ADVERTISEMENT

Owen Wilson, Action Star

AP
August 28, 2015

I enjoyed the new movie No Escape quite a bit. (If you want to catch up: My review is here, a Washington Post essay on why the film's silly politics aren't a distraction is here, and Tumblr-based mockery of the film's detractors is here.) I liked it in part because it was a reminder that, for a while, Owen Wilson was one of the more interesting actors in action flicks out there.

Some have suggested that Wilson is playing against type in the new film—that it's odd to see him in an action-packed feature rather than a comedy where his naturally awkward sensibility is better suited. But this is an odd reading of Wilson's career, one that forgets many of his early roles. If anything, No Escape is a welcome return to form from an actor who could've been one of the more interesting young action stars of the last two decades.

After breaking onto the scene in Wes Anderson's first feature, Bottle Rocket, Wilson had small roles in a pair of action films with a comedic streak, Anaconda and Armageddon. Wilson was mostly comic relief in Armageddon, but he was great at it, a sort of crook-nosed Matthew McConaughey:

I'm not sure if The Haunting counts as an "action" film—horror, moreso—but his goofy energy was definitely a bright spot in this unnecessary remake.

The Shanghai Noon movies didn't really do anything for me, but his best action film hit theaters one year later: Behind Enemy Lines, the tale of one navy pilot's struggle to survive in an Eastern European nation dominated by a genocidal warlord.

Now, look: Behind Enemy Lines wasn't high art or anything. It wasn't the best film released that year. It may not have even been the best film released that year to star Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman (that would be The Royal Tenenbaums). But it was a remarkably entertaining little feature, one that allowed Wilson to show off both his action chops and his off-kilter sense of humor.

It was the last time he'd be given such a role, unfortunately; after that, Wilson slid into bro comedies and romcoms and family fare. And there's nothing wrong with that, of course. He's had a fine career and I always enjoy watching him ply his trade. But I do wonder what could've been. With the possible exception of Dwayne Johnson or maybe Jason Statham, Hollywood has failed to produce a movie star who is able to deftly blend comedy and action since, I dunno, Bruce Willis. I can't help but think that Owen Wilson could've filled that niche.