Now I'd just like to preface this by saying; I have great respect for the hardworking actors and movie makers who put their energy into creating these films, that being said, after countless years of seeing studios pumping out terrible action movies, I've had enough.
Just quickly, keep in mind that I'm talking about straight up action movies here… You know, the ones with all the fighting. Also remember, this is an opinion driven piece, I'm definitely not an expert and in no way claim to be... So let's get to it.
You're sitting in the cinema, the smell of buttered popcorn and un-vacuumed carpet in the air, when on the silver screen you see something... It's that new Jason Statham movie, the one where... Hang on... Didn't this come out last year? You're bewildered as you watch explosions and hear the same old plot you're sure you've heard before. The trailer cuts to black and a one word title appears in all its metal-fonted glory. It's over now... You switch your phone to silent and try to open your chips as quietly as possible as you settle in to enjoy the movie.
You've probably had that experience at some point in your life, and if you haven't... You need to get out more.
Obviously the first point I'm trying to make is that every action movie is essentially the same plot-wise. Whether it's a Statham or not, you know just from the trailer that you're gonna get one action hero vs. hundreds of expendable baddies that can't even shoot straight. There'll be the part where the hero - who happens to be ex-military or something - doesn't know what's happening, there'll be the part where he gets some kind of motive (usually in the form of vengeance), there'll be the part where he lives and everyone else dies and there'll be the part where the movie ends.
Everything in between will just be near non-stop action as the hero either shoots everyone, or fights everyone. (Usually a bit of both)
Movie makers from all over the world have tried this formula over and over but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the reason this actually doesn’t work is because us normal people just can't empathise with it. I don’t know about you but the last time I tried doing a sweet flip-kick I either tore my pants or pulled a muscle, and I've never avoided being hit in a twelve player game of paint ball let alone real life with real guns. How do movie makers actually expect us to relate to heroes when we can't relate to what they’re doing.
I know you're probably thinking, "Just turn off your brain and enjoy it, idiot!", but the problem is that these kinds of films are simply not made or marketed that way. That's the difference between a John Wick and a Safe. Where Safe tries to get you invested in this whole "ahh, this is your ordinary guy Luke or whatever, he's gotta protect this little girl because emotions or something"
John Wick sits there and goes "We know exactly what this movie is, and not only will we be consistent with that, we're going out of our way to make it obvious".
One of these is an extremely entertaining movie; the other was a boring hour-and-a-half slog. Take a guess which is which.
What I'm trying to say is; know what your movie is, don't just make the same thing over and over with slightly different settings because it doesn't work. You're trying to make it too serious and by the time the first act is over I've already figured out the movie and am now considering pulling out my phone to do a raid on clash of clans.
The next thing that action movies are just doing wrong is fight scenes. In these films you can bet there's gonna be a three-to-five minute sequence in which our fist-happy hero will be engaged with the baddy that’s somehow better than the rest. In this fight you're not actually going to see fighting... You're gonna see quick cutting, shaky-cam'd bits of clothing as you hear what you assume to be punches.
Now you're probably thinking, "But it's so fast and intense, that’s how it’s meant to be, idiot!”, the truth is that it's TOO fast and intense. When all you can see is blurry shapes you'll actively search the screen hoping for a glimpse of whatever’s happening, and just as you find the faces of the actors the screen will cut to another angle and the search will restart. You'll get lost in this sudden frenzy and when it’s all done you’ll be left wondering "what?" as you watch a body drop and the hero spout a cheesy one-liner.
This is the difference between a Matrix and a Taken 2. While in Taken 2 you'll watch Liam Neeson and his nose fighting stereotypical baddy #3 on some table while the camera challenges all the conventional rules of film to a wrestle, the Matrix will show you every corner of the subway as it relishes in presenting its actors take each other on in all its green-coded, wide shotted, glory. In these fights you know where to look and you're never left searching for the actors as they move in for their next strike, giving you more time to empathise with the expression of the actors and the fluidity of the fisticuffs that they’ve obviously worked so hard to perfect.
What I mean by this is; all the choreography in the world won't save you from bad camera work, quick cut editing, or a mixture of both. Show us how intense the fight is by actually showing us, don't try to make it as fast as possible or else I'm just gonna vomit. Don't leave your audience confused by trying to make them feel what you want in a fight scene, show them everything and let them use their intuition. Also for goodness sake create some diversity in your character's wardrobes. It's much easier to see The Bride killing the Crazy 88 while she's wearing a bright yellow outfit,
than it is catching sight of dark jacket #1 vs dark jacket hero in Taken 2.
Now for my final point; don't make your heroes invulnerable. Ever noticed that by the end of the film the only thing wrong with the hero is one or two scrapes on the edges of his face? Now that you have gone back and counted how many times you saw the hero get hit by baddies - maybe seven or eight times with the occasional gunshot wound – you begin to understand. All this time you've been watching your hero shred through baddies that can only take about one punch each you’ve been completely fooled… (Or not, you’re probably smart) The hero is invincible.
By this point, you're probably agreeing with me and thinking back to all the action movies you've ever watched to compare and are beginning to see the pattern in all of them. Stop doing this! Action movies! I'm not only not going to care for the hero if he simply can't be hurt but I'm going to be disengaged as I realise there are no stakes to the premise whatsoever.
Let's take a look at another of those action movies. Watching Tony Jaa jumping around and kicking baddies in The Protector you might notice that in the one-shot you loved he hardly gets hit once and even more... Seemingly didn’t break a sweat. Once this is apparent you'll realise that it doesn't matter what happens at the end, Tony Jaa is untouchable and will still be alive.
Then you watch Marvel's Daredevil (the Netflix one... Obviously) and you see that one shot in the hallway everyone tells you about. Through it you begin to see something you don't see very often, Daredevil is not only getting hit... But he's getting tired. Pretty much every baddy is able to take more than a few punches and by the end you're wondering whether the devil of Hell's Kitchen will be able to save the boy or not.
I know, this is a TV show not an action movie, but my point still stands. Stop making your characters these invincible machines that can just breeze through baddies. All you're doing is hurting your own climax and severing any emotional connection your audience may have had. Once we figure out that nothing can stop the hero we lose any sense of relatability or tension and the movie is worse off for it.
Now I know not all action movies are like this and there are a few that stand head and shoulders above the rest not just as good action movies, but good movies in general. But unfortunately for every Kill Bill Vol 1. there are about twenty Redemptions. For every Matrix there are a dozen Safes. And yes I realise there are many more problems you could probably think up off the top of your head, but I figured that these were more the main ones.
I understand that you might enjoy these movies for what they are so I'd just like to remind you; these are opinions, not facts, so if you don't agree then don't take them on-board.
Thanks for reading.
(P.S. Leave your own opinions or responses in the comments below. As long as it's attacking the ideas creatively instead of me I'd love to hear from you.)
Take care