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Who is today's biggest action star? (1 Viewer)

I really expected the Rock to seize the mantle. He has it all. Charisma, good looking, size. I mean he looks like he can kick several guys ### at once. But he hasn't quite done it. I applaud him for branching out though and have liked some of his non-action roles. He isn't a horrible actor. Statham has to be in consideration. Got the looks and physicality and again not a horrible actor. I would throw in Craig who I think is fantastic as Bond but for some reason I don't think of that as an action star role. You have to be more than the Muscles from Brussels to pull that one off. And of course there is Vin. I like his stuff but he isn't much of an actor. Damon really surprised me with his turn in the Bourne movies. He really pulled it off completely. But I don't think of him as an action star either. I mean he is a real actor. Which seems kind of classist of me I guess.

So I would say Rock and Vin at the top followed a hair by Statham.

 
bigbottom said:
Back in the day, we had Arnold, Sly and Bruce Willis. Who is today's top guy? Vin Diesel and The Rock are up there I guess, but I think I'd have to give the top nod to Jason Statham.

Use whatever criteria you like (quality of work, most prolific, etc.). And, no, I didn't do this as a poll.
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Statham is the man.

 
I think Butler, if he hadn't chosen the girlie flicks for a few years, would have been a great action guy. Still could be.

 
Run It Up said:
FUBAR said:
He's likely not even top 10, but I'm surprised Hugh Jackman hasn't done more.
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Hugh Jackman is actually a pretty good actor, hes just been typecast as Wolverine.Which is fine, cause he nails that role too and will likely be Wolverine for the next 10 or more years and will make more money doing it than he would have on more serious roles.
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True, though his awards come from other roles.

 
Not the biggest action star by any stretch, but I'm becoming a big Scott Adkins fan. Most of his movies are cheesy action/martial arts flicks, but they are a guilty pleasure. Just got done watching Ninja: Shadow of a Tear and the fight sequences are amazing. I also liked him as Yuri Boykin in the Undisputed sequels. Best movie he's been in is The Bourne Ultimatum. Anyway, if you're a fan of cheesy action flicks, check him out.

 
bigbottom said:
Not the biggest action star by any stretch, but I'm becoming a big Scott Adkins fan. Most of his movies are cheesy action/martial arts flicks, but they are a guilty pleasure. Just got done watching Ninja: Shadow of a Tear and the fight sequences are amazing. I also liked him as Yuri Boykin in the Undisputed sequels. Best movie he's been in is The Bourne Ultimatum. Anyway, if you're a fan of cheesy action flicks, check him out.
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I've seen the Undisputed movies a few times. They're nothing special really just a lot of fun.

 
Today's guys like rock and Vin diesel aren't even in the same stratosphere as Arnold and sly were IMO.

Today is different. I think it goes to Damon or cruise, Liam Neisen is fantastic, as is Daniel Craig. Still they are all different from the 80s guys. It's a different time, I don't think we have one or two dominant action stars nowadays.

 
Otis said:
Today's guys like rock and Vin diesel aren't even in the same stratosphere as Arnold and sly were IMO.

Today is different. I think it goes to Damon or cruise, Liam Neisen is fantastic, as is Daniel Craig. Still they are all different from the 80s guys. It's a different time, I don't think we have one or two dominant action stars nowadays.
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We don't get movies like Rambo either. We get movies built on CGI and reboots of comic book heroes. (although Liam neisen's movies might be the closest we have)

I'm not complaining, some of the new movies are awesome, but you're right that the business has changed.

 
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Henry Ford said:
The Rock is going to be Hercules soon, I hear.
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Yep. As I said up thread I was kind of surprised when he didn't become the new action guy. But have to give him credit for doing other things along the way. Still he has the presence and charisma to do it. And he isn't the worst actor either.

 
Hollywood killed the action hero by pushing through the skinny look. There is homo agenda in Hollywood.

 
Otis said:
Rock is so boring to me. As is vin diesel. I don't get the love.
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He has screen presence. He is a bit of a ham. Has the physicality. And even though he won't be winning awards his acting range is broader by a factor of ten than Arnold's.

 
Insein said:
I think the Rock, Diesel and Statham are the top of the heap right now. Some others can make a claim. Five or six years ago Jet Li could be in the mix but those 3 are the best action stars going right now.
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This still holds true.

 
Otis said:
I think it goes to Damon or cruise, Liam Neisen is fantastic, as is Daniel Craig. Still they are all different from the 80s guys. It's a different time, I don't think we have one or two dominant action stars nowadays.
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Damon & Cruise just made the list of 10 actors whose careers are in trouble.

Cliffs' Notes:

Damon: "Bourne" and "Ocean's Eleven" series are behind him. All his other movies tanked: "Adjustment Bureau", "Hereafter", "Elysium", "Promised Land", "We Bought A Zoo". Hasn't been hired to be in any upcoming movies.

Cruise: 1 hit in the last 8 years ("Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol"). Nothing else made much money.

Russell Crowe: Last hit as a leading man was "A Beautiful Mind" in 2001. His only other hit as a lead was "Gladiator".

George Clooney: Never been a lead in a hit, other than the "Ocean's Eleven" series. Only other moneymaker was "The Perfect Storm", where he was co-lead with Wahlberg.

Colin Farrell: Every movie he's top-billed has flopped.

Steve Carrell: Does well in small indie films, flops whenever he tries to lead a big movie.

Adam Sandler: Each movie does worse than his previous one.

Johnny Depp: Outside the "Pirates" franchise, a string of losers.

Will Smith: "Men In Black 3" did very well, other than that, not buzzworthy anymore.

Vince Vaughn: Always plays the same character, has had 4 flops in a row going back to 2009's "Couple's Retreat".

 
I thought Vin showed a ton of chops in Boiler Room (more than The Rock has ever shown in anything) and Pitch Black is a very solid flick for its genre. But the Furious flicks never did a thing for me.

 
I'm surprised to see Jason Statham get so many mentions. I mean, he's in a lot of action movies but are any of them really very popular? Much of the stuff he's been in seems pretty middling. The last Fast and Furious movie had an opening weekend that was 4x the size of the opening weekend of Statham's best ever opening weekend. The Expendables have done fairly well but he's really more of a supporting character in that.

Every Tom Cruise action flick that comes out still does was more $$ than any of Statham's as well, as do Liam Neeson's and The Rock's..

 
I have to go with the Rock and Vin Diesel. Granted, they're not award-winning actors, but action movies always seem to get snubbed at award shows anyway. Personally, I think they're good actors for what they do, and if they're on screen, I usually expect someone else to get their ### kicked across the room if their character gets mad. Hugh Jackman is very talented, but his non-Wolverine action movies get snubbed, though I'll sit and watch them.

 
FreeBaGeL said:
I'm surprised to see Jason Statham get so many mentions. I mean, he's in a lot of action movies but are any of them really very popular? Much of the stuff he's been in seems pretty middling. The last Fast and Furious movie had an opening weekend that was 4x the size of the opening weekend of Statham's best ever opening weekend. The Expendables have done fairly well but he's really more of a supporting character in that.

Every Tom Cruise action flick that comes out still does was more $$ than any of Statham's as well, as do Liam Neeson's and The Rock's..
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I love Statham's work. He is very believable when he kicks someone's ###. Also he has shown some acting ability along the way.

 
Otis said:
Today's guys like rock and Vin diesel aren't even in the same stratosphere as Arnold and sly were IMO.

Today is different. I think it goes to Damon or cruise, Liam Neisen is fantastic, as is Daniel Craig. Still they are all different from the 80s guys. It's a different time, I don't think we have one or two dominant action stars nowadays.
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I agree. With the advent of the Marvel heroes the action hero roles seem to be more spread out. I like Statham, Diesel, the Rock, etc, but they aren't even in the same ballpark as Willis, Cruise, Stallone, or Schwarzenegger. I'm not talking about acting ability, but just in movie box office draw. Some of this may also be due to the increased use of CGI in action flicks. The more special effects the less focus on the actors.

Matt Damon had a good run as did Craig. I think Cruise is is still probably in the game.

If I had to pick from the younger crowd on the rise I think Chris Pine or Chris Hemsworth will be moving up fast. Chris Pine has the benefit of being the lead in the new Star Trek films. I've never been much of a Star Trek fan but those movies have been fantastic and they can pull from a very wide demographic.

 
Ages of various action stars:

Liam Hemsworth 24

Chris Hemsworth 30

Tom Hardy 36

Christian Bale 40

Dwayne Johnson 42

Matt Damon 43

Jeremy Renner 43

Will Smith 45

Jason Statham 46

Daniel Craig 46

Robert Downey Jr 49

Tom Cruise 51

Liam Neeson 62

Right now I'd say its Chris Hemsworth. Age 30 and already did Thor several times, Kirk's daddy in Star Trek, starring role in the remake of Red Dawn, the Huntsman in Snow White and the Huntsman, plus a couple more action films coming up in 2015 "Cyber" and "In the Heart of the Sea". He's almost exclusively action roles and big ones at that.

 
Ages of top female action stars:

Jennifer Lawrence 24 (Hunger Games, Xmen)

Emily Blunt 31 (Looper, Edge of Tomorrow)

Michelle Rodriguez 35 (Fast & Furious, Lost, Avatar, Machete Kills)

Zoe Saldana 36 (Avatar, Star Trek, Guardians of the Galaxy)

Angelina Jolie 39

My personal favorite is Emily Blunt. She just dominates any scene she is in.

 
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