Dwayne Johnson once called himself the “Viagra franchise” based on the fact that he was chosen as a replacement in the Joe Eye sequels. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and Journey to the Center of the Earth, plus an appearance in Fast Five for a long-proposed on-screen fight with Vin Diesel. Yet it’s his Fast and Furious co-star Hobbs & Shaw that truly deserves that title. In the post-star system, Jason Statham is one of the few who can launch a franchise based solely on his appearance. Crank, The Transporter, and The Mechanic are all films marketed with the idea that Statham is kicking ass, and they all have sequels.It’s also a legitimate value-add for other franchises: Meg’s main draw is the shark, but Statham’s fight with it adds extra appeal.
Death Race was a remake of Sylvester Stallone’s early dystopian action film, of which Statham was a worthy successor; Likewise, in 2013’s Parker, he followed in the footsteps of Mel Gibson and Lee Marvin, who previously played the same title character based on the novels by Donald Westlake. The original premise of The Expendables was a collection of old and new cinematic action heroes, but of the “new” ones, only Statham continued to work consistently as an action hero in top-tier projects. Terry Crews, Liam Hemsworth, Ronda Rousey, Randy Couture and Stone Cold Steve Austin haven’t exactly faded into obscurity, but we don’t see their names above the title on any theater lobby posters these days.
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As for the Fast and the Furious franchise, Dwayne Johnson’s notable difficulties with Vin Diesel saw him appear in and out of the game at various times, while Statham has been consistently active since his debut in the series, first as a villain and then like a hero. In this week’s Fast & Furious X, his cliffhanger storyline remains one of the most fascinating of the series’ many twists – how his Deckard Shaw will be able to work alongside Han (Sung Kang), the man he supposedly killed four or seven people . movies back? (Not counting Hobbs and Shaw.) Later that summer, in The Meg 2 and The Expendables 4, he continues to prove himself an important part of franchises that theoretically don’t rely on him to run their premises.
It wasn’t always like this with Statham. The Ultimate Tough Guy was once a male model, although he was cast for his average Joe looks, which is perhaps the perfect preparation for becoming the cinematic embodiment of the realistic tough guy. When he made his acting breakthrough in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, director Guy Ritchie cast him not because of his extensive martial arts training and competitive diving experience, but because of his work experience. at the open air market. Statham in both films plays a man more suited to talking than fighting, with the focus more on violent ex-footballer Vinnie Jones and Hollywood boy Brad Pitt playing the Irishman.
His reasoned reaction to the madness around him made Statham more of an audience surrogate and suggested that he had a lot more potential than a guy who fights and steals things. However, since then, on-screen fights and theft have consistently paid the bills.In the right hands, Statham seems like the kind of actor who could, like Mel Gibson, make the transition from action films to dramas, rom-coms and everything in between. But does he want this? And more importantly, are we doing it? During the ’80s and ’90s, fans of mid-budget films had no shortage of action stars. You went to see a movie starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, or Sylvester Stallone, except for the occasional concept movie
where they added star power (like Time Cop, Street Fighter, Demolition Man) or uncharacteristic ones comedies. (“Stop! Or my mom will shoot!”) you knew exactly what you were going to get. Statham may be the only top guy we can say that about right now. Sure, Tom Cruise leans mostly toward action movie mode these days, but he’s mastered a wide variety of roles and genres. And Liam Neeson is a reliable senior forward in about 50% of his performances, but he clearly wants more.