A Quick Question

Peeps:

What do we think of actors like Wesley Snipes and Jason Statham? And Bruce Willis, though I think he's a cut above Snipes and Statham?

Basically, they're popular for their action flicks: Snipes had the Blade trilogy, Statham had the Transporter franchise and Crank, and Willis has the classic Die Hard franchise. Another one who might fit the parameters of the query is Ahhhhhhnold (Terminator), though I'll leave him out out because he's not acting any more. Or rather, he still is acting, but in a different arena now.

Ha, so that was a low blow. And I really have nothing against Ahhhhhhnold, except that I hear he's a bit on the big-government side of the tracks. However, this post is not about Ahhhhhhnold. It's about what we're to think of action stars.

So: what are we to think of them? I sort of really, really like Bruce Willis' work, because I think he can actually act, as well as beat up bad guys. But the point is just that: should we lower our standards for what we admire just because action stars have to be burly and macho? Or should we try and hold them to higher standards? Can we accept "action" as a genre with its own standards of acting ability, or are we allowed to compare Snipes, Statham, and Willis to other actors, especially those who appear more often in more subtle types of roles?

I frankly don't have an answer. But it's an interesting question.

Long live Double Standards!