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Upping the beef stakes

Jason Statham in The Transporter 2
  • Posted at 8:53pm
  • 19 March 2008
  • by AndrewCollins-RT
  • 3 comments

I'm in pretty safe diplomatic territory stating that the most enduring action man in the whole of cinema is British. James Bond, played for the last 46 years by six different actors (seven if you count David Niven in 1967 spoof Casino Royale), rules the world.

Well turned out, urbane, chivalrous (even when dispatching female double agents after sex) – and, since Daniel Craig took over the role in 2006’s “proper” version of Casino Royale, a gym-toned hunk.

So why does the phrase “action hero” instantly conjure up an American? And why was Sydenham-born Jason Statham required to Americanise his accent into a transatlantic mush when he starred in wham-bang hits The Transporter and The Transporter 2? At least the first film set its tyre-squealing action on the Riviera – the sequel moved to Miami – and our man was subsequently allowed to reclaim his London vowels for the silly, LA-set Crank.

American hegemony in the action-hero stakes is rooted in the 1980s, when a new-found US imperialism saw the mythic, Reagan-era cowboy encumbered with policing the planet. Sylvester Stallone struck gold as John Rambo, the Vietnam vet who vanquishes an Oregon sheriff’s department (First Blood), the Vietcong (Rambo: First Blood, Part II) and the Soviets (Rambo III).

In tandem, Austrian-born bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger achieved iconic status in The Terminator, Predator, Total Recall and the self-parodic Last Action Hero.

Neither man was especially eloquent, but Bruce Willis brought a smart mouth to the party with Die Hard and the Hollywood male seemed invincible. Now, even the women – Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu, Uma Thurman – kick ass.

Maybe there’s hope for the more modest Brits. Vinnie Jones, Statham’s co-star from Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, occasionally grabs Hollywood by the horns in the likes of Mean Machine, Swordfish and X-Men – the Last Stand. It’s no “Hasta la vista, baby” or “Yippie-ki-ay”, but I smiled when the ex-footballing X-Man shouted, in his best Watford accent, “Don’t you know ‘oo I am? I’m the Juggernaut, bitch!”

Well, I've told you mine. Now you tell me yours – your favourite action hero catchphrase, that is. Just post your comment below.

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Comments

  • Posted on 16 August 2009
  • at 2:30pm
  • by Geoff

" What's your style? "

"Oh...I call it the art of fighting, without fighting"

Bruce Lee...Enter the Dragon.

  • Posted on 14 July 2009
  • at 8:01pm
  • by lonewulf

Sherrif "What are you rebelling against?"

Johnny "What've you got?"

  • Posted on 15 June 2009
  • at 8:13pm
  • by Stevie

"Danger is my middle name!"

Bruce, laconically: "Mine's Cornelius. Tell anyone and i'll kill you"

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