Today's action movies

Saw pic related yesterday The Transporter: Refueled, and there was so many dumb things in it. Maybe in a later post, I'll explain them, just for fun, but right now the questions are these:

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If it's done in an interesting way or a twist I'm game for it, but I don't mind bad or unoriginal plot if the action's good.

I think good action scenes can carry an action movie, but horrible action scenes with a good/decent plot won't really be received as well, at least by myself. Because really I sat down through the movie to be entertained with some really good action, if the action is all CGI, all quick cuts, zero martial arts training or choreography I won't give a shit if the plot is totally the best thing ever.

No. I really hate it when a movie doesn't have the balls to assume a viewer won't have the brains to connect stuff in his mind or leave anything to the viewer's imagination. I despise movies that end in this 5 minute scene where they have to flashback to everything but with one extra scene and go "listen dumbasses this is what REALLY HAPPENED" and then acting like it wasn't obvious as all shit or like it actually added anything but just spoiling the twist.

1. Not necessarily but they need to have charismatic actors and good action. Look at the old 80's action film plots, they weren't complex but they were fun. You can have intelligent action like 3 days of the condor but again you need good characters.

2. You need a basic plot. Usually keep it simple but if you want something more complex you need to be good at it. Actions scenes should complement the story rather than have the story built around the action scenes.

3. No you don't need to repeat everything to the audience. Show don't tell. Let the characters actions speak for themselves.

Also as for the transporter I really don't remember the second or third movies with Jason Satham, but what I do remember is the tv show with I think it was Chris Vance, and every episode had to have some really hot chick in the mix. It was fun. How's the action in Refueled?

It's extremely simple making a good action film, and no everything doesn't need to be explained or all have the same origin, Hollywood just has utter contempt for the audience. You want me to give you the elements of a good action film? Okay, here you go.

1. We have to actually care about the characters and what's happening on screen.

2. You need a competent choreographer and some interesting ideas for the combat that don't involve shaky cam or other bullshit that makes the entire scene hard to see.

That's it. That's really fucking it. Stop hiring screenwriters through nepotism who have never interacted with other human being outside of Hollywood. They have no idea how to make a character sympathetic or relatable.

Let me give you some examples. Why is Die Hard considered one of the best action movies ever made, but the two most recent sequels largely hated or forgettable? Because in the first movie he's not just some unstoppable badass, dude just wants to go home. He doesn't want to be there. He spends the entire movie trying to bring in the cops because he doesn't want to deal with any of it. In the recent sequels, that aspect's gone. He's just International Supercop. It felt like Willis's ego got in the way and he wanted to make a movie specifically to look cool to his kids.

Why was Commando great? Well, Matrix has perfect motivation in the film, but beyond that they make you despise the people he's killing, and give them a history. "Remember when I said I was going to kill you last?" "…That's right! You did!" "I lied."

The Indiana Jones movies work so well because Indiana Jones is such a likable fucker. He's cranky, his intentions are noble, he has fears and annoyances and is altogether human. "Why'd it have to be snakes?" "It belongs in a museum!" "We. Are. Going. To. Die. :(" "Get away from me, I DON'T like fast women. *fucks her anyway*" The movies work because we like Indie and want to see him succeed. Why wasn't he so great in Crystal Skull? "part time."

It's been pointed out the reason the duels in the original trilogy in Star Wars are so much better remembered and regarded than the prequel fights despite having far less special effects and much simpler choreography because those fights mattered. Each established a history between the characters fighting, and if it didn't the history was established over the course of the movies. In the prequels, everybody just shows up. The characters may as well have just met. Darth Maul just shows up. Grievous just shows up. Dooku just shows up. There's so much shit that just *is*. Why does Mace Windu want to kill Palpatine all of a sudden? Does he have some personal history of struggle with the dark side? Is that why his light sabre is purple? Nope, we just need something to motivate Anakin to chop off his hands.

Even in a shit film, if you endear the characters to the audience they're still entertaining. The easiest way to do this is to simply hire charismatic actors, if the audience already likes the actor half the work is done, the other half is giving them entertaining mannerisms and dialog. Motivations help, but why does the audience care if someone's trying to save their son if we don't care about them to begin with? Perfect example, The One with Jet Li. Despite the special effects, some pretty good fight choreography and a likable lead, most of the movie is pretty forgettable, but everyone who's seen it suddenly loves the movie because of the end scene. The villain version of Jet Li is teleported to an alternate universe designated a a prison. He's not just sent to a prison, the entire planet, every planet in that universe is a prison. As he gets up and all the inmates prepare to greet him by beating and raping him, he climbs the steps, waves his finger at them and says simply "I am nobody's bitch." and immediately asserts himself as in charge. Fucking Papa Roach starts playing as the camera pans out to reveal the utter horror of the world he's on, and we see hundreds of prisoners climbing the steps to attack him, and him kicking everyone's ass.

Here, simple exercise. Name an action movie you consider good where you neither liked nor cared about any of the characters.

In case you're reading this Max Landis, this is why no one was interested in American Ultra. Stoners are rarely sympathetic, and the leads were two of the least charismatic people in Hollywood. The entire reason girls accepted Kristen Stewart in the Twilight movies was that she was so bland, unattractive and boring that they didn't feel remotely threatened by her and could easily see themselves as better than her.

OP here, great replies, thanks!

Well, to answer some spoken/unspoken questions, this movie called Refueled - I really hate that since the third Matrix, every movie has to be Re-something - doesn't work in any aspect.

The action is shit. The fights themselves are okay, but since you won't gonna like Ed Skrein, you won't gonna care about if he wins or not. Most of the enemies just show up, like user here pointed out and especially in the beginning, the cuts are always placed to the exact moments, where the hits fell on the people. Like for example, the guy throws a punch, and when it lands, the cut shows only how the other guy falls back, and the actual contact is invisible…


This is sort of the case here, because it's not totally obvious why the girls try to rob all the associates of the russian mobster, and after it becomes clear, there is still one more twist. But then scenes like this happen:


Here the characters' names gets repeated all the time. Ana, Ana, Ana - and Frank's father keeps calling him kid, kid, kid, kid. Nearly every time they speak to each other.


The only charismatic guy in this is the father figure, who looks like Russel Crowe, but he is not actually Russel Crowe. That's a well written, funny and well acted figure. Sadly, he is not the main character, only the third in line behind Frank and Ana


Not really happening here. I did cared for the father, but since it turns out that he is a retired spy, there is no need to care about him, he will care for himself.
That, as I said earlier, sort of worked, because you want to know why is al of this happenening.

Your argument falls apart at Star wars.

The prequels are better action movies once you get past the first one. They're far more visually interesting to watch than the original trilogy was. The original trilogy has much better ship fighting but much worse everything else.

The reason people like the originals so much is that they're considered classics. It's the same reason Sonic is still well liked, even tough his games are shit now he's a "classic". When we're told something is high value (i.e. a classic) we interject that value onto it.

I really agree with most of your post and this can be applied to lots of movies and even some videogames(See Max Payne 1 compared to Max Payne 2 for example).

An outstanding example is the movie Patriot Games. I had read the book before watching the movie, and while I hadn't enjoyed it much as other tom clancy books and I still really enjoyed most of it. Then comes the movie and they take every bit of characterization in the book and most important moments and shit on it.
Sean Miller being beat to shit, sodomized and shat on after his capture, and yet him not caring at all because he's a stone cold fucker? Gone. Sean's hatred against Jack Ryan being the result of him fucking up a carefully planned out terrorist attack showing his dedication to the cause? lolnohehadabrother
The part where Ryan learns about Sean's escape by watching it on TV and his reaction to it? Who cares, skip right into action
The whole subplot with Alex and his black gang giving O'Donnel's group that's mainly based in Ireland and England and most of the characters thought won't follow Ryan to the US support and safehouses and manpower in the US? Can't have black people be villains I guess.
Dooley? Nope, even if it would have given Sam L's character a badass scene
The confrontation between Ryan and Miller and how Ryan makes Miller shit himself with fear? Miller goes apeshit and kills his friends to pursue ryan then they fight and miller is impaled on a harpoon lmao

You're not really watching SW for the fights though. Especially not since they basically shatter any suspension of disbelief when you see armies that have access to FTL duke it out with weapons and tactics inferior to what we had in WW2.

The Jedi fights are even more silly, especially in the prequels, since they never reach the fluidity and raw visceral feel they should have. It's just two guys swinging glowing dildos at each other while standing still most of the time, spending more time dodging environmental hazards that actually fighting each other.

I actually like them because I dig the art direction, and they really do manage to give the audience the feel of a wider galaxy full of wonders to them.

No, people like Sonic for the same reason they like Mario, because the older games do hold up. You can argue that Mario managed to better adapt to the modern videogame market, but it's an indisputable fact that the older Sonic games are good even today.

Yes.
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I liked Chris Vance as Frank. He's badass, good looking and he actually looks pretty damn intimidating and focused when he's kicking the shit out of people.

I didn't much like the Transporter movies. They're basically an edgier version of Taxi.

The first one was a really good French-HK collaboration flick. Corey Yuen was an awesome choreographer, but they didn't use his cinematography. You can check out the deleted scenes on the dvd and it looks waaaay better than the final release.

These knees are not the bees.

There are souls trapped in those knees

So that's how you tell when a woman's had an abortion.

that russian movie with the robot killer.. what was it's name

Android?

henry something..

hardcore henry

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they look like this guy's face

Today's action stars are bland, unforgettable actors who just does the same things in every movie.

And what the hell is up with the karate? Why is every single action-hero or let's say any type of protagonist at all in modern movies, in fights, fighting like they have black belt in karate. It's just stupid, what happened to fist-fights?

Fuck, Bond isn't supposed to be some mixed-martial artists doing flips and shit. I'm tired of this crap. Why most everything that was once good, now suck?

I really wish for an action hero who is just a really good boxer or a guy big enough to be able to just throw people around and pummel them brutally.

Karate as in the marvel movies? Yeah, I don't like it either since they aren't good at emulating HK cinema. You can automatically tell that it's wirefu.

HK is now a lot more subtle with wirefu. Here's a scene from Yuen Woo Ping of the matrix series. The movie isn't that great tho.

That video made me realize I haven't actually seen someone being punched in an action movie for a long time.
What I mean is that it usually cuts away before the actual punch to the reaction or something.

I noticed that too. Speaks to the quality of action films these days.

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I'm just generally tired of seeing EVERYBODY in any action-scene pulling off Gook-shit.

Fight like a man.

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You mean how punches automatically cut to a different scene like vid related from Taken? I see what you mean.

Western film directors used to remove few "connecting punch" frames to give strikes more of an impact, but now it seems that they cut to a different scene now. It doesn't seem to work.

You might like Donnie Yen's type of fight choreography. He tries to mix strikes and grapples with very few kicks to make it feel grounded instead of having a ballet-style.

A lot of stunt choreographers are trying to get his style.

How much fun do you think this kid had shooting this?

I bet they do this crap to get a lower rating

It was his first and final film apparently. His name was Jake Strickland and he was 14 at the time of the film (2005). I heard that HK choreography is tough because they do several reshoots. It's all worth it at the end though because it timelessly looks good.

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Shut the fuck up, nigger, Sonic 1-3 are still great.

I really like this, not only is the choreography really good but for a long drawn out fight you can tell the two fighters are really getting tired and bloodied as it goes on, remember the third Star Wars prequel with it's end sabre fight where they both kept doing all sorts of acrobatic shit without even breaking a sweat?

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How do you guys feel about John Wick's action scenes?

I don't know why but I get the feeling the sequel won't be as good.

pretty good, stylized but not too over the top.

Anyone here liked Hitman: Agent 47? I think it was great

Which was that? The Timothy Olyphant one or the one released recently?
I haven't seen the latter and the former is fairly meh and I'm pretty sure it stole music from Bourne.

This thread: is 4U.

It's the latter one. The guy who plays Hitman (Rupert Friend) is more charismatic, cold and emotionless, but ina scary way. There are things from the game like the changing of clothes, the weapons, and this time the woman looks like someone whom I could belive is a survivor type.

The story is okay, the action is very cool, and it's entertaining in itself

I get the feeling that John Wick is going to take out 90% of the "assassin ring" only to be bested by the strong independent womyn leader at the halfway point, forcing him to team up with one of the Pope's niggers refugees who recieved assassin training from ISIS in order to finally kill her.

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what did he mean by this?

Live-action cinematography and choreography have gone to shit, tbh. The truth is that if you want good fight/actions scenes, you pretty much have to turn to animation.

film/show?

kino?

Full Metal Alchemist.

Full Kike Shekelmist

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cuck?

>>483741
what did he mean by this?

sounds like someone got his ass beat