Moments Of Appreciation Vol. 2: At The Movies With Arnie
The 80s and 90s was the era of the musclebound action hero and as young lads growing up in this period, we were all introduced to the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Jean Claude Van Damme at an early age… despite the 18 only certificates on most of the movies!
Think all time classic films like Predator, Commando, Terminator, Conan, Rocky, Rambo, Kickboxer, Blood Sport… and the list goes on and on.
As kids, we would watch these movies on the edge of our seats, looking up to the legendary action heroes who were the stars of the show and loving every second of it when they started kicking ass later in the movie… which was always the case.
Every lad I know of a similar age, all grew up watching these movies at an early age and shared the same experience. It’s this experience that has created a certain connection to the movies, characters and actors that is really difficult to put it into words. Lads of the same age who grew up watching these movies as a kid (and later as an adult) just kind of have this connection.
I think part of it is the movies are ridiculous and the effects are now dated, so if you were to watch them now for the first time as an adult, you would probably think there were s**t. But as a child watching them, you took them really seriously and they were amazing and emotional to watch. So for us lot who had the experience as a child, you still remember and think of them as awesome but at the same time you can see the comedy value as an adult. I don’t even think you get the comedy value without having experienced them seriously as a child.
If you fall into this category you know what I mean.
Anyway… with this in mind, you can understand we all raced to buy tickets to our local cinema when we saw they had a special back to back showing of Commando and Predator for one night only.
A chance to see these classic movies we grew up with on the big screen! Wow.
It did not disappoint…
The cinema was filled with lads our age and was buzzing with energy and anticipation. First up was Commando and from the opening scenes the cinema was lit! Every one liner, bicep bulge, killing spree etc was met with rounds of applause, cheers, heckles and laughter.
I was too busy enjoying myself in the moment to capture a great bit of footage but I did get a couple shots to share with you below so hopefully you get a feel for what it was like. Everyone just kind of ‘got it’ and why it was awesome, hilarious and nostalgic all at the same time.
If you get the chance to experience this, definitely do it. It will be a moment of appreciation to record in your memory.
