Best Action Movies- Top Action Movies- The Appeal of Action Movies- Secrets to a Good 80s Action Movie
Are you an action adventure movie fan? How many of these films have you viewed?
1. The Seven Samurai - Akira Kurosawa’s epic The Seven Samurai’ appeared in 1954. According to people who care about this sort of thing, The Seven Samurai’is thought of as the first true action adventure film. This epic film about a squad of samurai freelancers defending a village invented many techniques used in action movies today. Kurosawa’s film was the first to use slow motion for dramatic effect, and introduced the world to the stand-alone prologue. Akira Kurosawa is a master of filming battle scenes, and he pioneered many techniques for filming action and fighting that would be used for the subsequent half a century. Using extreme close-ups during fight scenes just wasn’t done before this film, and that particular technique is still used today. The Magnificent Seven is the most obvious example, but many movies have been heavily influenced by The Seven Samurai.
2. The French Connection – This 1971 film exemplifies the golden age of harsh and cutting-edge police procedurals. The 1970s was loaded with pulp and dirt, and for a time it seemed as if no film could be shot during the day. The French Connection is one of these true story action adventure film dramas. The French Connection was awarded three Oscars: Best Picture, Director, and Actor. Do not let the awards fool you, this is an action adventure movie. We have got fistfights, we have guns and ammo, we have pursuits and illegal drugs and everything else an action movie fan might wish for. Gene Hackman as a NY police officer is tough and cool, the enemy of evil heroin smugglers.
3. Jurassic Park – Jurassic Park is a true action adventure film mega hit in just about every way. Strand intriguing and likable characters on a weird island, add some machinations and luggage filled with money, and don’t skimp on the CGI and dinosaurs and you have got yourself an action adventure movie. Still thought of a special effects achievement, it is hard to recollect that Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park’was so far ahead of the game technology-wise that it seemed like this one motion picture would alter the action adventure genre forever. What’s tense about this movie is how plausible it is. You start to think the technology underlying Jurassic Park’ is not only obtainable, but easily so. Like Frankenstein and myriad other mad scientist plotlines, Spielberg’s movie gives you all the action adventure you can handle. Dinosaurs pursuing cars, dinosaurs pursuing other dinosaurs, and even irresistible child dinosaurs for the children in the crowd. Jurassic Park’ is an action film/sci fi allegory about genetic engineering and the perils of science without ethics. Besides, a lawyer gets bitten in half.
Top Action Movies
From time to time, a friend will ask me for suggestions about the top action movies ever made. I always give the same answers, so I thought I might as well write them down for the enjoyment of others. While there’s a strong chance that you’ve seen all the films listed below, younger readers might discover a whole new world of explosions and gunfights opening up for them. And even if you’ve already watched them all, they’re still good enough to warrant repeat viewings.
Enter the Dragon (1973) – Combining elements of the action, thriller, and martial arts genres, Enter the Dragon tells the story of Lee (Bruce Lee), a Shaolin monk who’s invited to participate in a martial arts tournament on the island of crime lord Han (Shih Kien). Lee has no interest at first, but he changes his mind after being approached by British Intelligence and later informed that one of Han’s goons had a hand in the death of Lee’s sister. Heading to the island, he also encounters an American playboy named Roper (John Saxon) and a black activist named Williams (Jim Kelly). From there, the tournament begins in earnest, with a number of the competitors winding up dead. In the middle of the fighting, Lee must find proof of Han’s wrongdoing so the forces of law and order can bring him to justice. Bruce Lee wasn’t the greatest actor, but his martial arts abilities were second to none. Check out this action masterpiece to see what I’m talking about.
Lethal Weapon (1987) – Days away from retirement, veteran L.A. cop Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) is saddled with new partner Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson), who everyone believes to be suicidal. As the mismatched pair bicker and bond, they must also work together to bring down a drug cartel run by former Vietnam commandoes. The classic buddy cop movie, Lethal Weapon would spawn three successful sequels. It’s fun to watch Mel Gibson in action back before everyone thought he was crazy in real life.
Speed (1994) – LAPD bomb expert Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves) finds himself trapped on a bus that’s wired to blow if the speed drops below 50 miles per hour. While he tries to save the passengers and bring a mad bomber (Dennis Hopper) to justice, he also finds plenty of time to flirt with the vehicle’s sassy and lead-footed driver (Sandra Bullock in the role that shot her to stardom).
Die Hard (1988) – In my humble opinion, Die Hard is the greatest action film ever made. It’s got an underdog hero (Bruce Willis) that you can really root for, a villain who’s just as cool as the hero (Alan Rickman in his movie debut), and plenty of explosions, shootouts, and fistfights. The lines are memorable, the supporting cast is great, and the Christmas-in-L.A. setting only adds to the allure. A number of sequels would follow, but none of them came close to this original tale of a NYPD cop trapped in an L.A. skyscraper during an attack by European criminals.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) – Before he broke the box-office records with Titanic and Avatar, director James Cameron followed up his groundbreaking sci-fi hit The Terminator with this summer blockbuster sequel starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arnie plays a killer robot from the future who’s sent back in time to protect young John Connor (Edward Furlong), the man destined to one day save humanity. Our muscular hero is opposed by an all-new, all-improved model from the future known as the T-1000 (Robert Patrick), and the two artificial beings waste no time in destroying large chunks of Los Angeles. The sound on the film is amazing, and I’ve known more than one person who’s used this DVD to show off their new home entertainment system. The stunts are great, the shootouts thrilling, and Linda Hamilton got all kinds of buzz for her buff body. Although it’s almost 20 years old, it still remains a classic of both the action and sci-fi genres.
That concludes our look at the top action movies available on DVD and Blu-ray. If you’re searching for high-speed car chases, hand-to-hand combat, and big explosions, then look no further.
The Appeal of Action Movies
Action movies have been around for a long time and they don’t seem to be going anywhere. In fact, they’re getting better all the time! More intense, more realistic and they are drawing more people to the theater and rental boxes than ever before. Why the appeal to these types of movies? Young and old alike, men and even a good number of women, genuinely enjoy action movies. Here are just a few reasons why that is;
Unrealistic Realness
There is little realism to modern action movies. The fights are choreographed to perfection, the sound effects are booming, the visual effects are stimulating and it’s all so real – only, it isn’t real. In fact, some of the events that take place and stunts performed in action movies are near impossible. However, they look real and that makes them fun to watch. In the past, action movies were less realistic and though no one took much notice to the lack of simple effects that could have improved the films, today you can watch those films and at least get a good laugh at an actor “flying” across a room being pulled along by obvious strings. That’s far more real than we want to see our action movies to get. Today they may present the unrealistic, but it’s done in a totally realistic way.
Vigorous Violence
Who doesn’t love a good fight? They are best viewed from the safety of a theater seat, not the back alley of a bar. Plus, those fights don’t pack near as much punch as the ones seen on the big screen while watching action movies. When is the last time you saw a guy bust out Bruce Lee style moves? Or take on a group of guys with little effort? Surely, it was not in your hometown. Though we don’t embrace violence in our society, we love getting our fix of it on the silver screen.
Special Effects
Whether we are watching monumental buildings crumble or witnessing a brutal beating, we value special effects. The possibilities seem to be endless when modern special effects are in use. Cars explode, heads smash through car windows, body parts are broken – and it’s all seen and heard in a way that makes us cringe! Near magical make up artistry, impressive stunt work and green screen technology usage make up a large amount of the bulging budgets of action movies.
Bigger and Better Than Real Life
Most movies are relatable and that is all well and fine. Who hasn’t been in love? You have, just like the poor saps in that romantic drama. Who hasn’t gotten drunk in Vegas? Certainly not you. Who hasn’t taken out a room full of a major drug kingpin’s finest bad guys while screaming “Say hello to my little friend!”? That’d be most of us. Action movies allow us to escape from the norm, at least for 90 minutes. With the real life issues faced today, you can see why that escape would be appealing.
Secrets to a Good 80s Action Movie
80s action movies were once a huge phenomena. Every other film it seemed has 80s action film sentimentalities and traits, and this meant huge people with rippling muscles, huge guns, massive explosions and even bigger cigars. Here we will look at what all of the ingredients are for the ultimate 80s action film.
Action star: Every action movie needs its star. There are many heroes that could carry the action film in the 80s but the names at the top of the list were Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis. If one of them was in it, it was sure to be an 80s classic.
Synth soundtrack: The best 80s films had a synth soundtrack that sounded like an old computer game. The maestro in this field though was without a doubt Harold Faltermeyer who made the incredible ‘Axel F’ theme tune. A close second was Vince DiCola for the excellent ‘Training Montage’ scene from Rocky 4.
Walking away from an explosion: You can’t be an 80s action hero unless you can walk slowly away from explosions. There needs to be at least one point where this happens for it to be a great actioner.
Yelling and unloading a machine gun: Rambo was the best at this, but all of the great action legends at some point need to yell at the top of their voice and shoot things indiscriminately. Normally computer monitors. Arnie went one step further in Collateral Damage and opted instead to use a baseball bat.
One liner: They also need a one liner that can rank up there with ‘I’ll be back’ and ‘let off some steam Bennett’.
A great 80s action film is the perfect blend of action, one liners and explosions. Follow the lins for more on 80s action movies.
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