Old Movie Action Heroes Don’t Die

3/30/07 – When rumors circulated long ago that Steven Spielberg was making a 4th Indiana Jones movie, I cringed. It had to be a joke, right? Harrison Ford had already been replaced as Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan character by a younger (although far less talented) Ben Affleck in the movie Sum of All Fears. Now he was coming back AGAIN as the fedora wearing, bull whip snapping, Nazi bashing hero?

And didn’t Indiana Jones work well as a trilogy? Why ANOTHER film? Somewhere a million cash registers are dinging in answer to my question. But isn’t it better to remember Indiana Jones…well, the way he WAS?

Now Sylvester Stallone is coming back for another Rambo movie. Hey, I would welcome it if he were battling Bin Laden or other Islamic Fascists. But he isn’t. He is helping missionaries who are captured by Burmese soldiers. Yawn. Hey Rambo, why didn’t they call you to Iraq or Afghanistan?

Besides being a sequel to a silly film series, Rambo 4 will have to employ a man half Stallone’s age to do the stunts the younger Sly probably could have once done with his eyes closed.

Hollywood could use a few good action heroes. But how about some fresh blood? Does it have to resurrect the bodies of aging ones like Indy and Rambo? Will it get to the point where these franchises will follow the lead of the James Bond dynasty and continue to find younger and fitter actors to carry on the legacy?

Clint Eastwood almost blew it when his Dirty Harry came out of retirement in the movie The Dead Pool, the 5th and so far last film in the Dirty Harry flicks. Thank goodness he hasn’t made another one. Although I wouldn’t put it past him to hit the streets of San Francisco one more time. Coincidently, The Dead Pool and Rambo 3 came out the same year—1988. But hopefully, Eastwood won’t find inspiration in Stallone’s sequel.

Old movie action heroes don’t die…although maybe they should.