Last night I watched "From Paris with love", which for my sins I really enjoyed. I think that this was largely due to my fondness for ‘stupid action’ movies, of the ilk that they rarely seem to make any more.
Everybody wants to see the gritty realism of Bourne or Daniel Craig era James Bond, but being a child of the eighties I miss the Arnie/Sly/Bruce school of action. Give me "Tango and Cash" or "Red Heat" any day.
Perhaps this is why I was so vehemently defending "Welcome to the Jungle" at work recently. I’m not saying it’s "Citizen Kane" but I do think it’s one of the best action comedies produced in the last decade. 2010, saw some excellent ones, see: "The A-Team", "The Losers" and "The Expendables", but before that, there was a bit of a dry spell.
"Welcome to the Jungle" (or "The Rundown" in the US), embodies everything I loved about the genre: Self-concerned muscle-bound hero who gradually realises he needs to look out for others, annoying sidekick solely there for comic relief, panto bad guy in the form of the impeccable Christopher Walken and the entertaining sub-plot of The Rock refusing to use guns.. Throw in a female lead that actually has some substance and you’ve got all the ingredients of a film I love. Plus bonus points for this being The Rock’s breakthrough film, including the memorable ‘passing the torch scene’ between him and Arnie.
Like I say, I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but for an eighties action comedy fan like me, it does everything right.
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