Have you ever sat down to enjoy an action movie only to have it ruined when you see something completely unrealistic happen? For some people this might be watching a man in his sixties hang off an airplane for 20 minutes. Others might wonder how somebody can shrug off getting hit by an SUV at full speed and continue fighting?
These I can live with. Don’t let laws of physics get in the way of a cool scene. What I absolutely cannot stand however, is any instance when you see a character break into a full on sprint while wearing a suit. Anyone who has ever worn one that’s remotely form fitting, immediately understands how absurd this is. Bringing your knee anywhere near your waist is a struggle, yet the idea Tom Cruise can take off on a full on sprint, then continue at an elite marathoner pace in a Tuxedo and dress shoes is stupid. I don’t question TC’s running speed, but not dressed like that.
Yet Ethan Hunt isn’t the only protagonist that believes they can’t compromise style while trying to save the world. I had my research assistant Chad Petey, go back and study the 100 most watched action movies ever and they’ve concluded this happens in at least 13 different films. This is just for the main character, if we include villains, henchmen and extras, this number quickly swells up. How did this get so out of hand?
In today’s article I will explore how this epidemic began, explore why and compare the performance of suit wearing protagonist versus our casually dressed hero’s.
Continue reading to learn why action movies and running in suits make no sense.
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The History/Timeline of Action Movies
Action movies began over a hundred years ago, during the silent film era. People normally consider The Great Train Robbery (1903) to be the first but it took until the 1920’s, for Douglas Fairbanks to emerge as Hollywood’s original action star. He starred in films such The Mark of Zorro (1920) and Robin Hood (1922), mixing athletic stunt work and charismatic heroism. When you can’t speak you need to make up for it somehow; some modern actors never got this memo.
The 1930s-1950s, the Golden Age of Hollywood, introduced sound and improved stunts in action films. Some memorable moving pictures included Errol Flynn’s The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) or Wartime and Westerns from John Wayne such as Stagecoach (1939) or High Noon (1952). However, the big shift began in the 1960’s, when Sean Connery played James Bond for the first time in Dr. No (1962). This would begin one of the major film franchises, including dozens of films, spanning several actors. If you’re reading this, you know who James Bond is, don’t make me explain him to you.
It was the 1980’s when action franchises really blew up. Between Sly Stallone, doing nothing to help dispel Italian stereotypes, Arnold Schwarzenegger showing bodybuilding is at least as useful as a degree from Julliard and Bruce Willis, as the unstoppable everyman cop John McClane. Since then budgets, stunts and special effects have just gotten grander, to the point where these movies are considered a flop unless they generate $100M the opening weekend. With pressure like this, action heroes need to bring their best effort to win over demanding audiences.
This begs the question.
Why do Action Heroes Wear Suits?
Action hero’s take some variation of this formula:
Hero/Protagonist blessed with a particular set of skills, needs to
Prove they are worthy
Rescue/avenge their partner, child or pet
Reluctantly save the world, since they are the only one capable
Clear their name/survive the hunt
Protect or retrieve item so it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands
Mostly to save time, the hero is usually already pretty skilled at the start of the film. They might not be in their final form, but they are rarely starting from zero, otherwise it will take a lot of plot armor to convince the audience with minimal training they can start defeating supercharged baddies. Unless of course, they are “The one!”.
Heroes sprinting or fighting in suits made sense in previous eras because that was the style at the time. Men wore suits to work, to church, on airplanes and even when they were just hanging out. It stands to reason, they won’t always have time to slip into athletic gear when they needed to get somewhere in a hurry.
As men started to abandon suits for casual outings, the only times they would be worn would be for work or formal events. From what Hollywood taught us, action hero’s generally work in fields requiring many of these. Especially spies or people in law enforcement that can’t appear inconspicuous therefore it’s essential they wear custom suits walking around large metropolitan centers at all times.
This is why it’s completely normal for James Bond, Ethan Hunt and John Wick to be wearing suits; it’s part of the job and it could blow their cover if they wore something else. Although perhaps saving the world might not be their only motivation.
James Bond is great, but let’s face it. The guy’s a boozed out womanizer. Audiences used to find that cute but in 2025, neither drinking or womanizing are fashionable. You should expect much less of that whenever they cast a new Bond actor. In any case, as effective as Bond is, his suit wearing is far more for style, than function. He has shown he will happily reduce his probability of success, if that helps further his cause with his desired concubine.
While Ethan Hunt is slightly less distracted than Bond, his motivations are far from pure either. Hunt only continues to save the world because he’s been suffering through a mid-life crisis since he retired after MII. This explains the unnecessary stunts such as running around the tallest building in the world, holding his breath for 5 minutes or hanging off an airplane in flight. He just needs to feel something.
John Wick isn’t even trying to save the world. He’s trying to obliterate anyone that has remotely wronged him. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next edition is a vendetta against a barista that gets his order wrong. It makes for a good movie, but real heroes don’t have the luxury of style points.
Real Hero’s Don’t Wear Suits
Great heroes accomplish the impossible. That’s easy when you have superpowers but when you are just a motivated cop, vigilante or agent, you need to really dig deep and give everything you’ve got.
John McClane was just trying mend a shaky marriage and surprise his kids for Christmas when circumstances forced him, a regular NYPD officer to have to take on Hans Gruber’s entire crew. With just a pistol and jet lag, he had to take on European tourists armed with automatic weapons. Do you think he had time to change into a suit first? No. Despite being invited to a formal event, he had to go functional. He needed something breathable, perfect for ripping up for bandages if he gets shot. That’s the type of guy he was. Do you think McClane would wear Lululemon? Of course not. If he’s going to the gym, it’s with combat boots and the same gym shirt he’s had since high school.
John McClane, an active cop. Probably doesn’t even own a suit.
Know who else would never be caught dead in a suit? The ultimate action hero. Jason Bourne. Jason Bourne never fights in suits, because he’s actually a killing machine. He doesn’t care about style points. He will kill with his bare hands, a magazine, a pen. Whatever he has at his disposal.
He doesn’t even know who he is. What he is or why people are after him. It doesn’t matter. Send whoever you want after him, but nobody you would want back. Bourne had the entire US National Security apparatus after him, yet he came out on top. He did this with minimal equipment or support. Relying only on his training and instinct. Of all the action protagonists, none can match Bourne’s ability to stealthily blend in with a crowd, and always find a way to extract himself or his target from the situation. A suit would only get in the way.
Can Anybody Pull It Off?
With the exception of anyone starring in a period piece or a Guy Richie movie, it rarely makes sense for an action hero to be wearing a suit. If they are wearing a suit, it can only be to impress people. Take the Kingsman series for instance. It’s an organization of posh British aristocrats. Of course they need to be wearing a suit while saving the world. How else would people know they are posh aristocrats?
Otherwise wearing a suit mostly gets in the way if you’re ever dealing with a villain that’s at least slightly above replacement level. Take Ryan Gosling. In Drive he’s in a white bomber jacket and jeans. Despite the tall task in front of him, he manages to overcome his obstacles. The next time we see him in an action sequence is in Only God Forgives. He foolishly challenges Lieutenant Chang, who beats him senseless. Despite removing the jacket, the suit definitely didn’t do him any favors.
If a suit must be worn, the best example to follow is Christian Bale/Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Bruce Wayne/ Batman. Bruce Wayne wears suits for his day to day sauntering. Attending board meetings, hosting fundraisers or bringing Russian dancers to dinner. When he is the Batman, he wears his Batsuit. Bruce Wayne isn’t trying to fight crime in $5,000 outfits. When you are going up against incredible villains such as Ra’s Al Ghul, The Joker and Bane you don’t have time to fix your lapel. You need to be locked in. Bruce Wayne is style, the dark knight is business.
Perhaps the one exception is The Matrix because apparently while inside, everybody needs to wear suits. This applies whether they are an Agent or part of the Nebuchadnezzar crew. Neo is “The One”, and can download any skill, so he must have found the package for maneuvering in sub-optimal clothing. This combined with his nemesis, Agent Smith, also wearing a suit evens the playing field. This is why Neo can get away with it. But what if we have it backwards though? Neo may not actually be “The One” or the hero of the story at all. What if Agent Smith is really “The One” and he would have defeated Neo, if not for his fashion choices? Makes you think.
After a century of action sequences, while it makes for a nice aesthetic, good style has never made saving the world any easier. When a protagonist chooses Italian tailoring over functional fabric, the filmmakers are just signaling the villain is made of cardboard and the stakes are not high enough. When you see somebody sprinting for extended stretches in Oxfords, it’s probably CGI. With no disrespect to Bond, Hunt and Wick but these are not serious heroes since they are not living up to their potential. They lack foes worthy of their full attention which is why they are the equivalent of great athletes stuck in an era of weak competition. This ultimately nerfs their legacy and leaves the audience wanting more.
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