A Comparative Analysis of My Childhood Action Heros
Joshua Eltervoog
josh@smartguys.com
May 3, 2005
Introduction:
I recently watched First Blood on a movie channel. It had been quite some time since I had seen it. In the last few months I have also watched Demolition Man, Rocky, Rocky III and Judge Dredd. While pondering this inordinate amount of Stallone I couldn’t help but admire the body of work that he has amassed. I then grew nostalgic for all the action movies of my formative years (roughly the late eighties and the nineties).
I began to wonder: Who was the definitive action star from my childhood?
Group Subjects:
The subjects of this analysis are: Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal.
Other actors were considered, but discarded based on the body of their work, or relevance to the stated time period. For example, although Bruce Willis has been in many excellent action films, he has proven himself a capable actor in non-action roles and action films are not the focus of his career. The same is true of Harrison Ford. Charles Bronson is a great action-star, but from an entirely different era, and beyond the scope of this comparison.
Data Collection:
Movie titles, dates, ratings and roles were gathered from the Internet Movie Database (IMDB). The ratings are averaged from scores submitted by registered IMDB users. Movies with only a handful of ratings were discarded. Most movie ratings were averaged from over 1000 user submissions. Although I personally disagreed with some of the ratings, I do feel that they accurately reflect the overall opinions of movie fans. Movies where the actor was not credited (ex: cameo appearances) were also not included.
Box office data was acquired from The Numbers website. Not all movies were represented on the website, but I feel that the data acquired is still valid and representative of each actor’s career.
The complete dataset is located at the end of this report.
Data Analysis:
Ironically, both Stallone and Schwarzenegger began their careers in 1970, with almost the same initial response. Stallone’s career spiked early in 1976 with Rocky (for which he was also nominated for 2 Oscars). Schwarzenegger’s first major spike was in 1984, with The Terminator, and a career and comparison group high in 1992 with Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Schwarzenegger continued to be predominately favored for most of the 80’s and 90’s.
Batman and Robin and Jingle All the Way marked significant low spots for Schwarzenegger in the late 90’s, the same time frame that Stallone appeared in Copland and lent his voice to Antz.
From this data it appears that Schwarzenegger has enjoyed more approval than the other subjects, although Stallone’s career approval rating is very close.
Segal and Van Damme do not appear to be overly significant, although Van Damme’s late career rise is a disturbing trend*.
Here we see the same data distilled into yearly averages. Once again, the data shows an early lead by Stallone, with later dominance by Schwarzenegger. 1992 did bring a coup for both Segal and Van Damme with Under Siege and Timecop, respectively (although in 1992 Schwarzenegger released no movies and Stallone released Stop or My Mom Will Shoot).
Here we see each actor’s career rating average. With the careers compressed the gap between ratings appears to shrink. Schwarzenegger still appears to lead.
This chart is fairly self-explanatory. What is surprising is that Van Damme has made more movies than Schwartzenegger.
Here we see that Van Damme has been the most prolific over his career, while Schwarzenegger has the lowest yearly average. However, judging from Schwarzenegger’s ratings approval the other actors could have possibly benefited from being more selective.
In this chart we see that Schwarzenegger and Stallone’s career box office gross dwarfs both Seagal and Van Damme’s. It is important to note that Seagal and Van Damme’s careers started quite a few years after Stallone and Schwarzenegger’s.
Here the gap closes, but Schwarzenegger continues his dominance.
Conclusions:
After an objective view of the data it would appear that Schwarzenegger is the greatest action movie star of my childhood. Stallone comes in at a close second, while Segal and Van Damme waged their own war for third place.
Final Thoughts and Observations:
I was somewhat saddened by the outcome of this comparison. I have always had a soft spot for Sylvester. I think it is possible that Schwarzenegger’s more shrewd Austrian heritage led to him being more calculated in his movie career, bringing him more successes more often. Whereas Stallone appears to have taken some projects based on pure whimsy (ex: Rhinestone, Oscar).
Steven Seagal got kind of weird later in his career with mysticism, Buddhism and environmentalism. This probably didn’t help him. He also came off as kind of a douche bag.
Jean-Claude Van Damme has kind of a strange accent (and in some movies a mullet). This might have been a hindrance to success, however Schwarzenegger also has a pronounced accent and appears to be the most successful in the comparison. Perhaps we can only tolerate one accented action-hero at a time. When one considers that his first credited role was “Gay Karate Man” it is amazing that he has a career at all.
Footnote:
*Kumite was rated by a relatively small number if IMDB users.
References:
General
Internet Movie Database
The Numbers
Sylvester Stallone
Internet Movie Database
The Numbers
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Internet Movie Database
The Numbers
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Internet Movie Database
The Numbers
Steven Seagal
Internet Movie Database
The Numbers
Dataset:
| Title | Year | Rating | Character |
| Sylvester Stallone | |||
| The Party at Kitty and Stud's | 1970 | 2.6 | Stud |
| The Lord's of Flatbush | 1974 | 5.5 | Stanley Rosiello |
| No Place to Hide | 1975 | 3.8 | Jerry Savage |
| The Prisoner of Second Avenue | 1975 | 6.3 | Mistaken Pickpocket |
| Capone | 1975 | 4.7 | Frank Nitti |
| Death Race 2000 | 1975 | 5.4 | Machine Gun Joe |
| Farewell, My Lovely | 1975 | 6.9 | Kelly/Jonnie |
| Rocky | 1976 | 7.8 | Rocky Balboa |
| Paradise Alley | 1978 | 4.8 | Cosmo Carboni |
| F.I.S.T. | 1978 | 5.7 | Johnny D. Kovak |
| Rocky II | 1979 | 6.3 | Rocky Balboa |
| Victory | 1981 | 5.9 | Capt. Robert Hatch |
| Nighthawks | 1981 | 6.2 | Det. Sgt. Deke DaSilva |
| Rocky III | 1982 | 5.7 | Rocky Balboa |
| First Blood | 1982 | 6.8 | John J. Rambo |
| Rhinestone | 1984 | 3 | Nick Martinelli |
| Rambo: First Blood Part II | 1985 | 5.1 | John J. Rambo |
| Rocky IV | 1985 | 5.3 | Rocky Balboa |
| Cobra | 1986 | 4.2 | Lieutenant Marion 'Cobra' Cobretti |
| Over the Top | 1987 | 4 | Lincoln Hawk |
| Rambo III | 1988 | 4 | John J. Rambo |
| Lock Up | 1989 | 5.1 | Frank Leone |
| Tango & Cash | 1989 | 5.3 | Raymond 'Ray' Tango |
| Rocky V | 1990 | 4 | Rocky Balboa |
| Oscar | 1991 | 5.4 | Angelo 'Snaps' Provolone |
| Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot | 1992 | 3 | Sgt. Joe Bomowski |
| Cliffhanger | 1993 | 6 | Gabe Walker |
| Demolition Man | 1993 | 6.1 | John Spartan |
| The Specialist | 1994 | 4.7 | Ray Quick |
| Judge Dredd | 1995 | 4.6 | Judge Joseph Dredd |
| Assassins | 1995 | 5.7 | Robert Rath |
| Daylight | 1996 | 5.2 | Kit Latura |
| Cop Land | 1997 | 6.7 | Sheriff Freddy Heflin |
| Antz | 1998 | 7 | Weaver |
| Get Carter | 2000 | 4.7 | Jack Carter |
| Driven | 2001 | 4.4 | Joe Tanto |
| Avenging Angelo | 2002 | 4.7 | Frankie Delano |
| D-Tox | 2002 | 4.7 | FBI Agent Jake Malloy |
| Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over | 2003 | 4.7 | Toymaker |
| Shade | 2003 | 6.5 | Stevens |
| Arnold Schwarzenegger | |||
| Hercules in New York | 1970 | 2.5 | Hercules |
| The Villain | 1976 | 4.5 | Handsome Stranger |
| Stay Hungry | 1976 | 5.5 | Joe Santo |
| Scavenger Hunt | 1979 | 5.1 | Lars, Gym Instructor |
| The Jayne Mansfield Story | 1980 | 4.6 | Mickey Hargitay |
| Conan the Barbarian | 1982 | 6.5 | Conan |
| Conan the Destroyer | 1984 | 5.2 | Conan |
| The Terminator | 1984 | 7.9 | The Terminator |
| Red Sonja | 1985 | 4.2 | Kalidor |
| Commando | 1985 | 5.7 | John Matrix |
| Raw Deal | 1986 | 4.7 | Mark Kaminsky, aka Joseph P. Brenner |
| The Running Man | 1987 | 6.2 | Ben Richards |
| Predator | 1987 | 7.4 | Major 'Dutch' Schaeffer |
| Red Heat | 1988 | 5.4 | Capt. Ivan Danko |
| Twins | 1988 | 5.9 | Julius Benedict |
| Total Recall | 1990 | 7.2 | Douglas Quaid/Hauser |
| Kindergarten Cop | 1990 | 5.8 | Detective John Kimble |
| Terminator 2: Judgment Day | 1991 | 8.1 | The Terminator |
| Last Action Hero | 1993 | 5.4 | Jack Slater/Himself |
| Junior | 1994 | 4.6 | Dr. Alex Hesse |
| True Lies | 1994 | 7 | Harry Tasker |
| Eraser | 1996 | 5.8 | U.S. Marshal John 'The Eraser' Kruger |
| Jingle All the Way | 1996 | 4.7 | Howard 'Howie' Langston |
| Batman & Robin | 1997 | 3.6 | Mr. Freeze/Dr. Victor Fries |
| End of Days | 1999 | 5.3 | Jericho Cane |
| The 6th Day | 2000 | 5.9 | Adam Gibson |
| Collateral Damage | 2002 | 5.2 | Gordy Brewer |
| Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines | 2003 | 6.9 | The Terminator |
| Around the World in 80 Days | 2004 | 5.7 | Prince Hapi |
| Jean-Claude Van Damme | |||
| Monaco Forever | 1984 | 3.3 | Gay Karate Man |
| No Retreat, No Surrender | 1985 | 4 | Ivan |
| Black Eagle | 1988 | 3.2 | Andrei |
| Bloodsport | 1988 | 5.8 | Frank Dux |
| Cyborg | 1989 | 3.8 | Gibson Rickenbacker |
| Kickboxer | 1989 | 5 | Kurt Sloane |
| Lionheart | 1990 | 5.1 | Lyon Gaultier |
| Death Warrant | 1990 | 4.7 | Louis Burke |
| Double Impact | 1991 | 4.5 | Alex/Chad Wagner |
| Universal Soldier | 1992 | 5.2 | Luc Deveraux/GR44 |
| Nowhere to Run | 1993 | 4.7 | Sam Gillen |
| Hard Target | 1993 | 5.2 | Chance Boudreaux |
| Last Action Hero | 1993 | 5.4 | Cameo Appearance |
| Timecop | 1994 | 5.5 | Max Walker |
| Street Fighter | 1994 | 2.9 | Colonel William F. Guile |
| Sudden Death | 1995 | 5.1 | Darren McCord |
| The Quest | 1996 | 4.3 | Christopher Dubois |
| Maximum Risk | 1996 | 4.9 | Alain Moreau/Mikhail Suverov |
| Double Team | 1997 | 3.9 | Jack Quinn |
| Legionnaire | 1998 | 4.5 | Alain Lefevre |
| Knock Off | 1998 | 3.8 | Marcus Ray |
| Coyote Moon | 1999 | 4.2 | Eddie Lomax |
| Universal Soldier: The Return | 1999 | 3.2 | Luc Deveraux |
| Replicant | 2001 | 4.9 | Edward 'The Torch' Garrotte/Replicant |
| The Order | 2001 | 4.1 | Rudy Cafmeyer/Charles Le Vaillant |
| Derailed | 2002 | 3.4 | Jacques Kristoff |
| The Savage | 2003 | 5.5 | Kyle LeBlanc |
| Narco | 2004 | 5.8 | Jean-Claude Van Damme fantasmé par Lenny |
| Wake of Death | 2004 | 5.2 | Ben Archer |
| Kumite | 2005 | 7.8 | Vic 'The Cajun' Latour |
| Steven Seagal | |||
| Above the Law | 1988 | 5.2 | Nico Toscani |
| Hard to Kill | 1990 | 4.8 | Mason Storm |
| Marked for Death | 1990 | 5 | John Hatcher |
| Out for Justice | 1991 | 4.9 | Detective Gino Felino Tactical Narcotics Team NYPD |
| Under Siege | 1992 | 6.1 | Casey Ryback |
| On Deadly Ground | 1994 | 3.5 | Forrest Taft |
| Under Siege 2: Dark Territory | 1995 | 4.9 | Casey Ryback |
| Executive Decision | 1996 | 6.3 | Lt. Colonel Austin Travis |
| The Glimmer Man | 1996 | 4.8 | Jack Cole |
| Fire Down Below | 1997 | 4.3 | Jack Taggart |
| The Patriot | 1998 | 4 | Dr. Wesley McClaren |
| Ticker | 2001 | 3.3 | Frank Glass |
| Exit Wounds | 2001 | 5.1 | Orin Boyd |
| Half Past Dead | 2002 | 3.9 | Sasha |
| The Foreigner | 2003 | 3.2 | Jonathan Cold |
| Out for a Kill | 2003 | 3 | Prof. Robert Burns |
| Belly of the Beast | 2003 | 4.3 | Jake Hopper |
| Clementine | 2004 | 4.6 | Jack Miller |
| Out of Reach | 2004 | 3.6 | William Lancing |
| Into the Sun | 2005 | 4 | Travis Hunter |