is there time on the boards for good ole fashioned action flicks?

and bruce's last diehard flick was action fantastic!

there's always room for action flicks. they do well oversees and on the dvd market. there are a bunch of up and coming actors (as well as comedians and rap artists) waiting for a huge money maker flick to launch their own marketability. but to break into this, you've got to have a great hero and villian and a cool, hasn't been done yet story idea which is extremely tough.

After a bad day at work, there's nothing better than coming home and watching Bruce or Jackie or Mel blow stuff up for no good reason. It just makes me feel better.

And I love watching others kick the crap out of them before they save the day.

Is that sick, or what?

Some of my favorites have been ones that swept you up in nonstop action without losing momentum to let you figure out what backstory you needed.

Action films need a well crafted script just like any other film genre - it just folows it's own conventions.

Loved all 3 Bourne films because the story worked and the pace was high all the way through. Saw Ultimatum in the cinema yesterday and went right home to dear old oncle world Wide Web to search for the script to see how it was written. Sadly I couldn't find it... A link, anyone?

It's a misunderstanding that it's easier to write an action flick. I've been trying for some time now without success.

nielsty said:

It's a misunderstanding that it's easier to write an action flick. I've been trying for some time now without success.

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I hate when people says "it's just action it does'nt need to have any plot". See a movie like die hard 3, it has huge action scenes but the plot is really smart and everything is linked and that makes the movie watchable again and again. I think that rollercoasters like Die Hard 4 and Pirates of the Caribbean will become old faster.

A little off topic but --

While I agree with you that a good plot can do wonders -- I very very recommend Shoot 'Em Up when it comes out. Honestly, there's not much of a plot. But the action scenes are so crazy inventive it doesn't matter. Really, the ingenuity on display is mindboggling. As a side note, it's very much an R, and a little more 'adult' and perhaps at time more 'in bad taste' than I usually like. But it doesn't really matter. Because it's kind of genius.

zeprosnepsid said:

A little off topic but --

While I agree with you that a good plot can do wonders -- I very very recommend Shoot 'Em Up when it comes out. Honestly, there's not much of a plot. But the action scenes are so crazy inventive it doesn't matter. Really, the ingenuity on display is mindboggling. As a side note, it's very much an R, and a little more 'adult' and perhaps at time more 'in bad taste' than I usually like. But it doesn't really matter. Because it's kind of genius.

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Ditto on 'Shoot em Up'. From the footage I've seen it looks fantastic. You get less time for a breath than you do with Bourne. Great concept and Clive Owen looks well-cast for once.

valen_sinclair said:

I ask this, cause along side Colony, I have several work in progress's HOWEVER
they are all no brainer action flicks....which let's be honest are FUN to watch, even though they don't expand our minds. Lets be honest Armageddon is a RIOT!
You are screamingGo on bruce, you can save the day!
but do people have time for that type of screenwriting, and how hard is it too break into, as like I said....i have one or two ideas....

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Well, you have to be careful about the word "no-brainer."

From the point of view of the maker, it's just as hard, or maybe harder, to come up with a successful snack food that' s going to appeal to a few hundred million people than it is to come up with a gourmet meal that'll appeal to a handful of foodies.

It may all seem effortless on the screen -- guns and bombs and quips and absurd over-the-top stunts and there you have it -- but it's anything but easy.

If you look at the best action movies and the best action sequences, you'll realize that action is character -- the action scenes are constructed so as to reveal the particular character of the hero.

If you do it wrong, the characters just get lost in the action. You do it right, the character *becomes* the action.

NMS

and action flicks can do so well in the international market -- the action trumps the need to understand through dialogue and plot.
but if you do have a great story then the US market will eat it up.