During the 90s it seemed everyone had their chance to be an action star. Many would take the chance and become staples in the genre for years to come. While others would come and go with nary a blip on the box-office radar. Now admittedly some of these stars would continue on to lasting careers either on the big or small screen. But they would steer clear of the action genre after getting their chance to headline a theatrical action flick on their own. Also, this list is in no particular order.
Firestorm (1998)
This one-hit wonder featured an NFL Hall of Famer in the lead. It’s a wilderness set action thriller that fought fire with fire when Howie Long would star as a smoke jumper and take on a gang of escaped convicts using a forest fire as cover for a heist in 1998’s Firestorm from directed by Dean Semler. Also starring Scott Glenn, William Forsythe, and Suzy Amis.
Now Firestorm was a product of Savoy Pictures and intended to be much grander in scale. Stallone was offered the role for $20M and accepted. But Savoy went broke. The film was scaled down and in came Howie Long, who was testing the acting waters at the time. He had a smaller part in Broken Arrow, had the looks to be an action star, and he stepped nicely into this movie to bring life to this grounded hero. But the box-office was not friendly to Firestorm. It would open in the #7 spot with a $3.8M opening weekend and would only go on to pull in $8.1M on a $19M budget. And despite bringing plenty of macho charm to this fast-moving action thriller, Howie Long would never headline a film again. To me he really didn’t seem much different than Dwayne Johnson in Walking Tall but unlike Johnson, Long’s rise in Hollywood would stall after this film. But he’ll always have his run in Firestorm as an ax throwing hero.
The Perfect Weapon (1991)
Next up is a tried-and-true actioner that follows a man mastered in the martial-art of Kenpo that will take on a Los Angeles mobster who killed his friend. This man needs no gun, needs no knife, and has no equal. He is Jeff Speakman, and the movie is 1991s The Perfect Weapon directed by Mark DiSalle. Also starring John Dye, Mako, Mariska Hargitay, James Hong, Professor Toru Tanaka and many other familiar faces.
Now Jeff Speakman is another odd case in the action genre. He had the looks. He had charm. And more than enough martial-arts skills, and he’d deliver his full range as an action lead in The Perfect Weapon. Speakman signed a multi-picture deal with Paramount, and I think they hoped he could splash onto the scene with the same level of gusto as Seagal with Warner Bros. The Perfect Weapon is a formulaic action thriller but nicely front loaded with a buffet of violent action. And this one did decent at the box-office, reaching the #6 spot with a $3.9M opening weekend. It would also manage to surpass its $10M budget to pull in a small profit with a $14.1M final take home. Yet, despite the nicely choreographed action and Speakman seemingly having the skill set for the genre. Seagal at the time was pulling in close to $60M a movie so when a change of regime came at paramount, Speakman’s deal fell through, and a sequel would never be.
Surviving the Game (1994)
This next movie centers on the ultimate manhunt where the rules are simple: kill or be killed and Jack Mason knows he’s going to die someday but today he’s not in the mood when rapper Ice-T would star as a homeless man hired to be hunted by a bunch of rich assholes in 1994s Surviving the Game directed by Ernest Dickerson also starring Rutger Hauer, Charles S. Dutton, John C. McGinley, Gary Busey and more.
Now Surviving the Game really just came out at the wrong time because I think this is a solid action thriller and I think Ice-T did a great job in the lead. But the film came out too close to Hard Target and Cliffhanger so it sort of went overlooked. It would land quietly in theaters with a $2.9M opening weekend to land in the 6th spot. But it would only take in $7.7M on a $7.4M budget and if you are familiar with how the movie industry works you will know that means this film took a formidable loss. Regardless it’s a very well shot, on-location mountain thriller and sure the villains sort of outshine the screen presence of Ice-T as the action lead. But I still think he commands the hero role and delivers a performance you can root for. Ice-T would go on to a still lasting small screen career and I think he still pumps out straight to video flicks from time to time, but he never really got the credit he deserved for his high-profile action debut.
The Taking of Beverly Hills (1991)
This action flick would be set in LA’s richest city when a group of ex-cops use a chemical spill to pull off a lucrative heist. And it will be up to Ken Wahl starring as football’s hottest quarterback that’s in for the night of his life in 1991s The Taking of Beverly Hills directed by Sidney J. Furie, also starring Robert Davi, Matt Frewer, and Harley Jane Kozak.
The Taking of Beverly Hills may feel like a product of the 80s and that’s because it was. This movie went through production hell. Not hitting theaters for over two years after its completion. This one was an Orion Pictures project who would go bankrupt leaving the film in distribution limbo. It would ultimately get a limited release in the US only bringing in $580K its opening weekend. With a final box-office total of just $939K on a budget of $19M making it a colossal failure. There was no marketing or advertising push for this film, and it was on premium cable in no time. The film, however, is a good time and the cast overall led by Ken Wahl is effective. Wahl had been around during the 80s and this was sort of his push to reinvent himself as a 90s action star, but the studio business undercut this movie before it had a shot. Because despite its familiarities in the genre, and Wahl being a little too much of a meathead it’s a good time.
Barb Wire (1996)
Next up is a superhero action movie based on the Dark Horse Comics character that follows no laws. Has no limits, and you never call her “babe”. She is of course Pamela Anderson as Barb Wire from 1996 directed by David Hogan also starring Adriana Alexander, Temuera Morrison, and Victoria Rowell.
This is a film that has gone on to be considered somewhat of a cult classic and it really wasn’t intended to make Pamela Anderson a comic-book superhero as much as using her sex appeal to sell this wildly over-the-top film that at the time was so heavily panned, the comic book series it was based on would end not long after. Barb Wire would drop into theaters with a $1.8M opening weekend but despite a budget of just $9M it would only pull in $3.7M, making it a commercial and critical flop. Thus, the Barb Wire franchise would never be. But I will say as bad as this movie is there’s a charming element of camp to it that is enjoyable. Anderson can’t act for shit, but she puts the effort into the stunt work, and I can appreciate that. And it looks surprisingly good for having such a small budget. There is a stylish visual polish to this movie and there’s no denying its absurdity, but sometimes that is what you want in a quick 98 minutes.
Fair Game (1995)
This next action thriller is based on the same book as Stallone’s Cobra. In this one William Baldwin’s a cop on the edge. Cindy Crawford is a woman with a dangerous secret. They’ve been targeted by the Russian Mob, and both are Fair Game from 1995 directed by Andrew Sipes. Also starring Steven Berkoff, Christopher McDonald and Salma Hayek in a small but amusing role very early in her career.
This was another film that really wasn’t intended to make William Baldwin an action star. Yet it was still his shot to show how he would fit in as one, and the result was a colossal box-office bomb. Fair Game would drop reputably into the #4 spot with a $4.9M opening weekend but word of mouth spread quickly, and it would only limp out $11.5M on a whopping $50M budget. Model Cindy Crawford was panned for her performance. And William Baldwin, who stepped in for Stallone who left the project has his moments but ultimately delivered far too much of an awe shucks demeanor to carry himself as a viable action star. Despite all of that, Fair Game is certainly one of those they are so bad they are good flicks that are fun to sit back and enjoy because of their flaws. It’s filled with action; the pace is swift and it’s a mindless romp of 90s action cheese.
If Looks Could Kill (1991)
Next up would be another of those early 90s movies with heavy 80s flavor as a high school kid has the adventure of someone else’s life in 199s if Looks Could Kill starring Richard Grieco, Linda Hunt, Roger Rees, and Geraldine James. Directed by William Dear.
Now If Looks Could Kill surely wasn’t intended to make Richard Grieco an action star, but it would be his action debut, nonetheless. Known as Teen Agent in some countries this one would open in the #11 spot with a $2.2M weekend. But it would only go on to earn $7.8M on a $12M budget, making it a box-office bomb. And really, I think this is just a misunderstood film and it didn’t do itself any favors by riding the line too closely between a knock-off, or a spoof on the action-spy genre. However, if you sit back and take this movie in as the latter, then the ride of high energy action comedy If Looks Could Kill provides is a great time filled with mindless charm and explosive action. It’s over-the-top silly, but the action is still relatively well staged and Grieco has his moments of likability. He certainly doesn’t feel like a high-school student but that’s the least of the things you’ll need to overlook when watching this magically ridiculous adventure.
Toy Soldiers (1991)
Now this little Die Hard knock off set in an all-boys academy is a bit of an ensemble piece but this group of kids who band together when terrorists take over their school certainly have a leader, and that guy was Sean Astin in 1991s Toy Soldiers directed by Daniel Petrie Jr. also starring Louis Gossett Jr, Wil Wheaton, Keith Coogan and Andrew Divoff.
Okay so I will admit that Toy Soldiers wasn’t really an attempt to make Sean Astin an action star by any means and this film really is an ensemble effort that focuses on teamwork. It would open in the #3 spot with a solid $4.1M weekend and would go on to pull in close to $15.1M on a $10M budget so it was a modest success. This was also a move that was intended as a standalone and despite the recycled nature of the plot it’s an engaging ride led effectively by Astin who I think was able to step nicely into the teen action star category for a single movie much like Richard Grieco did with If Looks Could Kill. Astin is leading his group with a natural command, he’s clever, he’s brave, and with Astin’s performance you get a sincere human quality as well that makes this movie such a good time. It’s filled with likable characters but when the game hits crunch time, Sean Astin steps up like a true action star to close this movie out with a bang.
Excessive Force (1993)
Coming up next is another action movie with a tried-and-true premise as a hard nose cop takes on the mob. And the tagline for this said it all. The 70s it was Chuck Norris. In the 80s, Steven Seagal. In the 90s, action had a whole new name Thomas Ian Griffith in 1993 Excessive Force. Directed by Jon Hess, also starring James Earl Jones, Tony Todd, Lance Henriksen, and Burt Young.
Another studio wanting their own cash cow like Warner Bros had with Steven Seagal, New Line Cinema hoped their new star Thomas Ian Griffith would fill that slot for their pocket books. At the time Seagal had a deal with Warner Bros and was pumping out action movies with $10-$15M budgets and bringing in $50-$60M for each of them. In comes Excessive Force, a gritty action thriller that is actually much better than its financials and the reviews would lead you to think. But the movie would just never take off. Its limited release in the states would only bring in a $308K opening and it would just pass $1.1M on a $13M budget making it a financial bomb. Still, there’s a lot of delightfully violent action in this movie and I think Griffith is pretty good. He’s a bit stiff and I can see where he may be lacking the gravitas of an A-List action star but nevertheless Excessive Force was a solid attempt and not as bad as it may seem.
Stone Cold (1991)
Next is a textbook action movie with a pure 80s genre vibe as a cop takes on a biker gang. A cop who enforces his own brand of justice in 1991s Stone Cold starring Brian Bosworth, Lance Henriksen, William Forsythe, and Arabella Holzbog from director Craig R Baxley.
Despite revolving around a basic plot, I contend that Stone Cold is a good time that certainly feels like a product of the 80s. Sadly though it never sparked at the box-office. It would only climb to #5 its opening weekend with a $2.8M total and would only limp out $9.1M on a $25M budget. I think Bosworth’s entertaining in this role. He looks the part. He brings plenty of bravado, and swagger. This role was originally intended for Schwarzenegger but at the time he was commanding $20M a movie. So, Bosworth was the guy and he’s capable as the headliner, but Stone Cold was a financial flop. But I enjoy it and it’s one of the last send off from 80s action. The “Boz” ultimately would not turn into the next Arnold, but he would go on to have a reputable action career on the straight-to-video market Stone Cold would be his one hit blunder on the big stage.
Anthony J. Digioia II © 2024 SilverScreen Analysis & Movies Never Say Die!
