Action
Thrillers- From Page to Screen
On 20th
July 2015, THE GUNMAN arrives
on DVD and Blu-ray. With an acclaimed cast, including Sean Penn,
Javier Bardem, Idris Elba and Ray Winstone, the film embraces
Hollywood’s love of adapting crime novels for the big screen,
enabling audiences to enjoy a grittier, more authentic type of action
movie. To celebrate its release, on digital platforms from 13th July,
2015 and on Blu-ray and DVD from 20th July 2015, courtesy of
STUDIOCANAL, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best action
movies to be adapted from novels in recent years.
The
Gunman (2015)
Based on
the novel The Prone Gunman
by Jean-Patrick Manchette, this slick, action
packed thriller stars Sean Penn
as former hitman Terrier. Eight years after fleeing the Congo
following his assassination of that country's minister of mining,
he’s left juggling his need to atone for a violent past with the
debilitating reality of post traumatic stress disorder. After an
attempt is made on his life, Terrier flies to London to find out who
wants him dead - and why...
The
Bourne Identity (2002)
A fan
favourite, and widely regarded as the start of one of the best action
trilogies of recent years, this action-packed thriller is loosely
based on Robert Ludlum's novel of the same name, and tells the story
of a man (Damon) whose
wounded body is discovered by fishermen who nurse him back to health.
Unable to remember anything, he starts trying to rebuild his memory
based on clues, including a number implanted on his hip which turns
out to be a Swiss bank account. He soon realizes that he is being
hunted and takes off with new friend Marie (Franka
Potente), in a desperate race against time to
find out who he is, and just why he is being tracked...
Man
On Fire (2004)The second adaptation
of AJ Quinnell’s novel of the same name, Man
on Fire stars Denzel
Washington as a disillusioned ex-CIA officer
turned bodyguard, who embarks on a desperate bid to recover his
charge, 9 year-old Pita Ramos (Dakota Fanning)
after she is abducted. Washington
is perfectly cast as the unhappy, guilt-ridden former assassin, and
assisted by a star turn from Fanning,
the burgeoning father-daughter relationship between them avoids
falling into saccharine territory.
Public
Enemies (2009)This adaptation of
Bryan Burrough's non-fiction book Public
Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI,
1933–34, sees Johnny
Depp take the lead as notorious bank robber
John Dillinger in Depression- era America. While not entirely
historically accurate, there are examples of staggering attention to
detail- in one scene Depp
drives the actual Studebaker used by Dillinger as a getaway car.
The
Town (2010)This American crime drama,
adapted from Chuck Hogan’s novel Prince of
Thieves, gave Jeremy
Renner his second Oscar nomination (for Best
Supporting Actor) and marked director Ben
Affleck’s first leading role in six years.
Focusing on a group of bank robbers in downtown Boston, The
Town stars Affleck
as the leader of the group, struggling with his feelings for a bank
manager connected to one of his earlier heists (Rebecca
Hall), as well as attempting to evade an FBI
agent, played by Jon Hamm,
looking to bring him to justice.
Green
Zone (2010)
Director
Paul Greengrass adapted Rajiv Chandrasekaran's literary exposé
Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside
Iraq's Green Zone into this tense,
high-octane thriller, which stars Matt Damon
alongside Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson
and Jason Isaacs.
Chandrasekaran's journalistic account is used to great effect in
telling the story of Miller (Damon),
an officer recruited to unearth evidence of weapons of mass
destruction in Iraq. Originally convinced they’re on the right
track, he soon stumbles across evidence of an elaborate cover up, and
slowly realizes that both sides are attempting to spin the story in
their favour...
Lawless
(2012)
Based on
the novel The Wettest Country in the World
by Matt Bondurant, Nick Cave penned the screenplay for this
Depression-era crime drama, which recounts the lives of the three
Bondurant brothers. Forrest (Tom
Hardy), Jack (Shia
LeBeouf) and Howard
(Jason Clarke)
are forced to contend with the crooked District Attorney Mason
Wardell (Tim Tolin)
and Special Deputy Charles Rakes (Guy Pearce),
after refusing to pay the bribes required to maintain their
bootlegging and distillery business... causing the locals to finally
galvanise against the corrupt authorities.
Jack
Reacher (2012)
Based on
Lee Child’s novel One Shot,
this fast-paced thriller opens with a mass assassination of five,
swiftly followed by a police investigation that captures the culprit.
But instead of a confession, the accused demands the authorities ‘get
Jack Reacher’. And
ex-military investigator Jack Reacher (Tom
Cruise)
is on his way; he knows the shooter to be a trained military sniper
who would never miss a shot, and is certain something is not right.
Soon the seemingly simple case explodes and Reacher is forced to team
up with young defense lawyer Helen (Rosamund
Pike)
in order to track down which unseen threat is manipulating events.
Casino
Royale (2006)
Based
on Ian Fleming’s novel of the same name, this instalment in the
James Bond series also marks
Daniel Craig’s
first outing as the eponymous MI6 agent. The boss of MI6, known
simply as M (Judi
Dench)
sends Bond on his first mission as a 00, along with Vesper Lynd (Eva
Green)
to attend a poker game and prevent banker to international terrorists
Le Chiffre from winning. Bond, having Vesper pose as his partner,
enters the most important game in his already impossibly dangerous
career. But defeating Le Chiffre is only the start- and definitely
won’t guarantee his safety...
Die
Hard (1988)
Loosely
based on Roderick Thorp’s novel Nothing
Lasts Forever,
the first outing of action hero heavyweight John McClane has gone
down in history as a cinematic classic, in no small part due to Bruce
Willis’
wisecracking turn as NYPD officer McClane, who finds himself
inadvertently thrust into a horrific hostage situation during a
Christmas party with his wife at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.
Locking horns with the sadistic German terrorist Hans Gruber (Alan
Rickman),
McClane finds himself thrust into the midst of some of the most
dangerous terrorists in the world- and he’s the only one who can
stop them...
The
Gunman is released on digital platforms on 13th July, 2015 and on
Blu-ray and DVD on 20th July 2015, courtesy of STUDIOCANAL.
