I was thinking about these guy movies that if you peel some layers on them there is actually quite a but of romance to them. They are advertised as action or horror but when you look at the subtle context or certain scenes you can see romance and motivations of the movie are because of some kind of romance. Yes I know this is not shocking as a decent movie has to have some plot. It is just some of the movies you think of you or how they were advertised you do not even think of the romance but associate it to violence or something of that nature. Well below are five movies that are consider guy flicks (is that a real category) but have romance in them that drive the plot or are actually a romantic movie with a lot of explosions. Now be warned there are a lot of SPOILERS below about the movies I am going to talk about so if you haven’t seen them and don’t want to be spoiled then skip their section.
5. Rambo First Blood Part II
This is my weakest entry in this list but it is to prove a point. What expression from the 80s and 90s is a term for a one man army destroying machine. No it was not Liam Neeson but one word and that was Rambo (especially after Part II and Rambo 3). Yes Rambo was a character known for action and explosions and a lot of killing. The ultimate action movies. However, in Part II Rambo had a female companion with him and actually shared a kiss. Here is the romance and the aftermath of the romance below:
Now I know you are thinking that this was only a few seconds of the whole movie but listen to what they say. Rambo and the girl (Co) was going to sneak to safety and go back to America and live a happy life. However, as you saw that was not the case and because of the actions of killing Rambo’s girlfriend well he went Rambo on all of them as you can see.
So because he lost his girl he went back to get revenge, rescue POWs, and basically be the one many army he was known as. I will leave you with this last act of revenge from Rambo for the killing of his girl:
4. The Village
This movie was marketed to people as a horror movie. All the trailers and TV spots I saw said this was going to be a movie about some villagers and monsters that keep them there. This movie was basically a romantic movie that had the Shyamalan twist that he was known for in his earlier films. Everyone I knew expected a horror film but it was a romantic film. This is evidenced by the two main characters of Ivy Walker (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Lucius Hunt (Joaquin Phoenix). They are obvious in love with each other but do not really come out and say it but their actions and motivations prove otherwise. For an example when the “monsters” attack the village look at the two characters and Ivy reaches out for her man and how determined Lucius is to make sure she is safe.
A pretty powerful scene but the whole movie is basically about their love story. The climax deals with after Lucius was stabbed Ivy has to brave beyond the boundries to the “towns” to get medicine to save her love. Remember she is blind (which is why the elders let her go) which shows her determination and strength to save the one she loves and would risk anything for him. Again something very romantic. Here is an example of this (warning the video spoils the twist):
So I included this movie as an example where advertising shows you one thing but it is really somethign else. In this case a romance story.
3.The Matrix Trilogy
When people think of the Matrix they think of science fiction, action, fighting, special effects. This is all true but throughout the trilogy there was one contstant which was the romance between Neo and Trinity. Lets go through some spoilers about this. In the first movie Neo dies and is brought back by a kiss from Trinity and it was told she would fall in love with the One. The second movie Neo has a dream of his love Trinity dying and it affects through the movie and in the end she does die but it is his powers and love that brings her back to life as she did in the first one. He stuck his hand into her heart but similar concept. The you have the third movie where it about them together going on a mission to save humanity and they have a soft scene when she dies in the real world. Between all the action, special effects and philosophy there is the love story of Trinity and Neo. You can see this love in their final moments together right here:
You see romance played a lot with the motivations and drove the plot in these films. Don’t believe me that there was a lot of romance in these films then take look at this fan made video that shows a lot of moments between the two loves:
2. Braveheart
Braveheart was a movie known for it’s violent war scenes and is considered a big epic. It has a lot of violence but it you break the context of the film you will see the romance through it all. William Wallace wanted to come home and settle down and marry a girl he has loved all of his life. Again spoilers but the reason he goes to battle with the British was because they killed his wife. He did not like the British and wanted Scotland to be free but he was going to settle down with Murron and be a farmer. So basically all the fightign we see in the movie and the war was because of love. I will not go into details more because it is pretty obvious but even today people do not see that it is basically a war because of romance and loss and even before his death he still thinks of her. The next three clips is one of the romantic scenes and two fan made tributes showing the romance in this bloody violent movie that is known more for that then the reason and motivation of the war which is love.
1. The Terminator
Like Rambo when people think of an action movie from the 80s and 90s they bring up the Terminator. I mean come on it about a killer robot from the future to kill the mother of human’s leader before he is born. Lots of guns and shootouts and of course action star Arnold Schwarzenegger. There is no time for romance right? Nope the whole reason the human protector goes back in time is because he loves Sarah Connor even though he never met her. He came back in time for her. You can see this in the clip below but be warned it is not safe for work. Somehow youtube allowed some nudity in this video so it will probably be taken off soon but it is a powerful scene:
Now tell me ladies what if a guy told you what Kyle said above? Well you would probably call the cops because you would think he is psycho. However, just imagine you believed him. Someone would travel back in time not knowing if they would survive the unstoppable machine to try to protect you because he loved you? See his whole motivation is love so this in sense is more of a love story than an action movie. It could be argued either way. Here is another fan video about the love aspect of the movie that even bleeds onto Terminator 2. Again a movie known for action has a very strong romantic tone to it once you peel it back a little.
Well there you have. Now I know there are many movies with examples of this and probably better movies to show the point but these are some I thought of on the top of my head. Yes I know not all action or horror films are mindless fun with no plot but this just shows that some movies that are knwon for somethign else does have a strong romantic theme to it in the background. So ladies the next time you want to go see a chick flick maybe follow your guys suggestion to see this action film. If you can block out the explosions and violence you might see the romance of the story that could suprise you. Or not and you guys might be dragged to a chick flick but I thought it was interesting looking at these movies a different way than what they are known for.
Comment and let me know what you think. Do you agree with the examples above or am I just reaching a little? Do you have some examples of movies that were presented as this big action or horror but really was a romantic film at heart? Let me know and we can discuss.