Post by Tizz LaRusso on May 5, 2010 11:06:20 GMT -5
I mean "character", not "actor". Ralph Macchio wasn't a martialist, but that's NOT the point!
(I'm a cosmic KK fan).
Karate Kid/Daniel LaRusso was much more successful than Bruce Lee('s characters) in terms of popularity and MONEY (the original Karate Kid trilogy was a gigantic smash hit all around the world). The only Bruce Lee movie to gross a shitload of money was "Enter The Dragon", but not as much as the second Karate Kid. Compare the numbers!
So? "Bloodsport" and "Lionheart" were cult hits, but never smashed the box-office. They made some profit, okay. I don't think "Street Fighter" is a martial arts character, since it was just a movie adaptation of a silly game featuring many characters and not just one. And it wasn't that big anyway.
Jet Li('s characters) never achieved big box office draw.
Ong-Bak wasn't a smash-hit, and Tony Jaa is still today relatively unknown.
All the martialist actors - including Van Damme - used their martial arts as a FACTOR playing along many other factors in movies NOT focused on martial arts. "Universal Soldier" or "Under Siege" weren't about martial arts. Martial arts were only an element thrown in the mix.
I strongly think Karate Kid is the first and last martialist character to have smashed the box-office three times. The trilogy spawned a big cultural phenomenon, countless imitators and a "martial arts" trend among youngsters in the eighties.
(I'm a cosmic KK fan).
Karate Kid/Daniel LaRusso was much more successful than Bruce Lee('s characters) in terms of popularity and MONEY (the original Karate Kid trilogy was a gigantic smash hit all around the world). The only Bruce Lee movie to gross a shitload of money was "Enter The Dragon", but not as much as the second Karate Kid. Compare the numbers!
So? "Bloodsport" and "Lionheart" were cult hits, but never smashed the box-office. They made some profit, okay. I don't think "Street Fighter" is a martial arts character, since it was just a movie adaptation of a silly game featuring many characters and not just one. And it wasn't that big anyway.
Jet Li('s characters) never achieved big box office draw.
Ong-Bak wasn't a smash-hit, and Tony Jaa is still today relatively unknown.
All the martialist actors - including Van Damme - used their martial arts as a FACTOR playing along many other factors in movies NOT focused on martial arts. "Universal Soldier" or "Under Siege" weren't about martial arts. Martial arts were only an element thrown in the mix.
I strongly think Karate Kid is the first and last martialist character to have smashed the box-office three times. The trilogy spawned a big cultural phenomenon, countless imitators and a "martial arts" trend among youngsters in the eighties.