The Written Thought: Article 1
There was a point in time when you had two guaranteed hit makers in that category. Arnold and Slyvester. Arnold Schwarzenneger brought such hits as Terminator, Terminator 2, even Predator. For whatever reason that star power has dwindled through time. Think Twins, a movie that had its funny moments, but had the famous weight lifter with legs in the air screaming for mercy.
Next you have Slyvester with emotional favorites such as Rocky1 through 6. Then the Rambo series. Comedy was the great downfall of Stallone as well. Stop or my mom will shot had its good moments, but there were many other films that smelled bad enough to close a building. Even though these two stars don't have the pulling power that they use to, they still have some influence in the category.
The next big action star could already be among us in the muscular Vin Diesel. Already a proven commodity with the surprise hit of The Fast and the Furious as well as other films that have bloomed with him somewhere in the lead or the background. With his upcoming film Triple X you might finally see some doubters be pulled over to the land of the Dieselator.
Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock has maybe the best chance in recent memory of pulling off superstardom. With millions of fans from WWF wrestling following the charismatic wrestler into The Scorpion King, which just happened to be the biggest April opening to date, he already has the people behind him. Unlike the rest of the actors that have been mentioned he has the ability to be in front of his fans week after week. Overexposure? No way. Wrestling fans expect to see the big names constantly. If anything The Rock will draw new fans over to wrestling.
In the end it won't come down to who has the best acting abiltiy, but who picks out the greatest action films and doesn't bungle the job. Most actors want to branch out into other types of film so that they don't get stereotyped, but if what they switch over to doesn't work they are left with a dud.
Jim Carrey is a great example. Comedic genius is his, but he wants to do serious work that his wasting his time and ours.
Personally I feel that we already have a legitimate action star in Wesley Snipes. The Art of War, Blade I, and Blade II have proven that he is as good as they get. He just doesn't get the talk up like the old dynamic duo use to get. My money would be on both The Rock, and Vin Diesel to have this discussion going for a long time.
