Tom Jolliffe looks at ten tear-jerking moments from an eclectic mix of action movies (with major spoilers)…
Action movies are exciting, sometimes empowering, often chaotic and move at a breakneck pace. The primary directive of an action film is to invest you enough into the characters’ quest that you care what happens, but usually only to a point. A Commando or an Under Siege for example, may excite but they won’t leave you wondering why there’s so much dust in your living room. We want the good guys to win, and usually without too many complications they will.
Meanwhile, there are some films, usually dramas, where there is a distinct, often very calculated push to draw those tears out of you. Marley and Me is a pure delight until that inevitable moment where the dog, we as viewers have come to love, is put to sleep. Melancholic, bittersweet dramas have these moments. Some are downright maudlin pushing us to cry so much that we actively rebel against them. My natural inclination, even as a viewer who has oddly softened over time, is to actively remain dry of tears when there’s a forced expectation.
Just occasionally though. The action genre can pull out left-of-field sucker punches to the emotions. Some are very unexpected indeed, particularly if you look at moments in martial arts films for example where atypically we’re preoccupied with fisticuffs. The secret usually is in carefully cultivating a simmering drama beneath the action. It may not always be subtle, or even half as skilled as a dramatist auteur on song, but sometimes a culmination of elements and our investment works a treat. Here are ten emotional moments in action cinema…
Leon: The Professional (Leon Bites the Bullet)
I gifted my Leon DVD (having purchased a Blu-ray) to my ex-girlfriend’s sister some years back. She’s tough as nails, unshakeable. Schindler’s List? Not a shred of emotion. However, I got the verdict back. She loved the film for one but also, “I can’t believe I cried at a film.”
Yes, the power of Leon. Luc Besson’s masterwork still holds up as one of the best action films of the 90s, if not all time. It’s cool, unique, stylish and has exceptional performances, notably from Jean Reno, Natalie Portman (who is remarkable) and Gary Oldman. The odd pairing of a hitman and a brutally orphaned young girl is endearing without getting icky, thanks to Reno’s amiably naive protagonist. The connection (at least in the theatrical cut) seems entirely pure, so when a swat team boxes lean and Matilda in at a hotel and the only way out is a girl-sized shaft behind the drywall, it seems all too inevitable that Leon won’t make it.
To make matters worse, he does make it out. He’s heading out of the building when Stansfield (Oldman) shoots him in the back. Leon, close to death makes damn sure he takes Stansfield with him, and then it’s waterworks until Sting plays out to the final credits.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Thumbs Up)
Okay, this one might be obvious but this one is also entirely the fault of Simon Pegg. It wasn’t until I’d heard him reference the emotional resonance of Arnold’s terminator being dunked into molten steel with a last thumbs up, that it suddenly registered with me. Every viewing since, that damn dust has tickled my ducts.
Aside from the relentless chases and stunning action, at the centre has been a mother/son relationship but also an odd father/son bond between Arnolds T-800 and the young John Conner. It has a lot of sincerity and James Cameron never gets too maudlin.
Spoiler (Daddy Says Goodbye)
Action maestro Gary Daniels has had a career largely focused on high kicks and martial arts mayhem. He’s worked hard to try and improve as an actor which occasionally becomes difficult when hamstrung by shoddy productions or an unwillingness from studios to move too far from the fighting.
Spoiler is something of an underrated straight-to-video gem from 1998. It’s a prison flick with shades of Demolition Man, but Daniels plays a man sentenced to cryo-prison, where the convicted are frozen for the length of their term. He struggles to get out, at odds with the parole board and in desperation goes on the lam resulting in recapture and being stuck back in the freezer. The trouble is, whilst he spends years, then decades desperately trying to get out and see his daughter, she’s aging naturally.
Spoiler alert (sorry) but we have the inevitable moment, as seen more recently in Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar (with a slightly different time element) where the old daughter on her death bed is finally visited by the father who promised to return (and has remained the same age as when he left her). Okay, so Mason (Daniels) makes foolish decisions which are inevitably punished and he’s doubled crossed at every turn but the relentless crushing of his spirit and sad finale action tugs at the heartstrings. It’s not perfect but the concept has the legs to pull it through and Daniels’ performance is sincere.
RoboCop (What’s Your Name?)
RoboCop is a stone-cold classic. As well as being razor sharp and full of great lines and even greater displays of anarchically comical violence, it also has a heart. Murphy (Peter Weller) is annihilated by a crime gang and pronounced dead, resurrected as RoboCop, the future of law enforcement who runs via a series of directives.
Of course, Murphy lurks beneath the programming system, his humanity and memories slowly returning. We want Murphy to be resurrected. He’ll never be the same, reliant on his mechanical system to keep him alive but the audience roots for not only his revenge but the acknowledgement from others that he is a person still. That comes at the end when ‘The old man’ asks, “What’s your name son?” “Murphy” is the reply and I’m a wreck.
Lionheart/A.W.O.L (Leon Returns)
Yes seriously. A Jean-Claude Van Damme fight fest, no matter how many times I watch it, has me welling up. There are several reasons why Lionheart is effective. For one, the story sees Leon (JCVD) deserting the foreign legion to visit his brother on his deathbed. He’s too late but sets about trying to provide for his sister-in-law (who wants nothing to do with him) and niece.
Leon never strays from his singular mission. He’s a likeable character, and whilst Van Damme was still very rough around the edges, he has a kind of puppy dog innocence and sincerity. There’s a purity in his quest, based on undying devotion to family that’s admirable and touching. Then there’s Harrison Page who provides plenty of his own pathos in the story, as well as the standout acting performance. He’s constantly endearing even when he makes the ‘wrong bet.’ Finally the music, perhaps the finest theme in Van Damme canon, comes in throughout at melancholic moments.
After the climactic one-on-one fight, Leon is taken away by the Legionnaires assigned to bring him back to face the music. He’s taken away from his Annie-esque, impossibly adorable niece who is left heartbroken. She waits by the front door as the car drives off over the hill and out of sight. Then there’s a reprieve, the two agents have a change of heart and let Leon go. The music kicks in, swelling to a crescendo as Leon emerge from the distance, running into view and back to his niece, and I’m kind of getting misty-eyed just typing it.
Best of the Best (Redemption in Defeat)
Best of the Best came early in the regenerative boom in martial arts movies in the 80s, particularly the tournament scrapper. Where Bloodsport was simple, barnstorming but emotionally light, with a cartoonishly menacing villain, something like Best of the Best had an unexpected rooting in drama. For one, the cast is beefed up by a number of Oscar-nominated actors including Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, Sally Kirkland and (Oscar winner) Louise Fletcher. Like Cobra Kai, for example, it might not be exceptional in individual elements, and the script goes for predictable beats, but the combination of all the elements and its uplifting soundtrack make for a surprisingly heartfelt film for the genre.
The final tournament gets increasingly dramatic with so much baggage being brought to the mat. Tommy (Philip Rhee) is haunted by the death of his brother at the hands of his South Korean opponent. Will his anger get the better of him, will he go for revenge instead of mercy? He goes for mercy and in doing so sacrifices the tournament victory for team USA. Then the Korean side, so touched by the act and their respective battles, gift their winners’ medals to the Americans. Okay it’s not as jingoistic as it sounds. The film is ultimately a redemption story, particularly for Alex (Roberts) and Tommy.
Seven Samurai (Kikuchiyo’s Death)
Seven Samurai might just be the greatest action film ever made. It’s an epic film full of drama, action and moments of levity. The cast is superb in a film that proved inspirational to the genre going forward. Kurosawa’s craftmanship in action set pieces is matched by his dramatic nuance.
Toshiro Mifune is one of cinema’s most magnetic presences and is utterly on fire here as a drifter who blags his way into a band of samurai hired to protect an impoverished village from bandits. Kikuchiyo’s transition from loudmouth, bumbling fool, to heroic warrior is enthralling and his ultimate demise is crushing.
Road House (Death of a Mentor)
Road House is great. It’s cheesy as all hell, the fight scenes are great and the soundtrack is ace. Ben Gazzara is brilliantly hideous as the villain. If action cinema could often be hampered by the limitations of its muscular leading men, then there was always the option of more ranged actors like Mel Gibson, Bruce Willis and Patrick Swayze. The latter stars in Road House and like his other, all too brief flirtations in the action genre, he brings masses of charisma and screen presence to proceedings.
Swayze is all quiet cool as Dalton, hiding a haunted past. As the cooler tasked with cleaning up the trash in a dive bar, in a town controlled by a criminal overlord, Dalton has to repress a rage that once saw him tear a man’s throat out. He brings in his old mentor to help and things improve but we know there needs to be a trigger point where Dalton’s rage bursts forth. That comes with the death of Wade (Sam Elliott), which crushes Dalton into a meltdown.
The Killer (A Tragic End)
John Woo’s peak-era action cinema in Hong Kong was always grounded in emotional depth. He could craft jaw-dropping shootouts like few others, but his films also felt anchored by intriguing characters, often a great sense of duality from opposing forces on either side of the law (who would often team up).
In The Killer there are several great emotional moments throughout, where Woo teeters on falling into deep melodrama but always beautifully floats away from it (like a graceful slo-mo dove). One moment sees Chow Yun fat as the titular killer who is heartbroken when he realises a friend has betrayed him. Come the finale the friend redeems himself but the ensuing battle ends tragically for the killer and the singer he blinded during a hit and has been trying to help.
Top Gun: Maverick (Ice Man Returns/Finale)
All told, Top Gun: Maverick was something of an emotional rollercoaster throughout. In part, the experience itself and the hearty nostalgia played a big part. This was a film made with the skill and on-screen focus of yesteryear. In some ways a relic, but in others a timely reminder that films don’t need to be filled top to toe with greenscreen and CGI to be spectacular. It’s a simple but effective thrill ride that manages to grip to the point we’re almost exhausted (in a good way) by the end.
The finale’s beats work beautifully. Maverick makes a sacrifice. He’s Mav so we know he’s not done for, but it doesn’t negate that emotional impact and tension. Rooster, son of Goose, who has spent most of the film to this point resenting Maverick then heads back into the danger zone to rescue his father’s old friend. There are no real surprises in Maverick but it’s a great example of hitting beats perfectly. Gripping the audience, exciting them and really hitting the emotions in the right places.
Then, there’s also the return of Val Kilmer on screen which is a bittersweet moment that’s well handled. It could easily have misfired, and felt maudlin or forced, but the scene works well. It’s a meta moment too as the emotional sequence is almost as much about actor as it is character.
What are your favourite tear-jerking moments in action movies? Let us know on our social channels @flickeringmyth…
Tom Jolliffe is an award-winning screenwriter and passionate cinephile. He has a number of films out around the world, including When Darkness Falls, Renegades (Lee Majors and Danny Trejo) and War of The Worlds: The Attack (Vincent Regan), with more coming soon including Cinderella’s Revenge (Natasha Henstridge) and The Baby in the Basket (Maryam d’Abo and Paul Barber). Find more info at the best personal site you’ll ever see here.
