Sub-Genre: the 80's Action Film (Muscle Flicks)
A rise of super human male characters arose in the late 70s and continued throughout the 80s. The Last Action Hero, directed by Richard Donner, and Big Trouble in Little China, directed by John Carpenter, are great spoofs of this category.
The films often include large explosions, brute force, excessive amounts of gunfire, body builders, unrealistic survival to the utmost degree, a sole hero, and cheesey one-liners.
Actors like Sylvester Stallone, Steven Seagal, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Chuck Norris are notable in this genre.
These movies are far from movies at its best, however, they produce high adrenaline action, laughable cheesiness, and a domain to channel testosterone (Disclaimer: more than likely, women will dislike any film in this category).
Contemporary actors of this genre would be Dwayne Johnson, Jason Stratham, and Vin Diesel.
Qualifications for the sub-genre: A male human main character that has inhuman strength, does not rely on guns but may use them, has his sights on justice, and does not have mystical reasonings for his strength or skills.
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| re3glasse's Rating | My Rating | |
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| 1 |
Cobra (1986, R)
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| 2 |
First Blood (Rambo: First Blood) (1982, R)
My obsession with muscle flicks started here. |
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| 3 |
Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985, R)
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| 4 |
Rambo III (1988, R)
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| 5 |
Die Hard (1988, R)
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| 6 |
Die Hard 2 (Die Hard 2: Die Harder) (1990, R)
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| 7 |
Over the Top (1987, PG)
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| 8 |
Commando (1985, R)
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| 9 |
Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987, R)
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| 10 |
Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991, R)
Though the final death scene was ridiculously amazing I cannot give this movie 3 stars because they failed selling the main character's masculinity to me. The costumes were ridiculous and the buddy cop didn't work even though it was a great idea. The actor needed a stand alone movie to sell the role in this one. Thats the reason why Stallone worked in Tango & Cash. Even though the movie was terrible it still gained my 3 star rating. |
