Top five action films

These are not in any particular order.

1) Die Hard
Now this is just referring to the first one, not that the others aren't great but this is the one that got the whole thing going. Bruce Willis, for all his flaws, is a brilliant action star. No other actor can pull off the slightly aging, slightly unfit, clumsy tough guy bit as well as Bruce can. From the opening scene its his film and he shines as John Maclane. If that wasn't enough Alan Rickman then turns up and puts on what can only be described as a 'so bad its brilliant' german accent to become one of the greatest villains of all time. If you haven't had the wonder of joining these two as they battle it out in Nakatomi Towers then you haven't lived.

2) The Raid
On paper this film does not look good. Its a phillipino martial arts film starring a bunch of nobodies, set in one location and directed by a welsh guy. The martial art in question is Pencak Silat which is a beautiful martial art that has criminally not been used much in films. The action stars are surprisingly good actors and the plot, whilst simple, works fantastically. The best thing however is the action itself. Each scene is choreographed to within an inch of its life and each elbow, punch, kick and use of a foreign object looks and feels real. Genius.

3) Terminator 2: Judgement Day
A list like this wouldn't be complete without an Arnie film. There are so many that could be added onto here but none of them compare to the second terminator. Arnie has never been better than when he is the emotionless killing machine named in the title. Add into this Robert Patrick as the unstoppable T1000 and you have an action packed thrill ride that is full of amazing set pieces. Admittedly it isn't without its flaws, these being the Conners. John is so irritating that half the time you find yourself siding with Robert instead of Arnie. Sarah is also just as irritating but this is more due to the sudden evolution from barbie to G.I.Jane, all while making very odd sounds when distressed or in danger.

4) The Bourne Trilogy
Ok I know this is cheating slightly but none of these films work without the others so back off alright. The first one is the worst of the three partly due to the female lead in it and partly because its the only one not directed by Paul Greengrass, despite this however it is still brilliant. Matt Damon has never been better, and I am a Matt Damon fan. The action is claustrophobic and brutal but the story is complex and engaging. The trilogy changed the way that people viewed action films, so much so that Bond changed his colours and 'Bourned' himself up for Casino Royale.

5) Goldeneye
This is in here more for personal reasons. Don't get me wrong it is a great film but it meant a lot to me when I was younger and not just because Xenia Onatop is ridiculously hot. It was one of the films that got me into film in general and also the wonderful world of James Bond. The story is great, one of the best in the bond series, and the villains are awesome. Pierce Brosnan is a brilliant Bond, in this film anyway, and crashes through the film with a suave, cocky attitude that we have all grown to love, well most of us anyway. Shame he had to ruin it a little in the follow up films he did. It also contains a bucketload of british acting greats, Sean Bean, Robbie Coltrane, Judi Dench to name a few. Ace.

So there you have it. As I said in the intro feel free to add your own top five here and any that you think I may have missed.

Taken 2

Liam 'Wolfpuncher' Neeson is back and is off to Europe again, Istanbul, to punch a load of foreigners in the face. This time however it isn't just the annoying late twenties year old pretending to be a 16 year old who gets herself 'taken' but the whole Neeson clan. I wont delve any further into the plot as I don't wanna ruin anything for anyone, admittedly not the most complex plot but I wouldn't want to be accused of spoiling things now would I. Little bit of advice though Liam, if you find yourself on trip advisor anytime soon get up from the computer, slap yourself in the face with a copy of the first film and have a cup of tea instead.

There is one big problem with this film and that is that it is too tame. By that I mean the action sequences. Yeah I could hammer on about the fact the plot isn't great, it isn't, and that the acting is slightly off, way off in some characters cases, but ultimately that isn't what we want this film for. The first one surprised almost everybody because it was full of gritty, harsh fight scenes and a simple storyline that started at 100mph and didn't slow down until everyone in france was dead. The second one however decides to plump for a slower start to the film that takes way too long to get off the ground and when it does it clumps along at a rather sedate pace. Don't get me wrong its not the worst film in the world but it could, and should, have been a hell of a lot better. On a positive note however the annoying teenage/adult daughter is slightly less whiny.

Verdict: 2/5

Introduction

Hello to anybody who has actually found this blog.

Just thought I would add a little background to why I am writing this. I am a huge fan of films. Have been ever since I first saw Darth Vader swing a lightsaber, John Hurts chest burst and Tom Hanks get slobbered on by a French Mastiff. Coupled with this I am an opinionated bastard who loves nothing more than having a right old moan. I started writing film reviews on Facebook in response to two Colin Firth films. The first was A Kings Speech, one of the greatest films of last year and genuinely one of my favourite films. The second was A Single Man, a film which I hated with such a passion I felt the need to let everybody know about it. I was so annoyed at this film that I had a bit of a rant and hence Poshbobs (a nickname some friends in manchester gave me) film reviews were born.

I hope you find these reviews helpful but as always they are just an opinion. I will also post on here other little opinions of mine such as top fives. In any case I welcome comments and other opinions and in lists of fives I would love people to post their own alternatives.

Thanks for reading

Poshbob