Here are the biggest and best action movies of 2010.
Green Zone
Starring: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan
Director: Paul Greengrass
Release Date: 12th March 2010
Matt Damon and Bourne director Greengrass re-team for this thriller set in the chaotic early days of the Iraqi War. Damon is sent to look for WMDs, but discovers an elaborate cover-up. The trailer made it appear very Bourne-esque, with Damon going rogue and talking tough, let’s hope the movie has something fresh to say on an old topic.
Clash Of The Titans
Starring: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton
Director: Louis Leterrier
Release Date: 2nd April 2010
Born of a god but raised as a man, Perseus (Sam Worthington) is helpless to save his family from Hades (Ralph Fiennes), vengeful god of the underworld. With nothing left to lose, he volunteers to lead a dangerous mission to defeat Hades before he can seize power from Zeus (Liam Neeson) and unleash hell on earth. With the other Sam Worthington-starrer Avatar doing quite well it was decided to push this back a week to give it the 3-D treatment. Louis Leterrier (Incredible Hulk) is a capable action director, so expect this to be a solid effort. A remake of the 1981 minor classic, famous for its stop-motion creature fx.
Repo Men
Starring: Jude Law, Forest Whitaker, Liev Schreiber, Alice Braga, Carice van Houten
Director: Miguel Sapochnik
Release Date: 2nd April 2010
In the near future artificial organs can be bought on credit. If you can’t pay, they’re repossessed by force. When Jude Law, a repo man himself, can’t make the payments on the
Kick-Ass
Starring: Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Nicolas Cage, Mark Strong
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Release Date: 16th April 2010
A high school nerd decides to become a superhero even though he has no special powers or even any athletic ability. Despite getting serious hurt, his antics soon inspire others youngsters to follow in his footsteps. This is one of the hottest tickets this Spring, with its energetic, risky tone (including child assassins blowing off legs). Adapted from the Mark Millar graphic novel, Brits might be interested to know the screenplay was written by Jonathan Ross’s wife. It’s already got excellent advance reviews.
Machete
Starring: Danny Trejo, Jessica Alba, Robert De Niro, Steven Seagal
Director: Ethan Maniquis, Robert Rodriguez
Release Date:
The not-as-funny-as-it-should-have-been fake trailer from Grindhouse gets its own movie. Danny Trejo is leading man for once as a Mexican mercenary on US soil who takes the murder contracts the locals won’t. Double-crossed on a job and left for dead, he sets out bring vengeance to those who betrayed him. Robert De Niro plays a corrupt senator. Steven Seagal plays a drug lord. Should be good fun.
Iron Man 2
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke, Scarlett Johansson
Director: Jon Favreau
Release Date: 7th May 2010
The red and gold suit didn’t see all that much combat in the first movie so expect that to be ramped up this time. Rourke (Whiplash), Johansson (Black Widow) and Rockwell (Justin Hammer) are the new trio of villains. With an expanded role too for Don Cheadle as Rhodes/War Machine, it seems like there’s one major character too many? Still, can’t wait.
Robin Hood
Starring: Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, William Hurt, Mark Strong, Danny Huston
Director: Ridley Scott
Release Date: 14th May 2010
It’s the 13th century and Robin Hood is an archer in the army of King Richard fighting against the French. When Richard dies, Robin travels to Nottingham, a town suffering under a despotic sheriff. There he falls for the spirited widow Lady Marion. Hoping to earn her hand and salvage the village, Robin assembles a mercenary gang to prey upon the indulgent upper class and correct injustices. …This story is too well worn for me. Originally it was going to be from the sheriff’s point of view – much more interesting.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina
Director: Mike Newell
Release Date: 28th May 2010
Hollywood finally makes an Arab the good guy. Oh wait, he’s Persian. Doesn’t count. Jake Gyllenhaal gets a tan for this adaptation of the long running, and jumping, video game series. He plays an adventurous prince who teams up with a rival princess to stop an angry ruler from unleashing a world-destroying sandstorm. Also thrown into the mix is a dagger that can manipulate time. Producer Jerry Brukheimer is hoping this is another Pirates Of The Caribbean, i.e. a big budget much-loved pantomime.
Killers
Starring: Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher, Catherine O’Hara, Tom Selleck
Director: Robert Luketic
Release Date: 4th June 2010
From the director of The Ugly Truth, 21 and Monster In Law comes this action-comedy-thriller. Ashton Kutcher stars as an
The Losers
Starring: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Evans, Zoe Saldana, Idris Elba, Jason Patric
Director: Sylvain White
Release Date: 4th June 2010
After being betrayed and left for dead (a popular theme this year), members of a CIA black ops team root out those who targeted them for assassination. Based on the DC comic. The trailer was underwhelming. Think The A-Team lite. Which unfortunately is out one week later.
The A-Team
Starring: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley, ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Jessica Biel
Director: Joe Carnahan
Release Date: 11th June 2010
It’s been a long time coming. I remember reading casting rumours for this when I was at school. That was 15 years ago. In the end they simply cast the stars of 2009′s sleeper hits, Taken (Liam Neeson), The Hangover (Bradley Cooper) and District 9 (Sharlto Copley). But they fit. The plot sees a quartet of Iraq War veterans looking to clear their name with the U.S. military after being framed for a crime. ‘Rampage’ Jackson has an almost impossible task trying to fill the shoes of Mr. T, but he has plenty of charisma on offer. The picture above looks like four guys on their way to a fancy dress party, but I’m excited to see this.
Jonah Hex
Starring: Josh Brolin, John Malkovich, Megan Fox, Michael Fassbender, Will Arnett
Director: Jimmy Hayward
Release Date: 18th June 2010
Jonah Hex, a scarred bounty hunter in the Wild West, first appeared in DC comics back in the 70s and a movie version has been talked about for just as long. The plot here sees him tracking a voodoo practitioner who’s bent on liberating the South by raising an army of the undead. John Malkovich is the one on madman villain duties – back where he belongs. Putting Josh Brolin opposite Megan Fox feels odd as they are literally at opposite ends of the acting ability scale. Meanwhile the director is an ex-Pixar animator whose only previous feature is Horton Hears A Who, and he’s currently being forced to do reshoots under the eye of a more experienced director (Francis Lawrence) thanks to an obviously concerned studio.
Knight & Day
Starring: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard, Maggie Grace, Paul Dano
Director: Lee Unkrich
Release Date: 2nd July 2010
His Tropic Thunder cameo showed Tom Cruise do comedy, so now with his career still reeling after the Scientology madness, feature action comedy seems a sensible direction to try out. Hence Knight & Day, which centers on a lonely woman (Cameron Diaz) whose seemingly harmless blind date suddenly turns her life upside-down when a super spy (Cruise) takes her on a violent worldwide journey to protect a powerful battery that holds the key to an infinite power source. The title sounds like it belongs to an 80s sitcom, but I like the madcap energy of the trailer.
The Last Airbender
Starring: Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, Dev Patel
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Release Date: 2nd July 2010
Nothing to do with farting, The Last Airbender is a live-action adaptation of the first season of animated TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender. It follows the adventures of Aang, a young successor to a long line of Avatars, who must put his childhood ways aside and stop the Fire Nation from enslaving the Water, Earth and Air nations. It’s written, directed, and produced by M. Night Shyamalan. Anyone who saw his last movie, The Happening, will be nervous. This is the first of a planned trilogy.
Predators
Starring: Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Danny Trejo, Alice Braga
Director: Nimród Antal
Release Date: 9th July 2010
Produced by Robert Rodriguez, based off his old spec script, Predators will star Adrien Brody as a lean mercenary. The R-rated movie is a direct sequel to the first film, as Aliens followed Alien. If Rodriguez lets him get near the camera, it’ll be helmed by Nimród Antal, who gave us Vacancy and the not-so-great Armored. The Predator will look as it did in the original film, but is joined by new creatures, such as Predator dogs and Predator falcons. Can’t wait for this.
Inception
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Watanabe, Marion Cotillard
Director: Christopher Nolan
Release Date: 16th July 2010
The director of the Dark Knight upsets everyone by making a movie that isn’t a Batman sequel. But wait, this looks great. And all of Christopher Nolan’s other films have been terrific too. And what a cast he has for this. Inception is a mystery story set within the architecture of the mind. In other words imagine being able to physically enter the world of someone’s brain and steal confidential information that exists only in their memory. Or something like that. Is director Nolan trying out Heath Ledger-lookalike Joseph Gordon-Levitt with an eye to him taking over the Joker role?
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, Monica Bellucci
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Release Date: 16th July 2010
I don’t think anyone reading this saw Fantasia when it first hit cinemas in 1940 but you may still be aware that Mickey Mouse played the role of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Well Mickey has been recast as Jay Bacochel from Tropic Thunder in this Jerry Bruckheimer-produced live action spin-off which sees him coming under the wing of Nicolas Cage and fulfilling his magician’s destiny to stop New York etc being destroyed by evil forces. Think of Harry Potter without any kids. Looks like fun, with some cool sorcery visuals.
Salt
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Director: Phillip Noyce
Release Date: 23rd July 2010
Action-thriller starring Angelina Jolie as a CIA officer accused of being a Russian sleeper spy. The trailer is unintentionally silly, with Jolie jumping off a bridge onto a moving truck then hopping from vehicle to vehicle with ease. But big names have been attached to the movie (Salt was originally to be played by Tom Cruise) so there must be something special about it?
The Expendables
Release Date: 20th August 2010
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke
Director: Sylvester Stallone
If you’re an old school muscle action fan, the nostalgia factor is about to be cranked up to 11. Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin all share the screen for this rumble in the South American jungle, backed up by cameos from Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Jet Li, Eric Roberts and Mickey Rourke are also knocking about in there. The team has assembled to overthrow a dictator, they should be able to do that with pure awesomeness.
Takers
Starring: Hayden Christensen, Paul Walker, Matt Dillon, Chris Brown, Zoe Saldana, T.I.
Director: John Luessenhop
Release Date: 20th August 2010
What happens when you cast a movie with no regard for public opinion? Chris Brown beats up Rihanna – he’s in. Hayden Christensen is widely disliked – he’s in. Paul Walker is unappealing in anything outside Fast & Furious – sign him up. Takers sees a group of bank robbers trying to execute a $20m theft organised by a gang boss. The trailer makes it look like a poor cousin of The Italian Job.
Red
Starring: Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren
Director: Robert Schwentke
Release Date: 22nd October 2010
A former black-ops agent (Bruce Willis) has his idyllic retirement threatened when he’s attacked by a band of youthful, high-tech assassins. To survive, he must reassemble his old team. And old they are – Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, even Ernest Borgnine’s involved somehow – he’s 93 years old. Action-comedy-thriller from the director of Flightplan, based on this
DC graphic novel.Unstoppable
Starring: Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson, Kevin Dunn
Director: Tony Scott
Release Date: 12th November 2010 Stop the press – Tony Scott is making a movie starring Denzel Washington. …But here’s something you haven’t seen for a while, it’s a runaway train movie. Chris ‘Captain Kirk’ Pine also stars in this story of a rail company frantically working to prevent an unmanned, half-mile-long freight train carrying combustible liquids and poisonous gas from wiping out a city. Tony Scott doesn’t do memorable any more, but expect this to fill the time.
Skyline
Starring: Eric Balfour, Scottie Thompson, David Zayas, Donald Faison
Director: Colin Strause, Greg Strause
Release Date: 12th November 2010
Alien craft appear over the city of Los Angeles, seeking to suck the entire human population off the face of the Earth. Directed by the Strause Brothers (Aliens vs Predators: Requiem) with a cast of virtual unknowns, this is hoping to be an out-of-nowhere sci-fi hit like District 9 last year. While some of the broad-daylight invasion effects are pretty jaw dropping, the acting looks uninspired.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, John Hurt
Director: David Yates
Release Date: 19th November 2010
The final chapter begins as Harry, Ron and Hermione leave Hogwarts behind and set out to find and destroy the Horcruxes – the secret to Voldemort’s power and immortality. What an amazing and unique film series this has been, watching the cast grow and each film darken in tone to such a point that it’s hard to believe this a sequel to kiddietastic Sorcerer’s Stone. Director David Yates did a great job with the previous two installments and there’s no reason to believe this won’t deliver.
The Next Three Days
Starring: Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson, Brian Dennehy
Director: Paul Haggis
Release Date: 19th November 2010
Russell Crowe plays a professor whose wife (Elizabeth Banks) is accused of murder, and when she’s convicted he breaks her out of prison and they go on the run hoping to clear her name. It’s a a remake of the 2007 French film Pour Elle (Anything for Her). Paul Haggis (Crash, In the Valley of Elah) writes and directs, but it all looks pretty bland.
Faster
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Maggie Grace, Moon Bloodgood
Director: George Tillman Jr.
Release Date: 24th November 2010
An ex-con is out to avenge his brother’s death after they were double-crossed during a heist 10 years ago. Meanwhile there’s a veteran cop on his trail. Dwayne Johnson has much untapped potential and urgently needed to get away from Disney family movies. The drab plot here doesn’t inspire, but it’s great to see The Rock back doing action.
Starring: Jang Dong-gun, Kate Bosworth, Geoffrey Rush, Danny Huston, Tony Cox
Director: Sngmoo Lee
Release Date: 3rd December 2010
Ninjas vs cowboys, shot in a style similar to 300. The Warrior’s Way is a fantasy action film about an Asian warrior (Jang Dong-gun), who is forced to hide in a small town in the American badlands. There he meets the town drunk (Geoffrey Rush), and a circus knife thrower (Kate Bosworth), both of whom have powerful secrets. Soon an army of evil ninjas appear and all hell breaks loose. Jang Dong-gun’s English in the trailer sounds strained – that did a lot to spoil Chow Yun-Fat’s early films.
The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader
Starring: Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Ben Barnes, Will Poulter, Gary Sweet
Director: Michael Apted
Release Date: 10th December 2010
Edmund and Lucy return to Narnia with their pesky cousin (leaving Peter and Susan to sit this one out) where they meet up with Prince Caspian for a dangerous trip aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. Unless they can reach the country of the noble
Tron: Legacy
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, James Frain, Olivia Wilde, Michael Sheen
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Release Date: 17th December 2010
The 1982 original was ahead of its time, being one of the first movies to use computer graphics extensively (although interestingly it didn’t flop in cinemas as many believe). For Tron Legacy, Jeff Bridges is back in a dual role, one his actual age, the other a de-aged version of himself. The teaser trailer was nothing short of spectacular. If they can keep the same look and tone for the feature then it should be something to behold. It’s in 3-D too.
True Grit
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Release Date: 25th December 2010
Hard to know if this qualifies as action, but it is a western. The Coen Brothers remake the ’69 classic with a stellar cast. A tough U.S. Marshal (Jeff Bridges, in the one-eyed John Wayne role) and a Texas Ranger (Matt Damon) help a stubborn young woman track down her father’s murderer (Josh Brolin). In short, all the elements are there for something very special.
Starring: Seth Rogen, Cameron Diaz, Christoph Waltz
Director: Michel Gondry
Release Date: January 2011
A newspaper publisher (Seth Rogen) moonlights as a masked crimefighter nicknamed ‘The Green Hornet’ accompanied by his Asian valet, martial arts expert Kato. Despite his heroic intentions, he is considered so disreputable among law enforcement that he is able to talk casually with known criminals and even do business with them. Rogen says the movie’s not a spoof, despite his presence, and with the director being Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Be Kind Rewind) how this’ll turn out is anyone’s guess.
The Mechanic
Starring: Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Donald Sutherland, Christa Campbell
Director: Simon West
Release Date: January 2011
Remake of the 1972 Charles Bronson cult classic about a hitman (Jason Statham) on the verge of retiring who agrees to train up a younger man (Ben Foster). But the new guy is the son of one of his handlers and may have more sinister motives. Jason Statham is not known for his versatility so we can already imagine every expression he’ll pull in this. Simon West (Con Air, Tomb Raider) is a so-so action director who’s not too strong on character and depth. Expect something passable.
The Eagle Of The Ninth
Starring: Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Donald Sutherland, Mark Strong
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Release Date: February 2011
The director of The Last King of Scotland adapts the classic 1954 adventure novel. A young Roman officer (Channing Tatum) sets out to discover the truth behind the disappearance of his father’s legion in the north of Britain. The main theme of the film is the “clash of cultures” between the Romans and the tribes beyond Hadrian’s Wall. All the Romans will be played by Americans. British actor Jamie Bell plays a slave. This is all sounding very political people.
Warrior
Starring: Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Morrison
Director: Gavin O’Connor
Release Date: TBC 2011
Rising star Tom Hardy (excellent in Bronson, and recently cast as the new Mad Max) plays the son of an alcoholic former boxer (Nolte) being trained by his father for a mixed martial arts tournament. The competition will put him on a collision course with his older brother (Edgerton). Action-drama that sounds like Karate Kid for grown-ups. Hardy should be the reason to see this.
Red Dawn
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Josh Peck, Isabel Lucas, Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Director: Dan Bradley
Release Date: TBC 2011
Chris Hemsworth (recently cast as Marvel’s Thor) stars in the remake of the 1984 worst-fears-realised thriller about an invasion of the U.S. by the Soviets and their Central American allies. The story focused on a group of American high school students who resisted their foreign occupiers through guerrilla warfare. This time round it’s reportedly a Chinese invasion. With the Cold War long over this feels like an edgy, un-pc concept and I’m extremely curious to see the result.
