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Post by TerryMontana on Jul 28, 2019 19:48:04 GMT
It's not really a "genre," but I think it should be noted that Robert Downey, Jr. gave the three best performances of his career by playing actors: Chaplin, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (kinda; he was a fledgling actor), and Tropic Thunder. Downey's really good at playing all angles of Hollywood. I guess my dear Naomi Watts has given some of her best performances playing a struggling actress too be it Mulholland Dr., Ellie Parker, King Kong, Birdman. She'll also be seen playing a has-been actress in the upcoming Wolf Hour, for which her performance got some good reviews. So yay! 🥳. Not King Kong!!! I agree on the others.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 28, 2019 23:20:31 GMT
In relation to Nicole Kidman's profile for psychological drama/Thriller, it's also interesting to notice how much reverence she inspires among her peer group (which might explain what seems like several random SAG nominations for projects that seemed dead and buried by critics).
Here the accomplished character actor Isaiah Washington ( Clocker's , Out Of Sight, True Crime) recently tweeting that the Academy should have FedExed Kidman the Best Actress Oscar for her non-nominated role as a self-destructive homicide detective in Destroyer.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 28, 2019 23:56:24 GMT
I would say Destroyer is an example of something you get nowadays much more than in the past - the "prefabricated" performance where the performance starts with a POV (ie in this case the look) and delivers on the prefabricated POV so it is then rewarded for delivering exactly what was ordered. There is no elabotation or explaining of "why" the performance works - the order merely has been filled for many - Isaiah Washington too apparently.
This has become a huge problem not just with the Academy but with the death of serious critics (rather than sheep we have now) and awards bodies (who mimic that sheep like behavior - for example I loved Casey Affleck in Manchester By The Sea but did he need to win EVERY critics award or close to it? Why didn't more dissent?)
Kidman's performance was very misguided in pitch, (lack of) sexuality, behavioral patterns and basic police logic in performance and overall plotting even and also the director as I mentioned before didn't help - at all.
I'll leave it to others to comment on it - don't want to dominate the thread - but I often think of starting a thread about Oscar Bait that the Oscar showed good taste in avoiding like this performance/film. It's a good idea for a thread in general so if anybody reading this wants it, go right ahead.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 29, 2019 0:45:21 GMT
Kidman vs Streep going toe to toe like two heavyweight boxers in probably one of the finest courtroom encounters I've seen onscreen in the season finale of Big Little Lies Season 2. Screen acting at it's finest from two equally gifted actresses delivering a 10 minute masterclass. An effective clash of styles as well. Kidman the more subtle actress, does less with more...small gestures and movements that build in crescendo, while Streep goes for more obvious scenery chewing, but in tandem, it works.
*Don't watch if you haven't seen this episode of BLL and don't wish to be spoiled. Also helps to have seen the whole season for additional context*
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Post by stephen on Jul 29, 2019 17:03:27 GMT
Tony Stark is an actor ?And yes, cumatively even though it creatively stifled his career, Stark is for me anyway one of the his top 3 performances (He's terrific in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, but he showed about a thousand times more heart and emotion in Avengers: Endgame and Captain America: Civil War (his two best showings as Stark) , but also all the snark and sarcasm we expect from Downey). Well, I know that Tony Stark is and always will be his most iconic role (and for a good reason; he's damn good in it), but I think he's better in the other three roles I listed and it's surprising that he's played three wildly different sorts of actors so well.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 29, 2019 22:08:41 GMT
Tony Stark is an actor ?And yes, cumatively even though it creatively stifled his career, Stark is for me anyway one of the his top 3 performances (He's terrific in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, but he showed about a thousand times more heart and emotion in Avengers: Endgame and Captain America: Civil War (his two best showings as Stark) , but also all the snark and sarcasm we expect from Downey). Well, I know that Tony Stark is and always will be his most iconic role (and for a good reason; he's damn good in it), but I think he's better in the other three roles I listed and it's surprising that he's played three wildly different sorts of actors so well. That's fair enough!
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 29, 2019 22:32:16 GMT
Keanu Reeves
Genre: Action
We are living in the middle of a Keanu Reeves moment. A Keanussiance if you will. Big projects left and right, his John Wick franchise really breaking out in a big way.
How did the most disrespected actor of his generation end up building such a comprehensive and iconic body of work and roles? He's Ted "Theodore" Logan. He is Neo. He is John Wick.
For a man often dismissed as being lacking in talent, there must be an element of satisfaction to how his career panned out. His signature look of befuddlement has been key to the success of some of the greatest action films of the last 25 years. From Speed to The Matrix (and it's less good sequels) to Point Break to the John Wick films, Keanu is without question one of our greatest action stars. He might not be blessed with the natural acting talent of some of his contemporaries like River Phoenix, but he's improved a tremendous amount, and has become solid actor who knows how to work with his strengths and doesn't often get tripped up by his weaknessas anymore. And frankly, he's just so damn likeable. A clip of John Wick avenging his dog:
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Post by stephen on Jul 29, 2019 22:36:03 GMT
I've always been a big Keanu fan. Never liked to pile on the guy. Yeah, his accent work is dodgy as hell, but do I really need to be part of the chorus who mocks him for Dracula? The thing is, the guy is just eminently watchable to an almost compulsive degree. And yeah, he's only gotten better with age.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 29, 2019 22:43:15 GMT
I've always been a big Keanu fan. Never liked to pile on the guy. Yeah, his accent work is dodgy as hell, but do I really need to be part of the chorus who mocks him for Dracula? The thing is, the guy is just eminently watchable to an almost compulsive degree. And yeah, he's only gotten better with age. Reeves is a movie star. It's a seperate thing from pure acting talent or technique and very few people have it. It's a gift that you are either born with or not. And it's a weird alchemy that takes many forms. Sometimes it involves having extreme good looks, but not always (they tried real hard to make Hollywood legacy and super-adonis Scott Eastwood a movie star, but he just didn't have it)
Reeves has that combination of looks, likeability and watchability that makes up for his other deficiencies as an actor (to an extent). I don't need to see Reeves play Hamlet.But he's a great action performer. His physicality can't be underestimated.
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Jul 29, 2019 22:59:31 GMT
Keanu Reeves is a very limited actor if we're being honest. He can emote, but not especially great or all that well, but what he lacks in acting power, he makes up for in sheer charismatic "low energy". I always things Reeves is at his best when he's playing "remote" or "stoic figures". The John Wick's, the Neo's, the Johnny Utah etc... Sometimes I think that "low energy", can come back in rewarding ways, like take Sam Raimi's The Gift for example, a fantastical drama of sorts, where Reeves nearly steals the show from everyone as an absolute monster, and surprises you in a good way.
He should never play a Shakespearean character (heck he proved that in Much Ado About Nothing), but I always thought that the comments about him being a "bland black-hole", was completely missing the point of why he's cast so much. He just works, especially in action films, where he sometimes doesn't really have to play complex characters.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 29, 2019 23:03:23 GMT
Keanu Reeves is a very limited actor if we're being honest. He can emote, but not especially great or all that well, but what he lacks in acting power, he makes up for in sheer charismatic "low energy". I always things Reeves is at his best when he's playing "remote" or "stoic figures". The John Wick's, the Neo's, the Johnny Utah etc... Sometimes I think that "low energy", can come back in rewarding ways, like take Sam Raimi's The Gift for example, a fantastical drama of sorts, where Reeves nearly steals the show from everyone as an absolute monster, and surprises you in a good way. He should never play a Shakespearean character (heck he proved that in Much Ado About Nothing), but I always thought that the comments about him being a "bland black-hole", was completely missing the point of why he's cast so much. He just works, especially in action films, where he sometimes doesn't really have to play complex characters. Bingo! We have a winner! A very tidy and succinct summary of what makes Keanu so effective in the action genre, and kinda problematic in several other genres (though to be fair, he's a very decent comedic performer). But as you say, sometimes he works in genres when you least expect it, like The Gift. An erratic performer, but a fun career to follow
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Post by Viced on Jul 29, 2019 23:38:41 GMT
Keanu is kind of the Charles Bronson of today for me. Limited, but somehow an amazing screen presence that's always likable and uniquely badass.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 29, 2019 23:40:21 GMT
You know the coolest thing about this whole Keanussiance is?
Finding out that Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Films says that Marvel call Keanu for almost every film they do and offer him some sort of role. And Keanu has always said no (take that Joaquin Phoenix!). But since they still keep calling him, there's obviously real hope that he'll accept one day. Can't think of anyone better to play the Silver Surfer.
The power of Keanu. Marvel is essentially one long-running action franchise, so of course they'd want him.
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Jul 29, 2019 23:54:28 GMT
Keanu Reeves is a very limited actor if we're being honest. He can emote, but not especially great or all that well, but what he lacks in acting power, he makes up for in sheer charismatic "low energy". I always things Reeves is at his best when he's playing "remote" or "stoic figures". The John Wick's, the Neo's, the Johnny Utah etc... Sometimes I think that "low energy", can come back in rewarding ways, like take Sam Raimi's The Gift for example, a fantastical drama of sorts, where Reeves nearly steals the show from everyone as an absolute monster, and surprises you in a good way. He should never play a Shakespearean character (heck he proved that in Much Ado About Nothing), but I always thought that the comments about him being a "bland black-hole", was completely missing the point of why he's cast so much. He just works, especially in action films, where he sometimes doesn't really have to play complex characters. Bingo! We have a winner! A very tidy and succinct summary of what makes Keanu so effective in the action genre, and kinda problematic in several other genres (though to be fair, he's a very decent comedic performer). But as you say, sometimes he works in genres when you least expect it, like The Gift. An erratic performer, but a fun career to follow And he's done so much work in terms of genres too, that's what makes his filmography so impressive. Even with the amount of stinkers and or technical bad films he's been involved, there's a treasure trove of his work to explore. You mention comedy, and I'm actually surprised he hasn't done it more. He really works well in the Bill & Ted films, but outside of that I'm struggling to think of any pure comedy he's been in. He's pretty funny in Parenthood, though that's more of a dramedy, technically.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 30, 2019 0:18:37 GMT
Bingo! We have a winner! A very tidy and succinct summary of what makes Keanu so effective in the action genre, and kinda problematic in several other genres (though to be fair, he's a very decent comedic performer). But as you say, sometimes he works in genres when you least expect it, like The Gift. An erratic performer, but a fun career to follow You mention comedy, and I'm actually surprised he hasn't done it more. He really works well in the Bill & Ted films, but outside of that I'm struggling to think of any pure comedy he's been in. He's pretty funny in Parenthood, though that's more of a dramedy, technically. Well he's done a couple of Romantic Comedies. His much talked about cameo this year in Netflix's Always Be My Maybe. Destination Wedding with Winona Ryder. And Somethings Gotta Give with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton.
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Jul 30, 2019 0:35:34 GMT
You mention comedy, and I'm actually surprised he hasn't done it more. He really works well in the Bill & Ted films, but outside of that I'm struggling to think of any pure comedy he's been in. He's pretty funny in Parenthood, though that's more of a dramedy, technically. Well he's done a couple of Romantic Comedies. His much talked about cameo this year in Netflix's Always Be My Maybe. Destination Wedding with Winona Ryder. And Somethings Gotta Give with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton.Yeah, but I was thinking more in terms of broad comedy. I'd love to see him tackle something a bit more "farcical", which is why I'm really looking forward to the third Bill & Ted film. Still somehow in shock it's actually getting made, considering how long it took.
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Post by pacinoyes on Jul 30, 2019 12:56:31 GMT
Marlon Brando Genre : Social/Political DramaI wanted to sort of take Brando one of the few great actors - in America at least - almost completely removed from any genre in a way - that in many ways is the mysterious element of his success/genius. But if you had to stretch it this genre fits him the most - since he didn't thrive on genre and is maybe the best American actor ever genre needs to come to him in a way. Brando was the first subject maybe of an acting cliched "type" - ie "he's still good when he still cares" - and what he cared about were the things behind these films - not all of them good even - The Ugly American, Burn, A Dry White Season, Roots II on TV, The Formula, and in some ways one of his best - the social messaging and political subtext implicit in On The Waterfront. If you watch these films as a group you may learn more about what made the great actor tick than any bigger genres he touched but that didn't represent him (Westerns, Comedy etc) and that meant a lot less to him. From his Oscar nominated A Dry White Season role - his first film in 9 years .........because he cared:
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Post by TerryMontana on Jul 30, 2019 13:05:50 GMT
Mesmerizing performance in ADWS!!!
I could make a very long post about him serving movie genres but, as you said, the only categories you could place him in were the movies he cared for and the ones he didn't.
And when he cared, he played "Brando", in "Brando movies", serving the "Brando genre".
I know that's not a very objective point of view but then again, when it comes to Brando, I rarely am objective.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 30, 2019 23:39:00 GMT
Denzel Washington
Genre: Action
How did America's Greatest Living Actor, arguably the greatest actor of all time (G.O.A.T) wind up as one of the premiere action stars of his day?
Washington is a man who has probably done more Shakespeare on stage (from Othello to Corialanus to Richard III to Julius Ceasar) than almost any American film actor of an equivalent stature since George C Scott. He is about to play Macbeth on film for Joel Coen, and is very likely to play King Lear in his next Broadway engagement.Yet he's just as comfortable playing deadly men of action, breaking necks, shooting down entire gangs of faceless criminals and walking away from explosions.
For an actor of Washington's matchless talent and ambition, moonlighting as an action star was an extremely risky strategy. In the past, GOAT level actors tended to only go that route in their dotage, when they had run out of fucks to give and simply wanted the money a good action vehicle could provide. Richard Burton cashed in with Where Eagles Dare and The Wild Geese when he was a bit older and a bit less concerned with his reputation. But usually becoming heavily associated with the action genre dings actors with ambitions for all-time greatness.
Often the retreat of the "serious thesp" who wants to be in an "action movie" is to do a War Movie (they are taken more seriously) or mix it up with a more highbrow genre like the historical epic ( Daniel Day-Lewis in The Last Of The Mohicans and Russell Crowe in Gladiator adhered to this formula).
Yet Washington went all-in, never trying to pretend he was making something highbrow. But he did something special which was to give the same seriousness of purpose to his performances in action films, as he might do with prestige dramas. He cracked the code, and many a major serious actor envied how he could balance serious drama and action. Washington started doing it very early in his career as a leading man, mixing his action vehicles with high-brow "serious" pictures to stunning effect.Really starting with 1991s ludicrous, but highly enjoyable action thriller Riccochet. In 1995, Washington first teamed with the action meastro director Tony Scott in Crimson Tide, and their collaboration in the action genre would prove fruitful for both men until Scott's untimely death. Among their films were Man On Fire, Deja Vu, The Taking Of Pelham 1-2-3 remake and Unstoppable.
With Scott's passing, Washington has found a new Action soul mate in his Training Day director Antoine Fuqua. And it's a collaboration that has proved as fruitful as his one with Scott. From the brutal Equalizer movies to The Magnificent Seven remake, Fuqua proved to be the right man to guide Washington's action career away from Scott. Of course Washington has made more action films without Scott or Fuqua at the helm. Safe House, 2 Guns etc.
But for my money, Washington's greatest action film away from the Scott/Fuqua axis is The Hughes Brothers brilliant and subversive dystopian Sci-fi action film, The Book Of Eli. Washington goes all out to prove his commitment to the action genre in this one, playing a blind masterless Samurai commited to his mission of delivering the world's last remaining bible to safety.
It's a classily shot, but bonkers film as well, reminding me at times of the anime classic Fist Of The North Star. The superhuman feats are not as excessive as in that movie, but considering Washington is basically Daredevil in this, it flirts with improbability. Add Gary Oldman on sadistic villain form as a demagogue out to steal the good book from Denzel's Eli, and you have an insanely entertaining action movie with two of the world's greatest actors playing in one hell of a sandbox . Washington also trained with Bruce Lee disciple Daniel Inasanto in order to learn the fighting moves to make Eli believeble. Below, Washington speaking bible verse and slicing and decapitating an entire bar full of dystopian thugs in a scene of poetic beauty and violence:
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Post by fiosnasiob on Jul 31, 2019 0:53:51 GMT
Great write up, as always. I remember posting the amazing "You don't know what death is" scene from Equalizer 2 on the Macbeth thread I think ? Saying how he makes these action movies so much more powerful, profound and interesting that they had any right to be, that's the Denzel's magic. You don't understand what is happening, you are watching a (sometimes mediocre) action/thriller movie and suddendly it seems like to turn into something of a Shakespearean's grandeur, the one from my avatar, the whole king kong scene,...hell even Safe House (below, SPOILER) becomes something else with his mastery. So yeah he becames one of the premiere action stars of his day but even in these action vehicles he ALWAYS reminds you the genius actor that he is.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 31, 2019 1:12:53 GMT
Great write up, as always. I remember posting the amazing "You don't know what death is" scene from Equalizer 2 on the Macbeth thread I think ? Saying how he makes these action movies so much more powerful, profound and interesting that they had any right to be, that's the Denzel's magic. You don't understand what is happening, you are watching a (sometimes mediocre) action/thriller movie and suddendly it seems like to turn into something of a Shakespearean's grandeur, the one from my avatar, the whole king kong scene,...hell even Safe House (below, SPOILER) becomes something else with his mastery. So yeah he becames one of the premiere action stars of his day but even in these action vehicles he ALWAYS reminds you the genius actor that he is. Oh absolutely. Denzel is a genius, and part of his genius is in his ability to elevate material. It's why he could take on the action genre without fear of it comprimising his rep as a so-called "serious actor". He brought serious acting to action vehicles.To make sometimes disposable action vehicles feel profound or Shakespearian. You mention Equalizer 2, But for my money the first Equalizer has one of the best acted and most intense face-offs between two actors in movies ever. It's in the same realm as Robert DeNiro's and Al Pacino's Diner scene in Heat, but will never get close to the same type of credit because while Equalizer is a a terrific action film, it's nowhere on the same level as Heat. And unfortunately Denzel's scene partner Marton Csokas does not have the elevated reputation of being one of the greats of his generation or an all-time great, despite matching Denzel toe to toe in a simply incrediblely acted dialogue scene between two actors. Had Csokas had the reputation of even someone like Christian Bale, I feel this scene might have achieved legendary status. Even so, it's an inspiring scene for any actor to watch, as Denzel tells this Russian gangster a story of how he came to be:
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Jul 31, 2019 1:56:07 GMT
Denzel's career as an action star, has always been peculiar to me, because he started out as a very respected actor, he was in Philadelphia and Malcolm X in the same year, after all.
Some could say he went the action route, because those were the best roles that were offered for him (Hollywood is after all sadly, still a fairly unforgiving place for African Americans, especially when he was working in the 90s). Really it was the success of Crimson Tide that put over the map. That movie, which led to long partnership with the late Tony Scott was the catalyst for a long continued run of "kick-ass revenge type flicks". His career is very similar to Wesley Snipes in that regard, but he was generally much better at picking scripts.
Really I think he works in the genre so well, because while he's not the most imitating looking actor, he does sound like and act like a "cool dude". He's even done a good job of mixing in the audience appealing action / thriller films with more personal dramas, especially whenever he would do more then one movie a year. The Bone Collector, and The Hurricane in 99, Safe House and Flight in 12, and The Magnificent Seven and Fences in 16, and so on. In addition to being a great actor, he just seems to have a knack for knowing what audiences like.
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Post by pupdurcs on Jul 31, 2019 2:13:57 GMT
Denzel's career as an action star, has always been peculiar to me, because he started out as a very respected actor, he was in Philadelphia and Malcolm X in the same year, after all. Some could say he went the action route, because those were the best roles that were offered for him (Hollywood is after all sadly, still a fairly unforgiving place for African Americans, especially when he was working in the 90s). Really it was the success of Crimson Tide that put over the map. That movie, which led to long partnership with the late Tony Scott was the catalyst for a long continued run of "kick-ass revenge type flicks". His career is very similar to Wesley Snipes in that regard, but he was generally much better at picking scripts. Really I think he works in the genre so well, because while he's not the most imitating looking actor, he does sound like and act like a "cool dude". He's even done a good job of mixing in the audience appealing action / thriller films with more personal dramas, especially whenever he would do more then one movie a year. The Bone Collector, and The Hurricane in 99, Safe House and Flight in 12, and The Magnificent Seven and Fences in 16, and so on. In addition to being a great actor, he just seems to have a knack for knowing what audiences like. I feel like Denzel's action career was more of a deliberate strategy than something that happened due to lack of options. You have to remember, in the 90's Denzel was not only the most in-demand African-American leading man of the day, but one of the most in demand leading men, regardless of race. In the 90's, he was turning down Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg and Oliver Stone when they wanted him to star in their films. Every time they wanted to make a biopic of a famous black man, be it Muhammed Ali or Jackie Robinson, Denzel was approached first and said no becaus he felt it would start to look ridiculous if he played every famous black man in history (good call!) Like you said, he understands what audiences want and like. Sure he could have done nothing but Biopics and Oscarbait, but he probably suspected that would limit his audience, and thus his career. Daniel Day-Lewis could get away with that and having limited bankability, be cause the industry protected white prestige actors with limited audience/box office appeal. Denzel needed to make movies people watched, not just movies critics and awards bodies appreciated. Or his career might have slowly lost relevance. Hence the Action Star pivot, where he alternated with Prestige fare. It was a masterstroke of a decision and contributed to him becoming the icon he is today.
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Post by therealcomicman117 on Jul 31, 2019 2:32:08 GMT
Denzel's career as an action star, has always been peculiar to me, because he started out as a very respected actor, he was in Philadelphia and Malcolm X in the same year, after all. Some could say he went the action route, because those were the best roles that were offered for him (Hollywood is after all sadly, still a fairly unforgiving place for African Americans, especially when he was working in the 90s). Really it was the success of Crimson Tide that put over the map. That movie, which led to long partnership with the late Tony Scott was the catalyst for a long continued run of "kick-ass revenge type flicks". His career is very similar to Wesley Snipes in that regard, but he was generally much better at picking scripts. Really I think he works in the genre so well, because while he's not the most imitating looking actor, he does sound like and act like a "cool dude". He's even done a good job of mixing in the audience appealing action / thriller films with more personal dramas, especially whenever he would do more then one movie a year. The Bone Collector, and The Hurricane in 99, Safe House and Flight in 12, and The Magnificent Seven and Fences in 16, and so on. In addition to being a great actor, he just seems to have a knack for knowing what audiences like. I feel like Denzel's action career was more of a deliberate strategy than something that happened due to lack of options. You have to remember, in the 90's Denzel was not only the most in-demand African-American leading man of the day, but one of the most in demand leading men, regardless of race. In the 90's, he was turning down Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg and Oliver Stone when they wanted him to star in their films. Every time they wanted to make a biopic of a famous black man, be it Muhammed Ali or Jackie Robinson, Denzel was approached first and said no becaus he felt it would start to look ridiculous if he played every famous black man in history (good call!) Like you said, he understands what audiences want and like. Sure he could have done nothing but Biopics and Oscarbait, but he probably suspected that would limit his audience, and thus his career. Daniel Day-Lewis could get away with that and having limited bankability, be cause the industry protected white prestige actors with limited audience/box office appeal. Denzel needed to make movies people watched, not just movies critics and awards bodies appreciated. Or his career might have slowly lost relevance. Hence the Action Star pivot, where he alternated with Prestige fare. It was a masterstroke of a decision and contributed to him becoming the icon he is today. Yeah, he was definitely the biggest African American star of his generation. He did co-star with some of the biggest names of that time after all. I mean more in that he smart to go the action route, because it meant he could get financial stability. The dramas he did earlier on his career aside from Malcolm X, didn't really make much money. What most impresses me about Denzel's career as an action star, is how long it has gone on, and how it didn't seem to be slowing done. Just last year he was 63 years old, and starred in The Equalizer 2, which made over 100m domestically. Not many people you can say who can carry an action film at that age as flawlessly as he has.
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sirchuck23
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Post by sirchuck23 on Jul 31, 2019 2:48:31 GMT
Denzel WashingtonGenre: ActionHow did America's Greatest Living Actor, arguably the greatest actor of all time ( G.O.A.T) wind up as one of the premiere action stars of his day? Washington is a man who has probably done more Shakespeare on stage (from Othello to Corialanus to Richard III to Julius Ceasar) than almost any American film actor of an equivalent stature since George C Scott. He is about to play Macbeth on film for Joel Coen, and is very likely to play King Lear in his next Broadway engagement.Yet he's just as comfortable playing deadly men of action, breaking necks, shooting down entire gangs of faceless criminals and walking away from explosions. For an actor of Washington's matchless talent and ambition, moonlighting as an action star was an extremely risky strategy. In the past, GOAT level actors tended to only go that route in their dotage, when they had run out of fucks to give and simply wanted the money a good action vehicle could provide. Richard Burton cashed in with Where Eagles Dare and The Wild Geese when he was a bit older and a bit less concerned with his reputation. But usually becoming heavily associated with the action genre dings actors with ambitions for all-time greatness. Often the retreat of the "serious thesp" who wants to be in an "action movie" is to do a War Movie (they are taken more seriously) or mix it up with a more highbrow genre like the historical epic ( Daniel Day-Lewis in The Last Of The Mohicans and Russell Crowe in Gladiator adhered to this formula). Yet Washington went all-in, never trying to pretend he was making something highbrow. But he did something special which was to give the same seriousness of purpose to his performances in action films, as he might do with prestige dramas. He cracked the code, and many a major serious actor envied how he could balance serious drama and action. Washington started doing it very early in his career as a leading man, mixing his action vehicles with high-brow "serious" pictures to stunning effect.Really starting with 1991s ludicrous, but highly enjoyable action thriller Riccochet. In 1995, Washington first teamed with the action meastro director Tony Scott in Crimson Tide, and their collaboration in the action genre would prove fruitful for both men until Scott's untimely death. Among their films were Man On Fire, Deja Vu, The Taking Of Pelham 1-2-3 remake and Unstoppable.With Scott's passing, Washington has found a new Action soul mate in his Training Day director Antoine Fuqua. And it's a collaboration that has proved as fruitful as his one with Scott. From the brutal Equalizer movies to The Magnificent Seven remake, Fuqua proved to be the right man to guide Washington's action career away from Scott. Of course Washington has made more action films without Scott or Fuqua at the helm. Safe House, 2 Guns etc.But for my money, Washington's greatest action film away from the Scott/Fuqua axis is The Hughes Brothers brilliant and subversive dystopian Sci-fi action film, The Book Of Eli. Washington goes all out to prove his commitment to the action genre in this one, playing a blind masterless Samurai commited to his mission of delivering the world's last remaining bible to safety. It's a classily shot, but bonkers film as well, reminding me at times of the anime classic Fist Of The North Star. The superhuman feats are not as excessive as in that movie, but considering Washington is basically Daredevil in this, it flirts with improbability. Add Gary Oldman on sadistic villain form as a demagogue out to steal the good book from Denzel's Eli, and you have an insanely entertaining action movie with two of the world's greatest actors playing in one hell of a sandbox . Washington also trained with Bruce Lee disciple Daniel Inasanto in order to learn the fighting moves to make Eli believeble. Below, Washington speaking bible verse and slicing and decapitating an entire bar full of dystopian thugs in a scene of poetic beauty and violence: Great write-up man. When you have media sites like The Ringer writing think pieces asking "Is Denzel Our Greatest Action Star", you know he's made an impact on the genre, which is amazing considering how he was being pegged as strictly a great dramatic actor who would star in serious prestige films early in his career. Us Denzel fans have been back and forth on Denzel and his action films and asking questions like "is he doing too many?" or "why is he wasting his time with these films?", etc. and now looking back over his action films, I'm glad he had no reservations about doing them. There's no doubt his action films have brought him a sizable new audience to him that otherwise might not have been interested in him or his films. There's people who you can ask "what are your favorite Denzel films" and a sizable portion of their lists might be his action films. Shows how diverse his filmography is when you can have some of his fans love his prestige, serious films, others love his crime films, and yet others have an affinity to his action thriller films. I believe his foray into the action genre helped prolong his A-List box office bankability status considerably and why he's still a leading A-List leading man at age 64, which is rare for actors in general, much less black actors, and its lead to him having a solid franchise in The Equalizer he can do for the next few years (I think he'll do one more of those before wrapping it up) before he can no longer do action films credibly because of his age. An interesting and ultimately winning swerve a major actor took to take his career in new directions.
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