Mature heroes in action, despite the creaks

They might be creaky, but they keep on kicking. By Frank Masi, Lionsgate
Young at heart: Sylvester Stallone, 66, and Dolph Lundgren, 54, star in 'The Expendables 2.'
By Frank Masi, Lionsgate
Young at heart: Sylvester Stallone, 66, and Dolph Lundgren, 54, star in 'The Expendables 2.'
In The Expendables 2, the high-octane drama is served up by men of a certain age: Jean-Claude Van Damme, 51, and Chuck Norris, 72, join a team headed by Sylvester Stallone, 66, Arnold Schwarzenegger, 65, and Bruce Willis, 57.The caper, opening Friday, is one of several films highlighting mature action heroes.The filmmakers behind The Avengers could have gone in any age direction when recasting Dr. Bruce Banner, but they went with salt-and-pepper-haired Mark Ruffalo, 44, as the Hulk's world-weary alter ego, joining Robert Downey Jr., 47 (Tony Stark/Iron Man).And Liam Neeson, 60, who has found new career life as an action star, kicks his way on-screen in Taken 2 (Oct. 5.)"The cycle has come around again from the time when all the leading men were 16 to 24," says Expendables 2 director Simon West (who is just past the half-century mark himself). "People are loving that we have these guys on the other side of 40 doing it all now. The Expendables is sort of the epiphany. You couldn't get more mature heroes than that."A big reason behind the success: Audiences react positively to vulnerability, a topic the film explores amidst the nostalgic bravado."Age is something that affects everybody, and it makes the guy even more of a hero that he's on his back foot and might not make it," says West. "Yet they are still slugging it out."In Taken 2, Neeson's retired CIA agent looks like "the guy next door who can help fix the roof," says director Olivier Megaton, 47. "But this just gives the surprise to the audience when he reacts like an action hero."The key advantage for the characters with hard years behind them: experience."I'd be more worried if a 50-year-old guy was after me rather than a 25-year-old," says The Expendables' Dolph Lundgren, 54. "You know a 50-year-old is smarter, will wait and will get you."Especially if he has some moves left. Van Damme wears reading glasses and happily list his ailments ("my knees, my hips, my back"), but he's still doing his own spin kicks. "The lungs are not as good. But I train so hard," says Van Damme. "Doing this is like drinking a glass of water."For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.
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