Concordently!

kaleb_allison said:

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I think Mel Gibson is being sold short. I haven't seen anybody mention Mad Max. He has two iconic film franchises in that and Lethal Weapon.

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I mentioned him on page 1. I think he should be pretty high up, but top 4 might be too high when looking at total portfolio. However, it would be interesting to see a comparison based on how much they were paid. In that case, I believe MG would be pretty high.

btw, I looked up a list of total earnings for actors and Cruise is overwhelmingly the highest amongst "action" actors. What was interesting is a name that appeared several times that I don't believe has been mentioned...Leonardo DiCaprio.

Also, if you look at how much their movies grossed...

1. Ford
2. Samuel Jackson
3. Tom Hanks
4. Morgan Freeman
5. Downey Jr.
6. Eddie Murphy
7. Cruise
8. C3PO Anthony Daniels
9. Depp
10. Michael Caine
11. Scarlett Johansson
12. Gary Oldman
13. Robin Williams
14. DeNiro
15. Willis

It may be fond memories from a violent childhood, but I have a hard time with Stallone not being on here. I submit to the thread a list of reasons why he belongs.

Rocky movies are legendary and timeless. It is the quintessential sports movie. The first was critically acclaimed as a legitimate movie, and Rocky IV is an audience favorite that struck a chord with every male 18 to 70 from that era.

Rambo. Rambo's body count form the 2008 installment is the highest for any single person on this list. At 87, he is tied with Ahnold from Commando with 87 for one of the highest single character kill tallies in movie history (behind a Chinese film, and mock action movies like Shoot em Up and Topper Harley from Hot Shots Part Deux). Rambo 2008 averaged a kill every 20 seconds (3 kills / Minute), tallied nearly 250 in the movie plus two dogs.

He has a smattering of other classics. Over The Top was a trailblazer and inspired hundreds to try their hand at arm wrestling. Cobra is phenomenal. Demolition man. Stop or my mom will shoot and the list goes on. He may not submit a strong list of flicks embraced by the Academy, but this guy cranked out absolutely legendary popcorn flick action movies for decades.

I have Stallone ahead of Ford, mainly because Sly is almost all action and Ford is much more diverse. But I think most of the people here aren't counting Rocky as an action franchise, and as such, aren't including it in his resume.

kaleb_allison said:

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I think Mel Gibson is being sold short. I haven't seen anybody mention Mad Max. He has two iconic film franchises in that and Lethal Weapon.

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Agree.

Mel is easily top 10, probably top 8, probably not top 4.

You can add the Patriot, Payback, and Braveheart to his list too.

Quote:

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btw, I looked up a list of total earnings for actors and Cruise is overwhelmingly the highest amongst "action" actors. What was interesting is a name that appeared several times that I don't believe has been mentioned...Leonardo DiCaprio.

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For action?

He doesn't have many action roles under his belt, though. He does have a few, but that's never been his type of career.

Not a top 5 guy but maybe top 10 - Christian Bale?

The Dark Knight trilogy
Equilibrium
Terminator Salvation
3:10 to Yuma
Public Enemies

Why hasn't Nick Cage been thrown out there? He's had some action flicks.

Face Off
Con Air
The Rock
National Treasure Series
Gone in 60
Ghost Rider

Farmer1906 said:

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Why hasn't Nick Cage been thrown out there? He's had some action flicks.

Face Off
Con Air
The Rock
National Treasure Series
Gone in 60
Ghost Rider

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because it was the Mt. Rushmore of actions stars......implying top 4.

and I doubt he would be in anyone's top 4.....not even top 8 or 10 in my book.

he's also Nic Cage so...... calling him an actor is a stretch. He plays Nic Cage in every movie he is in.

You gonna post it?

That's what that YouTube is for

Seems unrelated to the point you're making.

The Presidents chosen for Mount Rushmore are great men, but they also represent different American eras.
Washington is the development, Jefferson is growth, Lincoln is preservation, and Roosevelt is worldwide influence.

With that idea I'd pick: Arnold as the muscle action hero. Willis as the every man action hero. Jackie Chan as the martial arts hero. Last category I struggled with but let's go with Cruise as the spy action hero.

Ford = Development
Arnold = Growth (of muscles)
Cruise = preservation
Chan = global icon (first real foreign action star)

caleblyn said:

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Also, if you look at how much their movies grossed...

1. Ford
2. Samuel Jackson
3. Tom Hanks
4. Morgan Freeman
5. Downey Jr.
6. Eddie Murphy
7. Cruise
8. C3PO Anthony Daniels
9. Depp
10. Michael Caine
11. Scarlett Johansson
12. Gary Oldman
13. Robin Williams
14. DeNiro
15. Willis

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Wait, no one is going to question this list or its source? A list that includes Robin Williams?

bearamedic99 said:

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caleblyn said:

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Also, if you look at how much their movies grossed...

1. Ford
2. Samuel Jackson
3. Tom Hanks
4. Morgan Freeman
5. Downey Jr.
6. Eddie Murphy
7. Cruise
8. C3PO Anthony Daniels
9. Depp
10. Michael Caine
11. Scarlett Johansson
12. Gary Oldman
13. Robin Williams
14. DeNiro
15. Willis

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Wait, no one is going to question this list or its source? A list that includes Robin Williams?

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I just googled it myself and saw him listed 16th. SLJ was 1st.

Robin Williams? What's his biggest action hit? Aladdin? Hook? Jumanji??

Nobody is saying Robin Williams is an action star.

I know, I know. Three days later, and the question remains in the back of my mind.

I'm revisiting it for two reasons, one probably controversial.

1. We missed a pair who could be considered George Washington figures, as they were among the first action heroes, and among the great movie stars of their time. Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks. Shout out to my best friend who brought Flynn up in the conversation this weekend.

2. To put one of them on the mountain, I'm taking Tom Cruise off. He's fine as an actor, up there with Ford, Hanks, and Gibson as the most versatile and most lucrative stars of our time. But...action?

His action films include (with a couple of exceptions):
Mission Impossible series
Reacher series
Edge of Tomorrow
The Mummy
Knight and Day
Oblivion
Minority Report

A few solid ones, a couple less so.

Ethan Hunt is probably the third most memorable movie spy, behind Bond and Bourne. I could even almost argue fourth, after Austin Powers. I love the Reacher books, and the movies are fine, but not even as iconic or influential as Hunt.

I didn't want to get into the Cruise argument before, so I went along with the general consensus. But my reconsidered opinion is to give him a spot on Actor Mountain, not Action Rushmore.

ummmmm. ...no

Lumping the eight films of MI and Jack Reacher into two entries is a bit disingenuous.

There's also Last Samurai, Days of Thunder, War of the Worlds, Tropic Thunder, and Collateral, not all pure action films but at least some consideration in the category. Considering body of work and especially quality of work I think it's hard to argue against him.

Top Gun

fig96 said:

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Lumping the eight films of MI and Jack Reacher into two entries is a bit disingenuous.

There's also Last Samurai, Days of Thunder, War of the Worlds, Tropic Thunder, and Collateral, not all pure action films but at least some consideration in the category. Considering body of work and especially quality of work I think it's hard to argue against him.

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Why even include movies like Tropic Thunder (arguably not action, not the lead) and Days of Thunder (sports)? It weakens you overall argument.

powerbelly said:

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fig96 said:

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Lumping the eight films of MI and Jack Reacher into two entries is a bit disingenuous.

There's also Last Samurai, Days of Thunder, War of the Worlds, Tropic Thunder, and Collateral, not all pure action films but at least some consideration in the category. Considering body of work and especially quality of work I think it's hard to argue against him.

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Why even include movies like Tropic Thunder (arguably not action, not the lead) and Days of Thunder (sports)? It weakens you overall argument.

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Sports aren't action? You're right on Tropic Thunder though, brain fart on him not being the lead there.

Not to mention there's tons of films we're discussing that don't fit hard and fast into one category, scifi action in particular.

I don't think sports are action movies. There are definitely multi-genre movies; sci-fi/action or western/action but I cant think of a sports/action movie other than something like point break.

Ulrich said:

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The Rushmore Rushmore is Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Olivia Wilson, and Wes Anderson. A lot of people would go with another actor for the fourth spot, but I argue that Anderson's style is a more present character than that of any individual actor.

Change my mind.

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1/2 Olivia Williams and 1/2 Owen Wilson?

I "lumped" MI and Reacher because I didn't want to list out eight films in an already somewhat drawn out post.

Maybe it comes down to what I consider an action film. I think the point of an action movie is the action. The setting can change, the story can change, but it's still about the good guy beating the bad guy, without a whole lot of character growth.

I'll give Cruise all the credit in the world for finding that sweet spot between a bit of action, a bit of drama, and sometimes a bit of romance. Top Gun, Last Samurai, etc, fit in that tweener category for me. But to go to the above point, those movies weren't about "winning."

But I won't belabor the point.


No discussion regarding Flynn or Fairbanks?

LeonardSkinner said:

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I "lumped" MI and Reacher because I didn't want to list out eight films in an already somewhat drawn out post.

Maybe it comes down to what I consider an action film. I think the point of an action movie is the action. The setting can change, the story can change, but it's still about the good guy beating the bad guy, without a whole lot of character growth.

I'll give Cruise all the credit in the world for finding that sweet spot between a bit of action, a bit of drama, and sometimes a bit of romance. Top Gun, Last Samurai, etc, fit in that tweener category for me. But to go to the above point, those movies weren't about "winning."

But I won't belabor the point.


No discussion regarding Flynn or Fairbanks?

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No one here has seen enough of either to opine. Maybe we should limit it to talkies?

I don't think most could fairly argue for or against them, plus it's really hard to compare films from completely different eras like that.

John Wayne falls into a similar category as does probably Steve McQueen, they're certainly classic western/war/police picture stars but I don't think you can really compare anything made before the late 70s/early 80s to what we consider "action" today.

Leaving off Far and Away. Multi genre flick with range that gets lost in the shuffle. May not be a classic action movie, but it's damn good.

Keanu is really solidifying his spot among the all time greats.