With the remake of ROBOCOP stomping into theaters this week (to some less than enthusiastic reviews), let’s cast the light on Paul Verhoeven, the man behind the original 1987 genre masterpiece. We’ll put him against another director of outstanding action movies from the 80s and 90s, John McTiernan.
After getting sex out of his system (mostly) with the smash hit erotic thriller BASIC INSTINCT, Verhoeven took his eye for propaganda and slaughter into deep space with the brilliant STARSHIP TROOPERS, followed by a sparse stretch and the underappreciated WWII spy thriller BLACK BOOK.
McTiernan also gave us the last decent John McClane sequel, DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE, and 1999’s THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR was a breezy improvement on the 1968 Steve McQueen romantic thriller.
While SHOWGIRLS has somehow achieved a considerable cult following, that doesn’t dismiss the fact that it’s not a particularly good movie. HOLLOW MAN featured some impressive (and Oscar-nominated) special effects and an invisible Kevin Bacon causing havoc, but otherwise just turned out to be kind of a disappointing slasher flick.
Coincidentally, McTiernan and Verhoeven both made a troubled and poorly received (but now admired by some) R-rated, slow-burning medieval adventure filled with mud and misery. McTiernan’s was THE 13th WARRIOR, an adaptation of Michael Crichton’s book EATERS OF THE DEAD. The author ultimately took over the final edit on the out-of-control production, with McTiernan’s original cut likely never to be seen.
And before Rutger Hauer began making an impression on American audiences in movies like NIGHTHAWKS, BLADE RUNNER and THE HITCHER, he got his first role on a Dutch TV series thanks to Verhoeven, who also then cast the actor in several features, including the excellent WWII film SOLDIER OF ORANGE.
Before THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, Alec Baldwin’s biggest successes were BEETLEJUICE, WORKING GIRL and the primetime soap “Knot’s Landing”. While he never reprised the role of Jack Ryan or achieved the demand (or paycheck) of Willis, it helped make him a recognizable face and name, and he’s been working steadily ever since.
It’s more than enough to forgive THE LAST ACTION HERO, an attempt to parody the hyperviolent action genre that Schwarzenegger came to symbolize. That kind of satire is best left to someone else… like Verhoeven.
Both filmmakers redefined the action genre in the era before CG overkill, McTiernan with his masterful pacing and explosive style, Verhoeven with his fierce pessimism and satirical sensibilities. Their finest efforts were influential and enduring to this day — Verhoeven’s popular releases have spawned a bunch of remakes, sequels and spinoffs both theatrical and direct-to-video (and some that should have been direct-to-video), and we got four more DIE HARDs and four more PREDATOR appearances after McTiernan’s gems turned them into franchises.
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