When it comes to action movie directors most fans of the genre would agree that James Cameron ( Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day), John McTiernan (Predator,Die Hard,The Hunt for Red October), Sylvester Stallone (Rocky II, Rambo,The Expendables) are some of the best that this genre has to offer.
While there are some directors who may not have been as consistent as the masters listed above, they still gave movie goers an adrenaline kick at the movie theater.
In my humble opinion Martin Campbell deserves a little more appreciation. He has a knack for updating/reinventing a struggling franchise or character for modern movie audiences.
Not only did resurrect the swashbuckling adventure hero Zorro, he saved the Bond franchise twice, with Goldeneye and Casino Royale.
Unfortunately, he has made a few duds along like the way. He helmed the much-anticipated Zorro sequel The Legend of Zorro. The film took too long to arrive in theaters and failed to capture the magic of the first film. Then there is his universally panned superhero film, Green Lantern.
If The Legend of Zorro would have faired better at the box-office, and if Campbell would have a done a few films with some action icons (Stallone, Bruce Willis), he would easily be on the list as one of the most influential action film directors.
He may not be on anyone’s top ten list for action film directors, but he does deserve a nod for resurrecting the James Bond franchise and leaving us with two of the best films in the franchise.