Action Movies: A Brief And Detailed History - Jason

In our production, we plan for many scenes of the trailer to be action orientated, displaying many stunning visuals to leave our audience in a state of awe. Since our target audience will range from 15-25 years old, our trailer will have to relate to many conventions that this target audience can be associated with....action.

Action movies are a film genre where the story is mainly told through physical action rather than dialogue. With this genre developing in the 1970's, action movies would later pave the way for many successful movies and directors...not including Michael Bay.

This particular genre has always been aimed at male audiences. Action movies would usually serve as a "thrill" and "escapism" for male audiences as they would see the protagonist fight their way through the movie in order to reach a certain goal. Primary examples of this formula are films like Enter The Dragon, Rambo, Commando, Die Hard etc.

Though these movies have similar themes of action, there is a distinction of how these movies carry out violence and action. Films such as Enter The Dragon and Rambo lean towards a more physical, agile fighting approach while films like Dir Hard and Commando employ elements of explosions and plenty of gunfire to portray violence and action.

With action movies developing more and more throughout the years, the 1980's was known as "the action era", and with it came many legendary movies and actors such as Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Mel Gibson. Directors such as Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were majorly recognised with their release of Indiana Jones Raiders of The Lost Ark in the 80's. Some say the 1980's was the successful peak of action movies.

Many sub-genres derived from the action movie genre such as Action Comedy, Heroic Bloodshed, Die Hard Scenario and Girls With Guns. Action Comedy is a sun-genre involving humor in combination with action. With this genre, many comedic icons such as Eddie Murphy began taking lead roles in action films. Very rarely in Action Comedy movies does death or serious injuries to characters occur. Examples of Action Comedies involve Big Momma's House, Bad Boys and Rush Hour.

Heroic Bloodshed is a sub-genre that involves dramatic themes such as honor, brotherhood and redemption. This sub-genre derives from Hong Kong and usually involves stylized shootouts with slow-motion scenes. Barrages of gun fire also ensue throughout the film which is what makes this sub-genre so popular. Director John Woo is often associated with the Heroic Bloodshed genre.

Die Hard Scenario is a formula that is seen in many action movies such as Con Air, Under Siege and of course, Die Hard. This formula involves the story taking place in a limited location e.g. a plane, building or vessel. These places are captured or under threat by the antagonists, leaving the lone protagonist to challenge them using their cunning and stealth to defeat them.

The Girls With Guns sub-genre uses a female protagonist to take a position of high power and defeat the antagonists. This sub-genre is mainly set in a modern context and examples of this are movies such as Kill Bill and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.

With such in-depth research of the Action Movie genre, our group has a better understanding of how action should be portrayed and choreographed in our production. This research will also lead to a better outcome of our action scenes, having in mind ideas of an original nature.