Remember when action films were big? I mean really big as in Die Hard, First Blood, and Commando. Bigger than life guys like Willis, Stallone and Schwarzenegger?

This was before the explosion of home theaters and straight to DVD titles which have caused the blockbuster to be a rare feat reserved mostly for superhero films of recent times. Even those don’t compare to the anticipation you felt when you went to see an action film in the late eighties to early nineties when you knew the producers went all out to impress you. And! You had to wait at least 6 months to a year for it to come out on video.

Jason Statham has been starring in what I consider to be competent B-movie action style films. Certainly they are not low budget, but they are not blockbusters either. He has The Transporter series and now a sequel to Crank in which he apparently survives a fall out of helicopter from the original.

Jason Statham is that action guy who if his career had started in the late eighties might have had one of those blockbusters that remains on the shelves of video rental outlets forever. I believe Hollywood should develop a picture for him, and maybe in this day and age it needs to be sci-fi or superhero genre, to give him that public awareness as an action icon.

He has the hard-edged look, the “I don’t take no sh*t stare,” and the overall screen presence to demand our ticket paying attention. Where is the big action idea for this potentially big action star?

 It has to be coming soon. He’s worked so damn hard to get to where he is now.

 Meanwhile, if you’re interested in Crank 2, TMZ is flaunting a shameless promotion with the Crank Car Wash. 

Man, it must be hard for a woman to get started in Tinsel Town–think about having to put this stunt on your actress resume? Oh well, maybe that will keep Chev Chelios running on adrenaline for a little more to keep his heart from stopping.

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