Speech Battle: Pullman Vs. Van Damme

That new Independence Day: Resurgence trailer gave me some nostalgic flashbacks.  One being that speech by Bill Pullman in the original movie, playing President Whitmore.  Of course, while some call it cheesy as hell, others call it manly as fuck!  But wait, there was another 1990’s speech, from two years earlier.  This one came from Jean Claude Van Damme, as Col. Guile in Street Fighter.

The question is, who was the manliest orator?

Van Damme

Troopers, I just received new orders. Our superiors say the war is cancelled. We can all go home. Bison is getting paid off for his crimes, and our friends who have died here will have died for nothing. But, we can all go home. Meanwhile, ideals like peace, freedom, and justice, they get packed up. But, we can all go home.

Well, I’m not going home. I’m gonna get on my boat, and I’m going up river, and I’m going to kick that son of a bitch Bison’s ass so hard that the next Bison wannabe is gonna feel it! Now, who wants to go home… and who wants to go with me?

Pullman

Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. “Mankind.” That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can’t be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it’s fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom… Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution… but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight!  We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!