On what makes a tough guy...

I was reading this article on Sylvester Stallone's comment that Jason Bourne, the contemporary tough guy of reluctant solider-turn-trained-assassin in its popular Bourne movies franchise, is not as tough as the action heroes in the 80s (Bruce Willis in the Die Hard franchise, Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Terminator franchise, and of course Stallone himself in the Rambo and Rocky franchise).

It's a light read, and I could have passed on to the pass after less than one minute reading it. But then, it prompts me for some deeper thoughts:

(1) What makes a tough guy?

Is it what a guy does, or says, or thinks, or a combination of these, that makes him tough? I know Stallone speaks the mind of quite some guys who think the same way. As the thinking goes, the guy must be a survivor, excel in hand-to-hand combat, suffer pain with a grit in teeth, and people are afraid of him.

So, why Stallone thinks less of Jason Bourne than Rambo? The comparison of these two characters is particularly interesting, since they came from military background. They suffered tremendously in past life. And they fought back. Big time.

But Bourne excel bland in the society, while Rambo would go hide in the mountain. Bourne masters high-tech gadgetry with finesse, while Rambo goes decidedly low-tech. And, Bourne doesn't eat dirt. And they both respect women.

Does that make him less tough of a man? I would say not. In fact, Bourne is more of a survivor, since he can supposedly stay alive in both modern and rough rural environments. Having Rambo eat more dirt doesn't make him more of a man. Stallone is so wrong on that account. He's probably the kind of guy who would keep hazing as a rite of passage to manhood. He's soooo old school.

(2) Why are there more tough guys in the 80s movie than todays?

Looking back, there are guys who would be labeled as tough action hero on the get go. Just look at how Stallone rants on and on about Willis and Schwarzenegger or himself. But we can hardly name anyone these days. We see a few guys doing action movies, but they're never labeled action heroes, like Nicholas Cage, and even Russell Crowe.

Perhaps it's because actors are much more versatile than their predecessors, who did nothing but action movies (see how Kindergarten Cop flopped for Arnie). So, they don't get pigeonholed into one type, and one type alone.

And perhaps as Stallone has argued, movies these days really don't really physical combat scenes that much anymore, and most movies rely on CGI and special effects to make up for it. So, no one would even think of Keanu Reeves as an action hero, even if he has the enormously successful action sci-fi Matrix franchise on his resume. Come to think of it, the martial art moves by Neo are more for showmanship than for beating down the targets.

(3) Why is Bourne more popular than other guys in recent action movies?

On this account, it makes me appreciate the Bourne movies even more, since a large part of the Bourne movies rely on basic movie making (excellent music score, to cap it off; although the ADHD editing is getting worse in distorting the excellent fight sequences) and excellent stunts, rather than CGI. That, I bet, is the main reason why so many people in this generation likes Bourne. And, it still rings true, that an action hero has to excel hand-to-hand combat. As the same argument goes, you don't call someone who slays dragon on Dungeon & Dragon an action hero.

(4) Thus, for Stallone, the action hero who took only glamorous chick as trophy wife, the action hero who's in his twilight years but would not leave the stage (man, if he would have his way, I'm sure he'll come back for Rocky XIII), to now come out and compare his bygone days to a young, contemporary guy, is at-once beside the point.

Stallone might once be labeled a great action hero, but he doesn't realize that his glory days have passed. Taste has changed. Values are updated. Most people would probably just remember him as the mumbling guy. He should have taken his golden years in stride, rather than coming out jabbing at the next young guy who has claimed the throne.