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The heroes of Gladiator and M:I2 battle for top
summer status.
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After 13 weeks of moviemade explosions, battles and climactic feats of victory, I've decided to make a summer heroes scorecard. My guide is Joseph Campbell's 1949 book about mythical archetypes, The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Really, I'm being serious. Between screenings, writing, Internet surfing and an endless diet of hype and over-buttered popcorn, I've retreated to a digital-free room to reread Campbell's classic book.
Movies were already a powerful force when The Hero With a Thousand Faces was first published. In the book, Campbell used symbols from ancient mythology to address theories of human psychology. The result was a universal definition of the timeless hero.
Campbell died 13 years ago, but many people still remember him for his PBS series, The Power of Myth, with Bill Moyers. But I wonder: If Campbell were still alive, would he shift his attention from classic myths to the modern mythmaker that's Hollywood? Action blockbusters have become the great, global storytellers. Today's significant heroes are created on the big screen via the latest digital effects. By comparison, books of Greek myths are forgotten relics.
In the sandy pit of the Roman Coliseum, Maximus (Russell Crowe) reaches down to the arena floor and scoops up a handful of dirt. It's what he does before every climactic battle in director Ridley Scott's rousing, costume epic, Gladiator. Maximus is not the first ancient hero to receive big-screen treatment. Historical figures such as Moses, Jason, Aeneas, Buddha and King Arthur have all enjoyed movie adaptations. Of course, none of them can match Maximus' larger-than-life heroics in Gladiator.
Maximus' tale is one of old-fashioned revenge against a Roman emperor who killed his family. As a Roman general who's forced into slavery, Maximus' training as a gladiator is the necessary means to his goal. Tigers leap from hidden pits beneath the Coliseum surface, but Maximus continues to fight. His is an appropriate battleground for some make-believe matches between summer heroes. By the rules of my scorecard, the last hero standing becomes the king of summer action. As the scorecard's creator, I also get to decide who ultimately wins. The fun lies in watching the fight.
Shane Falco, Keanu Reeves' blue-collar quarterback from The Replacements, is Maximus' first opponent. Both are sports heroes in helmets and uniforms. Their meeting makes sense. While Falco can move quickly on his feet and knock Maximus around with some dead-on passes, I don't think he has a chance against the tigers. A better opponent for Maximus lies with X-Man Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and his metal claws.
Part of Campbell's composite of the timeless hero is a man with exceptional gifts. That certainly describes the comic-book superhero, Wolverine, who arrives with his weapons attached to his knuckles.
Maximus could leap onto his chariot, but I still think he would face a fierce battle against Wolverine's claws. Because this is nutty make-believe, I'm also going to toss Mission: Impossible 2 spy boy Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) into the melee. Hunt survived numerous explosions, countless kicks to the head and non-stop gunfire in director John Woo's Mission: Impossible 2. Hunt even has a bloody gash across his chiseled cheek as proof of his resilience. A boyish hero trained in a gun-toting world, Hunt's flashy toys of speedy sports cars, racing motor cycles, laptop computers, binoculars, cell phones and handguns would make him a worthy foe against Maximus and Wolverine. Truthfully, I'd just enjoy watching Hunt flip over the heads. The catch is not to trip over Falco's unconscious body.
Moviemade symbols of heroism have been burned into our psyche. The current DVD re-release of the 1952 George Stevens' Western, Shane, reunites us with the hero in the ten-gallon hat, the white steed and the lonesome prairie in the distance. Of course, Jack Palance's hired-gun villain wears black.
Clint Eastwood and Tommy Lee Jones are grizzled astronauts in Space Cowboys. They wiggle into their NASA astronaut suits and protective bubble-helmets in order to rocket into space to save a falling space satellite. These are the heroic images that will remain with us. The imagery is just so powerful. Even Campbell would have to admit that there is little stunt work and action gymnastics in Homer's Iliad.
Campbell described a hero's journey as one of separation, initiation and finally, the hero's return. Well, that sounds like the template for just about every action screenplay to me. Then again, Campbell also defined the hero as a man of self-achieved submission. Personally, after wading through pages of Freudian and Jungian analysis, I'm still a bit lost.
Back at the Coliseum, I toss the 1960s Cold War cartoons Rocky and Bullwinkle into the fight just for some slapstick relief. Bullwinkle was too dimwitted to avoid Wolverine's claws. Luckily, Rocky the flying squirrel made like a flying squirrel and escaped.
In this heroic game of dress-up, Mel Gibson flashes authentic duds as The Patriot's Revolutionary War soldier. Gibson also ducks flying cannonballs like there's no tomorrow.
Capt. Billy Tyne, George Clooney's blue-collar boss of the fishing boat Andrea Gail, wouldn't last a minute in Maximus' Coliseum. Like his Perfect Storm adventure, George Clooney is fated for defeat. He is part of what Campbell would call amor fati, that individual fated for failure, loss disillusionment and ironic emptiness.
Those retread heroes -- Nicolas Cage's benevolent car thief from Gone in 60 Seconds and Samuel L. Jackson's bad-ass detective from Shaft -- would be wise to stay on the sidelines. The same could be said for the comic heroes of Shanghai Noon, Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson. In the summer action pile, these guys are utterly forgettable.
The recent action women don't fare much better. X-Men's Rogue (Anna Paquin) is one confused and insecure teen hero. Elisabeth Shue's curvy scientist does save the day in Hollow Man, but it's Chicken Run's plucky claymation chicken, Ginger, who displays real bravery.
Few children read fairy tales anymore. There is barely enough time to wade through the latest Harry Potter. But during those times when children are playing dress-up, you can be assured they are pretending to be heroes they saw at the movies. Courtesy of special-effects, these moviemade heroes are beefier and capable of defying the rules of gravity. It's hard to say what hero fickle audiences will remember beyond Labor Day. In a perfect world, it would be real-life Detroit slugger Hank Greenberg. Few heroes receive a richer spotlight than the heartfelt documentary The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg. Personally, back at my Coliseum matches, my money is on the feisty Wolverine. Already, I can picture the Wolverine costumes come Halloween. More importantly, unlike Maximus, Wolverine will be back in a movie sequel. Nothing builds a myth like a sequel. It was the one heroic lesson Campbell neglected to tell us. ©
