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But isn't M:I and his work in it enough to still consider him a star? Robert Pattinson became a "star" after one or two Twilight films. Audrey Hepburn became an Oscar winning star after merely one Hollywood film. I am sure that M:I, by itself, keeps Cruise's stardom alive.
Or am I being unfair? 😉
To be fair, Connery's career was nowhere between DAF and, say, The Intouchables. He wasn't bringing the gold either. And after De Palma's film, he was mostly in films that would probably have made money without him too, like Indy 3, The Rock and Red October.
If that's the criteria then I'd probably say that the idea of a "movie star" probably died when the Stallone/Schwarznegger rivalry died down.
But for me personally, I'd still think of the likes of Cruise as a movie simply due to the fact that Cruise himself is a brand as much as M:I is, irrespective of box office returns (though the point about a number of films underperforming is well-made, in fairness).
I often think that while the 90s was a great decade for blockbuster cinema, it marked a turn where aesthetics and pyrotechnics overshadowed the leads that stardom naturally seemed to fall by the wayside. The only exceptions I could think of would be Hong Kong action cinema which championed the likes of Jackie Chan, Chow Yun-Fat etc in equal measure to the explosive stuff on screen.
They don't make these kinds of movies ad often either. Now cinemas are dominated by franchises.
Even within the M:I series, I'd say a lot of fans are showing up just to see what impressive stunts he brings to the screen next. If that's not star power these days, I don't know what is.
When large audiences are only turning up for M:I, I think that’s telling enough that he’s lost his appeal outside of that franchise, which is why he’s made them more frequently since ROGUE NATION and very little else. MUMMY was supposed to launch a whole new series of films for him and a universe, but that all crashed and burned.
This is why the TOP GUN sequel will be interesting to watch at the box office. It’s one of the few sequels he’s ever worked on. JACK REACHER didn’t take off the way the studio was happy with, so now its back go one of his signature films from nearly 40 years ago.
I am hardly a Connery fan, but he did a lot of cult classics… Time Bandits, Highlander, it’s sequel that we try to ignore ever happened… was medicine man before or after Untouchables? Never Say Never Again, of course. There’s a Crichton Japanese intrigue thing, but I think that’s post Untouchables… Rising Sun? I think it had Wesley Snipes in too. And of course, he was a producer on the well regarded stage play ‘art’ as well.
Edit: in fact I just went and looked up his filmography… quite embarrassed at some of the well known films I had forgotten he was in. The Man Who Would Be King particularly an embarrassing one to forget. He was also voted eighth in a channel 4 ‘top hundred movie stars’ thing, so I guess that’s put to bed.
I don't know if many stars could ever make terrible films work by their star power alone.
Same. I saw it when it came out, but don t remember a single scene. Utterly forgettable.
Yes, he was in them. But was he 'the big star Sean Connery' in Rising Sun, Time Bandits, Highlander...? Let's not mistake cult classics with big star vehicles either. Connery was always a name, for sure. But apart from some good lead roles in smaller films, as well as some smaller roles in big films, I don't think that putting Cruise on the poster was enough to flog millions to theatres.
This is all proving my point: I don’t think there is a massive desire for a Top Gun sequel. But it will be big because of Cruise.
I think he was definitely the name for many of those projects, even in ensemble casts like for The First Great Train Robbery. Enough of a name that they brought his character back from the dead for the rather poor Highlander sequel. Maybe it’s a locale thing, but ‘starring Sean Connery’ Usually carries weight here in the Uk. Even if just on the films on TV at Xmas.
I haven't seen Oblivion since it first released but I need to change that. I recall it being really good.
A friend of mine once suggested it should have been called Groundhog Troopers :))
All three of those films were very good (and I own all three on DVD, I’ve just realised). But they didn’t pull in the box office like M:I. A lot of people have just forgotten about them, I think. A shame really. Minority Report in particular is excellent.
It's one of the best SF movies... ever, really.
Oblivion isn't on the same level, but it's perfectly decent stuff.
That said, Cameron is also particularly talented at almost instinctively knowing exactly what audiences want at any given time and being able to deliver exactly that.
I absolutely agree. His best are ALIENS, The Terminator and T2 in my opinion. The Abyss is fine. Everything True Lies and onwards doesn't do it for me. But the man understands the needs of the audience.
Well, that wouldn't be his fault; and, both of those movies are very good, solid films. Not the most inspiringly different and fresh things you've ever seen, but they don't put a foot wrong and people enjoyed them.
It's just sad he won't have James Horner along next time.