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[amnesiac]

People don't remember the bad movies back then.

 

[.GqueB.]

Aside from the obvious stuff already mentioned (over reliance on CG, PG-13 rating, etc) I think one of the bigger problems with action movies these days is the bloated length / run time. Older movies often told a straightforward story - bad guys kidnapped Schwarzenegger's daughter and he's gonna fuck shit up for the next 90 minutes.

But movies these days are trending more towards 3 hours, so you get pointless flashbacks, shoehorned romantic plots / love triangles, predictable twists, lots of unnecessary characters, etc. All that stuff ruins the pacing.

This is why taken was so great. I think he was in Paris within the first half hour of the movie. Trim that fat.

 

[KillerMan91]

Feel the same way about all of this. Especially Bay. Say what you want about the guy but he knows how to shoot action better than most. And yea I can't think of many cg car explosions. Not to the degree that he's pretending anyway.

Bay shooting good action!? what!? At least when it comes to transformers action scenes were so god damn messy that you couldn't see a shit. Pacific Rim absolutely destroyes transformers movies when it comes to robot action. Damn the action scenes were beautiful and you could actually follow them.

 

[.GqueB.]

Bay shooting good action!? what!? At least when it comes to transformers action scenes were so god damn messy that you couldn't see a shit. Pacific Rim absolutely destroyes transformers movies when it comes to robot action. Damn the action scenes were beautiful and you could actually follow them.

That was only true for the first one. That critique is so bizarre to me. Two scenes were posted in the last few pages where the action was pulled back and EXTREMELY easy to follow. I do agree that the action in Pacific Rim was better though. Though after one viewing I was kind of over it. I can put on many of the Transformers action scenes at any point and let them play in the background as I work. There are scenes in Pacific Rim that were GREAT but they aren't as exciting the second time around since the sense of awe is gone. There were mostly tons of punches thrown.

I just feel that Bay gets a bad rap for no real reason. It SO HARD to craft decent action scenes and it's proven time and time again. It's not something that's easy to accomplish and not many directors can get it right.

 

[lednerg]

Studios figure that R rated action flicks aren't as profitable as more kid-friendly ones. So now we've got a ton of well-executed, but ultimately toothless PG-13 blockbusters with the occasional R rated independent action film here and there.

 

[Commander Jameson]

I'm not sure why the PG-13 argument is coming up here. Good action sequences are not necessarily about the blood; they're about the framing, the cinematography and the editing, for me. A PG-13 rating should not be a barrier to shooting exciting action; hell, look at Jurassic Park.

Clearly, we don't see the Robocop/Kinney and Total Recall/escalator human shield-type of films too much these days, but it is entirely possible to have solid, creative fight scenes or gunfights without them.

 

[Fallout-NL]

...a result of Chaos Cinema.

Probably not a coincidence he illustrates his point with all the actions films I've hated over the last ten years.

However, it being scientific discourse, he should probably leave the value judgement out of it, even though he is obviously completely correct.

Ah, he clarifies himself:

The narration of your two part video essay is filled with expressions, almost of a Godardian morality of cinema, when you describe the disruption of space in chaos films. You speak of a “perversion of classical technique,” a “shotgun aesthetic,” “sensory overload,” “excess,” “exaggeration.” How do your peers react to such a clearly voiced critical perspective ?

I completely agree that the rhetoric of the video essay assumes a moral authority, which has the potential to seem patronizing and arrogant. Many commentators have rightfully described the piece as overly romantic. Personally, I still hold that the polemical tone of the essay is a necessary component of the overarching argument. I read a few responses by scholars who reviewed the essay unfavorably. I do not object to their criticisms but I feel compelled to point out that the video essay was conceived as a piece of film criticism, not necessarily film scholarship. I knew that the discourse on the subject matter was passionate and divisive. I had a clear position. And I deemed it necessary to articulate it unequivocally, and provocatively. I am pleased with the reactions the essay elicited from both professionals and cinephiles. My goal was not to dismiss chaos cinema. It was to reinvigorate the discourse. In this regard, the rhetorical samples you selected from the essay were designed to provoke a response.

 

[Joel Was Right]

The new Rambo was great

 

[GungHo]

Firearm sound design is weak across most movies, honestly. Once you go HEAT, you can't go back. For that reason it's hard to not recommend something strictly because they replace the raw sounds, or use weak blanks.

Open Range had some of the best firearm sound work I've ever heard, and it was hardly an action movie.

Is Person of Interest any good?

It's fantastic. As another poster said, Kneecapper Jesus is Batman in a suit, and the rogues gallery of supporting characters bring a lot to the table.

 

[todahawk]

Die Hard is one of the greatest films of all time (and the best Christmas movie ever) so the fact that you don't see movies quite as good is more of a testament of how awesome it was than evidence to the decline of the action genre.

Point Break is quite a terrible film that's mostly enjoyable ironically, we get better action films that it pretty much every year.

Hell yes. One of the many problems with my ex is that she could not grasp this.

Quick cuts and shaky cam. I never knew what was happening in those action scenes.

action! lots and lots of action! but i still like the Bourne fight scenes.

Maybe he means Dredd

absolutely loved dredd

---

Shoot 'Em Up is a fucking love letter to 80's/90's action movies and I adore it.
Crank is glorious and Statham is probably our best current gen Action Hero.

 

[Devil Theory]

Bourne Trilogy is probably the best modern action films.

Indeed, nothing else I've seen even comes close to topping it .

 

[Gintamen]

The Bourne series does overuse quickcuts and shakycam in fights. But it's still fantastic.

As long as it's not on the Quantum Solace level of shakey... ah nevermind that was jump, jump, jump. :/ Can be just as bad.