Recently, a film called Escape Plan was released, which markets itself as being the first film to ever put 80’s superstars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone in leading parts in the same film.  The recent revival of these two actors to the over-the-top action genre got me thinking about their careers, and how they had actually made an impact, rather than just being throw-away action stars.  Before I start, I would also like to point out that this will only analyze their careers I’m film, not outside the world of cinema.  No analysis of the Governator’s political career or messy relationship with his wife.

First, let us venture into the career of Schwarzenegger, probably the most well known action star of modern film, and a huge hit in the 1980’s.  His accent and gigantic size make him unmistakable in any role, and he was in plenty of throw away films throughout his career.  Commando (1985), Total Recall (1990), True Lies (1994), and Kindergarten Cop (1990) are certainly not revolutionary in any facet, but are fun popcorn-flicks that are both funny and entertaining.  He’s had some pretty bad films as well, like Red Sonya (1985), Junior (1994), Batman and Robin (1997), and End of Days (1999), which are clunky and don’t really use Arnold to his full one-liner and shoot-em-up potential.

A few of Arnold’s films, however, I would actually classify above popcorn entertainment, and hazard to call revolutionary for their genre.  The first two Terminator films (1884 and 1991) and the original Predator (1987) are astounding action movies, but are also pretty revolutionary in the slasher film genre.  In the Terminator films, especially the first one, ordinary people are being attacked by futuristic robots that they have no idea how to fight, which brings a feeling of despair and fear that I don’t feel normal slasher movies generate.  In a normal slasher film, the characters are generally being chased by a human, which is much less threatening that a maniacal robot who’s only prerogative is to kill you.  In Predator, the alien who attacks some soldiers has no real goal, but merely to hunt humans, who make good prey.  Again, the humans are fighting off an alien with advanced and unexplainable technology, which makes it all the more frightening and tense.  Not only inspirational for slasher films, these also influenced sci-fi, with their new and interesting technologies that spawned many sequels and adaptations.

Stallone, while taking a similar route in terms of cheesy fun, has a different style entirely in terms of influence in different genres.  His cheesy films, including Cobra (1986), Rocky III and IV (1982 and 1985), Demolition Man (1993), and Judge Dredd (1995), are like those of Schwarzenegger in the sense that they are over the top and fun.  He’s also got his fair share of crap too, like Rambo 3 (1988), Rocky V (1990), Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992), and Zookeeper (2011), that are virtually unwatchable.  Like the poor films of Schwarzenegger, these movie don’t know how to use Stallone, or they think that he can carry the whole movie on his own charm.  He can’t.

Though he is similar to Schwarzenegger in the sense of his poorer films, I would say that he is truly more influential in terms of his better films.  Rocky, one of my favorite films, takes a great twist on the sports genre, in which (SPOILERS!) Rocky actually loses the fight at the end.  This, which contrasts most sports movies where winning is the top priority, perfectly compliments the rest of Rocky, in which Balboa only wants to do his best and has no intention of actually winning.  It’s been done to death now, but Rocky was the first who attempted a sports movie like this.  First Blood (1982) is another fairly influential one, an action movie that actually focuses more on the drama than it does on the action.  The character of John Rambo isn’t looking for a fight, but just a wandering soldier, attempting to escape his troubled pass.  After being harassed by a small town sheriff, a small war ensues that he didn’t want to be a part of in the first place, but cant run away from.  It is truly tragic, and the kind of stuff that people wouldn’t expect from him anymore.

It’s nice to see these classic action stars return to the big screen (I just recently saw Escape Plan, and it was the kind of hokey 80’s fun that I was expecting).  But I hope that, in the future, these two can aspire to make more great and influential films, so they can be remembered not just as campy popcorn-movie stars, but as influential actors in their fields.