Heavy Armor's Blog (4)

One of the major components of the genre for the Action Hero is the struggle against the opposition that is established as the obstacle to the hero's goals - usually winning a trophy, saving lives, getting the girl at the end of the movie to kiss (and do more) with him. The struggle against opposition, simply stated, is taking damage somewhere along the line during the battle, and that this damage will define the physical (or sometimes mental or emotional) stumbling block that allows the hero to… Continue

This analysis is one of the few times that a movie can be examined against the rest of the franchise, with the first movie in particular being the main piece to examine. In an attempt to remake the Karate Kid franchise for a new generation of fans, a new direction was proposed and the requisite Girl Power was added to the main storyline of movie. With Ralph Macchio, the original Karate Kid, now 32, asking him to reprise his role would be asking for trouble. So, tapped for the role would b… Continue

For my first analysis, I take on the attempted RomCom (Romantic Comedy) "My Super-Ex Girlfriend." Although, technically, not a "Female Action Hero" by the design of the movie, the principal character takes a great many of its cues from the world of comics (particularly DC), as well as from commercial TV and 3 different movies.

The buzz from early concept releases were mixed as the cast and crew were assembled, but hopes were high. But something happened between concept to release that c… Continue

Since the birth of moving celluloid and motion pictures, many of the roles that women played on the silver screen often involved being the femme fatale or the damsel-in-distress. As times changed and the lives of women changed, so too have their roles in the movies. With the advent of television came a progression for women in the spotlight – while damsels, femme fatales, and romance seekers were still prevalent, a small portion of the roles now included female sidekicks t… Continue