What Happened to the American Action Hero?

All he wanted was something to eat. These words begin the epic story of John Rambo, an action hero that was an all American kick ass and take names later kind of guy. A man's man. A hero that so many men strived to be. Rambo was the perfect soldier, trained in so many tactics of warfare that West Point can start a class on him. He was perhaps the perfect American hero. Someone that we really needed at the time. The Rambo film series began during the height of the Cold War. When patriotism ran roughshod throughout the American zeitgeist. Even though the Rambo films evolved into pure action flicks, the first film, and the novel that it was based upon, really gave us a glimpse of the psychology of the returning soldier. Rambo obviously suffered from severe PTSD due to his capture and torture. He could not turn himself "off." By that I mean that he was always in a fight or flight mode. And often he didn't choose to run. But as the series progressed it became much more action oriented as John Rambo became an almost superhuman figure. Just watch the last two films if you want a pure action movie that will have you cheering. But the action hero of the eighties and early nineties is no more. We don't really have that all American figure. Now I don't want to delve into politics as this is a space free from that toxicity so I'll leave the pol-sci aspect of the explanation to you dear reader. Maybe consumer tastes have changed. That is a possibility. Or perhaps there are no actors who fit the role of a man's man. I'm a bit out of touch with today's entertainment world so I don't really know who could be considered as such but I figure that there must be someone out there. I realize that the Rock has been a quasi hero figure but not in the way that the icons of the eighties were. It used to be that filmgoers went to the cinema to escape from the world. They wanted to see the good guys take out the baddies. They wanted to see guns, car chases, helicopter stunts, explosions etc. This was pure raw manhood. I haven't been to the cinema in a couple of years and generally am at a loss regarding new films. But to me they have become more cerebral or just downright confusing. Sometimes one needs a chart just to keep track of the plot. To me that is not entertainment. If I want to think I'll read a book thank you very much. A lot of films also have an agenda. Not that the patriotic films of the eighties didn't but they were much more explicit about their pro American stance. Me, I don't want to see a film that is confusing, or makes me think too much. I do enough of that in the real world. I want to watch a movie to live vicariously through the hero. Obviously I'll never be John Rambo but can't a guy pretend? And I don't think that I'm the only one. The recent Top Gun sequel was a huge success. And that movie harkened back to the glory days of the action movie. Sure, it contained a lot of propaganda (and I don't use that word in the negative sense) but us men love watching fighter jets duel. So producers take note, don't worry about winning that Oscar, focus on producing action heroes for middle aged men like myself. Please.