From cinemablend [excerpt], what movie actually represents each one of these men’s primes the best. At what point did each achieve his maximum action star awesomeness? That’s what we set off to find out. Those of us here at Cinema Blend who care about action movies (more don’t than you would expect) split up the eight legends (average age 57.25) and put forth our nominations. The following list is what we came up with…
Sylvester Stallone: Rambo: First Blood Part II
It’s fair to say that most heavies on the Expendables roster peaked early on in their careers, then did everything that they could to hold on to the fame they’d acquired. Stallone might have started out in softcore pornography (download The Party at Kitty and Stud’s, if you are curious), but “The Italian Stallion” became a household name after writing, directing and starring as the famed underdog fighter in 1976’s Rocky. And while Stallone was excellent in the first two Rocky movies, he didn’t exactly define himself as an exaggeratedly unstoppable force of violent nature until he beefed up his John Rambo character on Rambo: First Blood Part II.
The Expendables family tree takes root in George P. Cosmatos’ sequel, which delivered bigger, bloodier, louder and more explosive thrills. Sound familiar? Rocky Balboa’s downright chatty when compared to Rambo in this adventure. And while the characters Stallone played prior to Rambo II had a foot in a blue-collar reality, this sequel triggered a string of overblown action figures for Sly, from Cobra and Over the Top to Tango & Cash and Cliffhanger. They all owe a debt of gratitude to First Blood Part II … Expendables, included.
Full list here
4 comments:
I wouldn't have had a pick for Norris or Van Damme but I agree with every choice on this list. Rambo, Die Hard and Commando are obvious, but I'm particularly pleased by the inclusion of Crank and Hero, both films I really like.
I'd go Terminator for Arnie for sure.
I made my own list a couple of weeks ago and so far I've knocked out Commando, Rambo II and Transporter.
I year ya on Terminator, and it's a far better movie, but I feel like it's the breakout movie of Arnold's action career and Commando is the peak riding after it. Timing wise, it could've been Raw Deal, but that movie sucked.
I would definitely say Transporter 2 over the first one, but Crank holds a special place in my heart. (I haven't seen the second Crank or the third Transporter. Clearly I have a Jason Statham mini film festival to get to.)
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