Greatest Action Movie Actor of All Time?

[Raiders Army]

With the premiere of Rocky Balboa tomorrow, the guys at work were discussing who was the Greatest Action Movie Actor of All Time. We came up with some criteria:

1. He doesn't have to be a great actor (see Arnold).
2. His movies have to kick ass.
3. Bad movies or attempts at dramas or comedies count against you.
4. From the pronouns above, we determined that no woman would ever win this title.
5. The movies have to be from "our" generation (i.e. 1970s till now).

Poll forthcoming.

[jeff061]

This is to tough.

I'm torn on Arnold, Harrison Ford and Jacki Chan all for different reasons. I think Bruce Willis can sneak in there as well.

[spleen1015]

Very tough. Mel Gibson would get the nod from me as well.

[Groundhog]

Easily Arnold.

[CleBrownsfan]

http://www.moviegoods.com/Assets/product_images/1000/252406.1000.A.jpg

[Vinatieri for Prez]

I give the nod to Willis simply because Die Hard (the original) was arguably the greatest action movie ever.

[st.cronin]

Where is the Chuck Norris option?

[Vinatieri for Prez]

Cruise and Van Damme are gay, so they should be disqualified.;)

[Warhammer]

When you figure that Star Wars and Indiana Jones are action movies and then throw in Witness, The Fugitive, and a couple of his other movies, I have to give the nod to Ford.

[Marathoner]

Arnold, guns down

http://www.sattlers.org/mickey/site/archive/2003/10/images/schwarzenegger.jpg

[bulletsponge]

who, oh who voted for Cruise?!?

[cartman]

Where is the Chuck Norris option?

It's obvious that Chuck is number one. This is simply a vote for second place.

[cthomer5000]

Arnold has the highest highs, but has some serious clunkers on the resume. Still, I'm sticking with him here. And I actually count his one quality comedy (Twins) as a major positive... so im kind of ignoring that rule of yours.

[Raiders Army]

Where is the Chuck Norris option?

Damn, we thought we had everyone covered. I knew we forgot someone. That being said, we knew him more from Walker, Texas Ranger than Delta Force or any other movie.

[Raiders Army]

Arnold has the highest highs, but has some serious clunkers on the resume. Still, I'm sticking with him here. And I actually count his one quality comedy (Twins) as a major positive... so im kind of ignoring that rule of yours.

Oh, those were just our rules. I was just listing them as our thoughts instead of "hard and fast rules".

[Crim]

I voted for Cruise. Was very tough choice, I was really leaning toward Willis, but in the end I went with the guy who nearly always has enjoyable movies, versus the guys who usually has enjoyable movies. btw I second the comment that the first Die Hard is arguably the greatest action movie of all time.

[cthomer5000]

Oh, those were just our rules. I was just listing them as our thoughts instead of "hard and fast rules".

I would personally go more as thinking a successful comedy or dram a does no harm, while a clunker should hurt hard. Arnold should lose points for Junior and Kindergarten Cop, but there is no way he should be punished for Twins.

[Mustang]

Have to do a write in for Steve McQueen...

[Raiders Army]

I would personally go more as thinking a successful comedy or dram a does no harm, while a clunker should hurt hard. Arnold should lose points for Junior and Kindergarten Cop, but there is no way he should be punished for Twins.

What about Jingle All the Way?

[cartman]

Damn, we thought we had everyone covered. I knew we forgot someone. That being said, we knew him more from Walker, Texas Ranger than Delta Force or any other movie.

If we never hear from RA again, we know the reason why.

:D

[Crim]

Kindergarten Cop > Twins >>> Jingle All the Way

[st.cronin]

I'm also confused by the inclusion of Antonio Banderas.

[Raiders Army]

If we never hear from RA again, we know the reason why.

:D

Harrison Ford was a close choice for us, being that the Raiders movies were great and the original Star Wars trilogy bumped him above Arnold. What took away from it was that he wasn't the protagonist of the Star Wars movies.

[cartman]

I'm also confused by the inclusion of Antonio Banderas.

Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico definitely qualify as action movies.

[Critch]

Have to do a write in for Steve McQueen...

I second that emotion.

[saldana]

I'm also confused by the inclusion of Antonio Banderas.

assassins....legend of zorro and mask of zorro?

[saldana]

dola, i went with jackie chan....the fact that he has been doing his own stunts for his whole career pretty much made it easy for me.

[Warhammer]

What about Chow Yun Fat for Hard Boiled and The Killer?

[mckerney]

Steven Seagal on the basis that Exit Wounds is the only action movie that matters.

[cuervo72]

Norris is not the only "Chuck" missing from this poll, btw.

[cuervo72]

I'm also confused by the inclusion of Antonio Banderas.

Dola - Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! had plenty of "action".

[Mustang]

Norris is not the only "Chuck" missing from this poll, btw.

I would assume you are talking about Heston?

[cuervo72]

I would assume you are talking about Heston?

No....

[Abe Sargent]

With the premiere of Rocky Balboa tomorrow, the guys at work were discussing who was the Greatest Action Movie Actor of All Time. We came up with some criteria:

1. He doesn't have to be a great actor (see Arnold).
2. His movies have to kick ass.
3. Bad movies or attempts at dramas or comedies count against you.
4. From the pronouns above, we determined that no woman would ever win this title.
5. The movies have to be from "our" generation (i.e. 1970s till now).

Poll forthcoming.

I don;t undertsand that last criteria, because I think you missed an obvious choice in Toshiro Mifune.


-Anxiety

[Raiders Army]

Can't say I ever heard of him. Maybe I saw some of his movies on Hong Kong theater or something but don't remember it.

[Crapshoot]

Seagal? Seriously? Ford ought to run away with this - Indiana Jones and the Star Wars trilogy!

[Groundhog]

I don;t undertsand that last criteria, because I think you missed an obvious choice in Toshiro Mifune.


-Anxiety

Word, or else he would have been my choice too.

[Buccaneer]

Zhang Ziyi.

[BYU 14]

It's obvious that Chuck is number one. This is simply a vote for second place.

Well played, that said the Dirty Harry series puts Clint over the top (for 2nd) for me. :)

[Abe Sargent]

Can't say I ever heard of him. Maybe I saw some of his movies on Hong Kong theater or something but don't remember it.

He was the actor who created the charactor of the lone morally questionable person against the world in Yojimbo, an archetype that would be used again and again in westerns, war movies, martial arts pics, cop dramas, etc.

He was THE main Japanese actor for most of the best samurai films in the 50s and 60s, including Seven Samurai, the samurai trilogy, Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Roshomon and others. Classic action movies that created entire genres featured Toshiro Mifune.

-Anxiety



EDIT: Some info from his wiki entry:

His imposing bearing, acting range, facility with foreign languages and lengthy partnership with acclaimed director Akira Kurosawa made him the most famous Japanese actor of his time, and easily the best known to Western audiences. He often portrayed a samurai or ronin, who was usually coarse and gruff (Kurosawa once explained that the only weakness he could find with Mifune and his acting ability was his "rough" voice), inverting the popular stereotype of the genteel, clean-cut samurai. In such films as Seven Samurai and Yojimbo, he played characters who were often comically lacking in manners, but replete with practical wisdom and experience, understated nobility, and, in the case of Yojimbo, unmatched fighting prowess. Sanjuro in particular contrasts this earthy warrior spirit with the useless, sheltered propriety of the court samurai. Kurosawa highly valued Mifune for his effortless portrayal of unvarnished emotion, once commenting that he could convey in only three feet of film an emotion that would require the average Japanese actor ten feet.

On the other hand, his portrayal of Musashi Miyamoto in Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy is deliberately made to become the epitome of samurai honour and manners.


And also he was Lucas's early choice for Obi-Wan in Star Wars.

[korme]

I knew I shouldn't have opened this thread.

[gkb]

Arnold Schwarzenegger

The Terminator
Conan the Destroyer
Conan the Barbarian
The Running Man
Predator
Total Recall
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
True Lies
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

[Qwikshot]

Charles Bronson is missing.

[gottimd]

No love for Michael Dudikoff?

[Julio Riddols]

Rutger Hauer or Eric Roberts. Do I even have to explain?

I think the Bourne Series is a good start toward getting Matt Damon a mention..

I guess my real vote would go to two people, in a tie. Jet Li, Bruce Lee. I really hope a third guy comes up someday named Lee Li.

[Raiders Army]

Charles Bronson is missing.

Ugh. Good call there. Totally forgot about him. I guess we were on a one-track mind.

[3ric]

Clint Eastwood without question. Both Ford and Schwarzenegger have some dubious movies (Sabrina, Kindergarten Cop) on their resumé.

[cuervo72]

Charles Bronson is missing.

Yep, that's to whom I was referring.

[rkmsuf]

Sean Connery, beotches.

[Abe Sargent]

Clint Eastwood without question. Both Ford and Schwarzenegger have some dubious movies (Sabrina, Kindergarten Cop) on their resumé.

Clint Eastwood became famous for playing a character that Toshiro Mifune played first in a remake of the same movie Toshiro did - same movie, same character.

[Surtt]

The Bridges of Madison County is an automatic disqualification.

[cuervo72]

But has Toshiro Mifune ever co-starred with an orangutan?

[Qwikshot]

It's really a toss up between Arnold and Stallone, but I think that you have to give it to Arnold.

Stallone had Rambo (Rocky isn't action).
Eastwood was the man in the Dirty Harry series (but the Man with No Name is Western, and Unforgiven while awesome is not action)
Bronson basically lived and died with Death Wish (he was good in Once Upon a Time in the West)
Connery was Bond but he was sauve and talkative (Oddly enough the new James Bond fits the action motif more since he's less wordy and more dark)
Matt Damon while interesting in the Bourne Series isn't enough to warrant being on this list yet.
Tom Cruise - no
Harrison Ford - Decent, but only for Indy...Han is a decent character, but a support character.
Bruce Lee was cut short tragically, Jackie Chan is too "nice".
Segal had a decent run playing the same badass with different names, but he never really transcended the typecast role of renegade cop/agent defeating corruption from within (I only really liked the his character in the airplane film (with Kurt Russel) where he dies because it's was a selfless act (and basically because he can act as angry and angrier).

Speaking of which where is Kurt Russel on this list (Snake, Soldier, Jack Burton "Big Trouble Little China", and of course, McCready from the "Thing")? Plus "Tango and Cash", the first argument that most action movies are homoerotic?!?

Arnold helped spawn three different series (Conan, Predator and Terminator). And as much as I would count "Jingle all the Way and Kindergarten Cop, even those had a smidge of action (well Kindergarten Cop did, I never saw Jingle all the Way). Commando is a great movie...and as far as I know, Arnold spawned a recurring character in the "Simpsons" which is an interesting but great nod to his legacy as an action star.

He gets my vote.

EDIT- Fix the spelling of Soldier

[rkmsuf]

Keanu Reeves comedy answer.