It was the viral hit of 2009 that parodied one of the most popular action cliches, so here’s every movie clip used in The Lonely Island’s “Cool Guys Don’t Look At Explosions” video. The Lonely Island is a comedy trio consisting of Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer. The group started out making comedy shorts and posting them online, which soon led to a high-profile writing gig on Saturday Night Live.
Their popularity exploded following the success of SNL Digital Shorts like “I’m On A Boat” and “Jack Sparrow,” featuring Michael Bolton. Their music was often incredibly catchy while the videos were loaded with surreal humor and celebrity cameos. They’ve also released a number of comedy albums and have made two films, including cult gem Hot Rod and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. Their most recent effort is the Netflix “visual poem” The Lonely Island’s Presents: The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience, telling the story of baseball players Jose Canseco (Samberg) and Mark McGwire (Schaffer).
During the MTV Movie Awards in 2009, The Lonely Island unleashed the “Cool Guys Don’t Look at Explosions” music video, which pays homage to the cliche of heroes walking away from massive explosions with no response. During the video, Samberg performs a duet with Will Ferrell’s Neil Diamond as various clips play showing examples of the trope, with J.J. Abrams (Star Trek) making a cameo appearance to play a keyboard solo. Here’s every film clip shown during the video.
“Cool Guys Don’t Look At Explosions” pays particular attention to 2007’s action thriller Shooter, with Samberg passionately pointing out Mark Wahlberg is wearing a hat during his cool walk. X-Men Origins: Wolverine would have been the most recent release used in the video back in 2009 and while the film itself was roundly panned, it can’t be denied that particular clip of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) walking away from a helicopter explosion is pretty badass.
RoboCop
Lethal Weapon 3
Desperado
From Dusk Till Dawn
Con Air
Gone in 60 Seconds
The Rundown
Man on Fire
Syriana
Lucky Number Slevin
Shooter
The Contractor
Hell Ride
Iron Man
No Country for Old Men
Hancock
The Dark Knight
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
While The Lonely Island’s “Cool Guys Don’t Look At Explosions” video shows a lot of famous examples of the trope, there are some obscure entries in there too, including the long-forgotten biker movie Hell Ride and straight to video thriller The Contractor, starring Wesley Snipes (Blade). The video also ends with Samberg and Will Ferrell walking away from an explosion - and being decidedly uncool by flinching and looking back in panic.
Next: Netflix’s Lonely Island Special Explained: The True Bash Brothers Story
