In the past week I have watched Masters of the Universe at home and Predator in the cinema and they both got me thinking about one thing…films like that are not made anymore.
Don’t get me wrong, Masters of the Universe is pretty awful. Corny, nonsensical and at times, just poorly made. It does keep some of the spirit of the cartoon and its origins but comes across too often as a Star Wars rip off. But, it is still enjoyable in a very naff way. With the cartoon/toy origin I couldn’t help but compare it to G.I. Joe, which was a colossal mess. And while neither film is good, there is a charming naivety about Masters of the Universe that can’t help but endear it, in a very small way.
Predator however barely puts a foot wrong. Knowing exactly what the audience wants, it gives weapons, muscles, explosions and blood. And the obligatory Arnie one-liners. And again, I can’t think of a film from the past decade that achieves what this film does. Modern action films are either more intelligent (Bourne) or too distracted by effects and how they can be sold to an audience. There is no action star like Arnie and no films could match his star persona like this.
Both films truly are the products of their environment. Reagan’s America to a tee. The macho man fights and rescues the day. These films don’t need intelligence; they just need to be fun. Action films today are too serious or made purely by studio executives (and not ballsy producers of the 80‘s such as Joel Silver, Andrew Vajna, Mario Kassar and Walter Hill)