00: The Big Headlines

This week, Everything Action provides a look back on the past decade in action movies. Today, we go over the action headlines that made this decade. From larger-than-life comic book movies to the return of our favorite heroes back in action, this decade has been filled with intriguing stories.

Comic book movies become all the rage

Blame Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” for the onslaught of comic book movies that dominated this decade. Audiences ate them up for the most part, but for every “Iron Man” there was a “Daredevil”. The high point came with “The Dark Knight”, as it become the biggest movie of 2008 and arguably the decade.

Arnie becomes the Governator

Arnold Schwarzenegger made the movie from action star to another role… governor of the great state of California. Arnie’s roles in the 00s where nothing to write home about (T3 was his lackluster last starring role), but his turn as governor turned many heads in the political career. One wonders what Arnold will do movie wise when his gig as the Governator is up.

Old action stalwarts make a comeback

Really, another “Die Hard” or “Rambo”? Both came late this decade and both were at least… decent. “Live Free or Die Hard” took a techie turn, with John McClane saving the U.S. from a cyber-attack with hacker geek Justin Long in tow. “Rambo” found our titular star in Thailand, saving a group of Christian humanitarians from a cruel military dictator. While the fourth “Die Hard” was a bit lacking, the fourth “Rambo” was a rousing gorey return. Who knows who else will make a return in the next decade, although we are excited for the retro-feeling action film “The Expendables”.

“Gladiator” wins Best Picture

The Oscars aren’t all about the pomp and circumstances of indie dramas or documentaries. Even kick-ass action films can win. Take a look in 2001, when Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator” received the Best Picture award. The film also earned wins for Best Actor (Russell Crowe), Best Visual Effects, Best Costume and Best Sound. The epic film earned a legacy when hero Maximus was named in AFI’s “100 Years… 100 Heroes and Villains”.

James Cameron makes a return to movies… action movies

It’s been nearly 12 years since James Cameron declared himself king of the world at the Oscars. This was after winning the Best Director for “Titanic”; a great night for the film that won 11 Academy Awards. The hype for Cameron’s next film, “Avatar”, started really early. Some even claim that it will change cinema forever. The film opened to a $73 million weekend, a bit on the low side of expectations but great nonetheless. It will take a while to tell if “Avatar” is as big as they claim it to be, but so far so good. Action fans don’t mind too much, because instead of another epic tear-jerker, Cameron returned the genre that made him famous.