Badge Film Blog

Clip joint: the slow walk

You're a big-screen badass, but can you walk the slow-motion walk as an explosion goes off behind you? Limara Salt falls casually at the feet of the coolest, smooth-walking action heroes
On fire ... Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) keeps his cool as he walks away from an explosion of his own creation in X-Men Origins: Wolverine

What is it that makes a Hollywood action hero unbearably awesome? Is it the ripped physique, the guns, the slinky lady on his arm or the ability to survive even the most ludicrous situations? Well, those certainly help, but when any big-shot director gets the wheels turning for an explosion-heavy blockbuster, there's one vital element that defeats them all. The slow walk.

Everything is cooler in slow motion. Anyone can look cool delivering several roundhouse kicks and landing atop a kitchen counter in box splits, but surely the epitome of being a badass on the big screen is having the gall to be so unconcerned about the explosion going off behind them, that instead of running for their life like a normal person, they casually walk away.

This summer sees a return to the archetypal summer blockbusters. The Losers kicked off the proceedings in May and with The A-Team, Predators and what might possibly be the greatest film ever made, The Expendables, still to come, we've got lots of slow-motion explosions coming our way. With that in mind, here are some of my favourites they're going up against.

1) Denzel Washington ups the ante of cool, slow walks by putting on his suit jacket especially for the occasion, in Man on Fire. Clearly, he means business.

2) El Mariachi is already the man all men want to be. He has an epic moniker, vintage guns and a barnet David Ginola would be envious of. Can he be any cooler? Yes, actually, observe him in Desperado, walking away with his weapons in one hand and Salma Hayek in the other.

3) X-Men Origins: Wolverine: It's one thing to walk away casually from an explosion, but it's another to set off the blast by creating a spark with your indestructible metal alloy adamantium claws. It's alright for Wolverine though; he has the power to heal.

4) From Dusk Till Dawn is a film bursting with cool, but even George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino's childlike wittering couldn't put a damper on their stroll in front of an exploding liquor store, creating one of cinemas most unique slow walks.

5) Javier Bardem's Oscar-winning turn as Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men is, even with that hair, one of the best movie hit men of recent years. Not only did he have the audacity to walk away from an exploding car that he set off, he managed to do it with a limp. Respect.

• Choices from this and yesterday's Clip joint: rebirth will run next Wednesday. Choices from last week's Clip joint: doors, can be found at the end of Clip joint: rebirth.

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