So, is John Godey's Johnny Handsome worth tracking down? I really liked The Taking of Pelham 123 when it was re-published a few years ago with the Tony Scott remake. Both movies were pretty faithful to the book. I love Walter Hill's movie with the great Mickey Rourke. I'd bet good money that Frank Miller's A Dame To Kill For was inspired by it, an ugly guy getting a new face to get revenge on somebody.
The 70's- Where it was perfectly acceptable and believable to cast Walter Matthau as an action hero. When was the last time they cast a regular guy as the hero? Bruce Willis in Die Hard? I know he was a muscular guy, but not overly so. It looked like the kind of physique you could get in a gym and regular cardio. Our movie heroes look like Ken dolls now, Nu-Captain Kirk is much prettier than Shatner and 60's Shatner was damn good looking. That's why I liked Tony Scott's Unstoppable, Denzel and Chris Pine looked like a couple Midwestern blue collar types that punched a card at the end of the day. I also liked Stallone in CopLand with his paunch and tired, wrinkled face. Don Winslow's heroes may be good looking and buff, but they're Californians that surf and do other stuff on the beach and that builds muscle.
