Cheesy, silly protagonist names come with the territory in an action film. Like explosions, yelling, and temporary partnerships, they’re basically gospel.
This was particularly true in the 1980s and early 1990s, when it seemed as though Hollywood’s greatest screenwriters (and many who weren’t so great) were consistently trying to one-up each other in just how bonkers their script could get. Naturally, this translated over to the name’s of their crafted protagonists. Because why call a character Arnold Schwarzenegger’s signed on for Chip McGee when you could call him John Matrix?
15John Matrix in Commando (1985)
One of the ultimate straightforward ’80s action movies,Commandois a blast. Or, rather, a whole bunch of them.
For the most part, those blasts are doled out by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s John Matrix, an absolute wrecking ball of a man straddled with the typical action movie first name John. Then there’s his last name, which more or less makesCommandoone action classic foreshadowing another that would come 14 years later.
RELATED:Commando Writer Says He Blames Sylvester Stallone for ‘Screwing Up the Ending’
14Gibson Rickenbacker in Cyborg (1989)
While not the hitTimecopwas,Cyborgstill stands as one of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s most recognized films. Albert Pyun’s film has an impressively memorable post-apocalyptic landscape for such a low-budget film (Cyborgwas produced and distributed by The Cannon Group).
It also has a sort of inside joke when it comes to several of the characters names. Specifically, the names are references to musical instrument manufacturers. For instance, Van Damme’s Gibson Rickenbacker, which is a reference to Gibson Brands Inc. and Rickenbacker International Corporation.
13Lyon in Lionheart (1990)
BloodsportandCyborgwent a long way towards showing that Jean-Claude Van Damme could successfully lead a film. But it was reallyLionheartthat showed he was afinancially viablefilm star, considering it quadrupled its $6 million budget.
He portrays Lyon “Lionheart” Gaultier, a French Legionnaire turned stowaway who travels to Los Angeles to avenge the life of his slain drug-dealing brother. To find the men responsible, Lionheart has to, in true Van Damme form, survive a series of brutal for-cash street fights against increasingly built brutes.
12Mason Storm in Hard to Kill (1990)
To callHard to Killone of Steven Seagal’s best movies is to give the work a back-handed compliment, but it is still applicable. For one, it actually has a three act structure with a throughline related to personal stakes (the recovery of Seagal’s lead character and his quest for vengeance).
This makes Seagal’s grieving Mason Storm a bit more relatable (or worthy of empathy) than many of his other shoot-first-ask-questions-never characters. At most five percent of Seagal’s films have him play a character with a remotely believable name, andHard to Kill’s Mason Storm isn’t one of them. They were one rewrite away from calling him Mason Storm-The-Castle-Solo-And-Leave-With-Hardly-A-Scratch.
11Detective Gino Felino in Out for Justice (1991)
Seagal’s earlier films are better than his later, andOut for Justiceis one of the last ones to be remotely worthy of viewing. This is primarily due to a terrifying antagonist performance from the great William Forsythe, who elevates the movie far more than the dry Seagal and the crime against humanity that is his failed attempt at a Brooklyn accent.
All in all, though,Out for Justiceis actually a good vehicle for Seagal, and the grimy early-’90s NYPD streets make for a wonderful setting. But, outside of Forsythe’s magnetic performance, the best aspect of the film is undoubtedly the name for Seagal’s character…Gino Felino has to be the best preposterously stereotypical Italian-American name of all time. That said, if it’s going to be attached to Steven Seagal and his temporary accent, it better not seem organic.
10Johnny Utah in Point Break (1991)
BeforeSpeed,The Matrix, orJohn Wick, there wasPoint Break.A heartfelt adrenaline-pumper with a note-perfect cast, including the sometimes criticized one from lead actor Keanu Reeves, it’s one of the ’90s most revered actioners.
Reeves and Patrick Swayzemade for a wonderful pair, and each is absolutely perfect in their role. Swayze nails the free-thinking, peaceful (yet intermittently volatile), philosophical nature of Bodhi ‘Bodhisattva’ just as Reeves nails the film’s action sequences. What Reeves doesn’t get enough credit for are the scenes where he’s “playing” a surfer in front of other, real surfers. If another actor was in the role, it’d be inherently less believable when Johnny Utah snatches a single hair from a man’s head under the pretense of getting a spider, all with the perfect line of “I just saved your life, bro.”
9Luc Deveraux in Universal Soldier (1992)
Anunderrated ’90s actionerif ever there was one, Roland Emmerich’sUniversal Soldieris a fact-paced blast with two perfectly-cast leads in Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundren. They play former Army soldiers Luc Deveraux and Sgt. Andrew Scott, both of whom were killed in the Vietnam War.
But then they’re resurrected and enlisted in the “Universal Soldier” counter-terrorism unit. They’re blessed with elevated healing abilities and super strength, but the personalities they held in their mortal form have remained, even if buried deep. Unfortunately for Deveraux and the population in general, this means that Scott is every bit the murdering psychopath he was back in ‘Nam.
8Forrest Taft in On Deadly Ground (1994)
The pairing of Michael Caine and Steven Seagal (in the latter’s directorial debut) goes about as well as one might expect. In other words, one person in the room has charisma and talent to spare, while the other is the film’s lead.
On Deadly Groundwas a personal project for Seagal, as evidenced by his environmental speech, which is so long it’s basically the film’s third act. And, with so much control over the project, it’s not surprising the star gave his protagonist yet another silly name. But, unlike his characters inOut for Justiceor evenUnder Siege, his name inOn Deadly Groundreeks of unintentional parody. It’s about environmental protection…his first name is Forrest…okay, time to write the next tonally unmodulated scene.
7Jack Traven in Speed (1994)
Jan de Bont moved from cinematography to directing in just about the most impressive way possible. But, he’d never go on to replicate the critical and commercial success ofSpeed.
The film’s ace in the hole is Keanu Reeves (who is up for aSpeed 3), whose Jack Traven is a cop who genuinely goes out of his way for others, even strangers. At no point does Reeves falter in making the audience believe this about Jack, and that’s crucial when he’s supposed to stay on a speeding, bomb-strapped bus in spite of having several opportunities to bail. There are sillier names than Traven’s, but there’s also just something about having the protagonist named “Jack” in an action movie. Then it becomes about how the surname flows with the first name, and Traven flows quite nicely.
6Stanley Goodspeed in The Rock (1996)
Michael Bay’s best movieby a country mile,The Rockis heavily bolstered by commanding lead performances from Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery, and Ed Harris. Cage in particular carries the film as soft-spoken chemist Stanley Goodspeed, who is the perfect everyman for the extreme situation that is the capture of Alcatraz.
What’s great about Goodspeed (besides the “good” name, just so the audience doesn’t get confused about his preferred allegiance) is that he’s both incredibly bright and incredibly average. He wants no glory, no spotlight, and really he wants no responsibility outside of his lab (and this includes with his pregnant girlfriend). Yet, by the end of his trip on the “Rock,” Goodspeed has changed to become the exact type of man who’d make a heck of a father. After all, he’d throw his life on the line just to ensure a missile filled with nerve gas isn’t shot into a crowded populace.
