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Last night I watched Hard Rain for the first time. It was okay, I didn't love it. Best things about it were Morgan Freeman as a villain, Betty White being bitchy, and remembering better days for Christian Slater when he was still headlining theatrical films.
But it made me think of something about 90s action movies and how, in a lot of ways, the 90s felt like a special decade for action movies and I think it's because the IDEAS because the action films of that decade were pretty awesome, whereas today's action films often feel quite generic.
Think about something like Face/Off:
Or The Rock:
Or The Matrix:
The list goes on and on, from Total Recall to Demolition Man to True Lies.
All of these films have some unique idea that sets them apart from the standard "spy thriller" or "military man" or "guy out for revenge" kind of plots (even though they may include these elements).
Basically, when I think of 90s action movies, I think of brainstorming sessions that probably went something like this:
Even Hard Rain had an interesting idea behind it, but only disappointed in the execution. In that way, it's a really solid example of what the 90s did for us on the action movie front. It was clever and innovative. But today? Eh. Everyone's like, hey, let's just stick to formula and do what has always worked before.
The line-up of great 90s action films is truly excellent and I'm not sure that the 00s or 10s can compete.
What's everyone else think? Is it just me? Or from a conceptual perspective, do a great many of today's action films feel like weaksauce compared to the 90s?
But it made me think of something about 90s action movies and how, in a lot of ways, the 90s felt like a special decade for action movies and I think it's because the IDEAS because the action films of that decade were pretty awesome, whereas today's action films often feel quite generic.
Think about something like Face/Off:
Or The Rock:
Or The Matrix:
The list goes on and on, from Total Recall to Demolition Man to True Lies.
All of these films have some unique idea that sets them apart from the standard "spy thriller" or "military man" or "guy out for revenge" kind of plots (even though they may include these elements).
Basically, when I think of 90s action movies, I think of brainstorming sessions that probably went something like this:
Even Hard Rain had an interesting idea behind it, but only disappointed in the execution. In that way, it's a really solid example of what the 90s did for us on the action movie front. It was clever and innovative. But today? Eh. Everyone's like, hey, let's just stick to formula and do what has always worked before.
The line-up of great 90s action films is truly excellent and I'm not sure that the 00s or 10s can compete.
What's everyone else think? Is it just me? Or from a conceptual perspective, do a great many of today's action films feel like weaksauce compared to the 90s?
