How is it Action?
Action is one of the most watched genres every year, with it being so popular that the top 10 grossing movies during the past 30 years have been all action films, thats why its so important to classify what makes an action film. These films are heavily characterized by relying on a fast paced, high energy sequences like chases and fights, the main goals of this genre being to entertain rather than make commentary on any topics, even though that might not always be the case.
Content:
Action films rely heavily on having a clear antagonist, someone that the audience can side against, this amps up the stakes for the story, which gets the viewer more invested in the sequence of events that unfold within the narrative.
Example: In the film Avengers: Age of Ultron, we are given two easily identifiable sides, our heroes which are made up of Captain America, Hulk, Thor, etc, and the opposing side, the one that would be deemed as evil which is made up of Ultron and the henchmen he made.
Most action films require for the stakes to be extremely high, usually the stakes can be life or death, success or dishonor, or even world ending, these are used to emphasize how importat the current plot is if our main character does not succeed. This also makes every moment of the movie feel life or death, if the viewer knows how high the stakes are they can feel the rush and the excitement of every fight scene, and have a bigger emotional value when the protagonists succeeds or fails.
Along with these, rather than using a slow paced plot which bores the audience and makes the lose interest, a fast paced plot is most likely used, keeping them on their toes. While it is a great way to keep the viewer entertained, the use of this type of plot makes it lack of scenes that might help connect with the characters in a deeper level, which for some viewers might be a disadvantage.
A specially skilled main character is often seen during these types of stories, many of them have super abilities, or just plain skills that have been practiced to near mastery, while they exceed on their specific ability they are often flawed which helps the viewer make a connection with them given that most people see themselves as flawed on one way or another.
Example: In the film Gladiator, the main character Maximus is highly skilled in combat, but is solely focused on revenge rather than justice.
Production Techniques
Since action films are packed with many fighting scenes and are meant to keep the audience on the edge of their seat hand held-hold shots which give a sense of chaos, and danger amplifies the rush that the audience feels when viewing the movie. This also may lead to some shakier shots but it makes the viewer feel that rather than watching a movie, they are instead in the film living what the main characters is living.
The fast paced editing is another way that action films get the audience's blood flowing, by rapidly switching shots the viewer is able to see, it creates a feeling of excitement, tension, and a sense of urgency through the rapid succession of shots.
Marketing:
Younger demographics are seen for action films, ranging from 18-34 year old, mainly since the younger audiences would rather be entertained than having to listen through a long, slow paced movie, while action movies had been previously marketed for men, both gender seem to be equally interested in these types of films. The marketing for the young audience relies heavily on social media platforms like Tiktok, Instagram, and Youtube which is the easier, most accesible way younger people are able to view movies and trailers.
Posters for action films rely heavily on high-contrast, dynamic images with bold fonts and vibrant colors to convey excitement and danger, they usually feature the main character in the middle of it looking serious or in thought, right below them bold, colorful letters are used for the title. The poster shows the relationship they have with the world and the characters around them, which might appeal to the audience seeing it.
Sample #1: Superman
Sample #2: John Wick
In the movie John Wick, we follow the main character by the same name, he used to be an assasin but he is now retired, after the death of his wife the retired assasin receives a puppy as a last gift from her, when that puppy is killed in cold blood it sets him off to kill all of those who helped hurt him. The perpetrator of such horrible act is the son of a powerful crime lord, he does this out of malice after John Wick refuses to sell him his car, this event causes for John Wick to come out of retirement with the goal to kill those who helped hurt his dog and steal the car. The movie is visually dark, which helps the audience see how lonely and broken John Wick's world truly is, with the various fight scenes that utilize hand held shots, it makes the viewer feel every shot John Whick takes. Something that this film does that not many other do is how it is able to connect us to a character while still keeping the rush and the action to the max. This emotional connection that the viewer gets with John Wick is not seen in many other films, since many people have grieved the lost of somebody they loved they are able to see why John Wick is acting the he does. When the resolution finally comes the audience can't help but feel relived that he was able to achieve such impossible feat with determination and the loss of those who he loved.
Some Action Films to Consider
Murder Mystery (2019)
Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)
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