Now that people like Shia LaBeouf are headlining action movies, Sylvester Stallone feels nostalgic for the old days. He blames the death of the old-school action movie on Batman. Specifically, the Tim Burton version:

It was that first Batman movie. The action movies changed radically when it became possible to Velcro your muscles on. It was the beginning of a new era. The visual took over. The special effects became more important than the single person. That was the beginning of the end.... I wish I had thought of Velcro muscles myself. I didn't have to go to the gym for all those years, all the hours wedded to the iron game, as we call it.

Stallone, obviously, is hoping to bring back the old-school action movie, where real muscles are bigger than any special effect, with The Expendables.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2010/07/comiccon-2010-expendables-stallone-willis-schwarzenegger.html

I wouldn't blame Batman for action movies not being popular anymore. It's a new generation of people now who aren't into action movies like people who were into them from the old school like myself. Some action movies are still being made like this summer's The Losers and the upcoming The Takers and The Expendables. I think after The Expendables, you might start seeing some more action movies being made because i think The Expendables is gonna make a lot of money because there's so many good action stars in it. Then again it might not make a lot of money because like i said this new generation of moviegoers aren't into action flicks like action fans from the old school. I thought Vin Diesel and wrestler The Rock were gonna be the new action stars but they'd rather do wack movies hahahahahahahahahaha. I was glad to see Vin in the last Fast And The Furious movie and i heard he might do a sequel to XXX which would be nice to see. There aren't that many actors that are doing action movies like there was in the 80's and 90's. So that's also a problem.

heres a fewaction moive with out speacial effects:
the rundown
the marien
12 rounds

heres a fewaction moive with out speacial effects:
the rundown
the marien
12 rounds

Wasn't Law Abiding Citizen also one? Idk because I just saw the first couple of minutes (stopped after Reese-Myers' character starts tripping out because he tried the drug that was in the vase)