• Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket

Kurt Russell – A Retrospective

January 25, 2017 by Villordsutch

Kurt Russell is amazing. That’s all there really is to it, quite frankly. Hell, he’s so cool that when he gets cast in a Marvel superhero movie they decide he’s not going to play a superhero. He’s not even going to play a baddie. He’s going to play a planet! That’s right, a planet – in the eagerly awaited Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.2 Russell will be playing Ego The Living Planet, and frankly there’s no greater compliment to one of the coolest men to have ever walked the earth.

Many readers however may not beaware of his galactic level of cool, however – even after an ice cold performance as Jimmy Harrell, rig supervisor and all-round good egg in Deepwater Horizon, out on 4k UHD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD on the 30th January courtesy of Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Sure, recent outings in The Hateful Eight, Bone Tomahawk and even Furious 7 have given audiences a decent reminder that this man can do no wrong but we’re here to remind you that his cool runs much deeper than that.

SEE ALSO: Read our review of Deepwater Horizon here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-LDW7tWwAI

Escape From New York (1981)

Russell first teamed with visionary director John Carpenter on a biopic about Elvis where he played The King himself, but their successful pairing really took off when Carpenter was on more familiar ground in the grungy sci-fi romp, Escape From New York. As Snake Plissken, Russell embodied the kind of cool that would define his early career (and his ongoing partnership with Carpenter). As a convicted bank robber sent into Manhattan (which is now a giant maximum security prison) to rescue the President whose plane crashed at its heart, Russell created an icon in Plissken that many have tried and failed to emulate. It’s a shame the 1996 sequel, Escape From LA didn’t hit quite the same heights but then lightning doesn’t strike twice…

The Thing (1982)

A third teaming with Carpenter created an instant classic in the form of the never bettered creature feature, The Thing. A loose remake of 1951’s The Thing From Another World (itself wriiten by an uncredited Howard Hawks and quite the classic in B-movies spheres), this slow-burning masterpiece sees Russell star as MacReady, the seemingly lone voice of reason on an isolated Arctic research base. When his compatriots discover an alien being in the snow that, once thawed, can incubate in, imitate and eviscerate whoever it likes, it’s down to MacReady to keep a cool head when everyone else is quite literally losing theirs. The blood test scene remains an iconic moment in cinema history, thanks as much to tight performances from all concerned as much as some incredible special effects work (way before CGI did the job for you).

Silkwood (1983)

In a remarkable change of pace, Russell demonstrated his chops as an understated performer in this true story about a nuclear plant worker who was purposely contaminated, psychologically tortured and quite possibly murdered in a bid to keep her quiet about safety violations at the plant. Meryl Streep acts up a storm as the titular Karen Silkwood, earning herself a Golden Globe win and an Oscar nomination in the process, and Cher also impresses as her best friend, but Russell is impressive here too, doing something a little different to most of his biggest roles and earning himself his own Golden Globe nomination to boot – no mean feat given the pedigree he’s surrounded by in what remains a hugely watchable and affecting drama.

Big Trouble In Little China (1986)

In this true classic, Russell teams with Carpenter again for what has become shorthand for a definitive Kurt Russell performance and quite why there’s never been a sequel frankly just beggars belief. Russell is Jack Burton, a long haul trucker and the owner of the Pork Chop Express who escorts a friend who owes him money back to San Francisco’s Little China so he can collect his Chinese bride-to-be from the airport before settling his debts. Factor in warring street gangs, terrifying elemental warriors and a centuries-old Chinese sorcerer called Lo Pan and you have all the elements for a classic John Carpenter caper that’s as fun as it is daft, whilst Russell’s confident swagger has never been more apparent than when he’s trying to impress Kim Cattrall’s Gracie Law.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aotWp-wRgCo

Overboard (1987)

Did we mention that Russell has been partnered with Goldie Hawn for decades? Well he has, and here he shares the screen with her as well, adding screwball comedy to the list of his talents. Dean Proffitt is a slob living at one end of the food chain, whilst Hawn is Joanna, socialite extraordinaire and supreme snob. When she gets knocked off her luxury yacht, however, it’s Proffitt who rescues her and takes her to his home to recover. However, she can’t remember her former life and happily slots into Proffitt’s, looking after his kids, cleaning his home and, as you’d expect in any Garry Marshall (Pretty Woman) film, falling in love. Sure, he effectively kidnaps a woman but let’s gloss over that because Pretty Woman falls apart fairly quickly if you stare at the central plot for too long, so let’s just not…

Tango & Cash (1989)

The late 80s was a golden age for action cinema and Russell wasn’t about to miss out on his bite of the cherry. Playing the slob, as per, opposite Sylvester Stallone’s straight laced LAPD detective, Tango & Cash sees the pair framed for the murder of an FBI agent in their joint pursuit of Jack Palance’s drug lord. Dripping with 80s tropes, Tango & Cash also manages to elevate itself above the identikit thrillers it was competing with thanks in no small part to the chemistry between Stallone and Russell, both clearly having the time of their lives. Special mention must also go to a gloriously bonkers Palance who isn’t so much chewing the scenery here as dining out on it over a period of weeks and months.

Deepwater Horizon (2016)

Russell’s career didn’t stop at 1989, of course, but the period from 1981 to 1989 definitely constitutes his Golden Age. The aforementioned Hateful Eight and Bone Tomahawk mark something of a renaissance following a head above the parapet turn in Death Proof, Tarantino’s half of his and Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse exercise. Workaday thrillers like a muddled remake of The Poseidon Adventure littered the halls between then and now, but with Deepwater Horizon, Russell’s Jimmy Harrell somehow feels like an amalgamation of all the cool, calm and heroism a true Hollywood treasure has amassed over an enviable career.

Deepwater Horizon is available on 4K UHD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD from January 30th, courtesy of Lionsgate Home Entertainment

@Villordsutch

Filed Under: Articles and Opinions, Movies, Villordsutch Tagged With: Big Trouble in Little China, Deepwater Horizon, Escape from New York, Kurt Russell, Overboard, Silkwood, Tango & Cash, The Thing

FMTV – Watch Our Latest Video Here

WATCH OUR MOVIE NOW FOR FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

Awful Video Game Movie Adaptations You’ve Probably Forgotten

Johnnie To, Hong Kong Cinema’s Modern Master

10 Essential Films From 1975

Lock, Stock and The Essential Guy Ritchie Movies

Forgotten Horror Movie Gems From 25 Years Ago

The Gruesome Brilliance of 1980s Italian Horror Cinema

An Exploration of Bro Camp: The Best of Campy Guy Movies

Sirens from Space: Species and Under The Skin

Forgotten 90s Action Movies That Deserve a Second Chance

The 10 Best Villains in Arnold Schwarzenegger Movies

Top Stories:

6 Great Australian Crime Movies of the 1980s

7 Underrated World War II Romance Movies

Great Tarantino-esque Movies You Need To See

Whatever Happened to the Horror Icon?

The Rise of Paul Thomas Anderson: A Living Legend

Movie Review – Jurassic World Rebirth (2025)

Movie Review – Hot Milk (2025)

Movie Review – Heads of State (2025)

STREAM FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

FEATURED POSTS:

Back to the Future at 40: The Story Behind the Pop Culture Touchstone

6 Abduction Thrillers You May Have Missed

Who is the Best Final Girl in Horror?

Cinema of Violence: 10 Great Hong Kong Movies of the 1980s

Our Partners

  • Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

© Flickering Myth Limited. All rights reserved. The reproduction, modification, distribution, or republication of the content without permission is strictly prohibited. Movie titles, images, etc. are registered trademarks / copyright their respective rights holders. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. If you can read this, you don't need glasses.


 

Flickering MythLogo Header Menu
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket