4. It Made Stallone Even Cooler
Adding even more tattoos, skulls, customized motorcycles and weapons on a 60+-old man could be overkill. Yet it made Sylvester Stallone even cooler! Moreover, Sylvester Stallone looked completely credible as an airplane pilot, as a man able to go toe-to-toe with the Muscles from Brussels, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and as a man out for revenge. It wasnt about money, love, or fun. It was about revenge. And it made Barney Ross (already such a cool name!) a great character, one you want to root for, and one that was so cool he didnt even need to kiss the girl at the end! But what Stallone and his co-writer did is to find the right balance between relevance and respect, shown by Liam Hemsworths character, and fun and tongue-in-cheek shown by everyone else!
3. It Teamed Up Old-School With New Cool
Even if Liam Hemsworth and Jet Li only appear for a few minutes at the beginning of the movie, it still showed that the filmmakers were acknowledging newer action trends, younger generations of action heroes. The 80s action stars were actually impressed by Billy the Kid in the movie; even Jason Statham, who is a more recent action star, showed respect for Hemsworths character.
2. Its Full Of Over-The-Top Action
I mentioned in my first point the R-rating but the set pieces didnt even need the blood and guts to be impressive. From the get-go, the movie starts like an old-school James Bond movie, without any credits, with a in-the-middle-of-a-mission action piece that was breathtaking in its car choreography, use of props, and just plain fun in its staging. One needs to mention Simon West here: In
Con Air, he made Nicolas Cage cool, and John Cusak even cooler. And that was by putting them in the middle of incredible action scenes that went over the top without ever feeling out of place. West did the same thing here with the Planet Hollywood trio and their teammates. Whether in Nepal, Albania or in a fake-New York, the guns and explosions were impressive, and in the age of Bourne and Bond, it didnt feel fake. It was hard to tell if the 80s heroes did all their own stunts (I doubt it, but who can say with those perfectionists!), but it sure looked like it from where I was standing.