Keanu Reeves in John Wick (2014)
Is the Action Part of the Story?: An action scene should evolve organically as part of the story. This way, we have a sense of why things are happening and why to root for the good guy.
◄ IMDb Polls
Poll: The Art of Action
Modern action cinema is often accused of being inferior to the classics of the 1980s and 90s. This comparison may or may not be valid, and we can find counterexamples for each side. However, the genre certainly suffers from some alarming trends, and many movies would benefit from observing its virtues once again.
Which question should filmmakers consider more when making action movies?
(The images represent recent movies where the directors suceeded in taking care of the discussed aspect)
Make Your Choice
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Marvin Campbell and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Inception (2010)
How Are Special Effects Used?: Special effects can show us things we wouldn't see in real life. The question is if they look believable on screen and serve a purpose in the story. -
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Where Are We?: Without visual indicators of where we are and what is happening, it is hard to make sense of the action. -
Baby Driver (2017)
Does the Camera Show or Shake?: Very few directors have mastered the art of telling a coherent story while using a shaky cam. Most of the time, the audience simply can't see what is supposed to be happening. -
Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)
Is There Too Much (Bad) Cutting?: In many cases, even well-done sequences are butchered and deprived of their impact by too many cuts, or cuts that don't match up. -
Joe Taslim and Yayan Ruhian in The Raid: Redemption (2011)
Does the Actor Fight?: How can we be invested in the scene if we never see the principal actor actually perform in it? -
Danny Trejo in Machete (2010)
Is Speech Silver?: A pithy one-liner can be the icing on top a good action... cake, but awkward attempts at humor or meaningless blather simply disrupt the moment. -
Daniel Craig in Skyfall (2012)
Do We Suffer from Overkill?: More isn't always better. Without quieter moments and a proper buildup to the big fight or explosion, viewers are overpowered by non-stop action, which makes it hard to be impressed anymore. -
Donnie Yen in Kill Zone (2005)
"Could it happen in the real world?" - If the laws of physics are broken too much, the action becomes unbelievable.(suggested by MuviFan73)
Added March 25, 2021
