My father has been in the hospital for a couple weeks and is probably going to be in for another month. He’s been reading a lot, but he’s starting to get a little ‘stir-crazy,’ as he puts it. He has a DVD player in his room, so he thought a movie might break his usual boring routine.
The reason for this thread is that he doesn’t usually watch movies, but when he does, he likes 80s-style action movies. Some of his favorites are Die Hard 1 and 2, the first couple Lethal Weapon movies, and the Indiana Jones trilogy. More recently, he really liked the Bourne movies. In all honesty, that may be the complete list of movies he’s seen in the last 10 years. He doesn’t really go for nudity in movies, but I think he does like things blowing up with a side of spy/espionage. He usually reads mysteries and dective fiction (he’s a big fan of the ‘Prey’ series by John Sandford), and real-life survival/adventure novels like Into Thin Air.
IMDB’s list of top action movies. Many of them don’t really work, but it’s a good place to get ideas from. Consider:
-Kill Bill
-The Matrix
-True Lies (I hated it, but some folks really liked it)
-Broken Arrow (mindless fluff, but if he likes explosions, it’s great)
-Batman Begins
I’ll recommend this mountain climbing documentary - Into the Void, complete with dramatic re-enactments and the participation of the climbers involved.
Seconding The Transporter. Best action movie to come out in the last couple years, and its sequel is currently in theaters. I will also add:
Action/Adventure:
The Last Boy Scout
The Long Kiss Goodnight
The Professional
Face/Off
Con Air
The Rock
The Mummy and The Mummy Returns
The Rundown
Speed
Hard Target
The Matrix (may be a little too much sci-fi for his tastes)
Last Man Standing
Payback
L.A. Confidential (noir/mystery/detective)
Does he like war stuff? I haven’t seen it yet - but my dad (who enjoys the action flicks) really enjoyed Band of Brothers. It’s a series too, so it’ll keep him busy for longer than a movie.
If he can deal with more spurting blood and severed limbs than the usual '80s-style action movie, the Kill Bills are great. Army of Darkness is another fun action/horror/comedy with some blood, but it’s never “scary.”
If he can deal with subtitles (unless you can find dubbed versions), a trio of Hong Kong films redefined the action genre in the late '80s and inspired a whole generation of up-and-coming filmmakers: A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled, all starring Chow Yun Fat and directed by John Woo (who also made several American movies since then).
If he doesn’t mind superheroes, X-Men, X2, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Hellboy, and the Blade movies are all lots of fun, and Batman Begins (which isn’t on DVD yet) is too. Sin City has some nudity and a few really disturbing images, but it has plenty of action, mystery, violence, tough guys, hot women, and film noir style.
Thanks for the replies, everyone. I forgot to mention that I bought him Into the Void for Christmas, and he loved it.
Some recommendations that I think are great: Band of Brothers (I have this at home so I may just send it to him) L.A. Confidential The Mummy The Rundown
And off the list Left Hand of Dorkness linked to: The Great Escape
I just remembered that I have a copy of A Bridge to Far sitting at home, so I might send that off too.
I don’t think he’d be into the Kill Bill movies - they’re a little too bloody for him. I tried to get him to watch Crouching Tiger last time he was stuck in a chair, but he didn’t like the action style or the subtitles, so I guess that genre is out. He doesn’t go for superheroes, but I would get him Batman Begins if it was available.
He must have seen the Jack Ryan movies already: Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, The Sum of All Fears (hey, if you’re in a hospital bed with nothing to do…).
There’s also Crimson Tide. Good submarine action flick.
Rising Sun, maybe.
The Bedford Incident, Fail Safe, Seven Days in May, The Manchurian Candidate, all excellent '60s cold war dramas. More intrigue than action, though.
Another vote for The Rundown. Although Seann William Scott was pretty obnoxiuos. Also Sahara just cam out. If he likes Indiana Jones, Dirk Pitt should suit him just fine.
I watched one last night called The Hunted with Tommy Lee Jones and I really liked it. It is about this special forces guy who’s gone loony from killing and Tommy Lee Jones is the one who trained him and the only one who can stop him. It has a lot of outdoor stuff and tracking stuff too. It has tons of well shot knife fights and making their own knives in the woods, that type of secret special forces training thing. Tommy Lee Jones runs around a lot without having any heart attacks, which I’m sure a dad would enjoy for the vicarious old guy fantasy factor. If he likes the survival stuff it will be up his alley too.
I liked Sahara too but it was kind of goofy. Redeemed by Matthew McConnaghey with his shirt off but your dad probably won’t be as enthralled by that. It might be better if you were trying to keep him cheerful. The Hunted was pretty dark. Sahara was way more fun.