Random Thoughts: Disney Princesses(What I'd Like To See Changed About Em?)

Random Thoughts: The Spider-Man/John McClane connection

Usually during the holiday season I'd tend to have a christmas movie marathon and my first christmas movie of choice happens to be Die Hard. Die Hard is one of those kind of movies in which, to me, is a timeless classic that never gets old but what makes it even more special is watching it around christmas. As I was watching the movie I started to notice something that I haven't notice in awhile, how similar John McClane and Peter Parker actually are.

Lets look at a few main facts.

When the concept of John McClane first came up the character in actuality was originally supposed to parody action heroes like Stallone or The Ex-Governator. The actor they picked happened to be Bruce Willis. Before Bruce Willis became the action movie juggernaut that people currently remember him as he originally was a comedy movie star. Yes I was floored when I found that out. Blind Date was his most notable comedy film. When come time to play the role of John McClane his career really took off. So what started out as a joke ended up an inspiration for future action movies.

Peter Parker, like John McClane, didn't start out as your textbook superhero either. He didn't have the hero physique or the billions of dollars or the wonderful gadgets or super genius intellect. Peter is smart but he's more grounded smart, not like Reed Richards or Tony Stark who can make a suit of armor out of scraps. But he eventually ended up becoming the face of the Marvel Universe.

What they also have in common is that both of them are the everyman. They aren't billionaire playboys or invincible superheroes. Heck their origin stories didn't even involve them looking for supervillains to fight. It was just a case of being in the wrong situation at the wrong time.

"Story of my life"

In an essence they're actually wish fulfillment characters. John McClane represents the everyman who want to save lives even at the expense of their own life. Just like real life one doesn't get rewarded for it. However...

John McClane: You know what you get for being a hero? Nothin'. You get shot at. You get a little pat on the back, blah, blah, blah, attaboy. You get divorced. Your wife can't remember your last name. Your kids don't want to talk to you. You get to eat a lot of meals by yourself. Trust me, kid, nobody wants to be that guy.
Matt Farrell: Then why you doing this?
John McClane: Because there's no body else to do it right now, that's why. Believe me, if there were somebody else to do it, I'd let them do it, but there's not. So we're doing it.
From Live Free or Die Hard

Peter Parker represents the everyman who not just fights bad guys but also gets to hang around with the worlds greatest heroes and meets with some of the hottest heroines and yet he still gets crapped on. However

From Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes

They're the underdogs. In every sense of the word. They get the crap kicked out of them by every villain that comes in their path and they don't have corporate connections to pull them out of it. They also would get blasted by the media despite the countless lives they save yet through it all they pull through it and continue trying to save lives. Sometimes willingly and sometimes it just fall on their laps but they both continue to get the job done. While making a few wisecracks at the bad guys in the process.

Paul Walker

 

I remember when I first heard the news about it my first reaction was if this was someone's idea of a sick prank. I was proven wrong. It's one of those situations where it just shocks you to your core as your mind is trying to comprehend what it just discovered.

I'm not going to BS anyone and say the guy's my favorite actor but I admit that I have been starting to like his work as of late. Paul Walker to me is one of those guys who isn't really a bad actor, see Running Scared, but just doesn't have the right material for him to really showcase his talent, Running Scared again.

 My first time viewing him was in a movie called Varsity Blues. He played an all star quarterback who got injured and was replaced by the main character of the film. TBH I found Walker's character in VB more interesting as his character could have been written as a cliched jerk jock but in actuality he's more grounded and a pretty decent guy. That and he wasn't whiny like the main character. I liked him better in the Skulls, he plays the son of the main villain in that movie. His character in the Skulls I'd describe as not a villain but a more grayish type of character who could go either way depending on the situation. His character in the Fast and The Furious films isn't considered an all time favorite but when I looked at the character I see that he's actually the heart of the group. The glue that keeps the crew together. I thought his character arc was improving in the later Fast Films and was interested in seeing where it would go

While he's not considered my all time favorite actor I respect the guy due to his humble nature despite his celebrity status. He's one of those celebrities that you hardly hear a bad thing about, which to me is actually refreshing. Hollywood needs more celebrities like him.