4 Movie Heroes That Could Have Been Icons
The following are four characters that were almost worthy of this revered title but for reasons such as timing, treatment or plot, or whatever it may be, never quite made it onto the postcards.
Icons allow us to distil our ideals down into a single image that can symbolise in an instant our beliefs, how they make us feel and through them what we hope to achieve. Its far from a legislative process though and no one person can decide what will or should ascend into Iconography. It just happens when all the ingredients are in the pot and the heat is just right. When we watch a great movie, we marvel at the fact that no matter how fantastical the plot gets, its themes relate to us on a personal level; at how its characters lead us to fresh insights about ourselves and the world around us. They make us see a bigger picture because they were conceived by artists who have had deep insights into themselves and the world around them. This is where fiction and reality bleed into one - the realm where Icons are born. As a post-1960s America licked its political wounds, Richard Donners 1978 movie adaptation of Seigel and Shusters Superman served as an almost propagandist reminder of the resilience of the human spirit. Internationally cinema-goers lined up in their droves to believe it. Already a metaphorical deliverance for victims of the Great Depression in 1930, the colourful concept of a Superman generated fresh meaning when juxtaposed with the bleak landscape of America post-Vietnam. Superman still connotes strength, courage and solidarity in the minds of millions internationally some 70-odd years after his inception. A great movie at the right time- can birth an Icon in an instant. But there are thousands of great movies but a great deal less Iconic movie characters. The following are four such characters that were almost worthy of this revered title but for reasons such as timing, treatment of the characters or plot, or whatever it may be, never quite made it onto the postcards. 1. Roger Rabbit Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit was, and still is an amazing feat of storytelling and ingenuity. Director Rob Zemeckis pulled together a dream-team of actors, engineers and visual effects artists for his giddy meta-noir where the toons were every bit as tangible as the human actors. Roger is constantly at odds with himself. He is a toon and as so has an innate urge to entertain, but forced into our world he must also contend with all too human emotions such as loss, rejection and betrayal. It is this humanisation that makes Roger Rabbit a truly unique and interesting character. Its almost as if our inner child is being allowed to peek behind the curtain and voyeuristically observe the beloved figureheads of our youth. It can get disheartening, even frightening at times, but Roger always figures out a way to get a laugh out of us in the end. Roger has an ability to seemingly reach anybody with his inimitable charm and carries the films entire controlling idea in the palm of his yellow-gloved hand with aplomb: laughter is the best medicine. Dual-protagonist Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) is a tough but depressed Private Dick spiralling into alcoholism after a toon murders his brother and so his resistance to Rogers infectious personality is understandable. But even he must accept Rogers core ethos in the end and in doing so breaks down the walls of his own metaphorical prison and unleashes the simplistic beauty of humour. Who Framed Roger Rabbit was a truly great movie. It had it all: action, emotional resonance and such a wonderful and irreverent sense of humour that I defy anyone, young or old, to sit through it without a belly-laugh. Why isnt Roger an Icon? Imagined forty years earlier, Roger may well have found himself in the same echelons as the Mouse himself. As it stood, it was made in reverence of those old Disney and Hanna-Barbera characters that were already Icons in their own right. Whereas Mickey instilled glee in a generation of children, Roger reminded those same children, as adults, to laugh like they used to. An elegant message it may be but it is hardly a concept that could take the weight of a pissed off social group and their value system. 2. Jigsaw Saw (2004) and sequels.
What makes a truly great villain? Its is not his brutality or his disregard for human life, nor in the size and curvature of his moustache. Its in his unerring belief that he is not the antagonist and that he is in fact the hero. Jigsaw, despite having committed to the idea of full time serial murder, believes in his heart of hearts that he aids his victims by forcing them into their grave choice between life and death. His traps act as a metaphor for his victims particular wrongdoing; final obstacles to ensure they will never return to their old ways, lest face the mercy of Jigsaws barbaric machinations. Saw was a breath of fresh air at the time of its release, that went against the typical slasher movie grain with its uncomfortably stark plot; there were few locations outside of the torture rooms and very little in the way of external antagonism. It was a bleak and claustrophobic nightmare with a brutal and entirely unexpected ending that sent waves of insight crashing down upon an open mouthed audience. Saw examined the every-day sins of a generation: our self-destructive nature, our willingness to squander our lives while others make grave choices on a daily basis in order to survive. When we discover the history of the man behind the puppet, we are coerced from behind our vilification and begin to understand his plight. Getting an audience to empathise with a serial killer is no mean feat and one that has successfully stimulated the birth of Iconic characters in the past. With careful plotting and choice exposition, Jigsaw could have risen from the bog of contemporary horror to stand with the likes of fellow fictional lunatics Lecter and Bates. Why isnt Jigsaw an Icon? Saw went silly. What started as an interesting premise quickly became a cash cow and was milked dry before the end of Saw II. In each new instalment the traps are more grandiose and sickening but their symbolism and subtlety diminish. Far from its origins as a visceral indictment of human attitude, Saw is now little more than an exercise in who can die in the maddest way. Even though descent into absurdity didnt affect Freddie Kruegers status as a horror Icon it is unlikely that Jigsaw will find the same fervent fandom from the generally more cynical filmgoers of the noughties. 3. Mal Reynolds Firefly (2002)/ Serenity (2005)
Firefly was a unique little show that was never truly allowed to hit its stride thanks to the constant bung-holery that seems come easy to American T.V Executives. Originally aired on FOX without a pilot episode Joss Whedons part Western, part Sci-Fi and all badass Firefly was met with audience confusion due to a hastily rewritten first episode. Ratings were scant and thus the show was cancelled shortly before the end of its first series. However, after impressive DVD sales Whedon managed to green light Serenity which brought his rag-tag bunch of space banditos some much needed closure on the silver screen. Serenity gave Whedon the production value that he required to fully realise Fireflys epic scope. Serenitys characters are all excellent for their own reasons but Mal stands apart as the single coolest space-rogue since Han Solo himself. He is the same type of wise-cracking anti-hero as the Iconic spice smuggler; who appears to be in it only for his own gain until we observe what he makes of his crisis decisions. These choices are always made with a deep compassion that instantly cancels out any dick moves that he might have pulled in the previous scenes. Mal harkens back to major Icons throughout cinema history, the Gunslinger of the Western, the Ronin of Japanese iconography; he has the power of will to fight back where others havent and maintains an unerring conviction to his personal code of honour. It is hard not to admire such a force of chaotic good as this as it is who most of us wish we could be. Add to this the signature rakish charm of actor Nathan Fillion and you have Captain Mal Reynolds, one of the finest and most exciting contemporary Sci-Fi characters. Why isnt Mal an Icon? Despite his numerous strengths as a character, the scheduling problems that plagued Firefly from the beginning have placed him too far in the realm of the cult to be fully embraced by the mainstream. Serenity seemed to serve as a final farewell to those characters that could have and should have been treated with more respect from the beginning. Mals resemblance to an already iconic character further negates the possibilities of his own rise to Icon because lets face it; nobody could have said it better than Han Solo. 4. Harry Tasker True Lies (1994)
True Lies is often overlooked as a great movie thanks to its inclusion in the action comedy genre. Despite its inherent surface level absurdity, underneath True Lies is more a subtle parody of the genre that Arnie helped to father than a steadfast example of it. True Lies follows Harry Tasker as he attempts to foil an international plot complete with terrorists and nukes. Classic staples of the action genre they may be, but True Lies introduces an interesting flavour to the mix. Normally in a movie like this, the plot and obligatory Villain would be the protagonist and indeed the audience's only real concern. In one of Arnies arguably most hilarious comedy performances, he discovers his Wife's apparent infidelity and loses his secret agent composure. Suddenly the plot shifts. No longer are we primarily concerned with the terrorist ploy. Instead we worry about the resolution of this sub-plot and how it will relate back come the credits. When Harry is on a mission hes suave, sophisticated and can manipulate those around him with ease. This aspect of his character is the driving force of the main narrative but the mechanics of the comedy come from Harrys obvious dependence on the females in his life. This is a far cry from the almost misogynistic use of female characters in other examples of the Action genre, such as James Bond. True Lies attempts to humanise that Bondesque figure, expanding the concept beyond its focus on plot and pushing deeper into the realms of character. We are presented with the down-sides to life as a Super Spy the lies and loneliness as opposed to the Martinis and melees, the erosion of values as opposed to the commitment to the mission. Why isnt Harry an Icon? Arnies image from the promotional poster of The Terminator is already Iconic. The cold, unforgiving image of the T-800 serves to remind us of the socially antagonistic nature of technological reliance. Its tough to imagine the same man representing multiple ideals although it has occurred before (Clint Eastwoods image is Iconic as both The Man with No Name and as Dirty Harry). Ultimately, Harry falls short of the elusive status of Icon thanks to the movies tongue-in-cheek approach to its story; containing less comedy, less action and more grit many of us may have had a True Lies poster hanging in our front room. As it stands, we probably dont.