There can be no doubt that action movies are some of the most popular types of movies you are likely to see at the cinema at any given time. However, the question naturally arises: What makes these particular movies so popular and so commercially successful? What is it about them that makes people flock to the theaters in droves and pay out massive ticket prices? The following are some of the key features of action films that makes audiences keep pouring in.
A Virtuous But Flawed Hero
Every action film worth its salt has a hero who is both authentic and virtuous and also full of flaws. Whether it’s the dark and sometimes brutal Batman of the recent films or the very flawed but also very human John McClane of “Die Hard,” the film needs someone with whom we can identify. We like our heroes to be almost superhuman in their physical abilities, but we also like them to possess the same character flaws we do; that is what makes the movie for us. Without its hero, the action film is just so many explosions.
An Evil Villain
On the flip side of the coin, of course, are the villains, those men and women who pose the threat to society and the hero who must ultimately be overcome. Perhaps no villain is as nefarious and downright evil as the recent incarnation of the Joker in “The Dark Knight,” who poses a very real threat to both Gotham City and Batman. Just as we want our heroes to be virtuous in an action film, we also want our villains to be the cruelest and most destructive people we can imagine. However, we also want to enjoy watching them, which is why the sleek, cultured accent of the villainous Hans Gruber of “Die Hard” is such an excellent example of an action movie villain.
Violence
Naturally, one of the main attributes of the action film is the violence, typically seen in both fight scenes and massive explosions. Although these might seem to be just so much Hollywood magic, the violence also serves to make us fear for a hero’s life, even if we are reasonably certain he is going to make it out of the whole thing alive. Violence keeps us rooted in our seats and makes us identify with the main hero and, of course, dislike the villain, who has decided to perpetuate such violence against the hero we have come to identify with.
Suspense
Finally, we come to suspense, which often goes hand-in-hand with the aforementioned violence. Part of the allure of the action film is that it keeps us guessing, even if we know the hero is going to win and the bad guy is going to lose. What really matters in the film, however, is the way in which we get from the start to the finish, and what price the hero has to pay for his eventual victory. Even the most stalwart and virtuous heroes, after all, often have to pay a price for the job of protecting the rest of us.
If you want to experience a real adrenaline rush without actually having to engage in any crime-fighting action yourself, then you should definitely go out and see a good action film. One thing’s for certain: You’ll never have to look any further than your local movie theater.
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