Skip to main content

Where are the Action Heroes?

I think the title says it all.
Where are the action heroes? This question has been on my mind for a little while. So I'll let you know what I'm talking about. First off I'm not talking about the Mad Max's, James Bond's, or other action stars of the sort. No, I'm talking about the Indiana Jones's, Rick O'Connell's (1999 The Mummy if you don't know which character I'm talking about). Hell, i'll even throw in some video game character's that fit what I'm talking about, one's like, Lara Craft, Nathan Drake (Uncharted Series).
I'm talking about what I would call a sub-archetype of the action hero character, which I call the Artifact Hero Archetype, or in layman's terms, the badass archeologist.
What are the typical characteristics of an action hero? Young to middle age, strong, more determination than most of the cast of characters (exception would probably be the villain), and good with weapons.
Then what are the characteristics of the Artifact Hero, or Badass Archeologist, including the aforementioned action hero characteristics? Learns about former civilizations, sometimes comical, headstrong, sometimes cocky, likable, confident but not overly confident (know's their limits).
So, what I really want to know is where did all of these type of heroes go? Because, they are really entertaining, and there stories are usually such a ride of excitement, that after seeing them once, you can't wait to go along and watch the next adventure. The answer to my question is, that I don't really know were these Artifact Hero's went.
Let's go through a typical plot of an Artifact Hero's story, shall we. It will start one of three ways typically, the first way the hero is at or near home until they meet someone who needs help and they get dragged along, the second way is that the hero is being held against their will by some means and they escape the situation but by escaping in the manner that they did it drags them into a new adventure that will be the main focus for this story, the third way is they are sitting down for a meeting to discus an artifact then through a series of events they end up searching for said artifact. The hero will also have a side-kick of sorts that will typically be, the comic relief, the not-love-interest-now-but-later, or an (typically but not always) older wiser man that has been at this sort of thing for awhile. There is also typically a love interest, but this is not necessary. They will go through a series of events that will eventually lead to them succeeding, they will either get a happy ending, or a cliff hanger ending that will lead to their next adventure. As you might have noticed this is The Quest plot, of one of the seven basic plots.
I hope that I'm not the only one here that would love to see more of these characters on the big screen, they are truly a pleasure to watch.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Uncharted Movie Review

Uncharted Movie Review Not As Good As The Games I went and saw the movie Uncharted a while ago, and it was as I expected it to be. If you are a fan of the games, well... prepare for disappointment. Uncharted follows Nathan Drake (Tom Holland), a low level thief as he is recruited by Victor Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) to go on a treasure hunt. As someone who has played some of the games, but not all, I have to say that the Uncharted film is what I thought it would be. A mishmash of all four games but not committing to any of them. The acting is a bit stale, and the plot is predictable. The camera work was fine, but the music was underused. Tom Holland should not have been Nathan Drake. He lacks the charisma, the attitude, and the charm. He may have passed for a teenage Nathan Drake, but he should have only been in a few scenes. I'm not the biggest fan of Tom Holland either long time readers may know. Now, onto Mark Wahlberg as Victor Sullivan. Mark Wahlberg is way too young to be playi

Coda Movie Review

Coda Movie Review This Deserved Best Picture So, I just got back from seeing Coda, and it was amazing! This was the second attempt to see this film as the first time, someone booked the entire theater for a private screening. I'm going to take from a summary from IMDB to summarize the plot: " As a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) Ruby is the only hearing person in her deaf family. When the family's fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her passion at Berklee College of Music and her fear of abandoning her parents." The acting was  phenomenal, the  cinematography was beautiful, and the story was human. The way this film is crafted is nothing short but excellent. I will not that not everything is 100% accurate, but for narrative reasons, I understand the choices they made. The actors have amazing chemistry together. Everything feels natural between them and they all bring their characters to life. No performance fell flat. I perhaps would

The Batman Movie Review

The Batman Movie Review A Solid Noir Film I went and saw The Batman the other day with one of my buddies and I must say, we really enjoyed it. Granted I don't think this movie is for everyone. The Batman follows Batman (Robert Pattinson) during his second year of crime fighting. When the mayor of Gotham is killed by The Riddler (Paul Dano), it is up to Batman with the help of James Gordon (Jeffery Wright), and Selina Kyle (Zoƫ Kravitz) to stop him. From a visual point of view, The Batman is gorgeous. Every frame is a painting. The acting is solid, the plot is solid. The musical score is outstanding. I personally loved the film, but there are some things in it that could off-set some Batman fans. I typically get into the acting first, but like you've probably already heard many reviewers say before, the city is a character in this film. Gotham feels real, grounded, and certainly not a place you'd want to visit. Corruption and crime run rampant at every level of society. The