With Arnold Schwarzenegger recently announcing hes set to become the Terminator again, its clear the statement Ill be back was more prophecy than catchphrase. The Austrian Oaks headline-grabbing return to the action genre really does feel like a prophecy being fulfilled, the groundwork being laid down by the likes of Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis once more kicking ass under the spotlight of big budget, high profile blockbusters. The old guard is back, and now they have their king.

Whats brought this about? First of all, its proof that, despite the bleating of naysayers, star power is still very much alive and well in Hollywood. Were still fascinated with the golden gods of the big screen: Schwarzenegger and co. have been a part of our lives for years! We know them, were comfortable with them and its easy to get on their side when were watching these stars clean the streets of bad guys with bullets and bunches of five. Audiences flocked to see Avatar and Clash of the Titans because of the eye-popping spectacle of their special effects, not because of Sam Worthington few would argue with the fact that he simply lacks the screen presence and charisma of big Arnie or Sly.

Also, it has been awhile since these icons were regular fixtures of the box offices top ten. Politics (The Governator), film flops (just what was Stallone thinking when he signed on for the Get Carter remake?) and flirting with other genres (Willis joining the cast of Friends after becoming Unbreakable for M Night Shyamalan) has kept them mostly away from the gaze of action fans. But now theyre back - as Arnold promised - thanks in no small part to Mr. Willis agreeing to become Die Hards John McClane again and starting a fire thats now burning bright in Hollywood thanks to being fueled by lots of money. Our action heroes are fresh again and its a welcome return.

Their warm welcome has been boosted by the sad reality that cinema has been drowning in CGI in recent years. This has created a backlash from film fans tired of seeing computer creations thumping each other and being blown to pieces. No matter how loudly and proudly the film makers announce their SFX are photorealistic, the truth is theyre not. We know those big, clanking Transformers are fancy graphics. We can tell when a cast member has been replaced by a Synthetic Actor (fancy industry talk that really means a sort of rubbery CGI version of the actor that doesnt quite look right). No matter how well put together it may be, any CGI-heavy battle simply does not look real. Shia LaBoeuf running from some pixels just cant compete with the rough and tumble thrills of The Expendables fight scenes. Its hard to get excited about something thats not really happening and if an action film isnt exciting, it isnt anything.

For a lot of genre fans, the message theyre now sending to Hollywood is clear: we want our action to take place on set, not on PCs. When we see Bruce Willis or Arnold Schwarzeneggers name above the films title, we know the next two hours are going to contain a higher percentage of real life fighting and stunts than what the competition has to offer. With the likes of Transformers and Avatar, the budget was mostly chewed up by the SFX and so the producers are going to make damn sure theyre front and centre when the action kicks off. When the very expensive Arnie or Sly are on-board, theyre the money shot they are want the audience has paid to see - and so its guaranteed theyll be on camera as often as possible, getting up close and personal with the stunt men and explosions. The thrill of the real is back. The element of danger is back. Action junkies get their fix.

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