His career peaked with T2: Judgement Day. He hasn't had a movie achieve anywhere near the level of success as that 1991 blockbuster. So what is the explanation for the paradigm shift? Costume superheroes and ageism. If it isn't Marvel or DC, action fans today aren't interested. Or they think the Austrian Oak is too old now. Sad state of affairs, regardless.
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Imo Arnold's problem in his comeback is not age, he just made himself available to the wrong projects. The only comeback i could imagine few years back was King Conan, not even Terminator..
shareIMO it's not even 'Arnold's problem' - as there's rarely been a decent movie script in the last couple of decades, save just a few (surprising, lol) exceptions. This one almost jumped the shark at "we stole the money", basically && that's how the rest of them go as well (but Sabotage pulled through, it was semi-fine to the end :))
Too many actors, "schools", production houses, too many dumb scripts.. Anything there's left to be cared for is money. My movie made more than yours and that's that.
(Actually part of the reason I haven't bought a movie ticket in 10-15+ years)
P.S. Great to see Schwarzenegger back on the screen, in a watchable film. Thanks!! =)
Except:
There wasn't even a plot to this movie, had they just taken more at the beginning; how stupid, lolz.
Sadly, You are mostly correct. I am pretty young myself and always preferred movies like Predator and Demolition Man over The Amazing Spider Man 2 and Captain America 2. However, Most people I know who are my age or younger prefer watered down superhero or comic book movies. It is purely a shame, That even great hardcore comic book films like Dredd flopped badly because of the younger audience showed no interest because it was not PG-13 or it didn't star Chris Evans(Nothing against him, I think he is quite okay but just an example). I still haven't seen Sabotage but I already appreciate because I heard it was a gorefest and I also appreciate its R Rating. I am definitely buying this when it is released.
Same goes with the horror genre, Younger audiences prefer crappy PG-13 horror films over a R Rated one. Trust me, I have gotten into many arguments with people I know about which movie to see in the theater.
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Nice, Yes, It is a shame that Expendables 3 is going to be PG-13 as I did enjoy the first two. They finally casted Antonio Banderas, Wesley Snipes, Mel Gibson, and Harrison Ford but it looks like it is going to be another watered down action flick.
shareHa go tell them youngsters to go watch Pumping Iron. But honestly it is sad, because all of these big time actors of our time, at least for me since Im 34, they are getting very old and before you know it they will start to die off. That is why I dont care how bad the movie, I always want to see a new Arnold of Sly movie because they wont be alive forever and its sad to think that.
shareIronically, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Liam Neeson, and Sylvester Stallone are churning out blockbusters even thought they are older than or the same age as Arnold. I think Liam and Sir Stewart are making much more moolah now than when they were young. I think it is a matter of time for Arnold to find his new niche and adapt himself to the "larger crowd". Don't get me wrong, I have seen every movie he has been in before and after he was Governor. I can tell half this board agrees with me that he still has a crowd, and no matter how ageist the icrowd of today is, he still has a healthy size fanbase.
You have been CRURNED!
"men" in diapers are more fun to watch ...
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Nice try, but in the case of Stewart and McKellen in particular, people aren't going to see their movies because they are the drawcards, it is the material their movies are based on that provides the draw.
For me personally, the main reason Arnolds movies appeal to me less now is because the older an action hero becomes, the less plausible he becomes. We all know that the idea behind action movies is that they are meant to be fun and have that 'suspension of disbelief' thing, but for me, the higher the suspension of disbelief factor required, my interest level decreases in direct proportion.
Arnold needs to recognize that his days as an ass-kicking action hero and major movie star are well and truly over, and start taking supporting roles in more 'modern' style movies then he can find he will have a very healthy career ahead.
Never defend crap with "It's just a movie"
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If it isn't Marvel or DC, action fans today aren't interested.
I dont think it has much to do with age. Although the young/teen crowd is sizable so is the 21-45 demographic. Like what the others posted have said, older actors like Stallone and Nieesen are still churning out hit after hit and the latest James Bond made over a billion dollars worldwide. So I dont think its so much the age, more Arnolds bad acting and thick accent made him a thing of the past.
If an entertainer on screen cant act well or has marginal talent, they then need to rely on gimmicks. Muscles used to be Arnie's gimmick, which made him larger than life and super hero like, but he doesnt have it anymore so no one is buying his schtick.
When Arnold's career was in its prime, he was marketed as this larger than life, superhero with his big muscles and one liners. Now, with the advancement of cgi technology, they can convincingly put comic book super-heroes with crazy super powers on the screen; effectively phasing out action icons like Arnie.
He is PG however.
shareSucks for Arnold. I personally thought True Lies was his career peak.
Stuff like The Fifth Day, Collateral Damage and End of Days kinda showed it was heading downhill.
I still hope they can do a gritty and well made King Conan for him.
Hell even Twins 3 with Eddie Murphy has huge potential with the right director/writer.
@slapnutz777 Stuff like The Fifth Day, Collateral Damage and End of Days...
The 6th Day, lol. That demonstrates just how bad that movie was - a bad rehash of Total Recall. Once was enough.
I think the problem for those movies was that he was playing regular suburban guys, instead of larger-than-life characters. King Conan could be a great movie, but Triplets? Ugh, no thanks.
Its not ageism.
Just look at Clint Eastwood and Liam Neeson!
Its that man again!!
I think that Neeson and Eastwood,when they do an action film, are careful to have it scripted and directed so that you can buy a man their age doing the stuff they do. Arnie is doing the same kind of stuff he did in the 80's and 90's and it is just not working.
I also think that Neeson's movies are suspense films with action elements than an out and out action film..big difference.
I'll Teach You To Laugh At Something's That's Funny
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Liam Neeson is just horrible. He brings any role down and hence the whole film.
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Scientologists love Narnia, there's plenty of closet space.
He hasn't had a movie achieve anywhere near the level of success as that 1991 blockbuster.
Arnold will do fine, yes he had some misses coming back but the big movies are around the corner. He will be in the new Terminator, the new Twins movie called Triplets and just announced the new Conan Movie. Also read an article from last month that Arnold would love to do a True Lies 2, yes Jamie Lee Curtis said it would never happen a couple of years ago but if Arnold wants to do it he has the pull especially when others like Tom Arnold is pushing for it. Hope they do that too and James Cameron joins them. Also hope he does a follow up for Predator and Running Man. This man doesn't have much time left in the movie world to do these types of movies, I want him to do as many movies as possible because soon he will no longer be with us.
sharesoon he will no longer be with us
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Actually "Escape Plan" and "The Expendable" movies all made good money. I think that "The Last Stand" was good, but it bombed because of the setting and trailers.
Haven't seen "Sabotage" yet, will do on-demand video.
Funny how they are saying costumed superheroes. Back in the 90`s there was only one man who could have played Thor and Duke Nukem, and that was Arnold, and he would still make a better Thor in my books, as to the Duke Nukem movie, well that never happened.
Marvel`s doing great with it`s franchises, they are all good movies with great casting.
Arnold right now is doing what he does best, making B-movies. Have high hopes for the new Terminator, and can't wait for King Konan.
I think it bombed because of Johnny Knoxville lol
shareThe reason Arnold isn't as popular as he was is because kids today are idiots.
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I don't know what films those are, but if it makes you feel any better I never say OMG! after I tweet about Justin Bieber.
shareArnold isn't as popular as he was is because he hasn't made a good movie for 20 years
How do you know your mind hasn't been manipulated by the marketing for Escape Plan? Maybe you're not even here... Maybe you're in the Matrix.
shareI know that I'm going to be bashed for saying this but as a 45 year old male......I don't give a rat's ass about a superhero in latex fighting evil.
I feel pretty much the same. I haven't seen Sabotage and don't expect it to be very good, but I probably only like one 'superhero movie' in ten. Yet they rake in billions worldwide so we're going to see plenty more.
shareWould you calm down with your sequels and reboot or Arnold's franchises!!! :)
I want fresh material too! In fact, probably more!