Lights, Camera, ACTION!

Action is one of the most famous film genres in modern filmmaking with companies like Marvel and DC Comics centered around such. However, this was not always the case. Action was only developed as a film genre in the early 1970s when the popularity of the use of stunts and special effects became increased. Action movies are known to consist of lots of fight scenes and are more on the violent side. The plot lines of these movies usually circulate around a hero that has a certain goal but must face several obstacles to reach it. These goals can be revenge based or inspired by the greater good. At the end of the movies, they almost always include a final showdown between the hero and villain, with a victory for the hero.

Action movies from a marketing standpoint usually target more towards the male audience with a demographic of 18-40 years old due to all the violence included. These people tend to fall under the low or middle social economic class. This genre is very popular as it usually stars many A-list actors. Lots of ticket sales are stemmed from the star power that makes up the cast. Many of these movies are then also made into sequels and prequels, more opportunities to make money out of the same relative storyline.

Since the idea of action movies is to make all the fighting seem as natural and realistic as possible,

not a lot of editing cuts are used. Fighting sequences are made up of lots of long and medium shots,

not only to capture the full bodies of the actors while fighting but also to create an intimate connection

between the scene and the audience to make it seem genuine. Lots of special effects and camera

movement shots like zooms, pans, etc. are always used to keep the audience engaged and match the

fast-moving story.

One movie that is majorly popular in the action genre is Avengers: Infinity War. After being released in

theaters in 2018, it immediately skyrocketed in box office sales, making over 2 billion dollars. The movie

follows a group of superheroes known as the Avengers who band together to fight the greatest villain in all

of the universe, a titan known as Thanos. As they race to collect all the infinity stones, 6 stones that hold

all the powers of space, time, etc., before Thanos, they run into many interactions with Thanos and his

army. Thanos collecting all the stones would give him the power to vaporize half of the population of the

universe. It is a time-sensitive battle between good and evil, though this one ends in the villain’s favor.

Infinity War (2018)

Another movie that is very well-known action movie is the Karate Kid, an older fan favorite, directed by

John Avildsen. This movie follows the new kid in town, Daniel La Russo, who has to adjust to a new high

school and new people. Though he quickly found the girl of his dreams, this leads him to fall into trouble

with the school bully/popular boy, Johnny Lawrence, and his crew of friends, who are trained in martial arts

karate at Cobra Kai, a popular karate dojo. In an effort to defend himself, Daniel befriends and seeks

guidance from Mr. Miyagi, who is extremely well-trained in the art of karate. As Daniel learns and grows

from his Miyagi's teachings, it leads him to join the All Valley karate championship where he must battle

Johnny in a final showdown. This movie is filled with lots of battle scenes all building up to a final battle

between the protagonist and antagonist in which the protagonist is left victorious.

Karate Kid (1984)

More action movies to consider:

No Time to Die (2021)

Justice League (2017)

Mission Impossible (1996)

Dunkirk (2017)

Bullet Train (2022)