By Malice Intended 

The action film emerged in the 1970’s and came into it’s own in the 1980’s. In the midst of the escapist/blockbuster era ushered in by Lucas and Spielberg, studios began to fully grasp the broad appeal of the genre and attempted to appease the demand.  Bullets flew, body counts increased and explosions got bigger as the decade rolled on.  While this approach birthed dozens of unwatchable films, some have stood the test of time and are now considered classics.

For many people, the word classic implies perfection.  Perfection is symbolized by the number seven in the Bible, which describes the Lord creating the earth in seven days.  While it’s ridiculous to equate any man made work of art with creation itself, the following films represent a standard of excellence.  They helped lay the groundwork for the genre as we know it today.  Though they have all been subject to varying degrees of critical praise (and scorn), they have also earned a place of honor in the pop culture lexicon.

 Here, in no particular order, are Seven “perfect” action films

 Die Hard (1988)

NYPD Detective John McLane (Bruce Willis) attends a Christmas party in an L.A. skyscraper in hopes of reconciling with his estranged wife Holly Gennaro (Bonnie Bedelia).   Shortly after his arrival, a group of terrorists led by Criminal mastermind Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) shut down the building and take everyone inside hostage.  McLane manages to escape capture and begins to play a brutal game of cat and mouse with the terrorists.

As John McLane, Bruce Willis exudes a snarky everyman quality that instantly endeared him to audiences.  He was a far cry from his heavily muscled contemporaries.  As Hans, Alan Rickman’s mannered, and articulate demeanor mask a devious mind and a penchant for cold blooded murder.  The Scenario pits the blue collar hero against a slick super criminal.  Director John McTiernan precedes each action scenes with nail biting suspense.  The end result is one of the most tightly made and imitated action films of the last 30 years.

Lethal Weapon (1987) L.A.P.D Detective Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) is a walking time bomb:  A burned out Vietnam veteran with Special Forces training and a death wish.  Detective Richard Murtaugh (Danny Glover) is a conservative family man who likes to keep things on an even keel.  When the two of them are partnered up to investigate the drug induced suicide of a prostitute, they end up on the trail of a heroin smuggling operation and its deadly enforcer Mr. Joshua (Gary Busey).  When the situation becomes violent, Murtaugh realizes that Riggs deadly skills may come in handy.  The friendship that develops provides a much needed balance in Riggs life.

Lethal Weapon helped to both popularize and perfect the “buddy cop” formula.  It also helped turn Mel Gibson into a star and spawned three sequels that gradually spiraled into self-parody.  The original still retains its gritty edge thanks to a darkly comic script by Shane Black and energetic direction by Richard Donner.  It also contains one of the single best fight scenes ever filmed: an all out scrap between Riggs and Joshua that plays like a precursor to the MMA.

 Predator (1987): After completing a suicide mission in the jungles of Central America, a task force headed up by Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and CIA Officer George Dillon (Carl Weathers) find themselves being tracked and hunted by a highly advanced and heavily armed extra terrestrial.  They now must make it back to the rendezvous point as the creature picks them off one at a time.

Director John McTiernan again exhibits his penchant for infusing high concept action plots with taught suspense.  The creature design by the legendary Stan Winston evokes the exotic and deadly mood of the jungle locale.  Schwarzenegger is in rare form, exhibiting a sense of self deprecating, self aware humor that has since become his trademark.  Jesse Ventura and screenwriter Shane Black fill out the rest of the cast, pushing the testosterone quotient to overload.

First Blood (1982) Vietnam Veteran John J. Rambo wanders through a small town and unwittingly runs afoul of Sheriff Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy), who promptly arrests him.  Rambo escapes custody and flees deep into the woods.  As local authorities mount a massive manhunt, Rambo relies on his special forces training to wage a one man war on Teasle and the town.  Rambo’s friend and mentor, Colonel Samuel Trautman (Richard Crenna), tries to intervene but is largely unable to stop Rambo’s rampage.

In 1985, Rambo: First Blood Part II turned the character into an icon, but this first installment is easily the best and most believable of all four Rambo films.  First Blood moves at a breakneck pace and contains just enough character development and dialogue to give it resonance.  Stallone has very few lines, but his physical presence leaves an indelible mark.  Fearsome though he may be, Rambo is also a relatable and sympathetic figure (traits that would be abandoned in later installments).  It also pulls the neat little trick of being exceedingly brutal while maintaining an almost non existent body count for a film of this type (only one character is killed).

48 Hours (1982) San Francisco cop Jack Kates (Nick Nolte) paroles fast talking convict Reggie Hammond (Eddie Murphy) for 48 hours to help him track down Hammonds’ old partners; two escaped convicts who murder cops in cold blood.  To call Jack and Reggie’s partnership uneasy would be an understatement.

48 Hours was the big screen debut of Eddie Murphy.  Murphy’s star power is immediately evident as he lays the foundation for the wisecracking hustler persona that would make him one of the biggest stars of the 1980’s.  Nick Nolte is equally flawless as the racist, hard drinking Jack Kates.  The adversarial relationship that develops between the two became a hallmark of the “buddy cop” subgenre.  It also has the distinction of being one of the most politically incorrect action films ever made, boasting a screenplay that is bursting at the seams with profanity, racial epithets and misogyny.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 

Shortly before the start of World War II, The U.S. government authorizes College professor/archeologist Indiana Jones to obtain the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can get their hands on it.  The Nazis are aided by Indy’s rival, Rene Belloq (Paul Freeman).  Indy enlists the help of old flame Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen).  They embark on a quest that spans many countries and ultimately brings all involved to the realization that not only does the Ark exist, but its powers may indeed be more than religious folklore.

Envisioned by producer George Lucas as a homage to the adventure serials of the 1930’s and 40’s, Raiders is built for speed and economy.  That it transcends its origins is a surprise given its pedigree.  Director Steven Spielberg invests the film with awe and dread in equal measure.  With Raiders, Lucas and Spielberg further perfected the template for the summer Blockbuster and offered audiences their own two-fisted variation on the James Bond formula.

The Killer (1989) Overcome with guilt after he accidentally blinds Night Club singer Jennie (Sally Yeh) during a hit, Assassin Ah-Jong (Chow Yun Fat) performs another job with the intention of financing a corneal transplant for her.  Meanwhile, Ah Jong is being tracked by cop Li Ying(Danny Lee Sau-Yin).  He is also being hunted by the Triad bosses who employed him after a witness to one of his hits is able to identify him. 

After kick starting the” heroic bloodshed” subgenre with A Better Tomorrow (1986), John Woo upped the ante considerably with The Killer.  A box office disappointment upon release, it has since garnered a reputation as one of the most influential and revolutionary action films ever made.  The potent mix of operatic melodrama and surreal gun battles make for visceral and visually fascinating thrill ride.  The image of chow blazing away at the bad guys with twin semi-autos is easily one of the most iconic in film history.  Wu-Tang fans will easily recognize bits of Dialogue that were used in skits and interludes on the classic Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…

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