. I'm not talking about gratuitous 'womanizing', but actual, real emotion.
In no particular order:
Because Bruce Willis inspired this post, he comes first. The more I see him, the more I like him. He's one of those guys that is hugely famous but yet under the radar? You don't see him doing stupid things in tabloids (not very often, anyway) and a guy who can pull off both dead psychiatrist and John McClane and keep that calm aura about him when cavorting with his ex-wife and husband-half-his-age demands my respect. There's something about the way he wields a gun that makes you just trust that whatever happens, even if he has no shoes and has to walk across a room of broken glass, he's gonna get you out alive. My favorite Bruce Willis movie is The Fifth Element. The entire movie is completely wacky and unbelievable... except for Bruce. Even with his bleached blond hair. There are, for sure, better Bruce Willis movies out there, but that is my one guilty pleasure.He is quite capable of 'humanizing' moments, but my favorite in that movie is his watching the opera performance. His face is positively captivated and illuminated, by something he may have not had much exposure to, completely oblivious to Chris Tucker in a rose-infested unitard next to him (yes, I just said rose-infested unitard). You believe that this guy is capable of deep, introspective musings on the meaning of life, and not just killing the next alien. Well you know. Sort of. The best parts are still when he rounds the corner with space guns blasting.
Indiana Jones. I was going to say "Harrison Ford", but his real-life personality sort of creeps me out... from making romantic movies with homosexual women to dating a human popsicle stick way too young for him (and breathing really hard in all his movies), Harrison is a tad bit weird... but I love Indiana. Don't worry, I fully respect Han Solo and Jack Ryan and Dr. Richard Kimble. Indiana though... The fedora! The whip! And then the "professor of archaeology" side that proves he also happens to be intellectually brilliant, and a preserver of anthropological history? Unbeatable combination. Plus, all the quotable lines from the third movie (that happens to include another manly archetype, Sean Connery, for whom I'll allow you to wax poetic, I'm running short of socially acceptable blogging space) make Indiana ("You are named after the DOG?!") a true American hero.His 'softer' side is a little more rough around the edges, but you can sense his concern when he's trying to save a greedy Elsa from grabbing the Holy Grail. Ditto when the tables are turned and Sean utters a soft "Indiana. Let it go." Both men exhibit what I shall call the "aww" factor.
Daniel Craig's 007. I just watched Casino Royale for the first time a few weeks ago, after hearing for months that it was fantastic. I'm always up for a slick, clean, fun movie (see "Gilroy" blog entry), which is what James Bond had sort of morphed into with Pierce Brosnan, but I had gotten a little tired of him. His Bond was always clean; even with a 'tattered' tuxedo you felt like they were spritzing his face with distilled mountain water and cologne between takes. But Daniel Craig! From the opening chase scene where you could tell that he was really leaping from building to building, and that yes, it hurt but he did it anyway, to the brutal torture scene (men, if you've seen it, you know, and if you haven't, you might want to fast forward it), Daniel Craig is a manly man through and through. And yes, his perfectly fitted tuxedo suit was utterly hot, but you believed that it was real blood on it later, when he came back and displayed his "aww" scene by sitting with the damsel in real distress under the spray of the shower, for however long it would take.
Will Smith. So okay, maybe this guy is on every girl's "He's so hot, I'm gonna marry him" list, but it probably wasn't for the Fresh Prince that did it. The role probably did, however, help hone his impeccable comedic timing, which is a killer combination with his mostly rough-and-rugged roles. He's coming out with some movie soon; the title of which I don't even know, but my friend leaned to me in the theater and whispered "Will Smith and sci-fi? I'm so in." He comes out of the fights a little cleaner and less brutalized than the above characters, but he definitely has the best lines. ("Ship all baaanged up... I could have been at a barbecue!!!" "Mazel tov, it's a boy...")I'm trying to think of "aww" moments in his action movies, but the visual that keeps popping up in my mind is his portrayal of Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happyness, the night he spends with his son in the subway bathroom and the pain he's enduring. So maybe his action heroes don't cry (that I know of, anyway) but that enough proves his emotional capacity.
My final props is to MacGyver. Just because I posted this and it's my prerogative. Mullet and all.
I know I skipped the classic archetypes (Humphrey, Eastwood, etc.) but I haven't had much personal exposure to them. Please, enlighten me on all that I've been missing, and feel free to add to the list, both past and present heroes alike!!
Meanwhile, I'll be off watching Die Hard with a bunch of manly men...
18 comments:
Asian, thank you for the nod in acknowledging Humphrey Bogart and Clint Eastwood, as I demanded to know why they wouldn't be included in your post as you were writing it. You forgot John Wayne.
These men defined the archetypal movie "tough guy" as we know it. Humphrey Bogart, the essential hard-boiled detective. He started the whole "I don't stick my neck out for anybody but me" character that inevitably is overcome by a sense of justice. Just watch Casablanca, The African Queen, and Key Largo. Good stuff!
Clint Eastwood mastered and remade the image of the tough cowboy starting with his "spaghetti westerns" and continuing with such greats as Three Mules for Sister Sarah and The Outlaw Josie Wales. Then he took over the tough cop persona too! I think my favorite cop movie has to be the original Dirty Harry. Sorry, McClane.
And John Wayne. What can I even say about him? Put him in the Old West. Make him sherrif. Make him the crazy old man. Make him the town drunk. Anything you want, he'll be the tough hero. Put him in the military. Make it the classic cavalry all the way up through World War II. There's no comparison. John Wayne made tough guys tough.
I've rambled on enough. But these guys deserve a tribute, having laid the ground work for Bruce, Indie, and Will. Fedoras off to the classic tough guys.
Since watching Daniel Craig's intoxicatingly masculine performance as 007 with Asian Keng a few weeks ago, I, too, have been particularly attuned to gritty-yet-sensitive heroes. First of all, I fully endorse all of the heroes mentioned in the post and would also like to my own personal favorite: Paul Newman. Okay, so seeing his face on salad dressing bottles hasn't done much for his masculine prowess. But his movie performances show otherwise. I'm not sure I would classify him as an American hero since most of his best performances involve him breaking the law in some way. But he's certainly proved he's a gritty-yet-sensitive male: Cool Hand Luke (50 boiled eggs says it all), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Hustler, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. I could go on and on . . .
A discussion of action heroes between a highly intelligent group of college grads of the X and Y generations with no mention of Arnold Schwarzenegger? Do you mock the very rock-solid 250 lb. Austrian body builder that entertained you? Granted he is now flabby and uses his thick trademark Austrian accent to politick instead of usher menacing threats at bad guys, but he could still beat up anyone I've ever met.
Granted, I'm not sure he can manipulate the female heart like the others mentioned. I've been told that biceps larger than human heads really don't comfort one when they're wrapped around one's head, regardless of any loving intent. However, he is a classic hero with his own classic one-liners and brute force. He powers through any situation. I mean come on, Predator, Commando, and who can forget Terminator 2?
And yes, we must also acknowledge Sean Connery with more than just passing acclaim. Until this past Thanksgiving, he was untouchable as the absolute best Bond ever. Daniel Craig completely outshined him in this last one, but for the past 40 years, Connery was the cat's meow in the British Secret Service genre. Also, who can forget the pinnacle of his cinematic career: Darby O'Gill and the Little People.
And lest we forget, Chuck Norris doesn't star in movies. He allows trained professionals to film him as he kicks some major trash.
It almost scares me to talk about him.
I was following you all the way, Unpro, until you said Daniel Craig outshined Connery as Bond. Blasphemy! Blasphemy! I'll go right along with you and say that Craig's Bond was brilliant and refreshing, but nothing will, or can, ever "outshine" Sean Connery's interpretation of Ian Fleming's creation. For shame, Unproffessional.
I was perhaps a little generous in my praise of Craig, although I maintain that he does rival Connery for the best Bond. I just thought the entire movie was a stellar combination of Bond elements: technology, brute force, womanizing, witty quips, and some intermittent espionage. We haven't seen a Bond movie like this in AGES. Brosnan was good, and I enjoyed his portrayal, but it just wasn't AMAZING in the same way that Casino Royale is. Goldfinger will always remain my favorite Bond movie and as I grew up on Bond, I recognize that Connery can't really be "topped."
When is Bond going to get his own Valtrex commercial?
Awesome additions, keep em coming.
I viewed the fourth Die Hard last night with four guys and a packed theater (which is the only way to really watch a big budget blowy-uppy action movie). It was positively fantastic. I had gone in hoping to balance out my life's recent shortage of testosterone almost needing to go home and shave my chin. Don't read too much into that.
Vanity Fair recently wrote a fabulous article on said Willis, and described the Die Hard franchise thusly:
"It's best just to appreciate them for what they are, action paintings in motion, odes to sound and fury. They are visual feasts, serving up muzzle flashes against inky darkness, exfoliating fireballs of every hue and shade, from white-hot white to fiery red, to oily black, as well as lush symphonies filled with the deafening staccato of high-velocity weapons discharging blizzards of bullets in counterpoint to the fortissimo of falling beams and shattered glass."
Beautiful. Simply beautiful.
Okay, it's finally time for me to chime in. Like others before me, I add my admiration for Indie, Will, Daniel and Bruce. I'll even add Paul Newman and Clint Eastwood, even though Westerns typically bore me to tears. I'll admit that Mr. Wayne is the ultimate taciturn, manly man...but he does absolutely nothing for me but put me to sleep. Sorry.
I'm going to add Robert Redford for playing the other half in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and for his role in Out of Africa. He was the intelligent, free-spirited, manly man living by his own rules off of the bounty that is African. Okay, so he didn't blow anything up or shoot anybody (not any people anyway), but his mysterious and brooding reticence definitely suggested true manliness. Not that I'm into that kind of guy, of course.
Okay, and for sheer crush-factor (because he's a babe and I'm in love with him), I'm going to throw Christian Bale in the mix too. He's only proven himself as far as Batman would allow him to do so, but in my opinion it was enough. I won't pretend he's earned himself a place in the long-standing hall of manhood like the others named, but come on. He's Batman.
Oh, and duh...a most emphatic YES to Sean Connery!
Two more that just came to me were Charles Bronson. He doesn't carry the "aw" factor as others might, but the dude can kick! (Thanks Dad, for watching all those Death Wish movies!)
And Remo Williams. Ever seen it? It's sweet. Saaaweet!! I'm not listing Fred Ward, who played him, but his character, much for the same reasons that AK sited regarding Harrison Ford. He's kinda icky.
And there are more than my 2 cents.
Ooooo...and what about Jack Palance? Come on, one-armed push-ups at 73? Nuff said!
Okay. I'm done now.
One-armed pushups, for sure. Another one I thought of is Daniel-Day Lewis in Last of the Mohicans ("you STAY ALIVE! No matter what happens... I WILL find you!") and yes, I did think of Christian Bale too.
And Becky said she was going to post but she's going on vacation (again) so I just have to throw it out: Viggo Mortensen. Especially in Lord of the Rings. Hi. He marries an elf, for crying out loud.
UPC, I totally hear you on the Arnold. For sure, he definitely, positively merits "action star hero." I have to say though, that perhaps I was biased in my 'archetypal heroes', in that I was picking actors/characters that I personally felt actually have personality depth. That might be pushing it with some of my choices (and I fully acknowledge personal bias), but I'd put Arnold in the same category as Sylvester Stallone and Jean-Claude Van Damme and that other guy... I just blanked on his name. Big, white, supposed martial arts, old, scary... Steven Segal! Yeah. They deserve a class all their own.
Here are my two cents:
I can agree, mostly, with what has been said. I would just like to put out two names of people who should NEVER be on this list.
1. Steven Seagal
2. Jean-Claude Van Damme
Two terrible imposters.
One that might need to get nod, even though he's a wacko, Ethan Hunt from the Mission Impossible flicks? Just think about it.
I'd like to point out that Charles Bronson's character in Death Wish is an architect. And also - far be it from me to mention but 007 cannot be an American hero because, well, he's not American...
Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt is a shallow freak, unworthy of being held up among the great names here.
None of Arnold's characters are from this genre. If he's to be considered we might as well consider Dolph Lundgren's domination of the acting profession in Masters of the Universe.
Matt Damon's Jason Bourne deserves a mention, though.
Well, since my last comment, I've watched a few more tough guys strut their stuff, both of which include Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt and Matt Damon as Jason Bourne. I'm especially partial to the first Mission Impossible and yes, I agree with MF, Tom Cruise definitely deserves mentioning. And how could I have forgotten my beloved Jason Bourne? This guy can speak a dozen languages, defend himself with his bare hands and fall in love at the same time. Not to mention his haircutting abilities . . .
I'd like to point out that the theme of this post has strayed a bit. While Jason Bourne and Ethan Hunt are good tough characters, they're not the archetypal tough-guys that Jen asked for in the beginning. No disparaging their characters or their toughness in individual movies, but Damon and Bale and even Cruise are too pretty to be archetypal tough guys. Look at the original men mentioned in the post: Bruce Willis, Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig... While some of these may have a rugged handsomeness, none of them are pretty. Maybe Will Smith. The key here to the archetypal tough guy that Jen talks about is TOUGH. Rugged. Eastwood, Wayne, Bogart, Bronson, and Schwarzenegger fit the bill.
I would let Newman slip in, even though he doesn't always play up the tough. Cool Hand Luke and Butch Cassidy are hard to ignore, but even in Butch Cassidy he wasn't a true tough guy. Butch's character was a Western oddity, a thinking man leading a bunch of rough-neck outlaws. He hadn't even ever shot a man before the end of the movie. And then you watch a show like The Young Philadelphians. Wonderful character, but not a tough guy.
Anyway, you may disagree. But I just thought the comments became a little too permissive. The tough guys form a tighter core, in my opinion.
What about Ben Stiller's take on Brucey?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRnH_rRnBAw
a case of great minds thinking alike or just a blatant rip off?
just curious:
MovieCynics.com
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