Centineo made his name in the Netflix teen rom-com To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before and represents a left-field choice for the role.
A New Master of the Universe
Whether that means he’ll be undergoing some super-intense muscle-building training to prepare for the role is anyone’s guess.
Alternatively, some nifty special effects could be used to give Centineo the necessary bulging muscles to play the man with the power of Greyskull.
Either way, he’s got some pretty big shoes to fill, stepping into the role previously taken up by Lundgren in the 1987 cult classic.
The Only Real He-Man
Based on the popular Mattel toy line, Masters of the Universecentres on Prince Adam of Eternia, who uses a Power Sword to transform into the hero He-Man todefend his kingdom and Castle Grayskull from evil Skeletor.
Iron Man writers Art Marcum and Matt Holloway have written the script, with input from Adam and AaronNee, who are set to direct.
Skeletor has yet to be cast though whoever lands the role will have to go some way to top Frank Langella’s brilliantly demented performance in the original.
We await news with baited breath.
What are your thoughts on this He-Man casting news? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page!
Copycats is a bimonthly column about popular action movies and the low-budget films they inspire. Each column, we take a popular action movie and find its cinematic doppelganger, revel in their similarities and dissect their differences. Some of these copycats are good enough (or strange enough) to earn their place in action movie history, but most are being chronicled here to preserve their existence – for better or for worse.
The Bodyguard (1992) vs Blackbelt (1992)
Original Film:The Bodyguard, 1992, starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston, directed by Mick Jackson.
(Alleged) Copycat:Blackbelt, 1992, starring Don ‘The Dragon’ Wilson and Deirdre Imershein, directed by Charles Philip Moore, Rick Jacobson.
Synopsis of both films: A former cop takes a job protecting a female pop singer.
Copycat Comparison:
This is another case of which came first. Yes, Blackbelt was released first, but these two movies basically shot at the same time, and the script for The Bodyguard had been floating around Hollywood since the 1970s. So, it’s easy to assume that once the trades began writing about a new Costner/Houston movie about a bodyguard falling in love with the singer he’s sworn to protect, it would be pretty easy to rush a script, get it in Don ‘The Dragon’ Wilson’s hands and start shooting. And, being that Blackbelt was produced by Roger Corman’s Concorde/New Horizons (famous for its copycat creations), I deem this argument to be plausible.
Production timelines and motives aside, Blackbelt is a terrific vehicle for Wilson. Playing ex-cop Jack Dillon, Dillon is hired by Shanna (Deirdre Imershein), the most early-1990s, up-and-coming pop singer you’ve ever seen, to protect her after she receives a bouquet of roses with a human finger following one of her shows. This, of course, ties in with an ongoing serial killer investigation lead by Dillon’s former partner, setting Dillon up for a number of knock-down, drag-out fights with a number of kickboxing legends, including Matthias Hues (Dark Angel & No Retreat, No Surrender 2).
The Bodyguard is basically the same thing, albeit without the fight or action sequences, Wilson’s dry wit, and a crazy finger-taking serial killer. The music is better.
Which is better?
So, usually when I write these columns I rewatch both movies. I like to see how these copycats actually compare with fresh eyes. Here’s the thing, I absolutely refuse to watch The Bodyguard ever again. I saw it when it came out and I hated it! What a hunk of garbage, and I have watched some real trash in my day. I’ve seen every PM Entertainment movie – including Shotgun and L.A. Vice, I’ve seen Ghoulies 1-4 multiple times, I own Howard the Duck on VHS, DVD and Blu-Ray and I have the soundtrack, and I’ve rewatched Robocop 2 multiple times to see if has gotten better with age (it hasn’t).
I understand The Bodyguard was incredibly popular back in the day. The $25 million movie made $410 million worldwide (the second highest grossing movie in the world behind Disney’s Aladdin) and the soundtrack sold 37 million copies making it the most best-selling soundtrack of all time. But it was so boring!
Blackbelt is not. It’s awesome. I know that Don “The Dragon” Wilson has never gotten the respect he deserves, but every single one of his movies (and a lot of them are going to end up in this column because they are pretty much all copycats) are still as fun to watch today as they were in the 90s.
I don’t have to see The Bodyguard again, because Blackbelt is hands down the better movie.
Fun Facts! There is a sequel to Blackbelt, Blackbelt II Fatal Force, but, and this is the strangest thing I’ve ever seen, Blackbelt II came out three years before Blackbelt and stared WKF World Kickboxing Champion and soap opera star Blake Bahner. So, Blackbelt is actually the sequel to Blackbelt II? What kind of craziness is this?
Both movies are currently available streaming, for free, on Shout Factory TV. FYI, I have bookmarked this page.
Article by Eric LaRose – a Wisconsin-based connoisseur of action, horror and sci-fi movies from the ‘80s and ‘90s. A former journalist and podcaster, Eric wrote the ending to the Toxic Avenger Part 4, but the only person who will back up that claim is his wife.
Who do you think wins in this COPYCATS! showdown? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page!
The many ways in which Harrison Ford’s ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’ (1994) has aged.
Before Harrison Ford reprised his famous role for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull underwhelmed audiences, Temple of Doom was the de facto “worst” Indiana Jones movie. Audiences and critics didn’t seem to know what to do with it. Fan reaction to Temple of Doom has become more charitable over time, maybe because of nostalgia, maybe because its strangeness is appealing in a world where safe marketability dominates tentpole blockbusters.
Yet this is still the most polarizing film in the series: most love Raiders and Last Crusade, most greet Crystal Skull with a resounding “meh,” but Temple of Doom still garners love-or-hate reactions. I totally understand this state of affairs, my own reaction to Temple of Doom having evolved over the years.
Willie Scott might be the Jar Jar Binks of the Indiana Jones series as a whole: a comic relief character who isn’t very funny and wears on the audience’s patience. She complains about not having dry-cleaning and a phone. She openly rejects the hospitality of her Indian hosts in the village. She screams at every little thing. Willie is so grating that it’s hard not to root for Mol Ram when he tries throwing her into the lava pit.
Compare her to Marion or Elsa. Marion was a badass action hero in her own right, able to dole out punches and hold her own. Elsa was smart and cold-blooded, willing to kill to get her way. Willie is far closer to the 1930s damsel-in-distress you would have encountered in B-films of Old Hollywood, so maybe her screaming and damsel-ness is intentional… but it doesn’t make me enjoy her pampered wailing any more or less.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: Some lump Short-Round in with Willie as an annoying supporting character. I do not. Short-Round pulls his own weight, rescues himself and Indy, and isn’t nearly as cutesy as most kid characters in these sorts of movies tend to be, so I’ve no problem with him.
Evidence Two – Most Evocative of 1930s Serials, But Not Always in a Good Way
All the Indy films are based on old adventure serials, but none ever came closer to capturing what watching them feels like than Temple. Once again though, this is a double-edged sword, because the episodic, disjointed feel of a serial does not always fit the sensibility of a feature movie, which causes the pacing and structure to suffer.
There’s also the elephant in the room, which is the, eh, cultural inaccuracies regarding Indian culture. The depictions of Indians as chilled-monkey-brain-eaters and the misrepresentation of the Hindu goddess Kali (who isn’t the ultra-evil deity depicted in the film) fuels a great deal of controversy to this day.
Of course, this stuff would have flown in a 1930s film. In the 1980s and beyond? Not so much.
Reasons Temple of Doom is Amazing:
Evidence One – The Action and Adventure
Temple of Doom is one of the best action-adventure movies of all time. I know that sounds weird considering my complaining, but the thing which saves the movie the most is its ultimate action. In a series with some of the greatest action set-pieces of all time, Temple gets the pick of the best.
The opening car chase in Shanghai, the ridiculously awesome tobogganing on a raft sequence, the painfully visceral fight on a rock-crusher conveyor belt, the final showdown on a rickety bridge over a river of ravenous crocodiles—these scenes excel in suspense and adrenaline, complemented perfectly by John William’s swelling score and some fine editing work.
The mine cart sequence might be my favorite chase in all the Indy films. The editing is pure brilliance, cutting between the real actors and a miniature set, almost never showing the seams, save for a few ropey compositing shots. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had on a roller-coaster without actually being on a roller-coaster, if that makes any sense.
Evidence Two – Mol Ram and the Devil-Worshippers
I cannot help but love Mol Ram, from the skull headpiece he rocks atop his glorious bald head to how much he delights in being a horrible monster. That smile when he rips that one poor man’s heart right out of his chest and holds it aloft always cracks me up (and terrifies me too).
I also like how out of all the Indiana Jones movies, the villains in this one aren’t merely Nazi or Communist henchmen—they’re not pawns in the service of a larger evil, but THE evil in and of themselves. Their lair also happens to be a production design marvel, like something out of hell itself.
Evidence Three – Risk-Taking
The overwhelming majority of blockbusters play things safe. Hollywood is in it to make money, and playing it safe gets the proverbial butts in seats… which is why Temple of Doom is so special. It’s a sequel to one of the most wildly successful action movies of the 1980s and yet it takes so many risks and rarely resembles its predecessor.
Critic Tim Brayton is right on the money when he says part of the fun of Temple is that it feels “bizarrely transgressive” in how it juxtaposes horrible cruelty with rollicking action. One minute, we have the heroic Indiana Jones theme playing as Indy and co. race down the mountains in a blow-up raft, then later you have a small child slave crying he prays for death to save him from his misery. I don’t know if such contrasts work or fail, but regardless, it’s all so weird that you feel Temple’s getting away with something.
Temple of Doom is the most unique of the Indiana Jones four movies, unapologetic about its darkness. Even if every creative decision doesn’t work, even if Willie Scott makes me want to rip my own ear drums out, even if some of the cultural elements have aged very poorly, I have to give respect to one of the strangest, most imaginative, and exciting action movies of the 1980s.
What are your thoughts on the Temple of Doom and its ultimate legacy? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page!
Sometimes even just a picture of Chuck Norris is all you need to intimidate.
Chuck Norris is not a man you mess with.The mere mention of his name in any given scenario is likely to send bad guys running for the hills. Everyone knows the score when Norris is around.
But the power of the Chuck isn’t one to be abused as the Quebec City police department could be about to find out. According to Fox News, they stand accused of using a movie photo featuring Norris to intimidate protestors at last year’s G7 Summit.
Quite how that works – or why none of the protestors recognised the bearded majesty of Norris – is unclear.
But a complaint filed by a political science professor who researches social movements and police profiling suggests it did happen.
According to the noted academic, a photo of Norris featured on the of a police riot vehicle and was seemingly designed to undermine the public trust.
“I thought that was in really bad taste and that it was a form of intimidation and threat from the police toward the public and the protesters,” Francis Dupuis-Déri explained to CBC.
Chuck Norris for President
The image came from the Norris classic Invasion U.S.A. and was apparently used at last June’s G7 summit in Montreal. Two officials from Quebec City police have so far failed to respond to the accusations. The complaint was made by the professor from the Université du Québec à Montreal.
“My complaint is really about this specific case and these specific police officers who were in the minivan,” he told CBC.
The power of Chuck Norris knows no bounds, apparently.
What are your favorite Chuck Norris inspired imitation techniques? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page!
Tony Jaa, Scott Adkins, Tiger Chen, Michael Jai White, Iko Uwais all rolled into one ultimate action brawl.
Since I was a child, I have loved martial arts movies. From Van Damme to Bruce Lee, watching guys pummeling each other to death with punches and kicks has brought me hours and hours of sheer excitement and joy. So as I’ve gotten older, and as the genre continues on, I’ve championed the ever evolving new breed of martial arts action performers.
Stars like Tony Jaa, Scott Adkins, Michael Jai White, Iko Uwais and so on have continued to carry on the tradition of being the best, most elegantly badass martial artists on screen like their peers before them.
So when it was announced that action filmmaker Jesse V. Johnson would be bringing the brightest stars of the martial arts together for Triple Threat, and Michael Bisping, at the moment into one movie together, my heart did a somersault. I was convinced from that day on that we would be getting the newest contender for best action movie ever made. So… Was I right?? Let’s find out…
Boy… was this one a doozy! It was absolutely everything I could’ve hoped for! A 90 minute cavalcade of flawless buttkicking, with each cast member getting to put their tremendous talent on display for our pleasure.
I was amazed from beginning to end! Now folks, this is what The Expendables should’ve been. Instead of having the best action heroes team up, just have them beat the crap out of each other! Simple as that.
Now, let me get into the cast for a second. This is a dream cast of Ultimate Action Movie proportions! Tony Jaa (Ong Bak), Iko Uwais (The Raid), Tiger Chen (Man of Tai Chi), Scott Adkins (Undisputed 4), Michael Jai White (Blood & Bone) Jeeja Yanin (Chocolate), and Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping. Just amazing, right??
The very best the martial arts/action genre has to offer. And they shine tremendously in this! Face cracking, bone breaking, skull crushing shine to be exact. But that’s not to say that’s all they have to offer, though. Each actor also gets a chance to show off their acting prowess and they more than do a terrific job! Each hero gets a great dramatic moment, while each villain gets a awesome moment to show off their despicable vileness. Just a great job all around!
Speaking of great job, all the kudos in the world to director Johnson for running the tightest of ships on this one! Fast paced and to the point, Johnson wastes no time getting right into the thick of things. And his handling of the sequences is amazing to say the least. Precision editing. Beautifully framed shots with a great depth of feel for the choreography, Johnson proves once again why he is one of the best action directors working today. Hopefully, big studios will finally give him the big studio project he deserves (preferably starring Adkins, of course).
And now, we get to the main attraction: the action. And guys… you are in for a show! Action galore! From start to finish! Opens with a massive jungle shootout that invokes glorious memories of Predator, and ends with a face off that’s worth the price of admission (more on that in a sec)! I’m telling you, this is a true feast for action fans everywhere! Shootouts, car chases, and non stop fights. You get your money’s worth, and then some! And with each cast member on their A-game, the action scenes are just astounding.
But none more astounding than the mano y mano showdown between Tony Jaa & Scott Adkins. Seriously guys, this is the one I’ve been waiting for. Ever since Ong Bak and Undisputed 2, I’ve been waiting for these 2 to finally come together in a movie for an epic clash of the martial arts titans. And now that it has finally happened, it more than lived up to my expectations! JaavsAdkins is a head to head that’s bound to become an instant classic.
Right up there with Lee vs Norris, Chan vs Urquidez, and Van Damme vs Yeung. Tim Man also deserves all the credit in the world for his forever awesome choreography. It was so beautiful, I nearly cried! Bravo!
Any nitpicks? I would’ve liked a bit more time with the heroes. The movie moves so fast that we don’t get much time with them out of action mode. Each character has a moment to let us know who they are, and that’s great, but I could’ve used a couple of more mins to explore their backstories. Especially Uwais’s character.
But all in all, I was more than completely satisfied with this one! I am in love. Other action films of 2019 have their work cut out for them, because this is the one to beat. And to the amazing cast and crew: Thank you for giving me and action fans everywhere the movie they needed, and deserved.
What are your thoughts on this ultimate action martial arts lineup? Let us know in the comments!
For ultimate action movie fans, the original Red Sonja actioner was released in 1985 and famously starred Brigitte Nielsen as the titular character with Arnold in a supporting role as Lord Kalidor.
The reboot has long been in the works with it set to begin production possibly here in 2019, but with the latest news it appears that the project might be shelved indefinitely until Avi Lerner CEO of Millennium Films finds a suitable replacement to helm the project.
“Lerner made news recently when he hired Bryan Singer to direct a reboot of Red Sonja. After Singer was accused in an Atlantic magazine article of sexually assaulting underaged boys, Lerner dismissed the story as “agenda-driven fake news,” then walked the statement back. Eventually, he dropped Singer from the project because he was unable to secure a domestic distributor.”
Until then, we’ll always have Arnold and Brigitte’s ultimate sword fight legacy.
What are your thoughts on this suspended Red Sonja reboot? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page!
But who didn’t cry their eyes out when they saw Bloodsport in all its ultimate glory?
It’s the film that put Jean-Claude Van Damme on the map and one beloved by ultimate action movie fans the world over, but Bloodsport was nearly a complete disaster.
Speaking during a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Van Damme revealed how the original cut of the Cannon Films’ classic brought him to tears – but not in a good way.
Suddenly Van Damme’s dream of making it big in Hollywood was in peril – had Bloodsport been released in its original form, it could well have disappeared into 1980s VHS mediocrity.
But, as Van Damme recalled to THR, he wasn’t about to let that happen without a fight.
He sought out producer Menahem Golan, the man who had given him his big break with Bloodsport and begged him to let the film be re-cut.
After some grovelling, Golan relented, with Van Damme, Lettich and Carl Kress, the editor of The Towering Inferno, working together to put an improved cut of the movie together.
Golan had been planning to release the film directly to video after seeing the initial cut but was persuaded otherwise.
Instead, Bloodsport was put on one screen in New York.
The positive response to that screening was enough to convince Golan to grant Bloodsport a proper release and the rest, as they say, is history.
How hard did you cry when you first saw Van Damme in Bloodsport? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page!
Re-examining Kevin Costner’s ‘Waterworld’ (1995) and how it could have been made ultimate!
Believe it or not Kevin Costner was once thought as an action movie star. Not for long. He had a few films categorized as action; The Postman and Dances with Wolves (which was more of a drama) for example. But the film that really made people think of him as an action star (however briefly) was Waterworld. And yet, Waterworld flopped terribly. It cost $172 million to make and only grossed $88 million domestic. Those are 1995 numbers so the losses after inflation are even greater than that $90 million.
Although Waterworld would eventually recoup its losses internationally, it was still considered a flop. Why? I’ll answer that here.
There are two scenes in Waterworld where the Mariner (Costner’s character) turns down sex. In the first scene some floating villagers ask him to impregnate a young lady to avoid in-breeding. He refuses, which understandably raises the villagers’ suspicions. The second scene in which the Mariner refuses sex is when Helen (Jeanne Tripplehorn) offers him sex in exchange for some real-estate on his boat. Again, the Mariner refuses, for no discernible reason.
How to fix it:
That’s easy. At some point in the film the Mariner has get laid. If, for reasons concerning the plot or character development, the Mariner doesn’t engage in the act during the scenes described above he must engage in the act by the end of the film. In Waterworld, the Mariner takes Helen to the only land left on Earth but leaves without getting any. The result of all these failures is that the Mariner comes across as an asexual anti-hero. It’s not something your average man can relate to nor is it something a man would aspire to become.
Jeanne Tripplehorn was attractive, but not stunning in any way. Quick, name another Jeanne Tripplehorn movie. It’s not possible. Tripplehorn in this film has two roles to play; the mother figure to the innocent child and the damsel in distress that the hero must save. There are far more desirable women of the 90s to fulfill this role than Tripplehorn.
How to fix it:
A better woman for this role would be Dana Delaney.
Many action movies have the PG-13 rating and are still great (I.e. Goldeneye). Waterworld was not one of them. The villain wasn’t brutal in any way, and therefore we had no reason to fear for the hero or the damsel or the innocent child. What the rating did to this movie was prevent scenes from having any intense emotions. The action scenes were good but there was no suspense behind them.
How to fix it:
Make it rated R. Show some blood. Show some guts. Show some (just a little) brutality from the villain. Show some gratuitous nudity (preferably from Dana Delaney) that successfully entice the hero to indulge.
1995 was not a transformative year in action movies. When we thought of action heroes then we thought of Arnold and Sly and Bruce Willis. Kevin Costner is a far cry from them. Today we can consider Tom Cruise an action star even though he isn’t bulky or shredded, but Costner does not fit with the Cruises.
How to fix it:
Costner could have put in some sweat and effort and built some muscle or at least gotten shredded like an Olympic swimmer (which would have fit with the plot). Barring that, another actor may have done a better job with a similar look (for 1995 I’m thinking Kevin Sorbo).
What exactly is the Mariner doing in Waterworld? We see that he is buying anything worth buying with dirt (the Waterworld currency). Other than that, he has no purpose. Once he allows a woman he won’t bang and an innocent child on his ship that changes. Even though he has no emotional connection to them he rescues them once they’ve been taken by the villain. At the end of the film, once he has taken the damsel and the child to dry land he leaves. What he leaves to do we don’t know.
How to fix it:
A noble purpose would have really aided the film. If the villain had played a part in his being mutated (which gave the Mariner gills) or killed the Mariner’s family Waterworld could have had a revenge story. Once the damsel and child are taken the Mariner could then say, “I won’t let [the villain] to do them what he did to me or my family.”
Or the Mariner could be on a quest to find dry land just like the villain. The movie could be a race to see who finds dry land first, adding a much-needed element of suspense. Any noble motivation would be better than no motivation for the hero of the film.
The good news about Waterworld is that they didn’t make a sequel.
Article by Jared Trueheart. For more about Jared on masculine story-telling visit www.legendsofmen.com
What are your thoughts on Kevin Costner’s Waterworld? What would you change to make it more ultimate? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page!
No Merchandising. Editorial Use Only. No Book Cover Usage. Mandatory Credit: Photo by De Laurentiis/REX/Shutterstock (5884212h) Arnold Schwarzenegger Conan The Barbarian - 1982 Director: John Milius De Laurentiis USA On/Off Set Fantasy Conan le barbare
Arnold back as “King Conan”? Yes ultimately please!
Arnold Schwarzenegger is an action movie star of many franchises; Terminator, Predator and The Expendables to name but a few. But one franchise that’s been sorely overlooked in recent times is Conan the Barbarian.
John Milius’ inspired 1982 effort based on the comic book character created by Robert E. Howard helped put Arnie on the map in Hollywood.
But it’s been some 35 years since Schwarzenegger turned out as Conan in 1984’s Conan Destroyer. Since then he’s been pining to do a third and final Conan movie.
Unfortunately, the powers that be have yet to be persuaded that a third film, tentatively titled King Conan and focusing on the Barbarian Warrior in his later years, would be worth their time.
Instead there’s been a disappointing update starring Jason Momoa and some now-scrapped plans for a Conan The Barbarian TV series on Amazon.
Schwarzenegger hasn’t given up the ghost quite yet though and during an interview with The Arnold Fans explained what stands between him and another Conan outing.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Conan Proclamation
“When there’s an estate like this, the Robert E. Howard estate,” Schwarzenegger said.
“When someone buys these rights, those people now own the rights and they have their own vision of what they want to do and the guy that has the rights is some young guy and he’s trying to figure out how to get his way through Hollywood and this is not easy to do.”
“I hope it will be done very soon because I think it’s a great idea,” he said.
“We have been trying to convince [the Conan rights owners] for years now that the way to go is to come back and hire a really great director and to do another Conan movie and have me play King Conan, when Conan is like 70 years old and he’s disgusted by sitting on the throne and being the king and then something happens after that.
“It’s really not that far from creating a finished script.”
There’s life in Conan the Barbarian yet.
Are you excited for a possible King Conan third feature? Let us know in the comments or on the Facebook page!
What we know about General Commander is this. Seagal plays Jake Alexander – a CIA Global Response Staff (GRS) contractor in Southeast Asia – who is sent on assignment to Macau to apprehend an international banker money launderer. Seagal teams up with some local law enforcement before doing his usual tough guy routine-ness and butts heads with some arms dealers and detonates the situation.
Anyway, check it out for yourself below. And let us know what you think!
Share your thoughts on Steven Seagal in General Commander in the comments or on our Facebook page!
