Out of the many wanna be's that seem to be clamoring to take over as the next uber action star, who will actually pull it off?

Charlie Sheen

Will Smith already IS an uber action star, but he's not the next "Arnold."

I wouldn't say Hugh Jackman, either, because he's been doing non-action stuff, as well.

I would say that Vin Deisel is trying to be the next Arnold, but he's failing.

I'm still waiting for the next good action star. None of those guys have made a great movie (i.e. Die Hard, T2, First Blood, Dirty Harry) to push them over the hump of average action movie guy.

The Rock. I really enjoyed The Run Down

The Rock

The rundown and walking tall are two great examples why the rock has that charm arnold had back in his early days.

Yup, after watching 'The Rundown', I've got to say The Rock.

I really enjoyed Walking Tall....and I've never been a big fan of The Rock.


I may even go see it again.

Phanom Yeerum.... or at least if I had my way he would be

Ok, who voted for Ben Affleck. Seriously, just step forward and admit it...we won't hurt you too badly.

Heh, regardless, it absolutely is The Rock. He's got charisma, he's fun to watch, and he can carry a movie. Is he an amazing actor? No, but he's a lot of fun. And moreso than any other person making movies, you REALLY buy the fact that this man could whoop the living daylights out of the people he's beating the crap out of.

What Rock needs is a really great movie. Rundown was solid entertainment, but I think the Rock needs to lose the softened image and go all out. I love the fact he's sticking to a more 70s 80s asthetic with his films, but he needs to go the route of Arnold and give us some rollickin good R rated action flicks.

Honestly the idea of Rock doing a Predator 3 is fabulous. IF they could make a good movie, that would be a great start. Set it in the middle east, and let's have a duel. Skip Terminator (come on, that one is Arnie's leave it alone). But he needs to get into R rated territory. I understand he has some strange need to appeal to everyone, but he's an action star. And action stars really don't need to be held back by the almighty pg-13. I know, I know, R rating doesn't = better. But when the point of the movie is to see one man beatup, maim, kill, decapitate, and all out destroy everyone else, you need to give us what we want. So Rock...give us that insanely cool action movie we want! But he's definately got whatever it is to be the next great action star. Here's hoping his movies do better BO wise so he gets to stick around.

I think The Rock himself would be hesitant to star in an R-rated picture. I think I read on IGN that he realized a lot of his fans were younger and was still looking to cater to them. Did a little looking, here's the quote:

Despite the abundance of fisticuffs in Walking Tall, The Rock asserted that he enjoys tailoring his films for an adolescent-friendly audience to avoid alienating the core of his fan base. "If you're able to capture the story, to keep it PG-13 is really important because I've got a lot young fans out there and I realize that."

Then again, it's hard to say no when the money is in front of your face.

There was actually a discussion on NPR last year, I believe, that talked about Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone future replacements in the action world. The film critics mentioned Vin Diesel and (I think) the Rock.

Cheers

DVD Smurf

Van Diesel isn't worth the title. His works seem to fall flat. He just doesn't have the charm to carry it.

The Rock has charisma and is actually a really nice guy. He will be the next Arnie and he actually has better comedic timing than Ahnuld.
Diesel just comes off as a tough guy with no real appeal. He seems to be full of himself. But he seems to be a more believable actor.

No doubt this is self imposed. But, nonetheless, I think Rock is hurting himself by avoiding this segment of filmmaking. Seriously, think of all the best Ahnold and Stallone action films, the best Bruce Willis action films, heck the majority of most action films (I'm talkin pure action films) and you'll notice that in general, they ain't family friendly. While I admire The Rock for sticking to his guns, I still want to see him do some serious hardcore stuff. Beating people up is fun and all to see, but if he wants to truly be the next great action star, he's going to have to open himself up to some stuff that's not really for everyone. IMO. Action films need a good story, but come on...let's admit it, we also enjoy gratuitous violence.

Definitely The Rock, though he does need to get into some R-rated stuff.

Amen! Dwayne is about where Ah-nold was in 1983, just before The Terminator came out and he made a REALLY big splash. If Rock gets a break-out movie like that, he could be HUGE.

The problem is - he *REALLY* needs to get away from Vince McMahon's clutches. He will never really shine as a actor until then.

Also - for further discussion: is the era of the Big Action Movie Star over? The 80's is undeniably the Golden Age of Action Movies - but it's time unfortunately is over. Is it possible for a star to hit the heights of someone in the 80's these days? Can the Rock ever be as big as Ah-nold was at the height of his powers?

Well, the Rock sucks. So not him. Rundown bombed and now Walking Tall looks like it's headed for bomb city as well, unless it has some serious legs. So he won't see one tenth the success Arnold did. His starring roles are going to dry up because none of his movies have really been successful. Scorpion King was decent, but by no means hugely successful. I just don't think the general movie-going public wants to see a movie with a wrestler as the main star. Only wrestling fans and Rock fans are interested.

Hugh Jackman is the best out of all of those, but he's not just an action star. I'd have to say nobody on that list. Vin Diesel's 15 minutes of fame are almost up. I'm still trying to figure out how he got 15 minutes of fame to begin with.

I'll third that.

Conan charming?
Terminator charming?


You gotta be kidding me... Maybe in Twins and Kindergarten Cop...

But he certainly had a presence in front of the camera...

Ughh, more people are starting to like "The Rock". What's this world coming to? Oh, and Arnold is way cooler than Rock will ever be.

It must be the apocalypse!

Dutch, Hercules, John Matrix, Ben Richards, John Kimble

All roles that have charm, wit, charisma, and -ness oozing out of it. Arnold has on screen pressence and it shows. The Rock has the same type of "charm"