Is Kurt Russell’s Snake Plissken the greatest action hero of all time?
Kurt Russell is well known for his collaborations with John Carpenter in the 1980s, including the science fiction horror film The Thing in 1981 and the fantasy action-comedy Big Trouble in Little China five years later. In 1981, Russell helped to create one of the most iconic action heroes of all time in Carpenter’s Escape from New York, and he would play Snake Plissken once again in its 1996 sequel Escape from L.A.
As for Plissken’s background, he is a former United States Army Lieutenant, decorated with two Purple Hearts (the oldest military award still awarded to US soldiers). While Plissken was decorated by the US President for his bravery in combat, that did not stop him from being highly critical of the government. In that light, Plissken follows his own code of conduct, immediately strengthening the case for him being the great action hero of all time.
Carpenter had known a real-life Snake Plissken in high school. His classmate was also known for his tough-guy attitude and the snake tattoo on his arm. To create Russell’s character, both he and Carpenter decided to move the tattoo onto Russell’s stomach (one of the most painful places to get inked) and added an eye patch for an even more heightened sense of badassery.
Plissken was soon to Manhattan, which in the 1997 film Escape to New York, had been converted entirely into a maximum security prison for robbing the Federal Reserve. However, he gets his chance to be freed when the US Government call on him to rescue the President after he is taken hostage by guerrilla forces. However, there is a catch. Seeing as Plissken is both a criminal and a maverick, Police Commissioner Bob Hauk injects micro-explosives into Plissken’s blood that will explode after just 22 hours. From there, we see Plissken’s effortlessly cool and macho attitude – all the hallmarks of a great action hero.
He speaks only when required, and when he does, his words are carefully selected. “I don’t give a fuck about your war. Or your President,” Plissken cooly says upon having the gravity of the situation explained to him by Hauk. There is simply no time (nor interest) in needlessly expending energy on idle chitchat. And physically, Russell is perfect for the role: his gorgeous long locks provide the necessary 1980s sex appeal, while his stubble reinforces that he is a bad guy on a good mission. And that trademark Russell downturned scowl-come-smirk is put to excellent use.
Discussing the moment at which he knew that the character was going to work, Russell once said: “One night I had to go down about three blocks [in Cleveland], and we didn’t have anyone to go down there with, so I just went down there geared up with all my guns and everything. It was a scene where Snake is coming in to wreak some havoc. I came around the corner, and there are these four guys, and none of my guys can see me.”
He added: “I just looked at these guys, and they looked at me – this is how different this was at the time – when you see a guy with a serious machine gun and a knife and a bunch of stuff that you don’t even know what is… I just flashed a light a little bit on the gun, and these guys just looked at me, and they were pretty rough characters, and they went, ‘Hey, man, easy, easy’. They just kind of turned and very quietly walked away. I couldn’t wait to get down to tell John, ‘Hey, I think this guy’s gonna work’.”
Plissken’s influence is far-reaching. Russell set the tone for the several actions heroes that followed throughout the 1980s, including those played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Plissken also inspired the Metal Gear Solid video game protagonist Solid Snake (voiced gravelly by David Hayter). If that isn’t proof of Plissken and Russell’s credentials as the greatest-ever action hero, then you may just need to take it up with him…