There has been very few good original action movies produced in the US since 1999. As usual, there are exceptions but if you take the sad state of action movies now and compare the genre to the period from the late 1970s to the late 1990s, a time which is often called the ‘Golden Age of Action’ you can find a sea change. If you look back to the past, the selection of action movies seemed much more plentiful. The formula was simple it included a muscular tough guy, villain, romantic relationships, revenge, pride or family driving the hero to go on a spree of destruction. They were poorly written with hero never persecuted for his aforementioned spree of destruction. It was based on the simple plots that tie the hero and the villain together.

Actors like Stallone and Schwarzenegger dominated the screen and their movies were wildly successful. But today, the story is different. To be produced in today’s market, your action movie either has to be a more of a Read the rest of this entry »

Action movies are one of the most popular genres for studios in Hollywood. Although sometimes expensive to make, if done well, they all but guarantee big numbers at the box office. I still find it amazing that so many bad action movies still get green-lit when the recipe for a good action movie is pretty easy to come by. Let’s discuss, shall we?

With the word “action” right in the name of the genre, it’s pretty obvious that this is the number one element of the best action movies. Of course, that doesn’t mean that you can just throw a bunch of car chases and gun battles into the movie and call it a day. No no, audiences are a little pickier than that.

Seeing as the modern day action movie has been around since the 70′s, audiences have seen it all before. What they are looking for now is something original, or at least an idea that is taken to the next level. In a nutshell, action now has to be well thought out and orchestrated in such a way that audiences will be wowed.

But what is a good action movie without a hero you care about? We want to see a hero that we can identify with, one that we could almost be if it wasn’t for the fact that we like our cushy life a little too much. The hero of a great action movie always has the right combination of courage, guts and sensibility. We not only care for him or her, we need to root for the hero to win at all costs.

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