Reliving the Glory Days

News came out this week that Tom Cruise was in talks to potentialy revive his role as ace pilot 'Maverick' in a Top Gun sequel. Really? Haven't we had enough of this guy? It isn't surprising after a few actors have recently returned or are in talks to return to the series/characters that made them household names. Here are a few:

Arnold Scwarzenegger: Terminator 3
If you're going to go out, go out with a bang. Well, few remember Arnold's final appearance in films was 'Around the World in 80 Days' with Jackie Chan (horrible movie, I couldn't get through the trailer) instead most think that T3 was his last role before becoming Governor of California. T2, like the original Die Hard, set the bar so high for action films that it is wrong for any to expect those follwing to surpass them. What could be expected was to be entertained and in the case of the Terminator films elaboration on the plot and where the world is headed as John Connor continues his race against the cyborgs. The third Terminator was better the second time I watched it. For the first time viewer don't be surprised that they essentially took every cool scene from the first two and added some CGI. Not bad Arnie, I am glad you threw in the towel for the 4th Terminator film. Take it away Christian Bale, you'll make a fantastic Joh Connor.

Sylvester Stallone: Rocky Balboa and Rambo

Stallone knocked it out of the park as far as I'm concerned. Of all the returns I found that both of the films related to Stallone's superstar characters were fabulous. Oddly enough, Stallone had his hand in the middle of a great deal of the writing and production of each movie. Balboa was terrific because it centered on who was and is as well as how Rocky was coping with life after the loss of his wife and the reality that his professional life was dead. Yeah, it was a bit cheesy but aren't all the Rocky films. The craftsmanship that made the original Rocky a Best Picture winner was modeled in this film, too bad it was the 6th Rocky and not the third: it might have had a chance at something then. Nevertheless, it is worth a watch.

Rambo, which had a limited release this past February, blew me away. I was truly surprised by how good it was. In fact I wanted to watch it again because it happens so fast. You get sucked in and before you know it the credits are rolling. Rambo was the most violent and graphic of the series, maybe of all the macho action movies I've ever seen, but it's mark as a film came from its substance and personality. I wondered what happend to Stallone after he made Get Carter in the 90's. He must have disappeared to Paul Haggis' basement for a few years and taken scrupulpous notes on how to develop an unforgettable screenplay (Haggis wrote 'Crash', 'Million Dollar Baby', 'Casino Royale' and the new Bond film 'Quantum of Solace' as well as 'In the Valley of Elah'). There is a parallel between the first and sixth Rocky film as there is with First Blood (1984) and Rambo (2008). In each of the series' finale you have an aged hero who is confronting the true nature of their existence: one is a fighter and one is a killer. Stallone proved that his acting has blossomed as he dons a few more wrinkles. Put this one in your Netflix que today.


Bruce Willis: John McLane in the Die Hard series

For years there was talk of Willis coming back in some wild hostage situation so that he could save the day again. The orginal Die Hard is potentially the greatest action movie of all time. I've had it on my DVR for five weeks so that I can turn it on when I am in the mood for the mother of all shoot 'em up films (Wedding Crashers is on there as well for the mother of all laughs). In Die Hard 4 (2007) McLane is battling a cyber terrorist and running all over the D.C. area with a hacker at his hip who the bad guys are after. Len Wiseman, who directed the Underworld series, did a great job of putting together some entertaining action sequences but there was something missing from the meal. Where the revival of Balboa and Rambo returned to their roots I felt like McLane was too sure of himself in an unsure world. There were flashes of what made him great in the original, but the film's void of recapturing the overall essence of the character and the grit that we have come to love was never filled. I guess of it was that bad Iwouldn't have purchased it, right? In my defense it was one of those Blockbuster Previously Viewed DVD tables for $4.99. Not a bad film, just didn't hit as well as our previous batters.

Eddie Murphy: In talks to play Axel Foley again in the Beverly Hills Cop series

Poor Eddie needs a hit worse than Amy Winehouse. He is so desperate for one of his films to click with someone other than kids who only know him as Donkey and receive recognition from a film group other than the Razzies (an annual award show for the worst films of the year). Eddie, take notes from Stallone-return to Axel's roots. BHC I and BHC II were fantastic, BHC III...why? Did you need a paycheck or what? The only part worth remembering was Surge (a reprised role played by Bronson Pinchot who is hillarious in the original). Do not pull a Tom Cruise and sign off on a script just because your public image is tainted and your last hit was in the 90's. Bring Axel back, but tell Mike Myers to stay home.