One of the biggest losses in cinema as of late is the popcorn action movie.
That’s not to say that they don’t exist today, but they’re often relegated to streaming services. Back in the day, though, these were big billings in theaters, complete with A-lister talent and nonsensical scripts.
There’s nothing wrong with that, though. Sometimes all you want to do at the movies is eat a large popcorn, crack open a box of Sno-Caps, and wash it down with a large soda.
Those days may feel like they’re gone, but we can still relive these forgotten 2010s action movies.
Hanna
Never in a million years would I have expected Saoirse Ronan to completely own the lead role of an action movie.
Hanna proves the doubters wrong thanks ot its fantastic soundtrack and killer action sequences. Sadly, it’s become lost in the shuffle over the years and, inexplicably, not mentioned along with other great action movies of its time.
Lockout
Poor Guy Pearce.
Despite some strong performances on his resume in Memento and L.A. Confidential, he just never took off as a movie star.
Maybe that’s why no one remembers his 2012 French action film (from the co-writer of Taken). You can argue that Lockout is best known for losing a lawsuit from John Carpenter, who alleged that the film plagiarized Escape from New York and Escape from L.A.
Bullet to the Head
I’m not saying that The Expendables is a good movie, but hey, at least it’s memorable.
Despite an incredible title, Bullet to the Head is the exact opposite. Boring, drab, and a complete box office bomb. Maybe Stallone should have stuck with the ensemble casts or recognizable IPs.
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Drive Angry
This film is the trifecta of early 2010s cinema. Nicolas Cage stars in Drive Angry, a movie where he, you guessed it, drives angry. Oh, and it was shot in 3D, too. Remember when 3D movies were coming back?
This is the type of thing that you’d normally see go straight to streaming services today with little to no fanfare.
Safe
There was arguably no bigger action star in the 2000s than Jason Statham. His filmography speaks for itself, notably The Transporter franchise and Crank.
That success would not translate to the 2010s, though. Honestly, you can take your pick from a variety of forgettable action movies.
The Cold Light of Day
We’re about to enter a theme here on our list of forgettable 2010s action movies: ensemble casts. No matter how much star power some of these movies had, that wasn’t enough to make up for their many, many shortcomings.
Take, for example, the 2010 action thriller The Cold Light of Day. Despite featuring Bruce Willis, Henry Cavill, and Sigourney Weaver, there’s nothing here worth writing home about.
Olympus Has Fallen
Gerard Butler plays a Secret Service agent for the President (Aaron Eckhart), with Morgan Freeman playing the Speaker of the House.
Truth be told, the cast of Olympus Has Fallen is stacked and representative of what it was like in the early 2010s with these action movies. All the movie stars, all the action, none of the story.
Olympus Has Fallen would get a sequel in 2016.
White House Down
What if I told you that there were two movies about a terrorist attack on the White House in 2013?
This time, it’s White House Down, starring Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx. Despite a strong box office return of $200 million (against a $150 million budget, mind you), White House Down wasn’t fortunate enough to get a sequel. Maybe that’s because it had the misfortune of releasing three months after Olympus Has Fallen.
Haywire
There’s so much starpower here that I legitimately have no idea why this film failed to make an impact.
First, it’s directed by Steven Soderbergh. Then there’s the cast of Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Bill Paxton, Channing Tatum, and Gina Carano in the lead role. This movie deserved better.
Savages
As we’ve learned, even the most impressive cast and directing combination doesn’t guarantee a film’s success or even a legacy.
Oliver Stone’s 2012 film Savages has the look and feel of an iconic, smart, and stylish action flick, but it came and went without much uproar.
The A-Team
Remember when they made a modern-day adaptation of The A-Team? Nothing says the year 2010 more than this cast: Liam Neeson as John “Hannibal” Smith, Bradley Cooper as Templeton “Face” Peck, Quintin Rampage Jackson as Bosco “B.A.” Barcus, along with Jessica Biel, as well.
One of the biggest reasons it’s become forgotten is that it didn’t really add anything new or exciting. It exists as a lazy movie that would easily do well at the box office. Spoiler alert: it did.
The Losers
It makes sense that The Losers was released the same summer as The A-Team. The two shared many similarities, coincidental or not.
Like The A-Team, The Losers is an adaptation, albeit this time based on the comic series of the same name. It also has an ensemble cast, including Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Evans, Zoe Saldana, and Idris Elba. All of these actors would go on to much bigger and better things, with The Losers becoming a forgotten footnote in their filmographies.
The Last Stand
Say what you want about him, but Johnny Knoxville has a genuine talent for being memorable.
Yet for some reason, his 2013 action movie, where he co-stars with Arnold Schwarzenegger, feels like something that you made up. It’s an inoffensive movie that gets the job done, but doesn’t do enough to leave a lasting impact.
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