The Last Action Heroes: The Triumphs, Flops, and Feuds of Hollywood's Kings of Carnage

Awesome book. So much fascinating behind the scenes peeks and answers to things I've always wondered about. Film is the ultimate collaborative art form. With so many people involved, it's a wonder anything ever gets made at all. Especially the over the top blockbusters that wowed a global generation. While younger readers will likely enjoy this, they won't actually remember when these movies hit the multiplex. But for those of us who lived it, this is an insightful glimpse into how those seminal pictures got made, when and why, and the cultural and historical circumstances that in hindsight make them all the more poignant. Arnold playing Hamlet? Absurd, right? In Last Action Hero, when he says one of the most iconic lines in history, To be or not to be? Not to be., it seems a mere action genre puff of a cigar to be met with an eye roll. But when you understand the context and that this is Arnold speaking about a generational shift, the ending of an era of movies that made us, one whose ilk we'll likely never see again, this cheesed*** line suddenly becomes heartbreaking in its prescience. Nick de Semlyen illustrates this beautifully, crafting a book I couldn't put down and lost a lot of sleep while enjoying fully. He's created a textbook for the Action Film genre, one every bit as fascinating as the epics it explores. I didn't want it to end.

The first two-thirds of "The Last Action Heroes" is fantastic, recounting great stories of Stallone, Schwarzenegger and company as hungry up-and-comers in the action world, with many great anecdotes that focus on Steven Seagal's monstrous ego, however the author, Nick De Semlyen, seems to run out of steam towards the last third of the book and was clearly trying to just get it finished. The last third, which covers the mid-to-late 90s and recounts the downfall of the muscle-bound action movie stars (Van Damme did a lot of coke) is written with less quotes, feels rushed, and leaves out a lot of historical moments: There is no mention of Schwarzenegger's heart surgery or his appearance as Mr. Freeze in "Batman and Robin", both of which were huge turning points in his career which he never recovered from. De Semlyen doesn't mention the rooftop horse stunt that almost killed Schwarzenegger on the True Lies set, which Schwarzenegger detailed in his own autobiography "Total Recall". Also, when it comes to Jackie Chan, there is no mention of Rush Hour 2, which holds the record for largest domestic box-office opening weekend for any of the action stars covered in this book, which is a major milestone that should have been a significant moment in the telling of Chan's story. It also would have gone a long way to wrapping up the story in a more satisfying way if De Semlyen obtained fresh quotes from the hunks reflecting on their end of days.Also, the Epilogue is plagued with questionable conclusions when it comes to our new era of "inclusive" action heroes as replacements for the beefcakes of the 80s and 90s. De Semlyen mentions Simu Liu, Jason Momoa and Chadwick Boseman as proof that mainstream action has become richer and more diverse, however, in these cases it's the 'franchise' and 'character' that's the star, not the actors themselves. Kids on the playground will always pretend to be Schwarzenegger, but no kid knows Simi Liu, they know "Shang Chi". It's almost inconceivable that De Semlyen doesn't mention this phenomenon on the caped and masked stars of today versus the Stallone-era heroes: Captain America and Thor can open movies to a large box office, but Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth can not. Also De Semlyen mentions the movie title "The Woman King" as an example of putting new kinds of heroes on the screen, however the author cleverly sidesteps the fact that "The Woman King" was not successful, ending its global theatrical run breaking-even financially. De Semlyen really wanted to make a last-second point about inclusivity, but bringing it up for 1 page in the epilogue without quotes or statistics doesn't make the point he thinks he's trying to make.Overall, if you grew up watching Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Willis and Van Damme on constant repeat like I did then this is definitely a good read, even if the book ends on a whimper instead of a bang.

The usual problem with books like this is either the author hasn't really done any real research OR he/she has done so much the book is a bore. Nick manges to give you great insight without forgetting the absurdity of much of what he is sharing. Breezy and fun nostalgia with some great and interesting background. If you loved this era you will love this book.

This book was a nice trip down memory lane, and contained a lot of information that was new to me. The inclusion of Chuck Norris and Jackie Chan (whom I practically worshipped as a teen in the 90s), and Dolph Lundgren especially, felt a little forced or like an afterthought, but for me the book was a real page turner, and I was bummed when I reached the end. 4.5 stars and very much recommended.

Not deep but an entertaining read that carries you along, telling the behind the scenes stories of the action heroes of the 80s. Popcorn nonfiction, but exactly as advertised. If you want a light read and like the stars, you will enjoy.

This was a fun book and a trip down memory lane. Didn't want to put this book down or for it to end. Laughing out loud numerous times. Recommend this for anyone who grew up in the 80s and 90s who remembers seeing these larger than life action hero on screen. Some great behind the scenes facts. Thoroughly researched. Loved this book.

O livro é de fato muito informativo e com boas histórias, gostei muito, só fiquei com a sensação de que poderiam facilmente ter se aprofundado na segunda metade dos anos 90 com o mesmo afinco e detalhes como fizeram nos anos 80 e início dos 90, sobretudo destrinchando a curva descendente da bilheteria dos filmes e dos astros, mostrando como cada um lidou com a queda de popularidade e de vendas dos filmes conforme envelheciam e o gosto do público mudava.Nada falou sobre os vários filmes de menor repercussão de Stallone após Daylight e Schwarzenegger após Blo flop de Batman.Caberiam tranquilamente mais umas 70 páginas cobrindo esse rico período de informações entre 1994 e o início dos anos 2000.Livro muito bom divertido, mas claramente acabou antes do que poderia.

I bought this book for my Arnie/Sly/movie loving brother, on the strength of the reviews. Glad I did because he's very happy with it. I didn't think the cover sold it very well, so I was a bit concerned I was giving one of those 'typical vacuous Christmas gift' books that you chuckle about when you open but have no intention of ever reading. Well this ain't one of those! My brother is greatly enjoying it and was regaling me in a couple of the ridiculous but true anecdotes the book unpacks. It seems to be a very good read for any1970/80s action movie-philes.

Interessantes Buch, flüssig geschrieben, mit ein paar guten Infos. Aber es hätte länger sein müssen und um die 80er abzudecken, hätten auch die Adtion-Stars der zweiten Riege reingehört.

A warm, funny and insightful read on all the key action heroes of the 80's and 90's including Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jackie Chan, Steven Seagal and Bruce Willis.Includes fascinating behind the scenes stories and how they each crossed paths with one another over that time in HollywoodWhat really stands out though for the sections about Sly, Arnold and Jean-Claude is their incredible desire, drive and will to succeed and refusal to take no for an answer.It will make you go back and want to watch a number of the films mentioned even the really bad ones like Steven Seagal's On Deadly GroundA joy to read