While all of the so-called ‘major’ summer blockbusters - The Avengers, Dark Knight, Spiderman, etc - have come and gone, it’s ironic to consider that 25 years ago, the Expendables 2 would, in fact, have been one of the biggest potential blockbuster releases of the year!

PHOTO CREDIT - Lionsgate.com

Edmonton - August 16, 2012 - After the “surprise” success of the Expendables in 2010, it came as a surprise to absolutely NO ONE that Stallone and the Gang are back…bigger, bolder, badder, and blow-up-ier than ever, with one of the most widely anticipated late summer releases in quite some time. While all of the so-called ‘major’ summer blockbusters (The Avengers, Dark Knight, Spiderman, etc) have come and gone, it’s ironic to consider that 25 years ago, THIS would, in fact, have been one of the biggest potential blockbuster releases of the year!

So once you’ve gorged yourself on all the blood, guts, explosions, testosterone, and bad plastic surgery you can possibly handle, why not fire up the Netflix queue and check out some of the ‘best of the best’ these action stars gave us back in the 80’s?

Here’s a 6-pack to get you started:

1.COBRA (1986 - STALLONE) - released at the height of Stallone’s appeal (coming on the heels of Rocky III, First Blood, Rocky IV, and Rambo II), this big summer release made the Dirty Harry series look like Disney films. Big, loud, over the top, and relentlessly violent, Cobra was reviled by critics…but audiences ate it up, to the tune of over $160,000,000 global boxoffice! The epitome of ‘check your brain at the door’ filmmaking, Cobra is big, dumb fun of the highest order (and lowest common denominator). Definitely worth killing 2 hours of your time (not to mention countless millions of brain cells) with this one. Besides, how can you not love a movie that featured one of the great taglines of the decade: ‘Crime is a disease. Meet the cure.’. Awesome.

But let’s face it: if this trailer doesn’t make you want to run out to Best Buy and drop $5 for the DVD, nothing I could possibly say will convince you…



2. THE PUNISHER (1989 - LUNDGREN) - that’s right: before Marvel started releasing their annual massively-budgeted superhero extravaganzas in this century, they did adapt a few of their properties…to varying degrees of success. And though it may seem somewhat odd that they’ve actually adapted The Punisher TWICE (most recently with 2 moderately successful films starring Thomas Jane)…not to mention yet a THIRD reboot scheduled for 2014!), this Dolph Lundgren action thriller kicks some major ass. Fun fact: director Boaz Yakin was originally slated to direct Batman Beyond…which was eventually taken over by Christopher Nolan and transformed into Batman Begins!



3. SILENT RAGE (1982 - NORRIS) - oh my God, I can’t believe how much I miss the 80’s. Of the 13 (!) films Chuck Norris made in the 80’s, this one has to be the strangest - a martial arts action movie that tried to capitalize on the then-red hot slasher movie craze, as Chuck Norris takes on an ‘unstoppable killing machine’. As IF something like this would even get made today! Chuck Norris may have been one of the biggest action stars of the decade, but this is by far his most bizarre moment. Naturally, I can’t recommend this movie enough!



4. CYBORG (1989 - VAN DAMME) - though Jean-Claude Van Damme’s biggest action hits would come in the 90’s, he first gained notoriety in the 1988 hit, Bloodsport. 1989 saw the release of 2 new Van Damme extravaganza’s: Kickboxer - which would propel him to greater heights of action-movie fame, and this hilariously awful sci-fi/martial arts hybrid, directed by notorious ‘hack’ filmmaker Albert Pyun (who would actually go on to direct the Van Damme-less Kickboxer 2!). These bleak, post-apocalyptic films were - for some reason - in great supply in the 80’s, and this one (mixing elements of Terminator, Mad Max, Escape from New York…you name it) is a cheesy classic.



5. COMMANDO (1985 - SCHWARZENEGGER) - sure, we’re all seen Arnie’s 80’s classics like Terminator and Predator…but if you haven’t seen Commando, you’re missing out on one the best action movies of the decade! In this one, Arnie plays an ex-special forces agent forced to exact revenge on the men who kidnapped his daughter! Filled to the brim with great villains, ridiculously over the top action, and maybe the most classic set of Arnie one-liners ever, this non-stop thrill ride (from the director of one of my other favorite 80’s b-movies, Class of 1984) is a must-see. Plus - Alyssa Milano plays the daughter!



6. DIE HARD (1988 - WILLIS) - while I’ll be the first to admit there have been more than a few somewhat ‘cheesy’ flicks on this list, we’ve saved the best for last, with a movie that - nearly 25 years after its initial release - remains one of (if not THE) greatest action movies ever made. Willis was paid a then-ungodly sum of $5,000,000 to take the role of John McClane - and only after every other major star in Hollywood (allegedly) turned it down. Clint Eastwood, Robert DeNiro, Mel Gibson, Richard Gere, Harrison Ford, Stallone, Schwarzenegger - all were reported to have turned down the role that would then turn Bruce Willis into a major movie star, overnight. Not much needs to be said about this one - suffice to say that if you haven’t seen it…well, to be honest I don’t even know why you’re reading this! And if you HAVE seen it…why not grab the Blu Ray and watch it again right now? Like Jaws, I can just watch this movie over and over and over again. It really is that good.



Enjoy the action, everyone! And be sure to follow me on Twitter @TheRealMovieGuy.