Strong is the Man

 In this post I'm not going to review a movie but talk about my latest favorite actor. He is Mark Strong. In his current film Green Lantern, he is the best actor in that movie. His charisma is just scary, in a good way. Call me late but I notice him the first when Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes is about to be released. In that film, he played Holmes' major villain, Lord Blackwood. I cannot help but to compare him to Andy Garcia; Terry Benedict from Ocean films. Garcia and Strong is strikingly similar. I thought Blackwood was Garcia at first. They both have their menacing aura when portraying an antagonist though.

Post Sherlock Holmes, I became accustomed to see Strong as a villain in movies. He is the gangster Frank D'Amico in Kick Ass and also the treacherous English/French Sir Godfrey in Ridley Scott's Robin Hood prequel. Two words only: bad ass. I mean if I'm just a normal guy, I wouldnt mess with Mark Strong's villain characters (Brace yourself Hal Jordan, IF Green Lantern 2 is happening). I just noticed that he is also Pinbacker in Danny Boyle's Sunshine starring Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne and international ensemble cast. He didnt show any face but his voice is very Strong. Also in Peter Weir's drama The Way Back, he played a brief but pivotal role as Khabarov who generated the idea of escaping the gulag (the whole story of the film). He did make a memorable performance for me cos I was exclaiming everytime Strong gets a screen time in The Way Back, "It's Mark Strong, it's Mark Strong!"

Looking at his filmography, he did show up in several great movies and some movies I just skipped like The Eagle (now I'm curious about The Eagle). His appearance also fool you in some movies, making him barely recognizable (yeah, he's not always bald). He got hair when starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Body of Lies and have longer hair in his first collaboration with Matthew Vaughn, Stardust. He is also in Polanski's Oliver Twist (I skipped that on purpose) and also George Clooney-Oscar-winning-role-movie, Syriana. He is even in that bad Vin Diesel movie Babylon A.D. The thing about his performance is the way he talks, his voice is just dreading (works everytime he stars as a villain). He is a very great actor, but I wished that although he is excellent being an antagonist, he could sometimes play the hero. The still-good Sinestro was okay but he became a villain anyway. Play both sides, dazzle me! Looking forward for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, the all-star cast British film with Mark Strong too.