Building a better action hero

Being an action hero might seem easy. Just swagger into some hot spot with sizzling special effects and a cunning smile on your face. That’s all it takes to make a testosterone junkie’s day, right? Wrong, as the recent Bruckheimer “Prince of Persia” bust with a buffed-up but bland Jake Gyllenhaal as its star so painfully proved.

The problem is: There’s no one mold to make or break. It’s why actors as diverse as Gerard Butler, Matt Damon, Shia LaBeouf, Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Pine have all found a way to get a line on action central. And why others who would seem a sure thing — Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale and Russell Crowe in tights, to name a few — don’t always cut it.

Still the contenders keep coming. Queued up to battle it out for this summer’s bragging rights are an eclectic mix of action adventures, espionage thrillers and just plain old psychotic killers. Next is Ashton Kutcher’s “Killers” this weekend, Bradley Cooper and crew on “The A-Team,” then Josh Brolin’s “Jonah Hex,” Tom Cruise in “Knight & Day,” even Michael Cera in “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” and on it goes.

Here’s a look at what actually makes for the right stuff. And remember, in the movies the guns are just props; in the theaters it’s the audiences who are packing:

It helps to be a little crazy: The crazy we like come with an unhinged look that never leaves their eyes: Tom Cruise in “Mission: Impossible” and “Top Gun,” Mel Gibson’s “Lethal Weapon” and “Braveheart” and Michael Keaton’s magnificent “Batman.” It leaves a scary lump in the pit of the stomach because though you trust they will get the job done, you know some straightjacket time might be in the cards too. Too unhinged: Nicolas Cage in “Con Air,” “The Rock,” maybe anything ....

It’s even better if they’re a little funny too: Whoever said saving the day has to be a serious affair? Johnny Depp cuts everything to shreds with his rolling eyes and self-deprecating shrugs in “Pirates of the Caribbean”; Robert Downey Jr., whether solving crimes as Sherlock or behind a metal mask in “ Iron Man,” can’t seem to keep the smirk away and, in the most amusing fashion, he never forgets to let us in on the joke. Meanwhile, Angelina Jolie turns a fashion forward style, a lot of ammo and a wicked wit into great watching whether she’s turning a machine gun on the hubby in “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” or going all Laura Croft on those tomb raiders. Not funny enough: “Bad Boys” 1 & 2’s Martin Lawrence. Shouldn’t have been funny but was: Benicio Del Toro’s “ The Wolfman.”

Sometimes size matters: There’s a kind of safety to be found in knowing that the big guy has your back, and one of the biggest to come along was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Terminator”; you just knew he would carry the day. That essential undefeatable he-man quality was there in Crowe’s “Gladiator,” Butler as he led the “300” on a suicide mission, Sylvester Stallone’s much bloodied but unbowed “Rambo.” It’s the same kind of grounded gravitas Sam Worthington brought to “Avatar,” and as the man-machine in “ Terminator Salvation,” he was most definitely the savior if not the star. Too big: In a Dolph Lundgren- Steven Seagal tossup, it’s close, but Seagal wins with “The Glimmer Man.”

Everyone loves a rogue: Some guys just wear arrogance so easily, cocky comes with their walk, to say nothing of a certain way with the ladies. Harrison Ford had it; rewatch “ Indiana Jones” and “Star Wars” if you don’t believe me. It’s a bravado that can face-off far better equipped opponents. Pine absolutely had it in “Star Trek”; Brad Pitt is never without it, from “Ocean’s Eleven,” etc., to “Inglourious Basterds,” that devastating wink was there. But for “it” at its best? Probably turn to Sean Connery and most of the Bonds, and Bogey if you want to really reach back in time. Not slick enough: Richard Gere in “The Jackal” and, gulp, George Clooney’s “Batman” (which we forgive, since otherwise he’s totally rogue-alishous, totally).

Who doesn’t fall for the boy next door? Tobey Maguire in “ Spider-Man,” LaBeouf in “Transformers” completely won us over as reluctant heroes — without the natural size, moxie or macho to get them through the tough times (yes, I know Spider-Man had the whole web-making, sticky fingers thing going, but still ….). They are forever Davids going up against Goliaths, proving their mettle each time. Their predicament so relatable — having to fight the good fight when they were never the fighting kind. Christopher Reeve’s “ Superman” was sort of the grown-up version — more at ease with the glasses than the heavy mantle conferred by the cape; never forgetting that at heart he was still a farm boy even if he could fly. Not that ordinary: Remember Ben Affleck in “Daredevil”? “Reindeer Games”? Neither do I. You know why? He’s like the slightly annoying kid down the block instead of the hero. Probably why he doesn’t play them anymore.

A little intensity goes a long way: There is something electric about the kind of passion-fueled intensity found in Clint Eastwood’s “Dirty Harry” and Damon’s Jason Bourne. Damon’s body literally vibrates; he rarely blinks and you believe in a heartbeat that there is nothing that will take him off course, even death itself. Close is Bruce Willis in “Die Hard.” Ironically that’s what tends to drive the women who would be action kings too — Linda Hamilton’s buffed and unwavering Sarah in “The Terminator,” the spring-loaded calm of Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley in “Aliens.” Intensity, and a sweat-stained T-shirt a little on the tight side — black for Bourne, white for the rest — pretty much guarantees they’ll save the day. Too tightly wound: Jackman’s “Wolverine.” Trim the nails and the hair and chill, dude.

betsy.sharkey@latimes.com