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action film

Action movies are a film genre where action sequences, such as fights, shootouts, stunts, car chases or explosions either take precedence or, in finer examples of the genre, are used as a form of exposition and character development. The action typically involves individual efforts on the part of the hero. The genre is closely linked with the thriller and adventure film genres.

While the non-stop motion and fast pacing of action films makes these escapist "popcorn films" a reliable source revenue for movie studios, relatively few action films garner critical praise. Action films tend to be formulaic works based around clichéd stock characters and well-worn plots. While action films have traditionally been aimed at male audiences, from the early teens to the mid-30s, action filmmakers from the 1990s and 2000s added female heroines, romance subplots, and more substantial storylines to broaden the appeal of action films.

History

In the West, during the 1920s and 1930s, action films were often "swashbuckling" adventure films in which Douglas Fairbanks or Errol Flynn wielded swords in period pieces. The long-running success of the James Bond series of spy films in the 1960s and 1970s helped to popularise the modern day action film. The early Bond films were characterised by quick cutting, car chases, fist fights and ever more elaborate action sequences. The series also established the concept of the resourceful hero, who is able to dispatch the villains with a ready one-liner.

Early American action films usually focused on maverick police officers, as in Bullitt (1968), The French Connection (1971) and Dirty Harry (1971). These were among the earliest films to present a car chase as an action set-piece. However, the action film did not become a dominant form in Hollywood until the 1980s and 1990s, when it was popularized by actors such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone, whose film First Blood in 1982 is considered to be the beginning of the modern day action film. The 1988 film Die Hard was particularly influential on the development of the genre in the following decade. In the film, Bruce Willis plays a New York police detective who inadvertently becomes embroiled in a terrorist take-over of a Los Angeles office block. The film set a pattern for a host of imitators, like Under Siege (1992) or Air Force One (1997), which used the same formula in a different setting.

Action films tend to be expensive when requiring big budget special effects and stunt work. As such, they are regarded as mostly a Hollywood genre, although there have been a significant number of action films from Hong Kong which are primarily modern variations of the martial arts film. Because of these roots, Hong Kong action films typically center on acrobatics by the protagonist while American action films typically feature big explosions and modern CGI special effects technology.

Current trends

Current trends in action film include a development toward more elaborate fight scenes in Western film. This trend is influenced by the massive success of Hong Kong action cinema, both in Asia and in the west. Asian martial arts elements, such as kung-fu can now be found in numerous non-Asian action films. Now, a distinction can be made between films that lean toward physical, agile fighting, such as Blade and The Matrix, and those that lean toward other common action film conventions, like explosions and plenty of gunfire, such as Mission Impossible 3, although most action movies employ elements of both.

Sub-genres

Die Hard Scenario - The story takes place in limited location - a single building, plane, or vessel - which is seized or under threat by enemy agents. This sub-genre began with the film, Die Hard, but has become popular in Hollywood movie making both because of its crowd appeal and the relative simplicity of building sets for such a constrained piece. Among the many films that have copied this formula are Under Siege, John Q, Executive Decision, Air Force One (hostages are trapped in a plane), Speed (hostages are trapped in a bus), The Rock, and Con Air (criminals take over a transport plane).

Girls with guns - this sub-genre of films and animation, especially Hong Kong action films and anime, uses a female protagonist in a strong lead role, set in a modern context. The genre involves gun-play, stunts and martial arts action. Some of the best known female fighters are Angela Mao Ying, Cheng Pei-pei, Moon Lee, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi and Cynthia Rothrock. European and US films with female protagonists include Nikita (1990); (2001); and Kill Bill (2003/2004).

Heroic bloodshed - This Hong Kong sub-genre revolves around dramatic themes such as brotherhood, honour, redemption and the effects of violence on the individual and society at large. It often features stylized shootouts with slow-motion scenes of barrages of gunfire.

Actors

Actors from the 1950s and 1960s such as John Wayne, Steve McQueen and Lee Marvin passed the torch in the 1970s to actors such as Charles Bronson, martial artist Chuck Norris, and Clint Eastwood. In the 1980s, Mel Gibson and Danny Glover had a popular string of "buddy cop" films in the Lethal Weapon franchise. Beginning in the mid-1980s, actors such as the burly ex-bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone wielded machine guns in a number of action films. Stern-faced martial artist Steven Seagal made a number of films. Bruce Willis played a Western-inspired hero in the popular Die Hard series of action films.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Asian actors Chow Yun-Fat, Jet Li, Hrithik Roshan, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgan and Jackie Chan appeared in a number of different types of action films, and US actor Wesley Snipes had many roles. As well, several female actors had major roles in action films, such as Michelle Yeoh, Lucy Liu, and ex-model Milla Jovovich. While Keanu Reeves and Harrison Ford both had major roles in action sci-fi films (The Matrix and Blade Runner, respectively), Ford branched out into a number of other action genres, such as action-adventure films.

European action actors such as Belgian-born Jean-Claude Van Damme and French-Born Jean Reno and British-born Jason Statham appeared in a number of 1990s and 2000s-era action films. US actor Matt Damon, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his sensitive portrayal of a math genius working as a janitor in Good Will Hunting, metamorphosed into an action hero with the car chase and gunfire-filled Bourne Identity franchise. For a longer list of action film actors, see the List of action film actors article.

References

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action film

History

Current trends

Sub-genres

Actors

Directors

Producers

Crewmembers

See also

Further reading

References