Mad Max 4 - Fury Road

El Spurioso · 12 December, 2002, 04:01:12 PM

It's weird: I always think films in which getting-on-a-bit stars desperately try to make themselves look younger suffer a great deal because of it. The screenshots from T3 are a case in point. Arnie simply can't *do* crew-cut obviously-dyed smoothe-skinned cyborg anymore.

Far more successful, for me, are films in which the aging action-hero recognises their venerableness and plays to it: Clint was fan*tas*tic in Unforgiven, despite falling off his horse all the time and complaining about creaking joints, same goes for that shit film about presidential bodyguards ('In the Line of Fire?' Something like that). and I'm sure there are other examples. It can't only be Clint who can see the attraction of a realistic central character? The idea of Mel G running-about in the leathers with the leg-brace trying to be all young again fills me with horror, but give me an older, more mature Max having to deal with his own diminishing strength, and I'm happy.

Oh, and I vaguely recall reading an interview with the Director which said he was more interested in getting back to the feel of MM2 rather than 1 or 3, which is either Very Good (it was, after all, the best of the trilogy) or Very Bad (why restrict yourself to trying to mirror something that's come before?), depending on which way you look at it. Given the budget, my worry is that it'll mutate into just another sprawling over-produced Hollywood 'blah' film, not at all like the stripped-down first two.

Still. It's MAD MAX! How can you not be excited?

paulvonscott · 12 December, 2002, 04:33:40 PM

That's pretty much how I feel on the age issue, and I can't believe they'll duck it, the other three movies all seemed to be just set at the age Mel was and Max isn't an arnie like hero, he suffers.

I also want to see a TV series. But a TV series for adults. A series was touted years back with Bruce Campbell, maybe fun, but also in retrospect maybe's not the ideal pairing.

Imagine a serious post apocalyptic movie? Can't see it happeneing but there you go. As long as they don't get the bloke who played Bananakin (Jedi powers turn out to be banana related, you have to look like you have one shoved up your arse to be the one who brings balance to the force) in Star Wars.

GordonR · 12 December, 2002, 05:13:22 PM

To be fair, Gibson's only 46. It's not that old, especially for action movie territory.

Schwarzenegger was already 44 when he made T2, and you're not complaining he looked old in that.

On the other hand, yes, we definitely don't want to see some wheezing old geezer running about trying to pretend he's 20 years younger than he really is. Watching Pierce Brosnan (age 49, and definitely starting to look it) in Die Another Day, I got a few nasty flashback memories of dodery old Roger Moore (58, when he made his last Bond movie). The news that Brosnan is now going to do at least one more Bond only makes the Moore-related zimmer frame and safari suit nightmares more vivid.

And, at 60, Harrison Ford should _definitely_ be thinking twice about that long-rumoured Indy 4 film.

GordonR · 12 December, 2002, 05:28:15 PM

Just remembered a good 'un I read in a tropical article in today's Scostman, about ageing action movie stars:

Terminator 3. Not so much "I'll be back", as "Oooh, my back!"

Mk13 · 12 December, 2002, 06:10:21 PM

It's very difficult to come up with one of the more recent action stars who has even made the attempt to grow old gracefully. Most of em are still leaping around in ever more improbable romantic lead/athletic super-guy roles. The only ones I can think of immediately are the much-maligned Kevin Costner, who seems to have finally given in to his receding hairline and expanding waistline, and George Clooney, who obviously had the urge to play buff action heroes knocked out of him by Batman & Robin (props too to Sam L. Jackson, who seems to be able to do the aging action hero thing with some level of dignity).

It's a shame when you look at the previous generation of actors, and look at how people like Lee Marvin, Bob Mitchum, James Coburn, even Kris Krisoffersen and Charles Bronson have spent the latter part of their respective careers in roles that matched their ages, some of which were truly legendary films (and some of which were Death Wish 4).

There are exceptions of course - Sean Connery. Entrapment. World's best cat-burglar. I don't think so.

GordonR · 12 December, 2002, 06:25:08 PM

>>It's very difficult to come up with one of the more recent action stars who has even made the attempt to grow old gracefully.

There's possibly a case to be argued here for Bruce Willis. While his Planet Hollywood buddies are trying to dig up old glories with T3 and hints about a possible Rambo 4 (as Empire said about that one, "can you smell the desperation?"), he seems to be going in for more moody introspective stuff like The 6th Sense and Unbreakable, rather than trying for Die Hard 4.

JimBob · 12 December, 2002, 06:43:15 PM

theres the special Willis rule, apart from Die hard his films can be measured in quality by his hairline. Usually the bolder the heid the better the film.

Mk13 · 12 December, 2002, 06:45:22 PM

Yeah, I'd definitely agree about Willis, and Unbreakable particularly is a nice twist on the gaging superhero theme.

Mind you, even in his more action-oriented stuff, he's not afraid of being weak, vulnerable or a bit of an arsehole, and he's played some of the most dishevelled looking heroes in the history of film - check out the Last Boyscout for an example (and I have to admit it's one of my favourite Willis movies).

Don't speak too soon about Die Hard 4 though...

Link: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0337978" target="_blank">Die Hard 4

paulvonscott · 12 December, 2002, 06:54:13 PM

Didn't he agree to do this in order to be allowed to use the title of a movie that it turns out was owned by the company that makes Die Hard? Or something.

GordonR · 12 December, 2002, 06:55:32 PM

Aaaagh! Don't do it, Bruce.

And what happened to John McTiernan's A-list career? We get Predator and Die Hard (the best action movie ever made, bar none) and Hunt for Red October (the best of the Clancy movies, although, yes, that's not saying much) and then career wobble sets in with Medicine Man (one of my favourite bad Sean Connery films, "Jings! I've found the cure for cancer....oh bugger, I've lost it again!") and The Last Action Hero.

His last movie was Rollerball, which I see has just shame-facedly sneaked out onto DVD. And now he's going back to Die Hard again.

"Can you smell the desperation?"

El Spurioso · 12 December, 2002, 07:14:16 PM

Zany messageboard shenanigans prevent me from replying to Gordon's message, so:

Out of interest - I once heard it rumoured that it was Jean Claude Van Dam inside the Predator outfit. Anyone confirm or deny?

GordonR · 12 December, 2002, 07:21:50 PM

From the Spurrious One:

"Out of interest - I once heard it rumoured that it was Jean Claude Van Dam inside the Predator outfit. Anyone confirm or deny?"

Definite deny. It was a giant ex-basketball player bloke called Kevin Peter Hall, who also played Harry, in Harry and the Hendersons.

He was 6' 9", and died in 1991.

damnandblast · 12 December, 2002, 07:31:18 PM

"...check out the Last Boyscout..."

Grossly underrated, that film. A damn site better than the second and third Die Hard movies.

Nigel

Mk13 · 12 December, 2002, 07:33:38 PM

>Definite deny.

Hah, yer wrong! Well kinda. Although Kevin Peter Hall played the final version of the Predtor we know and love, Van Damme was in the suit for the early film of the original version they were planning on doing - which was a far more 'alien' looking creature (in the designs), but looked like some ridiculous Sesame Street monster in the finished form (mainly because the suit's head was way above the actor's head, and his walking ability was limited, so he moved like Big Bird).

There's a bunch of cool documentary stuff about all of this on the Special Edition Predator DVD.

Here's the salient bit from IMDB:

"According to an interview with director John McTiernan, the "hole in the jungle" appearance of the Predator was played by Jean-Claude Van Damme in a "blue screen" (actually red) suit. Van Damme quit after two days, unhappy with being cast as an uncredited special effect. The alien was scrapped, redesigned and was eventually played by 7'2" Kevin Peter Hall."

GordonR · 12 December, 2002, 07:42:58 PM

Heh. I bet these days Jean-Claude would be happy to get any kind of casting call, even if is as an uncredited special effect.

Did anyone see him on that Kylie Minogue thing a few days ago, when he took credit for the marvel that it Kylie's bum? Weird.

He claims to have taught her special 'bum-tightening exercises' (stop sniggering at the back there...) while they were filming Streetfighter.

PS. Movie quiz, getting us back on 2000AD topic again: What's the link between Streetfighter: The Movie and the Dredd film?