Fanboys Anonymous

Anyone who is an action buff knows who Schwarzenegger and Stallone are. In fact, plenty of people, who aren't exactly action movie fans, know who they are. 

Even at their ripe ages, they can not go into public without being noticed. Of course, if they didn't want to be noticed by adoring fans, it goes without saying that Comic Con isn't the place to do it.

Stallone, most known for his Rambo movies, which feature a treasury of stealthy Green Beret ass-kickings, and his Rocky movies, which follow the fictional boxing legend, Rocky Balboa, starting when he wasn't so much a champion, has been a fan favorite for a long time. Earlier on, specifically in his First Blood, Rambo and early Rocky films, he was known for his medium size and impossible cut.

Stallone's "cut" was a deep one.

Schwarzenegger, also a fan favorite and five time Mr. Universe and seven time Mr. Olympia, on the other hand, has been a Herculean hulk for as long as the world has known him. From Hercules in New York (one of the worst movies on Earth who's description is in the title), to his better titles like Total Recall, a science fiction action film, and his Terminator movies, which are science fiction time travel action films, Arnold has always been a massive guy and has usually been portrayed as such. Even in his softer films, like Jingle All the Way, with his combed hair and mountain town daddy look, it's hard to play him down as sort of a normal everyday dad.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is large and in charge.

The question on the top of everyone's mind, however, is the question to be answered here... Or perhaps it's less a question and more an assumption and one that might possibly effect the movie's take at the box office. Escape Plan, which is set to rock, hopefully, on October 18, 2013, will be starring both Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger and they ain't no fresh puppies. At 1,000,076 years old (Schwarzenegger at 66 and Stallone at 67), everybody is curious as to what they might have to offer the action world. In fact, it was my first thought. 

I could have tried to cut their tree trunk legs to count the rings and find their ages, but I took Google's word for it, because under the feet of these gargantuan men, I'd probably sustain an owie.

Thinking back though, with consideration to my attitude previously, I never would have doubted my childhood heroes, but something is lost when you age. As a matter of truth, I was doubting Stallone just within the last decade. Rambo 5: The Last Stand was unimaginable to me, but my son and I still went to see it. "This kid only knows Jason Statham and the Toby McGuire version of Spider-Man son!" I thought. With no knowledge of my youth heroes, I was delighted in knowing I could change that with a more modern movie. 

Rambo five picks up with the action hero long after his run-ins with the old general.

So what do they do with a movie when the action hero gets older, probably finds it more difficult on his knees to run and should more than likely take it easier, which they touch on in Balboa if you can remember. Simple! Said actor beefs up and prepares to become a monster of a man that packs the wallop of a super cannon. 

When my son and I saw Rambo on the big screen, the first thing out of his mouth was, "whoa". I didn't even tell him that the guy wasn't always so huge.

It was in high school that I saw Arnold in his last Terminator movie, returning after an extensive sabbatical from the Terminator films. When Terminator 3 came out in theatres and I was much younger, there was no doubt in my mind that it would be raw. Of course, it ended up not being all that great, because the film tried to gain appeal too much through sex by casting Kristanna Loken, but I loved it none-the-less, especially seeing Arnold return in a role I had been waiting years for. 

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machine's total domestic gross was $125,322,469.

So what was my take on Arnold's performance? Actually, I was quite impressed. He got around without ailment, every bit as action able as I remember, which is a nice way of saying I was terrible enough to think he wouldn't. So, after that, I was pretty let down not to see him in the modern Christian Bale addition to the Terminator movies, which begs the question, why then did I doubt these men when I know they are probably more than capable? At their ages, they can most definitely show me up no matter what the task may be. As a secondary consideration, more thought out, I don't see age as a reason this couldn't be a good movie at all. Even if it bombs, I'll be sitting front row on day 1.