We know the component parts of action movies as well as we do the actors who made the genre their
own. They've found reliability in this shadowy realm, if not quality, and the chance to stay
relevant. Here are some stars whose action movie careers aren’t what they once were.
Between 1987 and 1992, Steven Seagal made a streak of three-word-titled action films
that prominently featured him kicking major ass and running very awkwardly.
Movies such as Marked for Death and Above the Law were hits, and Seagal's star
rose. But Hollywood grew weary of his attitude, and audiences moved on, with Seagal finding his
way into the wild frontier of direct-to-video releases — a land where his ego was free to roam.
Belly of the Beast, Code of Honor, Out of Reach, Against the Dark,
and A Dangerous Man all feature Seagal doing what he does best — no, not sick Aikido moves
employed against an army of thugs, but feeding his insatiable need to flood the zone with Steve.
“I have something in my pocket right now that’ll completely clear up that bruise on your forehead.”
“What bruise?”
“That bruise.”
Often produced by Seagal, many of these films are built around the concept of Seagal As Badass,
even if he's ultimately not even in them very much. Case in point,
Outlaw Vern wrote of 2016’s Sniper: Special Ops:
"Despite Seagal being the only person photoshopped onto the
cover he's not the main character at all."
Contract to Kill, also from 2016 – and yet another three-word title! – is the
exception. AV Club's Ignatiy Vishnevetsky noted that Seagal is in every scene:
"but he gives the kind of performance traditionally
associated with stars who died during filming."
After a lauded late-career comeback that included a Best Actor nomination
for 2008's The Wrestler and a high-profile role as a villain in the Marvel Universe,
Mickey Rourke drifted idly into the direct-to-video universe and hasn't looked back.
The offbeat eccentricity that was his calling card for years has served Rourke well in this world,
too. Rourke is often tasked with helping to sell a film on his name recognition,
but only has to show up for a few scenes full of, quote, "weird charisma," as The
Hollywood Reporter described his brief appearance in 2015's Blunt Force Trauma.
Rourke played Satan in a bizarre action-horror romp from 2013
called Dead in Tombstone, but according to Collider he:
"just kinda loafs around Hell saying esoteric things and staring contemplatively at the floor."
Variety was blunter concerning Rourke's appearance in The Legion,
released in 2020. Muttering his way through an extended cameo as a Roman general, it's:
"the spectacle of a lazy actor who can't be bothered to take anything seriously anymore."
“Are you saying I risk being forgotten?”
The moment Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s career skidded off the Hollywood highway
is very clear. It was with the 2002 release of the widely panned Boat Trip,
for which he received a Razzie nomination for Worst Actor.
A nearly unbroken string of direct-to-video releases followed, most featuring artwork
with a stern-faced Gooding holding a gun. Clunky actioners began to pile up,
like 2009's The Way of War – which IGN described as, quote, "a tedious war thriller",
2012’s One in the Chamber, or the paper-thin '09 action/sci-fi hybrid Hardwired, where Gooding's
performance was described by Reelfilm as, quote, "lazy," and "far-from-engaging." He is seen
brandishing a gun on the DVD cover, though, so there is consistency. And as Gooding settled into
DTV momentum, his best-supporting actor Oscar for Jerry Maguire a distant memory, he became
the subject of articles pondering the question of just what the hell happened to his career.
Bruce Willis
that "direct-to-DVD" started appearing next to titles in Bruce Willis's filmography.
A bankable, reliable action lead throughout the 1990s and 2000s,
Willis was suddenly and frequently appearing in cheap DTV actioners and thrillers
where he had little to do but show up and convey a sense of vague irritation while
deploying his wry half-smile. Esquire asked the question burning on so many of our minds:
"Why does Bruce Willis Keep Making Films He Clearly Hates?"
“There’s no way I could ever explain that to you.”
Well, one big reason is the steady paychecks proffered by dreck like Extraction, The Prince,
Vice, and Reprisal. Even if you've never heard of these films,
they find markets for the distributor internationally or on streaming services,
with Willis' well-known mug scowling from the front cover.
Look, not even John McClane can single-handedly take down teams of bad guys forever.
Sometimes work is work, even if it's for, as The Independent put it, "remnants of his name." And
if viewers still crave a bit of that famous Willis cantankerousness, maybe a late-night
viewing of Extraction will do the trick. Of this particular flick, Den of Geek said:
"It's not totally awful, just kind of dull and predictable — with Willis'
brief action chops being the opposite of tested."
The Rock, John Cena, Hulk Hogan — it's a well-traveled road between professional wrestling
ring and action movie marquee. For Steve Austin, who ascended to wrestling's elite upper reaches
in the 1990s with his "Stone Cold" moniker and the catchphrase "Austin 3:16", the transition to
cracking skulls on the silver screen seemed like a natural progression. And that happened. Kind of.
In 2007, Austin starred in The Condemned, a World Wrestling Entertainment-produced spin on The Most
Dangerous Game that was critically condemned for its brutality and questionable moral compass.
From there it was on to a litany of direct-to-video releases,
films with hard-bitten titles like Tactical Force and Maximum Conviction where there was
plenty of brawn displayed but an obvious lack of budget. Austin's run at action film heroics
wasn't even fooling genre fans. Considering the 2015 bruiser Chain of Command, Manly Movie's
reviewer questioned whether Austin's brief scenes were filmed anywhere other than in one room.
And Den of Geek damned 2010's The Stranger with the faintest of action movie praise:
"It has bursts of violence that are ugly, uninspired,
and lazily choreographed, but at least make for a reason to keep watching."
Megan Fox
After a series of smaller movie and television roles,
Megan Fox's career really took off with her appearance in 2007's Transformers. The big,
loud Michael Bay-directed sci-fi/action spectacle spawned too many sequels, but Fox only made one,
having been dropped from the project after she made disparaging comments about Bay.
A live-action role in the Bay-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle films followed,
and Fox appeared on TV and in numerous mildly successful films.
She eventually returned to action with 2020's Rogue,
a film Fox seems to have taken at least in part to reckon with her own action movie past.
In Rogue, Fox plays the leader of a team of mercenaries who face off against a pack of CGI
lions. Critical comment is mixed on the film, with some outlets offering praise
for Fox's performance and others reacting negatively to the film's budget constraints
and the aforementioned computer-generated animals. For now, the jury is still
out on whether Fox can transform herself back into an action star.
Wesley Snipes' run in the '90s was unparalleled, thanks to roles in films like Blade; To Wong Foo,
Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar; New Jack City; U.S. Marshals; Demolition Man;
and Major League. And in the 2000s, he would, of course, go on to star in two more Blade
flicks. But as Snipes fans have noticed, his career doesn't have the momentum it once did.
“Say what you want. I promise you’ll be dead by dawn.”
From high-concept flops – like 2000’s The Art of War, which Variety called a, quote,
"B-level international thriller" – to real-life trials – like Snipes’ 3 year stint in jail over
tax crimes – Snipes has hit some road blocks in his quest for continued action stardom.
Luckily, with Snipes' name recognition and well-known look, there was work to be had in the
direct-to-video world. Snipes seized on this, and his early aughts filmography teems with quickie
DTV action films. 2007's The Contractor was shot in Bulgaria and 2006's The Detonator was produced
in Romania, and Snipes appeared as some form of rogue operator or black ops trigger man in both.
He even made a direct-to-video sequel to The Art of War,
which Variety called "tired and uninspired." And as no one probably recalls, Snipes
entered the second half of the 2010’s by battling aliens in 2017's The Recall.
We were pleased to see Snipes in a prominent role in 2019’s My Name
is Dolemite, as well as a hilarious bit part in FX’s What We Do in the Shadows,
so maybe this action vet’s next act will be more promising than the last.
Career-wise, John Travolta has been on top with hits like Saturday Night Fever,
and on the bottom with duds like Two of a Kind. Of course, later he’d appear
on top again with Pulp Fiction. But these days, he's mostly...sideways?
Since 2010, Travolta's film output has showcased a tendency for roles as a broad, despicable villain
or a “Man Wronged”. 2016's I Am Wrath is a great example. The New York Times called it a,
quote, "revenge movie, and a buddy movie, and a spiritual-crisis movie," with the result doing
none of those genres justice. There is of course plenty of violence, and a chance at redemption
for Travolta's character, so there's material for him to mine, however muddled it might be.
Writing about the misbegotten biopic Gotti in Rolling Stone, Peter Travers said:
"Starring in this manic mess is one offer John Travolta should have refused."
With various grim crime thrillers and awkward character studies filling out
Travolta's recent slate of work, it seems like the nagging question of what happened
to Travolta's career is going to keep being asked.
It's hard out here for an aging heartthrob. While he has worked steadily in film since
his teenage years, John Cusack has more recently found roles, or at least access,
in Hollywood a little harder to come by. Cusack told The Guardian in 2012:
"It used to be that if you did a big, big movie, then you could leverage it and make some smaller,
cooler ones. But now, they just want you to put on
the tights — if you don't put on the tights, they just get rid of you."
Not interested in populating a superhero flick for Marvel or DC,
Cusack has instead stepped into the murky waters of Video On Demand.
In 2014 he made Drive Hard with Thomas Jane and The Prince with Bruce Willis. 2017
found him chewing scenery beside Nicolas Cage in the DTV action-thriller Arsenal.
Dean Cain landed the role of a lifetime when he was tapped to bring Superman back to the
small screen. ABC aired four seasons of Lois & Clark between 1993 and 1997,
and the show later developed a bit of a cult following for its lasting, quirky appeal.
“Well one thing’s for sure, nobody’s gonna be looking at your face.”
“Mom!”
“Well, they don’t call ‘em tights for nothin’!”’
Forever tied to his part in the ongoing narrative of Krypton's favorite son,
Cain drifted from Lois & Clark into TV movies, guest spots on CSI: Miami,
and film, where he made low-budget martial arts actioners like Max Havoc: Ring of Fire, director
Renny Harlin's 2011's limited-budget war film 5 Days of War, and 2014's Airplane vs. Volcano.
Like so many of his contemporaries, action, particularly of the VOD variety,
has offered a landing place for an actor still coming to terms with his legacy,
or at least just looking for a solid gig. In 2015,
Cain put up his dukes in the World Wrestling Entertainment-produced prison fight film Vendetta,
which The Hollywood Reporter called, quote, "ruthlessly efficient" despite its formulaic
aspects. As the late-period action movie work of so many of these actors suggests, ruthlessly
efficient counts as gold when a paycheck is the next best thing to a box office hit.
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