So, I was watching The Abyss last night, a classic no doubt, and it brought something to my attention that I hadn't really thought about before; If there is one man in the genre picture world that does not get near enough love, that man is Michael Biehn. You know him as Reese in The Terminator, Hicks in Aliens, and Johnny Ringo in Tombstone. Hell, those three roles alone have provided us with so much re-wathchability that they count as a lifetime's worth of work.
The man is a talent, and I was very glad to see him get at least some play a couple of years ago in Planet Terror. But, come on, for the love of God, somebody get this man some decent work! It would have been great if he could have gotten a role in the upcoming you've-got-to-see-it movie The Expendables.
Here's a quick run-down of Biehn's top ten performances:
1. The Terminator - Kyle Reese
2. The Abyss - Lt. Hiram Coffey
3. Aliens - Cpl. Dwayne Hicks
4. Tombstone - Johnny Ringo
5. Navy Seals - Lt. James Curran
6. In a Shallow Grave - Garnet Montrose
7. Planet Terror - Sherrif Hague
8. Rampage - Anthony Fraser
9. The Seventh Sign - Russell Quinn
10. The Rock - Commander Anderson
And I haven't even mentioned that his likeness was the inspiration for the cover of the original Metal Gear on the NES. Fuh real, take a look! How awesome is that? Very. So, there you have it, my love song for Michael Biehn...wherever he is...
7 comments:
Haha, you just inspired me to have a Michael Biehn marathon.
WarFreak: I haven't been around for awhile, and what to I find? A great post on one of my favorite action actors. As your list of performances indicates, one of the greats of the genre. I love your comment about his roles and his movies having that great "re-watchability” factor! Terminator -- what can one say? Recently, I showed it to my 19 year old son, who had not seen it. He watched it with his mouth hanging open.
And Biehn's performance here sometimes gets lost in the overwhelming glory of the film. He was excellent and heartbreaking at times.
Thanks for singing his praises! Great post! -- Mykal
Man I have to see a couple of those, i thought i was well versed in MB but shit i guess not. And yes the Metal Gear game does have his likeness. He would be such a badass snake, esspecially with the scared face look he had in Planet Terror.
awesome post. he's one of the under used greats. someone sent me that pic you used in a myspace comment and i was like "oh yeah where has he been lately?'
sad thing was when i did my Alien posts i found out he was a bit chapped he wasn't going to be in Alien 3. they show his picture for about 10 seconds in it but he wanted a part. to get his permission to use his pic in Alien 3 he made almost as much money as he did when he starred in Aliens. so good for him.
What, no mention of Adventure inc? Cheesy television show, but still great fun. And Biehn as the head Indiana Jones/Dirk Pitt type character was just great.
Glad everyone enjoyed the post!
Becky: totally do that!
Mykal: welcome back to the party. haven't gotten a chance to read your post from a few days ago, but am looking forward to it!
No Name: No doubt. They should make a movie version of MG soon.
wiec?: Alien 3 would've been better with him in it. Fo sho.
Josh: Dude, I've never seen Adventure, Inc, but it sounds awesome! Must...find...for...download...
Michael Biehn made me feel funny when I watched Aliens as a child (and the subsequent 50+ screenings...). But seriously, some stuff just sticks in your head for some reason (like the dubbed "workshed" line in Evil Dead II). Michael Biehn did that for me in Aliens, when Ripley tells him not to let Bishop leave, and Hicks (Biehn) says, "We ain't going anywhere" in this really beat-down, "I've had acid burn through my chest cavity," "I love you Ellen" kinda way. It stuck with me.
Oh, and he played the first character I can remember in my lifetime who truly believed in a woman's strength, and had faith in her. In two movies, in fact. That had a big impact on me.
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