Lethal Weapons Die Hard (eBook)

Introduction

The Lethal Weapons that Die Hard

Explosions. High speed chases. Relentlessly invincible henchmen. A ruthlessly psychopathic villain. A gang of seemingly undefeatable secondary anonymous collaborators. Muscular, larger-than-life, righteously right lonesome heroes who sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Final shootouts in remote locations. Tough bosses. Wise partners. Powerful weapons. A one-man army. Not doing it by the book. Going against authority. A sensitive woman who understands troubled men.

These are just some of the characteristics of what the 80s action film genre is about. A sort of formulaic contraction that created a prepackaged subclass of motion pictures which defined cinema for an entire era.

And while these aforementioned features are a tad fixed, (and I could certainly provide dozens of examples that do not fit in with the formerly described qualities of the category), most, if not all of the pictures within the 80s action subtype have some of these individualities within their plots, structures, stories and essence. Furthermore, many flicks fit in with these descriptions to the limit.

What does this tell us? That yes, 80s action is a methodology that was brought to life in the cinema of that decade, and while this is indeed true, the reality is that this aforementioned subgroup is much more than that, and we will analyze the whys and wherefores in pinpoint detail.

Every decade in movie history, ever since full feature films began a little over 100 years ago, has had flicks that have exemplified it. The 40s had film noir, the 50s and 60s had westerns, the 70s had crime films, the 90s had eclecticism in its most primordial form, the 2000s had drama and comedy, and the 2010s had superheroes.

None of these, however, have been so characteristic and particular of each epoch, and most crucially, formative of their respective periods than film noir to the 40s, westerns to the 50s, superheroes to the 2010s, and action heroes to the 80s. While the reasons as to why film noir, westerns and superheroes described their individual eras is beyond the scope of this book, I will indeed explain, with razor sharp focus, in this tome, as to why action was so important to the 1980s both in cinematic and in quotidian terms.

Cinema in the 1980s was filled with many jewels of wonder and quality, ranging from comedies like National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), and Porky’s (1981) to space operas like those in Star Wars and its sequels, Star Trek and its many installments and the likes of Flash Gordon (1980), to super productions like Beetlejuice (1988), Scarface (1983) and The Untouchables (1987), to epics like Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Empire of the Sun (1987), and The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and pretty much everything in between.

Some true masterpieces of the era are Risky Business (1983), The Breakfast Club (1985), Rain Man (1988), Platoon (1986), Full Metal Jacket (1987), Wall Street (1987) and many others. And while the time was certainly a golden period of filmmaking, and definitively one which forged the modern movie, (which was fast-paced, entertaining, enticing, strong, rapid in development and surprising in climax, with full resolutions - leaving behind trends of over exposition of characters, dull storylines, and an overall slower pace -), the reality is that the 80s was the era of the action flick.

Yes, we’ve had action films and action heroes before the 80s, but they were not as definitive, nor as strong, nor as bombastic as the ones of this wonderful time, as the formula which characterized the cinematic output of this period had not yet been invented prior to its emergence. And although the action film continued well into the 90s, with vestigial remnants film still alive to this day, the reality is that the 80s action flick perished during those subsequent years after 1989. Today we see flashes of it in pictures of the type, but it will never be the same again, and that is why the category was so unique. It lasted a mere decade and a little extra, but no more.

Westerns are still made, film noir features are still released, and comedies remain popular, but the 80s action picture exists no longer except in the productions that were made in that old era, and that is why the type is so unique. It came, dominated, conquered, and left as quickly as it arrived. Today it is nothing more than a memory, subverted to random cable TV airings, sporadic appearances on streaming services, and to the remembrances of casual viewers who still exist and whose life was forged by these productions and this subtype of motion pictures. (More on that later).

As I did with my previous film book on 80s cinema titled The 100 Most 80s Movies of the 80s (2022), I have defined the 1980s not necessarily through their chronological time frame, but through the periods which the 80s fully formed and existed as we truly knew and know them, which is generally understood to be from 1982 to 1993, when the epitome of pop culture of the era, including cinema and action films (1982 was coincidentally the year where the modern action film came into fruition with the original Rambo - First Blood - and 48 Hours) flourished and existed.

The rationale behind this is simple: The 80s as we knew them were not the 80s that began in 1980 and ended in 1990. No. Fashions, trends and culture rarely follow these predetermined time frames. Rather, the 80s emerged in 1982 and were not fully formed until 83 and 84 and lasted up until the end of 1993 and perhaps the beginning of 94, when the 90s fully took over.

The action flicks of that time emerged as an evolution and pinnacle of the western and film noir versions, with both coming together for the first time in Harry Segel’s 1971 Dirty Harry, which is the most direct predecessor of the action film, with characteristics of both film noir and western that pointed in a clear direction of where motion pictures were going in terms of these novel categories. Action as we would understand it in the 80s was not here yet, but it was well on its way. The one-liners, which emerged in cowboy movies, and the big guns, tough characters, ruthless villains, chases, a renegade protagonist, and more, all took form here and lit a clear path to the golden era of action that came to be a few short years later.

While Dirty Harry caused the creation of many copycats, including Chinatown (1974), Serpico (1973), Mean Streets (1973) and more, the action picture itself, as you will later read in detail in Chapter 4 on the history of the 80s action film genre, did not come into fruition until 1982, (like I stated earlier), and did not become fully prevalent and wholly molded up until the mid-80s, with the late 80s and early 90s being the quintessence of the type, gradually falling out of favor by the mid-90s and dying off by the end of the decade.

Yes, its lifeline was short, but despite its brief existence, the 80s action film subclass was able, more so than any other cinematic variety in history, to influence the life of an entire generation of people and spark an entire lifestyle, way of living, set of aspirations, and much more.

These claims may seem farfetched, but I can assure you, (and I can back it up with evidence too), that they are not hyperbole, but real and genuine.

80s action was so potent and intense that it influenced real life, pretty much forging the existence of Generation X and the early Millennials in the process in ways which shall be described in detail later but that, right now, I can specify in the following way: The rise of the fitness industry, bodybuilding lifestyles, a newborn passion for martial arts, machismo attitude, macho professions, plus, most importantly, a way of seeing the world with a sort of reborn chivalry and lonesome hero vibe, were all due to the 80s action film genre.

As to whether that was deliberate or coincidental, I think that it was a combination of both, but we will explore that in greater detail later.

For now, let us just focus on knowing and being aware of the impact that the 80s action film genre had on the world.

As you will read later on, the 80s action type was not the creation of a solo individual, but rather the culmination of the life’s work of a constellation of persons, from the actors, writers, directors as well as people who set trends behind the scenes, such as the politicians and entrepreneurs who built the stage upon which action was to take shape. Of course, that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone are definitely some of the most important names and the major players both in the creation of 80s action as well as its image, but other hidden heroes like bodybuilding entrepreneur Joe Weider, as well as President Ronald Reagan, also played a vital role.

Everyone had a different level of influence, but they all had some input in the creation of this majestic genre.

This is a Book on the A to Z of the action film genre.

This book is the definitive volume on everything that has to do with the 1980s action film genre.

The book will address each part of this genre, from its origins to its players, history, context, sociological influence, and much, much...