Posts by briskhound2

Gary Lewis37 said:Man, I don't know, this feels a bit mixed up to me. The concept is killer, seriously, but I’m struggling to see the angle—are we picking actors who happen to play robots, or just actual robots that function as machines? Wouldn't it be way easier to just ask, "Which of these characters is the most iconic?" or something like that? I mean, how am I supposed to compare Arnold's role in The Terminator with R2-D2, which is basically just... a robot... 😁

Doesn't matter which character... doesn't matter at all. There's an option for multiple titles, so just pick your favorite character as an actor or even just an invention as a prop... shoot. 😉

Optimus Prime

Transformers (2007)



WALL-E



Robin Williams

Bicentennial Man (1999)



Brent Spiner

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)



Yul Brynner

Westworld (1973)

The End. Oh, a few little things—someone really should have pulled these out into the light earlier—but basically, Gary Sinise and the movie Impostor didn't make the cut because just mentioning them would be a massive spoiler... and we can't have that. Also, Pam Grier almost made the list with her B-movie Class of 1999, but let's just leave the movie itself as a recommendation instead. Now, WALL-E actually managed to slip in here as a rare exception... normally I don't mix animation with live-action, but this little trash-collector is just too damn charming to leave out when playing with the big boys. And, if anyone’s wondering where the rest of the Transformers characters went... they aren't here, vanished, refused to join the list—apparently they felt Michael Bay worked them way too hard and they're opting out of the commercialism and the poll alike (there'd simply be too many of them to list all at once). Anyway, as always, feel free to jump in, folks, and fill in whatever I missed.

Brigitte Helm

Metropolis (1927)



Peter Weller

RoboCop (1987)



Short Circuit (1986)



R2-D2

C-3PO

Star Wars (1977)



Bruce Willis

Surrogates (2009)

It’s kind of a bummer that Sylvester Stallone played a genetically engineered being in Judge Dredd instead of someone closer to this crew... it would've been pretty cool to see those action legends finally cross paths in the sci-fi realm. And speaking of RoboCop, I probably shouldn't skip over ED - 209 since he was the main hero's biggest headache—I mean, there were a few glitches here and there, but hey, at least the machine guns didn't jam, right? Just figured I'd throw him in the mix too.

Sam Worthington

Terminator Salvation (2009)



HAL 9000

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

2010 (1984)



Haley Joel Osment

A.I. Artificial Intelligence



Jude Law

A.I. Artificial Intelligence



Robby the Robot

Forbidden Planet (1956)

Even though two flicks from this list aren't exactly masterpieces (Terminator Salvation and 2010), they still managed to pull off a few decent things... Like, Marcus definitely deserves a nod since he was—honestly, in my book—the only interesting part of that whole mess. And 2010, even if it's a bit weak and gets overlooked too much, actually gives you some answers as to why HAL 9000 went totally haywire in the first place... so yeah, I'd still mention 2010 as a recommendation.

Kristanna Loken

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines



Ian Holm

Alien (1979)



Lance Henriksen

Aliens (1986)



Winona Ryder

Alien: Resurrection (1997)



Daryl Hannah

Blade Runner (1982)

Since this whole section could honestly just be rebranded as "The Legacy of Alien and Blade Runner," I really ought to bring up two other actors who had pretty similar roles in that second film—but because of some tiny, super minor constraints, I ended up leaving them out... plus, their footprint in Hollywood isn't exactly massive anyway.

Brion James

Joanna Cassidy

They both played replicants... they had some intense scenes too, so they definitely deserve a nod given what we're talking about here.

Rutger Hauer

Blade Runner (1982)



Arnold Schwarzenegger

The Terminator (1984)



Sean Young

Blade Runner (1982)



John Malkovich

Blade Runner (1982)



Robert Patrick

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Man... this time the sky really is the limit. Robots, androids, AI, replicants, synthetics, cyborgs—half-human, half-machine, killing machines, or just weird little guys—artificial beings have always been this recurring thread running through the sci-fi genre (aside from those occasional detours into other genres, of course)... whether it’s their relentless drive to take someone out, their struggle to extend their own lifespan, or just trying to find where they fit in the world, their motives have always hooked filmmakers and audiences everywhere. Some people might say—and hey, maybe they're right, maybe not—that playing a lethal cyborg from the future was the role of a lifetime for Arnold Schwarzenegger (or maybe it was just tailored perfectly to his specific acting range), but... is that actually true? Looking back, a decent number of actors have tried their hand at similar roles, and the results have ranged from absolute cult classics to, well, just plain ridiculous. This slightly expanded cross-section of actors who left a mark on the genre as one of the groups mentioned above is, as always, an invitation for you to pick the best of the best—doesn't matter if it's a powerhouse actor or just a great product of special effects wizards—and it doubles as a few recommendations for you to check out.

A few clarifications... actually, there aren't any, because this time the sky truly is the limit. Every character from film history is in here (shoutout to the exceptions I left out, though I'll mention them at the end in titles that didn't quite make the cut to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with this crew in the poll—not necessarily because they weren't good, just wasn't quite there)... along with the movie where they first showed up. I decided against naming every single character individually since only some of them actually have that level of recognition, while others are mostly just background noise.

As always... enjoy yourselves

The sequel... honestly, a total must-watch. Especially that scene where he turns into a human (he looks a bit like Sylvester Stallone 🤣) and storms the castle to the beat of I Need a Hero with those little cookie guys backing him up... I was dying from all the parodying. And don't even get me started on Antonio Banderas playing a Zorro spoof... just pure gold.

Man, you guys always brighten my morning 🤣—just sitting here with my coffee and a cigarette, trying to figure out my game plan for the day (though, full disclosure, I totally botched that last poll—I’m pretty annoyed with myself for not leaving more room for debate, honestly)... but hey, I'm glad it got you guys talking. Winona will be featured in a separate poll later on, which should be a real treat; I wouldn't want to ignore everyone else if she showed up here, that just wouldn't be fair. Besides, she was only in one movie. In my book, her role as Mina in Dracula was way better than in Alien, but hey, everyone's entitled to their opinion. As for that whole thing about the women... it was partly to make them stand out, and partly because the formatting looked a bit messy without the caps... 🤣 And let's not forget there are plenty of iconic male characters too, right?
They'll get their fair shot as well (and I'll be taking your suggestions into account so it won't be quite as limited this time).

colleague Harper... thanks for having my back. Since we've basically taken over the polling monopoly on this forum, we've gotta watch each other's six. 🙂

Christian Taylor3 said:Honestly, this poll was a bit of a letdown—it probably should've been titled women as action heroines instead... there are just way too many iconic female roles/actresses way too many to be boxed in by stuff like "action heroines" or "characters who survived at least two movies." 😕 If Women in Leading Roles in Action Films is even part of the criteria, why aren't we seeing Uma Thurman in Kill Bill? 🤷

My bad, the final result didn't exactly turn out how I envisioned it—turns out almost all the roles were borderline action, minus Sharon Stone—but hopefully, I can make up for it next time. 😢 Basically, I had to set those limits because, look, there are so many incredible female characters out there, but the problem was that if I didn't restrict it, the topic would have shifted from the characters themselves to the actresses playing them, which wasn't really the point of the whole thing. Plus, the poll would've become massive and totally overwhelming since everyone would just pull their own favorites. Maybe down the road I'll tackle the rest and do something about the legendary actresses who defined the cinematic landscape and the cult films they starred in... in that case, Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis would definitely be safe bets since the theme would actually fit better.

No worries, I voted for Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) mostly out of respect for you.

Thanks for the feedback (and for the vote—even if my humble self missed the mark a little)... I'll definitely take these points seriously so I don't repeat the same mistakes next time.

The core idea should have been a "cinematic character" who actually lives their own life—with my own little flourishes added in, obviously😁—and then everything else follows from there. The problem is, Uma Thurman isn't even really a character here, not to mention how Tarantino just buried her under all those tributes (for God's sake, the woman is wearing a Bruce Lee tracksuit), so she lacks any real personality. It's the same story with Milla; it's just a poser role, nothing about it pulls her out of that sea of carbon copies. Even Jennifer Love Hewitt fell into the same trap—she’s got two decent horror flicks under her belt, but this role is just pure, cliché-ridden shit. After thinking it over... honestly, all superhero roles feel kind of poser-ish, none of them feeling truly organic (maybe Jean Grey from the X-Men could pass for real)... it feels more like a little survey of ladies who could eat James Bond for breakfast, which stands in such weird contrast to the actual roles they play in the film.

Sarah Connor

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Linda Hamilton



Scarlett O'Hara

Gone with the Wind

Vivien Leigh



Sidney Prescott

Scream

Neve Campbell



Nikita

Nikita

Anne Parillaud

Shout out to my buddy redefine for jogging my memory on something I totally missed mentioning... there aren't any actual superheroes here—no superpowers, no dramatic poses, nothing outside the realm of "normal"... We're playing fair, so let's be real: these women earned their wins through sheer grit. Whether they just sat there crossing their legs and sent some local police station into a trance, or if they grabbed a vending machine or a flamethrower and torched an alien nest... honestly, it doesn't even matter.

rustyscout34 said:and what about this stunning lady?

I totally blanked on mentioning... humans 😁 No superpowers, no genetic tinkering, no flying (cue Uma Thurman) and no slaughtering a million bad guys just because it's part of the cartoon logic—the genre itself isn't locked down like that. We're talking about women who are just regular, everyday people, you know? They have their femininity, sure, but they don't necessarily need to be pageant queens... I think you get my point, not 🤣
...

Ellen Ripley

Alien (1979)

Sigourney Weaver



Jamie Lee Curtis

Halloween

Jamie Lee Curtis



unknown

Ren Russo



Nancy Thompson

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Heather Langenkamp



Speed

Sandra Bullock

Anne Lewis

RoboCop (1987)

Nancy Allen



Catherine Tramell

Basic Instinct (1992)

Sharon Stone



Clarice Starling

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Jodie Foster



Clarice Starling

Hannibal (2001)

Julianne Moore



David Duchovny

The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)

Gillian Anderson

Time for something a little different... this is basically the jam for the ladies, as Moby might say. These women pretty much sweep aside the dominance of iconic male leads without breaking a sweat—they’ve seen it all, done it all, and... survived it all in their respective films. Serial killers, psychopaths, sociopaths, robots, criminals, nightmare creatures, space parasites, aliens... even Michael Douglas... these ladies have outdone everyone, becoming part of cinematic history where their fictional characters stand on equal footing with their actual names. Most were relatively unknown when they took over these roles, but each brought something deeply personal, recognizable, and original to the table, pushing back against that old trope where action, sci-fi, or thrillers are just "men's genres" where women only exist to be killed off or to stare at the lead with wide eyes...

Just some clarifications, as always... Even though every woman mentioned here is already etched into film history with her own cult following, I had some specific criteria for picking them. Basically, each character is fictional—none of these are adaptations of someone's real life making history that way—and every character has survived through at least two titles. None could be dependent on a man (at least not in the "damsel in distress" sense), and none could be a programmed robot devoid of any feeling. The fact that they can all act is obviously a huge plus. Scarlett O'Hara is a whole thing on her own, even if there is a follow-up in a TV format, and it's a similar story with Clarice Starling since she's been played by two different actresses. The actress herself isn't the point, it's about the character development... so while Jodie Foster snagged an Academy Award for her take, Julianne Moore pushed that character in a totally new direction, making the role her own and definitely earning her spot on this list. Nikita has its terribly bad American remake (which doesn't even use her film name), but it inspired a series and earned its place here too...

I feel like I’ve gotta step in here—it feels like such a massive, totally uncalled-for oversight how we constantly overlook actresses like Nancy Allen playing Anne Lewis in RoboCop, Ren Russo as Lorna Cola in those two Lethal Weapon sequels, or even Sandra Bullock as Annie Potter in the Speed movies (seriously, find me a guy who so well knows how to handle a bus)... because even though their characters proved they belong right up there with someone like Sharon Stone's Catherine Tramell, they almost never get mentioned when people talk about badass female characters who actually accomplished something.

To the ladies on the forum... just a friendly reminder that you can drop these truth bombs whenever the mood strikes... and to my guys, don't be shy... if things ever get weird in the neighborhood, which one of these women from the poll would you actually call to watch your back? Let's hear those recommendations... you know, feel free to weigh in.

Gregory Wood41 said:Sorry, but you can't have an "of the dead" poll without including Shaun of the Dead... it just wouldn't be complete. 😉

I was actually thinking about throwing him into the poll, but Romero didn't really have much pull there—other than the fact that he eventually hung out with the guys, told them the movie was killer, and even offered them a cameo in Land of the Dead... so he kind of slipped through the cracks of the "competition." Still, this entire list is basically built on his shoulders, whether it’s his actual directing or just the scripts everyone else ended up ripping apart and reworking, so it wouldn't feel right to leave him out. Maybe he belongs in a separate poll for black comedies instead... because honestly, it's a great flick...

Dawn of the Dead documentary... such a cool little look at how they pulled it all off. A little quick clip about the movie...

Christian Taylor3 said:p.s. briskhound2, thanks for remembering this trip down memory lane 🙂

Same here. Honestly, that doc is a solid recommendation—I’d actually forgotten the whole thing existed... it feels a little surreal seeing the cast from "Dawn of the Dead" just living their lives in the old haunts, but it's pretty cool to see how fans still basically make pilgrimages to that shopping mall today. Man, the place hasn't changed a bit, which probably means Romero got some kind of massive thank-you note from the locals for basically turning the area into a landmark...

Paul James62 said:Can't really vote, man—haven't even seen half of these flicks🤷

Don't let it get to you. Looking at the votes... plenty of people haven't watched some of these either...

Matthew Anderson4 said:Night of the Living Dead 3D is convincingly the first 🤣🤣
I honestly have no clue who these ghosts are—the people constantly voting for these bottom-tier movies in most polls... I'm genuinely baffled...

I was actually just about to type out how much I regret that there wasn't an option to make the poll public. I seriously can't believe that such a terrible movie is sitting at number one...

Dennis Sullivan46 said:Yeah, honestly... I've always felt Romero hits harder than Carpenter. Also, you totally skipped over the fact that when you bring up King, you’ve gotta mention he actually adapted that killer *Creepshow*—which is great, by the way. Another solid poll, too...👍

thanks for remembering... 😁 I remember that one, but honestly, "Cell" feels much closer to what this poll is actually about—it’s basically just one big, massive tribute to these movies... the world goes insane, everyone turns into zombies, and a small group of regular people just tries to survive the chaos. Word on the street is they might turn it into a limited series soon, but I can't help thinking it would be way better if King teamed up with Romero again... if those two could actually get together, they'd make something legendary. I mean, how much can two masters of horror even mess up?

amberfalcon172 said:It’s kind of a bummer you framed this whole discussion around nothing but Romero's zombie flicks—personally, I’ve always found his vampire stuff way more interesting... Martin.

When it comes to zombies, I honestly think the whole thing should’ve just wrapped up after that first trilogy. *Land of the Dead* was such absolute garbage that it pretty much killed my drive to even bother with any of the later sequels...

You could talk about his entire body of work, I guess, but since this poll and intro are mostly focused on that specific stretch of his filmography—and I already brought up Dark Half, so let's not get bogged down by the title being narrow—we can branch out a bit... Truth be told, Land of the Dead was a letdown for me too, but it doesn't even touch the disappointment I felt watching Diary... I mean, my first thought was just, what the hell is this? It was a terrible movie, honestly just boring, maybe one decent scare in the whole thing, but strangely enough, some of my buddies swear by it like it’s some masterpiece... so now I'm actually kind of terrified to check out this new release because I don't want them judging me for hating the rest of his stuff. As for his Dawn of the Dead... easily his best, especially the director's cut, though even the remake isn't much of a departure...