Not all Brits sit around waiting for the Yanks to bail them out of trouble.
Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Richard Burton, Oliver Reed and Peter O’Toole all took matters into their own hands whenever duty called. They specialized in playing hard, emboldened men willing to do the right thing, no matter the personal cost.
Their grit, determination and damn-the-consequences attitude live on in these British bulldogs and fighting Irishmen:
Jason Statham:
Most Heroic Endeavor: The Italian Job $106.1 million
Next Springs into Action: The Transporter 2 (Sept. 2), Revolver (2006), Dungeon Siege (2006)
The spitting image of Bruce Willis, only with slightly more hair, Statham‘s served as director Guy Ritchie‘s good luck charm since Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. He talks the talk–usually with a soft South East London growl–and walks the walk. A martial arts expert, Statham‘s pretty handy with a pair of nunchaku. And he knows how to get the best out of a stick shift, be it a Mini or a BMW.
The Bottom Line: The Italian Job‘s Handsome Rob is back behind the wheel, this time with The Transporter 2. What? The Transporter only made $25.2 million. Who begged for a sequel? And, unfortunately, this Miami-set thriller isn’t half the guility pleasure as The Transporter, even
though it’s twice as preposterous. No matter: The Transporter 2 should zoom to No. 1 during the traditionally slow Labor Day holiday weekend.
Clive Owen
Most Heroic Endeavor: Sin City $74.1 million
Next Springs into Action: Derailed (Nov. 11), The Inside Man (March 24, 2006), Shoot-Em-Up (2006)
Righteous indignation personified, Owen pursues truth and justice with an intensity matched only by a Get Carter-era Caine. His is the path of vengeance, and it is one splattered with blood. No wonder he’s always tipped to be the next 007. That likely won’t happen. He’s more Timothy Dalton than Pierce Brosnan, and Dalton proved too cruel and cynical for those who prefer their martini shaken, not stirred.
The Bottom Line: If anyone deserves to be the next Bond, it’s Owen. But MI6’s loss is Basin City’s gain.
Christian Bale
Most Heroic Endeavor: Batman Begins $202.2 million
Next Springs into Action: The New World (Dec. 25), Harsh Times (2006)
Bale‘s got Gotham City buzzing about the new Caped Crusader. His Batman’s smart and sly. And, if it means saving the day, he’s down and dirty when it comes to a fight. Unlike Christopher Reeve and Superman, no single actor is truly identified as the definitive Batman. With the franchise revived and revitalized, Bale‘s in the enviable position of making the role of the Dark Knight his own.
The Bottom Line: This art house darling’s tried several times to prove he’s a man of action, most noticeably with Equilibrium and Reign of Fire. But it’s Batman Begins that finally made us forget he’s a made-in-Wales American Psycho.
Colin Farrell
Most Heroic Endeavor: S.W.A.T. $116.9 million
Next Springs into Action: The New World (Nov. 9), Miami Vice (July 28, 2006)
If anyone embraces the live-like-there’s-no-tomorrow partying ways perfected by Burton, Harris and Reed, it’s Farrell. That’s not to say this Irishman’s captured their hard-as-nails attitude. When he’s feeling heroic, Farrell is ready and resolved, but he seems a tad soft around the edges. It’s another story when he’s breaking the law. He’s completely bonkers in Daredevil and downright scary in Intermission.
The Bottom Line: Farrell needs to give his men of honor the killer instinct his bad guys possess. That would certainly make Miami Vice a more intriguing prospect.
Pierce Brosnan
Most Heroic Endeavor: Die Another Day $160.9 million
Next Springs into Action: The Matador (Nov. 23)
Too bad Brosnan‘s license to kill was prematurely revoked. At 52, the fifth James Bond remains suave, sophisticated, and deadlier than 100 S.P.E.C.T.R.E. assassins with a view to a kill. He also proved equally charming and cunning in such non-Bond yarns as The Thomas Crown Affair and last year’s disappointing copycat, After the Sunset.
The Bottom Line: Word has it that Brosnan‘s at his best as a hit man in the black comedy The Matador. Good, because if he wants to enjoy a post-Bond career à la Sean Connery, Brosnan needs to quickly take the bull by the horns.
Orlando Bloom
Most Heroic Endeavor: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King $377 million
Next Springs into Action: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (July 7, 2006)
Have sword, will travel. Hard to believe this oh-so dreamy teen idol’s a battled-tested warrior with nerves of steel and the heart of a lion. But this pretty boy’s our reigning ruler of historical epics and swashbuckling adventures.
The Bottom Line: Judging by the U.S. reception to Kingdom of Heaven, Bloom‘s done one too many costumed yarns. Time to try something contemporary. The Cameron Crowe-directed Elizabethtown-should do the trick.
Liam Neeson
Most Heroic Endeavor: Star Wars: Episode 1-The Phantom Menace $431 million
Once he portrayed such real-life men of distinction as Michael Collins and Oskar Schindler. Now 53, this big man’s still a force to be beckoned with. But he’s taken on the role of mentor to a younger generation of aspiring champions of the underdog. And he’s done it with gusto, passing on to his young charges–from The Phantom Menace‘s Ewan McGregor to Kingdom of Heaven‘s Bloom–all they need to stay alive and fight another day.
The Bottom Line: Unfortunately, being a father figure means never surviving to seeing good triumph over evil.
