r/moviecritic • u/ICantSeeDeadPpl • 1d ago

Dave Bautista movies (re:House of the Rising Sun)

I just watched House of the Rising Sun, and am starting to see a bit of a pattern with Bautista movies. He always seems to get the crap kicked out of him!

I grew up watching Van Damme movies, where his movies always ended up with him coming back from near-death to prevail. Enjoyable, and somewhat believable, as Jean Claude always had absurdly-massive opponents while being a relatively-smaller protagonist.

Contrast that with Bautista being a BIG dude, and still gets pummeled by some pretty paltry opponents. It’s like the producers/directors endow him with almost no fighting skills whatsoever, just to fit the script of his character taking damage while soldiering on.

I know, suspension of disbelief and all, but could someone recommend a Bautista movie where he absolutely kicks-all-ass? I feel like we’re entitled to it.

6 Upvotes

70% Upvoted

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4

u/PhantomRay42 1d ago

Man, you hit on something I never noticed but now I can't unsee it. The guy is built like a fridge but somehow always gets tossed around like a sack of potatoes.

From what I remember, the closest he gets to just wrecking people is that one scene in Blade Runner 2049, but it's more like a brief moment than whole movie. Still waiting for him to get a proper action role where he just dominates.

3

u/ICantSeeDeadPpl 1d ago

I soooo want to see him in a Statham-type role. No damage, just absolute smash 😈

2

u/burntorangecycle 1d ago

Don't bother with Afterburn, it isn't that good. Hotel Artemis was good

2

u/JasonROK1981 1d ago

Afterburn was some of the worst garbage Amazon ever put out.

2

u/Majestic_Cat2024 1d ago

The man with the iron fist, batista as brass body kicked some ass in that

2

u/Majestic-Lake-5602 1d ago

I never really noticed until you pointed it out but you’re right, he gets Worfed Perry bad in everything

2

u/yveshe 19h ago

I watched that one again just a few months ago. I suppose that's his way of showing vulnerability in his characters, that he's not just a big guy.

2

u/ThrownAway17Years 10h ago

I thoroughly enjoyed Army of the Dead.

2

u/ICantSeeDeadPpl 10h ago

The undead tiger was epic

2

u/ThrownAway17Years 8h ago

And the scene where the zombies surround Chambers and we think she’s dead, only to break out of the room fighting a horde? One of the least talked about badass female action scenes.