The Problem with Action Movies Today
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- čas přidán 1. 06. 2024
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Chris Stuckmann describes some of his problems with action movie filmmaking today, and provides some possible solutions to fixing them. - Zábava
I'm tired of seeing 90 lb. actresses beating up 250 lb men.
Agreed. Certain women could beat up men that big, but I want them to look like they actually could. Hire badass looking women!
Amen to that. I thought I was the only one getting really ticked off by that but am finding alot of people everywhere including women getting completely bored of that shit.
And I'm tired of seeing men get slaughtered throughout the whole movie, but females don't get as much as a single punch to the face. Wanna bet not a single woman get killed the entire movie?
roger Rumble Yes, I'm a woman and it pisses me off. There is no way a tiny chick would beat a super tough guy, unless she had some really spectacular martial art training/super human sense. Black widow is a great example. Isn't she like a normal human?! And she's small! So stupid!
The Alien films are a great example of how female caricatures should be done.
It's not just feminists, people in general hate to see women in pain. Ironically this is why feminism is successful, people will do anything to protect women from real or perceived threats and so feminism is successful precisely because it's wrong.
There generally only really two reasons you see women getting badly hurt in films. To make you hate the bad guy more or to make you feel greater empathy for the woman getting hurt.
Shaky cam is the fucking worst. I want to see the fight , and not bad camera work.
sometimes shaky camera works, but it depends why and when you choose to use it. Then again, I agree. I hate shaky cam, unprofessional.
I agree, most of the time shaky cam just gets me nauseous.
Yeah, I usually give up after about 30 seconds of shaky cam, I can't follow the fight, I can't see any emotion in the fight and it's just not worth any more of my concentration to keep trying to understand what's going on. It really amazes me any director can think that looks good.
MrLiker I think it's fine as long as it's being used to build tension.
A shit ton of cuts is worse
I've always said when Darth Vader removed his helmet and was just a pale broken man was far more brilliant then if he was some monster looking person.
Than* but I agree
@@Kage-jk4pj but without star
Yes and it makes us more connected to him and actually feel sorry for him and it set up the prequels very well because if he was some monster looking person he might have not been made like how Anakin was
the sad thing is....almost 5 years later almost nothing has changed....
Bullshit. It's gotten worse.
To true.
I'm just glad I don't watch movies :D.
Well except the mission impossible movies
I think it's getting better tho. Mission impossible series, john wick series, daredevil, star wars, Kingsman are the evidences that action movie is getting better. At least the day of shaky cam is coming to an end.
A few problems you missed
1: The tacked on romantic sub plot
2: The token black guy
3: The lame comedic side kick
Venom NBK 1. Yeah, I prefer when the guy and girl are just two people trying to survive, not just become,"Yep, I save you, we get the sex on."
2. Now that's just a subjective matter since it's kinda revolves upon other genres as well. You'll have the usual scary, tough black man and the "Black Best Friend"
3. Yep, and one to point out is Judge Dredd's (Stallone) comedic side kick, Rob Shneider. Again, subjective matter.
Venom NBK
2. and that guy is some fucking rap star I never heard of.
Venom NBK A lot of the time, people like the energy that a black actor brings. But as Sony leaked emails say, they don't believe people will go see a movie based on him. So they add him in a certain way.
Curiosity get me, however... What's the difference between having an mandatory minority role and having a mandatory majority role?
And the comedic side kick has fell out of favor in recent years, I think. Just like Chris said in the video, what makes Matt Damon great in Bourne is that he's not spitting out One-liners all the time. Most heroes nowadays come from the RDJ/Iron Man cloth of constantly joking and making his own quips. I feel that's phased out the need for side kicks.
As for the the romantic subplot? Mainly I think it's because the lead female is hot and people want to see her more sexually. Like how she'd look kissing and whatever. In short, people are lame.
RevolutionCPT
The romantic sub-plot is for the chicks to follow.
Roger McKay LMAO that is so true.
YES DEAR GOD PLEASE MAKE A VIDEO ABOUT THE PG-13/R rating system,
that shit pisses me off so much
He should! I really don't get it, kids still will be able to watch the film, so why block it?
The channel GoodBadFlicks already did a video about the PG-13/R issue and did it perfectly, you should go check it out
zamhooterfla It was a good one
YES. I'd love to hear why the heck Boyhood is rated R.
Tung Jean San ikr
Well, I guess that life, and growing up, is rated R?
According to the mpaa's bullshit..
I almost got a Headache watching those “action scenes” with that earthquake camera work
Even when the camera cuts in every 2 secs like Taken 3.
I got nausea.
100% and Bourne ultimatum sucked, I do not agree with him on that at all. The shaky camera made me so nauseous I had to leave the theater get some air and I never went back to finish the movie.
@@claudioserafino9910 it's still better than movies like Taken 3 and all
@@krishtandon7212 That's true
Keanu Reaves’s agent needs a raise. Almost every action movie he’s in is exceptional.
@Aariz Khan did he say every movie or almost every action movie?
John wick is trash, also you obviously don’t know how a movie works
It's just Keanu Reaves playing Keanu Reaves. He is one dimensional af
@@DunkIeosteus yeah but it doesn't get called out often. I mean its just so bland. I dont understand why people like it.
Almost
Hollywood has gotten so afraid of new ideas they're rebooting movies that bombed.
Hollywood is afraid of new ideas because the moviegoers won't patronize them. We've done it to ourselves.
Hollywood is just big pedophile community whos hobby is to make moving pictures, so quality does not matter.
Hollywood is so afraid of movies bombing, they make remakes, adapt TV, comics and video games and sequels, instead of original movies.
Cronyism plays a part in that too. Sheltered offspring born into the business lack real-life experiences and more often than not, lack the passion for the art yet can't live without the money they've always had. Moviegoers advocate this by not boycotting the trash they produce and instead help them to rake in millions from said trash. Why change a winning formula eh?
Isn’t rebooting bad movies better than good ones? Nobody wanted a Lion King remake because we didnt need it, but I could see people actually wanting a Black Cauldron remake. Hollywood only reboots and remakes movies that were already successful because that is what gets them money.
Jackie Chan said in an interview that "when the camera moves that means the actors they don't know how to fight" and he also said that "I always do wide angle to let the audience see that I do the flips kicks and punches" which I strongly believe cause if the audience is there to see a fight scene but instead gets the camera bouncing around like a basketball instead of holding the shot long enough for us to see the bad guy vs good guy
John Wick movie never dissapoints me when it comes to fight scenes: there is no shaky cam and no multiple angles and most importantly the actors are trained by real Kung Fu master.
@Happy Jew Well, some ESL or EFL speakers are not as good as you so you can cut him some slack.
@Happy Jew you're the type of dude that complains about their order.
He also stated that he hates how many movies right now are using so much cutting and editing in between fights and it takes away from the fluidity of the scene.
@Happy Jew Capitals are used after a full stop. It seems you're quite handicapped yourself? No matter, English is my fourth language and I'm more than happy to correct it for you.
Jackie Chan really is an incredible actor. He’s so underrated because his fighting skills over shadow people’s perception.
But man can he act.
I Mac he was but well he's getting older and he can't do stunt anymore sadly...
@Moe Snert it was 3 years ago dude now he should do what he want rest his body
@Moe Snert it was but I just wanna say that he has done enough for his lifetime and I wish him good health even he has broken everything lol
@Moe Snert yeah i grew up with him too
he would be a god in an Ikea store.
Let's not ignore how incredibly good Tom Cruise was in Collateral.
He does bad guys better than heroes. Some of his best roles are hard badasses. So much more potential there. Not being the "bad guy" per se in Tropic Thunder (but plainly a rude motherf...er) He killed it in that role.
@@0Imtheslime0 I was hoping someone brought up Tropic Thunder somewhere.
great point and Collateral - one of his best
agree - maybe his best performance
Haven’t verified but apparently his gun work is used in instructional videos as it’s so legit
Hollywood should just stop with shaky cam in general. So many action scenes are ruined by shaky cam.
I know, right. It went from an innovative artistic choice to a simple trope used by mediocre filmmakers to mask terrible storytelling or fight choreography.
The only one that should be allowed is Paul Greengrass.
Woops! Just watched the video and he said the same thing. teehee
And Michael Mann
That's why John wick was awesome because reeves pit in the time
kane carlson Eh, Mann hasn't made a good movie since Heat, his use of bad digital video just disqualifies him at this point.
Pointless love stories to fill up time
HOBBS AND SHAW. My god that shit annoyed the crap out of me!
Pointless and between people with no chemistry
I don't like it when I see a trailer that has a very unnecessary love story, usually its bad
I hate forced love stories so much
Yeah, but that happens since the 80's
Shaky cam worked in the Bourne movies because they gave scenes a sense of heightened anxiety that fit the narrative which itself was imbued with a sense of urgency and anxiety
In regards to stunt, I have to say the Keanu Reeves absolutely is top-tier, if you've watched the John Wick films, no matter how over-the-top the action is it's always believable.
Be at the fight scenes, with realistic movements, acting that can display the pain of strenuous physical combat or the gun play where every bullet is accounted for, and the character is forced to carry every bit of Hardware they're using.
Top notch.
Except for the fact that a guy who punches as slow and roundabout as Keanu would be dead before the end of the first fight scene. They really have to go out of their way to sort of kind of make him seem like a bad-ass. He's athletic, but he has zero quick-twitch.
Mark Gibson thank you😂
Just more ballet. Another guy that would be dead, dead, dead, fifty million times over. The first movie wasn't too bad, because it was a little bit different. But after that, it's just more repetitive nonsense.
Keanu Reeves didn't do all the stunts himself. He even says it in an interview. Some stunts that are way too dangerous he leaves them to the pros, also because he said it is their job and it is what they are good at. We need people like them. And he is right. This is why I respect him, because most stunts he does himself, but very risky business he prefers handing it over. Also it is done in way it doesn't interfere with the directors creativity.
I liked the first one, simple plot and good action. 2 and 3 were just bloodshed with zero motivation and zero plot.
The main problem with all movies of today is the total lack of new ideas by the writers.
not true, some directors (like jj abrams) dont like 'new' ideas
I am fed up with retreads of old ideas, like reinventing Batman/Superman/ etc every few years. Arguably adding nothing new to the mix except better special effects.
Apparently not. Indiana Jones going under the truck is a 30s classic (one stunt man could do it then in one shot) and is described here as excellent.
Adamast
I am talking in general, not specifics. There are a few good films each year, subject to personal tastes of course, but there is a lot of dross. It's alright if you're young and everything is "new", but I've been watching film and television for over 50 years.
***** I am always surprised how young people are able to see horrible repetitive (Disney, ...) series episode after episode. Being older I have my favor of dross. I even watch Top Gear twice a year.
Guns that fire more bullets than they can hold.
Bad guys that couldn't hit the side of a barn at 10 feet.
People dying instantly from one gun shot or from being stabbed.
These are a few of the things that drive me mad with bad action films.
All great points and don't forget gun technology, invented in the 1800's, still being used hundreds (and more) years in the future!
It only really bothers me when people instantly die from a single gun shot to the chest in certain movies. If the movie has the main character get shot and survive or has a side character get shot and slowly die for 5 minutes then it really bothers me. Especially in "realistic" war movies. They should be screaming their heads off if not crying for mommy.
This is why John wick 1&2 are masterpieces (haven’t seen John wick 3 yet)
Killer bean is best movie
Nearly all action films have that stuff, not just bad ones. I don’t mind it, unless they aim to be realistic. Hard Boiled is one of the best action movies ever made, and pistols can hold around 100 rounds.
The day Keanu Reeves and Tom Cruise retire from the industry, will be the day I will probably stop seeing new action movies.....
I'll still watch older movies religiously though!
What about the Rock ? Jason Statham? Liam Nelson? ???
@@Wickedthtz Well played my friend. Those are amazing actors as well. I bend the knee..
@@DustinBarlow8P resect. Just don't throw the towel in on them just yet. I'm from the era where .Arnold stallone, Segal and van dam were the action heroes .
@@Wickedthtz Ok I forgot about a shit load of great action stars. I'm 32 so I am also from that era. I wrote that comment cause I was sad about the direction of action movies in general.
@@DustinBarlow8P ok. Me too as well. Looks like they are running out of concepts and trying to do remake of action blockbuster movies. God forbid they do a "Running man " remake.
I do want to add one thing to your “Stunts” section, and it’s that not enough actors are trained in stage combat (the illusion of violence) and not having that training not only makes the actor not want to do the stunts (like you mentioned in the video), but also makes those in the movie hesitant to use that actor. By having the training, you not only are more comfortable with stunts, but you also know how to do fights safely. Without that training, and actor might be willing to do stunts, but they will not be allowed do to safety regulations.
Just wanted to add as well.
Generally a bonding company will not insure a film if the lead is doing "stunts" - stunts and action (Keanu fighting) are two different things.
I hate “Shaky cam” too close, too shaky. Finally someone who gets it right!!
There's been plenty of people who think so. Stop strawmanning yourself! Yes, it's an overused technique, but he's not outright bashing it in this video. If you think you agree with him just because you thought he only criticized shaky cam without analyzing it done right, then you really missed a lot of his arguments. I'm sorry...
Men of Steel was ruined because auf this BS. What a waste.
It's really just a way to shoot Action films more cheaply that's sold as edgy. No need for cranes, dolly's etc. in such a film
I hate shaky cam too. The Borne movies sucked IMO.
Shaky cam had been used effectively at multiple occasions
Transformers, all clashing-action but no substance.
well, the first transformers is brilliant. shia laboeufs acting is great, hes all natural and innocent (he even improvised a lot of his lines on set), you can relate yourself to his wish for a first own car, and the girl of course... this works just fine. and you can say what you want about michael bay, but he knows how to make great CGI action. it doesnt look cheap or misplaced for one minute. its very well produced. it was just too hard for the sequels to tell an equally good story... but they still look awesome.
I agree with you. The first Transformers movie from Michael Bay was exceptional. The sequels, I have a problem with. Michael Bay is a good commercial and action sequence director no doubt (Pearl Harbor comes in mind), but these can't be the only things that drive the movies, at least for me.
LittleMopeHead Age of Extinction especially, and very unbelievable at that. I was in disbelief as to how the girl chick was the daughter or whatever of a 30 year old looking guy. I only went through the first half hour and I was like theyre trying too hard to be dumb af
+LittleMopeHead Pearl Harbor was a boring movie they ruined it by making it a love story we needed to wait more than 90minutes for the fight scene that was laughable how bad it was Michael Bay even used old footage from the original movie Tora Tora Tora which is thousand better because there were better actors that acted much better than that sh*t movie pearl harbor . With Transformers the only problem that ruined the movie was the patriotism again showing us how great America is .... In the eighties cartoon there wasn't even talked about america this america that....Thats why i love the cartoon better.
defiraphi Just Michael Bay being Michael Bay is laughable when in the Transformers world, your 25 year old sister is essentially your mother somehow.... Bad characters or nah?
I always hated that film “a good day to die hard” I could never work out why it brought up such a vile response from me. Now that you have put it in to words why it was so bad, I get why I hated it so much.
That's what I love about #4. Although it has many problems, the hero is nowhere near on top of things as he's an old fart who doesn't know how to use a computer, let alone fight cyber terrorism. I hate to use meme terms, but ''ok boomer'' perfectly summarizes Live Free or Die Hard. Well except from the CCR scene, where I stand with him.
the previous *Die Hard/s* literally have the good guy *SCREAM* the catch phrase to the bad guy. In the *Good Day* the good guy just mouths the catch phrase off to no one in particular. SAD FACE :/
I do wish I saw the fourth DIE HARD. I missed out. :/
@@RanaRandom Does he say it in #1? I don't remember. Definitely not at the end.
That movie was really so bad.
I couldn’t stand it either and I am big fan of the original Die Hard in 88 along with Die Hard 2 and Die Hard with a vengeance.
I studied cinematography in college in the mid 70's. Here's what I know about "shakey cam". The hand held, un-stabilized camera was a rarely seen filming technique at that point, and mostly avoided. In fact as soon as it began to be used, technology was invented to stabilize a hand or shoulder mounted camera. But the 60's audience had been inundated with news clips from reporters in the heart of battle in Vietnam. These were "shakey cam" by necessity. It was discovered that it had a deep psychological effect on the viewer, making them feel as though they were personally in that location witnessing what ever was being filmed. The average Granddad with his super 8mm movie camera took similar, shakey clips around the backyard swimming pool, and the audience could personally relate to the effect. In the night club scene it works because it makes the audience feel as if they are part of the crowd ... *as long as* the camera man is positioned as one of the crowd and the cuts have the continuity of the view of someone in the crowd. It DOESN'T work in the fight scenes because a bystander would do just that, stand near-by, well out of the way of flying fists. The idea is to make the viewer feel the hero's peril, but it's more uncomfortable for the viewer who wants simply to get up and move away from the danger. The further confusion caused by incongruous camera angles just heightens the viewers desire to flee. I was taught this was a technique that could have a powerful impact on the audience, but it was one that needed to be used with *extreme prejudice* and only if the situation made sense that the operator filming it would legitimately be in the scene. My instructor predicted it would become a filming cliche just like the "fast zoom" did in the 60s. As far as I'm concerned it reached that status by the mid 80s
John Wick also ran out of ammunition, and carried extra magazines! One of the
Best in recent years...
This was one of the most (only?) memorable things in Collateral.
@@Arkansmith Collateral is an excellent movie. Chris gave it a rare A+, and I agree.
I am guessing Hollywood would say people don't have the attention spans these days to develop an interesting story. Which is ironic, given that they are probably largely responsible for that dumbing down in the first place.
People like good stories just as much as always, but our standards have been pulled down pretty low by much of what comes out of Hollywood these days. People have learned to accept mediocrity.
That’s not to say there aren’t good movies being made in this era of American film, but I think most of the recent hits will be forgotten as the decades progress.
i don't think you need much of a attention span to enjoy a interesting story, being interesting means it grabs the attention, it's actually the definition of the word: arousing curiosity or interest; holding or catching the attention.
that is the point
make people dumber, so thet they will have their jobs easier
They tried to emulate Call of Duty, except that you can't take something that was designed for mouse and keyboard, and then try to apply that to a movie. It always degrades the film, if not turns it into complete failure.
The best games and the best movies don't even have that much action in them. Most of the time in games, I'm either building up to the action, or I'm travelling to it. Very little time is spent on the actual fight.
Examples: Rimworld, From The Depths, Kenshi, Total War, etc. Even in Total War, in the actual battle, I spend most of the time moving troops into good positions, or waiting for the enemy to come into range. The fight itself takes a fraction of that time. And that's how it happened, IRL. Lots of time posturing, faking and sizing up the enemy before going full on.
(Also, it annoys me that Hollywood doesn't seem to want to ever recreate an actual formation battle. I just want to see one film where they get that right.)
I just think the audiences split, as we have more genres and there are just more movies in general. I think there are some gems today too. For example - Now you see me - where would you put it? Is it action, comedy? I love nowodays movies too you just need to find the good ones. Grand Budapest hotel is a gem for me. Bridge of Spies was a gem too. The Avatar with its amaizing CGI was just the new way to see where sci-fi, fantasy is mixing with action. Some CGI movies can be good too even today. John Wick... I dunno. To me it was not that good to be honest. But it was better than the rest.
Another amazing action sequence was in Troy, where Achilles fought the prince outside the wall. It was breathtaking and very genuine.
Yeah but the movie as a whole was cheesy and awful
@@Exxperiment626You sack of wine!
One other thing that made the Character of John McClane even more relatable and believable was the fact Bruce Willis did his own stunts. Especially in the first one, because they were working on such a small budget that they couldn't afford to pay a stunt double for Willis. So Bruce Willis volunteered to the stunts himself
There clearly is a stunt double though
"Shaky camera". I have always called it "confusovision". I HATE IT!!!
HAHAHA I love that!
the parkinsons cameraman is now the director, that and the bullshit tough waif woman beating the shit outta men 3 times her size and not even hurting her hand with the incorrect round house style punching, awful stuff
I call is "convulse-ovision"
Did you somehow not hear his comments on when it can be used right, especially with the examples with Bourne?
I call it movies-made-by-people-with-ADHD.
- how many Indiana Jones movies are there?
- three
- good. you may pass
Creatip
two
Temple of doom was shit
How many Jaws movies are there?
The answer is one
Aditya Waghmare Temple of doom was good, just worse than the first and 3rd one
Only 3. The 4th was a joke.
Creatip how many Star Wars movies are there?
4
Good. You may pass
Gosh action movie directors noticed this after the video was released John Wick Mad Max Fury Road and Kingsman sure did help
You opened my eyes and helped me better put my finger on why action movies nowadays are unrelatable. Absolutely Brilliant!
John wick is a great modern action film. Not the best story, but the setting and style are amazing. The stunt work in the fighting scenes is amazing.
I wholeheartedly agree. It was more "back to basics" of what makes a good action movie actually good... Sometimes you do not have to change the formula to make something good. You just make sure what comes out at the end is solid. IMO It was. I also enjoyed John Wick, and yes. It did have some really great stunt and action scenes. You can't have a good action film without em' :)
The thing is, he was already on the edge because of his wife's death. Moreover, that dog was her last gift to him and it held an emotional importance to him. I think it is reasonable for a man to go nuts over someone killing the last thing that reminds him of his wife.
Joe Black
He's a retired professional assassin. That's a pretty psycho job in the first place.
The option to just go an kill people who fuck with you probably doesn't have such a high threshold as it does for regular people.
I don't Think John Wick is even supposed to be that relatable of a character. He's a hyped up extremely efficient killer and you know you came to watch the movie to see him to kill people in awesome manner. They throw away all pretense and just go for it. I think it's a fun approach.
Joe Black are you kidding? I bet you don't even have a dog. if someone killed the dog that my recently deceased wife just left me, I'd go John wick on them too.
More then that, after killing his dog, Iosef's father (don't remind his name at this point) sent 12 killer to take care of John Wick BEFORE he even attempt something. That's a good motivation too...
I hate shaky cam fight scenes
You hate Bourne vs Desh too?
Yes almost all shaky cam fight scense I think how bad are they to show us this fake.
Absolutely a complete fucking deal breaker!
Bourne didn't work because of SC, it worked in spite of it.
shaky cam fight scenes made alien vs predator a hot mess
I'm watching this 5 years late.... BY FAR! You should have made more videos like this. The few I've watched are amazing
Mission impossible has managed to stay amazing though,
Yeah. I would like if they went back to their roots with the first one which had action but also the suspense. Something like ghost protocol meets mi 1 .
I personally think that M:I 1 is pretty underrated compared to the other Mission impossible films
I'm watching this after having seen Mad Max: Fury Road, and well, your analysis of what makes an action movie great is spot on.
(Fury Road Spoilers below)
Fury Road has:
1. A plot that quite literally forces the protagonists to keep moving (even if the baddies aren't hot on their heels, the desert heat and lack of provisions means that have to keep going)
2. A hero (three, in fact) we WANT to root for. We will root for Max because he's Max and we know his established history, we root for Furiousa because she's an interesting character with pure motivations, and we root for Nux because he's been enlightened to the evil he was committing and seeks redemption.
3. A villain with understandable motivations. Immortan Joe keeps sex slaves because he's trying to produce healthy offspring in a world where nearly everyone is diseased or poisoned by radiation. We can understand that, but we can't agree with his methods for achieving that goal. That's what makes him a good villain.
4. I don't think I really need to explain that Fury Road's stunt work is some of the best ever filmed.
5. Camerawork... yep, has that to. The camera only shakes because it's mounted on a vehicle that's actually driving beside the vehicle being filmed. The object of focus is always in the center of the screen so you're not constantly scanning the picture for what you're meant to be looking at. The camera work is fantastic.
6. And vulnerability of the hero... yeah, I mean they take away Max's car in the first 5 minutes of the film, cut his hair of, use him as a hood ornament while draining his blood... and then you have Furiousa and Nux who, for all we know, are totally expendable. They killed the PREGNANT WOMAN, for crying out loud - everybody but Max himself was up for grabs.
Carnage Racing Not to mention, 7. Instead of inspiration porn, disabled or divergent characters are depicted in a manner that is consistent with the "if past is prologue" statement. Corpus Colossus and to a lesser extent Rictus Erectus, we learn very quickly only have a place in Immortan Joe's society because they are the only living sons he has. The only difference between the way MMFR's world treats its disabled and the way present-day Asstralia treats its disabled is that MMFR's world's law and order is basically gone, and who you know is more important than what you can do.
***** Sure, but she was the only visibly pregnant woman and she got run over by a monster truck. Just saying.
Carnage Racing so, practically Mad Max Fury Road is the best action movie ever.
If it's not, at least in the Top 5
Raul Torres Easily. It's definitely my favorite action movie of all time. Terminator 2 has finally been dethroned.
Carnage Racing OH WHAT A FILM!!!
WHAT A LOVELY FILM!!!
Mad Max: Fury Road, John Wick, Edge Of Tomorrow and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation are all great recent action movies.
Especially John Wick and Mad Max, they're fucking awesome movies.
+Serpico's Beard Yeah, a guy getting revenge because some stereotypical schmuck stole his car - and I'm not joking here - killed his dog, is the best excuse ever to go out on a murder spree.
Mad Max:Fury Road currently has 10 Oscar nominations.
John Wick was just stupid, mindless action we've seen a shitzillion times before with the likes of Steven Seagal.
HorseriderXX Devon What's wrong with stupid mindless action? have you never seen Commando? One of the dumbest and best action movies of all time?
+Serpico's Beard Stupid mindless action isn't excellent, and that's the whole point. Besides, I'm pretty sure there's few that agree that it's the best, even though it was somewhat good. I don't know, I haven't watched it, but Predator seems to have better reception. I didn't watch any of them to know.
The FirstBourne I think you would hate 99% of my favourite movies if you don't like mindless action lol.
+HorseriderXX Devon
The dog symbolized the memory of his wife; she gave the dog to him as her final dying gift.
I would go on a killing spree of someone killed my dog, even if it wasn't given to me in such dramatic circumstance.
I still love the revenge of the sith final fight, yes it's not a gritty down to earth fight , I always felt they both were confident in their skills which is why they don't look worried, they look more angry 🤷🏼♂️
One thing you didn't touch upon is time. Jackie Chan has always lamented the fact that he's given very limited schedules by Hollywood studios to shoot fight sequences. Quentin Tarantino knew the importance of giving enough freedom to action directors to showcase their craft. Hence, you'll notice that Yuen Woo-ping's choreography in the Kill Bill movies is closer to the quality of his work in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon as opposed to the Rush Hour series failing to match the action of JC's Hong Kong flicks. As a result, most casual American moviegoers merely recognize Jackie as that funny martial artist rather than being as badass as Beatrix Kiddo. While elsewhere, he's known as the only non-Hollywood action star to ever really compete w/ the likes of Schwarzenegger & Stallone.
Who else got really dizzy during his shaky cam section?
Meeeee
Meeee I felt stuckmuniesd
I'm pretty sure that's what chris was going for to prove his point, and it worked
moms spaghetti
I'm pretty sure that the hunger games scene used shaky cam to imply that the main character is dizzyed by what's going on and what to do.
A good villain wants the same thing as the hero but with a different
perspective.
Very smart.
Ever heard of the game NieR (not it's sequel, the original)? One of the best uses of what you described I have ever seen.
Not always... In "Gladiator," the hero (Maximus) and the villain (Commodus) want completely different (almost opposite) things. Although it should perhaps be noted that in the film that Maximus already has already achieved a few of Commodus's "goals" already. I do not know any-one who claimed that Gladiator (the film) had a bad villain.
In reflection, the hero and villain both have the goal of killing the other (as well) but that is to be expected in these films. (Perhaps that is wanting the same thing but from a different perspective)
blindlobster well I am talking about a true opponent, most often people mistakenly think of the opponent as someone who looks evil, sounds evil or does evil things a true opponent wants to prevent the hero from achieving his desire but also compete with the hero for the same goal. This way you link the opponent to your hero that way they come into a direct conflict at some point. I have some conflict about Gladiator about that, Maximus is fighting to expose the tyranny of Commodus and hopefully get his (revenge,freedom) the moment they killed the wife and kid I was like oh oh cause they give the role of the woman in rescue to the Commodus‘ sister (maybe to illustrate how common it was to have incest back then in Rome) but it lost purpose. It would have been nicer if Maximus’s wife was also Commodus lifetime person he was in love. So maybe now they have a common conflict they both fighting for the same goal. One has strength and muscles the other one power and wisdom and position. I don’t know is hard but I still liked it. But I don’t see Commodus as a strong opponent. The Roman Empire was definitively though. Some good opponents I consider as example in The Godfather Michael first opponent Sollozo or Barzini they both compete over survival of the Corleone family and who will control crime in NY.
Star Wars Luke and Vader each one competing over the control of the universe Vader represents evil forces and tyrannical empire while Luke represents forces of good bla bla bla
Chinatown a tricky opponent who remains hidden until the end the rich and powerful Noah Cross he wants to control the future of Los Angeles with his water scheme. Although in reality they are both competing over whose version of the truth will be believed.
@@sorartificial You are of course welcome to your opinion but I disagree. Maximus wants Rome to become a Republic and Commodus opposes this. Commodus wants to be loved (and respected) and Maximus consistently prevents this from happening, Commodus wanting to be loved is the reason for the duel at the end of the film. Of course, Maximus also wants vengeance for his family and the Emperor and one could argue that Commodus want vengeance (against Maximus) for himself and the Emperor. If Maximus didn't steal the Emperor's love away from Commodus then the Emperor wouldn't of "needed" to die. We have an ideal Maximus whom the people fall in love with without any effort on Maximus's part and we have Commodus who wants love but is too unlikable to acquire any love despite his best efforts. Everybody who knows the pair prefers Maximus, even Commodus's own family. The only goal they share is killing their opposite. With a minor script alteration, we could probably make a film where Commodus is the hero and Maximus is the villain. (Yes, that might sound mad.)
I see Commodus as a strong opponent. He has the power, the plotting and the combat ability. He isn't to Maximus's fighting ability but he can use a sword (but perhaps not a knife). However Commodus is not a superhero villain.
I believe Maximus represents altruism while Commodus represents egoism. You do not need to like him but Commodus might be my favourite villain (might).
The fight between Anakin and Obi-Wan is a dance sequence. And I love it for that
All through this I was thinking "Vulnerability of the hero!" and so glad you put it as the most important thing.
Many modern heroes act as if they *know* they're invincible. e.g. they can walk into the bad guy's lair, with henchmen completely surrounding them, and don't even need a plan. They know they can't be shot in the back of the head because they're the protagonist.
In my opinion, besides the movies plot, nowadays the actors are just cutie faces, nothing else. They just prefer to take pretty actors (terrible in acting) than good stories. A shame
John Wick is such as great action movie. It has enough world building and story to keep you wondering about the world after the film is over. For example, I want to know more about secret society of assassins who uses their special currency, have their own local spot where all assassins hang out, and such. However the world building never gets in the way of the initial story, unlike Jupiter Ascending, I like how it tells a complete story while giving clues about world.
John Wick honestly renewed my faith in the action genre. It introduced world building in such a matter to where it never felt forced or shoehorned in. It was a natural part of the narrative and in many ways made sense. The Hotel Continental was such a cool place, that I'd want to see more of that Hotel and the world of Assassin's. Also, the action was amazing. Keanu Reeves, I forget how well he could do action and this was easily one of his best performances.
Overall, to me JW is a classic. While I am hesitant about the sequel, I do want to see more and I hope it does well.
steven shar Damn, that movie sucked. ok yeah, great coreography and camera work, but story, hero and villain were just terrible. They killed his puppy, how dare they kill his puppy, ROAR, its just so silly it feels like a parody to me. besides how did he get his ass handed to him by the weak ass son in the beginning if hes such a, so called, bad ass, it dont add up.
josef10101010 that's the point. It's a ridiculous story on purpose.
tskwared667 bullshit, if it was the point it would have been a full on parody. just face it the writers didnt actually have a strong unique idea to begin with and just went out of their way to create a different story just for the sake of being different, doesnt matter if its cringeworthy to the max.
if it was the point they missed the mark and didnt create an action movie or a parody, just an action movie with a ridiculous plot for the sole purpose of just being unique, without the comedy and over exageration to justify the silly plot.
its fucken stupid, it doesnt work as an action movie cause the plot ruins it and it doesnt work as a comedy, because of lack of comedy.
I'm not going to say that John Wick is a bad movie. The first 40 minutes of build up were amazing and captivating, but once the action scenes started, it bored me more and more. In fact, I almost fell asleep while watching. But hey, still a great movie, just not my cup of tea.
I think one of the most brilliant action-packed scenes in Star Wars is when Luke cuts off Vader's hand. The music is powerful but also very sad. You can clearly see the emotion on Luke's face, Vader's weakness, and the sinister look on the Emperor's face.
I'd say that is the best scene from star wars
Loving your critiques and reviews! I'm looking through your old videos now 😊
This is the best video you've made, Chris, and I hope action filmmakers watch this. I agree with all your points; for the last one, I'd add that the hero's behavior should be plausible enough for the audience to maintain their suspension of disbelief.
The Bourne trilogy is so efficient in that regard because the hero doesn't laugh or throw a one-liner during a life-threatening situation, and he has to face realistic consequences for each of his decisions.
It's a chance I've seen this video, which helps me to get over the score you gave to Interstellar. :)
Antony Cube Chris made a video acknowledging Interstellar and audiences' reactions to it called Interstellar Revisited. Have you seen it?
AdoreSinging394%
Yeah I've seen it. It's a good thing he did that. For my part, I really liked Interstellar.
Antony Cube Me too, but for me, it got a little too convoluted near the end. But I still think it's a really good movie
Antony Cube I think Interstellar is underrated. The one negative was casting Anne Hathaway. The soundtrack is brilliant, IMHO. Kind of Philip Glass-like.
The problem with practically every movie today- IT'S ALL BEEN DONE OVER AND OVER AGAIN!!
"A weakness of some sort"
*Laughs in Captain Marvel*
Well she does have weaknesses but the problem is that they put her against really weak opponents
*laughs in Rey*
In defense, it is a superhero movie. They had to make her (or any superhero) "super" in some way. The point is to be not human, something more. You get????
Coming back to this video after all these years... I still find your statements more true than ever, and maybe even more than 7 years ago. Especially when it comes to hideous, shaky cameras. Thank you very much for putting this into this worthwhile video and all this good wording.
For me, unrealistic and heavily choreographic fight scenes are what ruined action movies for me. It's more like watching a damn ballet than a action movie.
As a fan of chinese marterial arts movies imo there lies a deep beauty in choreographic fight scenes, for instance if you don't know it yet you should check out the fight between Ziyi Zhang and Michelle Yeoh from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, imo one of the very best fighting scenes in cinema history but Hollywood just doesn't get it right most of the time.
The Matrix had a lot of choreography, and it was great. The problem is that most fights just use stock moves in stock poses.
IP Man is a good example of excellent choreographed fight scenes
As opposed to the "classic" unrealistic and poorly choreographed fight scenes
I think this is actually what people love about action movies. To see someone act like a character so skilled in combat is the beauty that people want to see. Isn't this why people unconsciously love competition? to feed the primal side of us that sees beauty in pushing the human body to limits most can not achieve? isn't that the very reason Bruce Lee continues to be relevant today?
This is why suicide squad sucked so much, it lacked everything of what he mentioned before.
the producer of suicide squad was more concerned about selling posters than actually giving the audience a good film.
That movie was basically a feature length trailer for itself. Literally, it was cut by a trailerhouse. DC has been more concerned with making amazing trailers (and they are good trailers) than making good movies.
Jack Mehoff exactly!
Good soundtrack though. Thats why I enjoyed the Underworld movie franchise, loved the soundtracks.
Prana Khan It was a good soundtrack but it wasn't used well. It'll just drop two seconds of a song inappropriately. Like when Harley is fighting the black man (I'm not racist, what would you call those things?) in the elevator. The song they played didn't fit at all. Or when the Joker and Harley are in the vat of chemicals, music was completely out of place.
Just because it was a good soundtrack, doesn't mean it was appropriate or well used.
You're critic is spot on! I'm going to have to start checking out more of your videos!
Here's some advice: Use guns properly. Quit leaving stocks folded. Quit leaving folding sights folded. Quit leaving removable sights off. Quit shooting from the hip. Quit using a cross-thumb grip technique with any handgun that isn't a single-action revolver. And don't forget to do the "HK slap" properly.
3:09 Those MP-40s are anachronistic. The story takes place in 1936, two years before the MP-38 was issued (which was the MP-40s predecessor).
3:20 Why do movie people think D-rings are meant for slinging hand grenades? That's such a sloppy and negligent way to stow hand grenades! Hand grenades, like 40-mils, should be stashed in pouches. 40-mils can also be slung in a bandoleer, but no one uses bandoleers anymore.
3:26 That's not the correct procedure right there. Grenades are only used that way in movies.
3:50 He has a lot in common with Kyle Reese.
4:43 That's not what bipods are for. I haven't seen that one, but I'm going to hazard and educated guess that he never makes use of the bipod. Probably never shoots from the shoulder either. Probably always shoots from the hip.
11:08 Check out that lame Steven Seagal-style "bent elbows" pistol stance.
14:12 They're always striking each others lightsabers instead of trying to strike each other (until the plot calls for a strike to actually land).
15:08 What was the purpose for both of them doing interlocking flourishes like that? That's an example of style over substance.
To sum up what was said during the Die Hard segment: John McClain became Bruce Willis.
beerfuck lol
ha, yeah, that was pretty much my thought.
Oh well said. Hit the nail on the head with that one.
Holy crap, the shaky cam! Hate that shit.
it only works in found footage films, because it makes sense
GO AWAY
It never worked in Bourne either, and idk why people keep saying it does. The effect, in addition to being functionally useless and f#$%ing obnoxious, still makes a movie painful and nigh impossible to watch.
Now the "hand camera" technique does work. To quote Mr. Plinket "You might not know you're seeing it, but your brain does." It's subtle and it's brilliant and it works. Shaky cam you *know* is there because it's all up in your face till you can't physically look at it anymore.
Totally agree.
Yeah, I hated it in taken 3. Well, generally hated taken 3 but whatever...
"Story" is the number one problem with nearly ALL modern movies. And no, the shaky cam doesn't work in the Brourne Trilogy either.
He explained why it does. Good technique is good technique.
I agree, I can’t stand the shaky cam in the Bourne movies. Artistic purpose or not, it almost always ruins the scene for me.
Bourne Supremacy is very good
@@yuampi5707 Ultimatum got the cam even better
It's 2020 and we have got a very good action movie called Extraction. Not a movie with great story but has mind-blowing action scenes.
Wish he touched on Oldboy's famous hammer alleyway scene when he mentioned foreign films. That scene is picture perfect.
oldboy was a great film!
Marshall Biss I don't think if Chris has ever seen
lol i just made a comment about oldboy 1min ago when people were talking about how fake fight scenes were, i told them to check out the old oldboy film.
Not old. Original.
When he said, "A great villain is the polar opposite of the hero, but with one thing that connects them," I imagined Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling, and the chemistry between them that made Silence of the Lambs twice as good as most thrillers.
I also heard in another video about die hard, that they changed the story quite a bit ,compared to the book ( where McLaine is an older guy former played by Frank Sinatra) .
So basically for the Director back then, McLaine didn’t had much depth and they rewrote the story as if his opponent, Hans Gruber was the main Protagonist.
He is still on of my favorite bad guys. Great writing and acting by the Villain is something I miss these days. ( sry 4 bad englando)
sounds like a quote from the movie unbreakable with bruce willis and samuel jackson.
Anthony Etheve I mean... yeah... that's the typical "I'm a millenial, so it's the only example I know of," but... yeah, it fits.
Luis Meraz That's a fantastic example.
Lecter knew how to get into Clarice's mind and torture her.
God, those action scene snippets gave me an aneurysm
Great commentary! You are 100% right about shaky cam. I walk out on movies like that.
What about Rambo? In "First blood" he was a homeless Vietnam Veteran just trying to make it, and then he gets arrested by a dickhead cop. This is something that a lot of people can relate to (I never been arrested but I feel for this guy) He then breaks out with no casualties. And then in Rambo 2 and 3 he's killing stereotypical Russian Bad guys by the masses. He went through the dramatic "Person to invincible mass killing robot", like John McLane
christopher dean what you on about the first 3 die hard movies john mclane was a badass that had a reason for what he was doing
I could just imagine if they make a sequel to The Revenant and Leo could cut through every Bear without a scratch on him. How unrealistic would that have been?
That is what made Rambo 2 work though. Plus it was during the time of the Cold War decline. Plus the narrative of R2 was Vets still in captivity, and a protagonist that could provide hope. So there is still a story, and the movie was a success. It's a formula that can work in certain situations and some sequels did it very well. Like Aliens and Rambo while others flop like Predator 2 and so on. I thought Rambo should have died in R2 and just leave at that there wasn't a need to carry on.
Tmraider He died in the First Blood book. Not kidding. The book is fucked up.
I think we can all agree that First Blood was the best film of the series! Lols
Fury Road's "breaking point" moment: Max hanging upside down on the side of the War Rig as Furiosa struggles to keep hold of his foot after getting stabbed on the ribs. Immortan Joe passes by with one of the wives already captured, and leads his biggest trucks to trap the rig on all four sides. The music dramatically swells up to reflect this hopeless situation. Meanwhile, Slit sneaks inside the trap with the Interceptor and speeds up to ram Max.
With the sudden change of music, the turning point comes when Furiosa rams the Interceptor into the Gas Town leader's truck, killing Slit. Nux, after fixing one of the engines, then emerges from underneath the rig and pushes Max towards said truck. Max grabs onto the vehicle, hijacks it, then speeds up to free the rig from the trap. With two gigantic vehicles in our heroes' possession, the battle rages on.
Amazing analysis bro
Stephen Aderanti I simply described the scene. lol
***** slip of tongue maybe?
Stephen Aderanti In a comments section?
***** when I was typing yes
Thank you so much for calling out the camera work! It's so annoying to not be able to really see the action!
I love Chris's videos... so thought out and intelligent. It's very refreshing.
The video inspired me to finally watch Die Hard. Let's just say that I wasn't disappointed.
Awesome! I didn't get around to that one until my 20's, and then I understood why that movie gets so much (well deserved) praise.
GamingSins My favourite one is the third.The second to me was ok.But the 4th and 5th don't get me started
+Neal Caffrey we dont speak about the fifth....
Neal Caffrey I honestly enjoyed the fourth film, but I haven't seen the fifth
Should have seen it a long time ago
Next video: The problem with Michael Bay. :D
Check EveryFrameAPainting's video on "Bayhem".
Chris has mentioned that as maybe a future topic.
LMFAO! YES!
1: Michael Bay
...that's it.
not enough explosions !
Great video. What you spoke about minus the shaky camera can be transferred to writing stories and novels as well. You made some extremely interesting points.
Wow, what a terrific in depth analysis💎!! Thanks so much.
I don't like tom cruise as a person but damn his stunts kill
I know...I want to hate him, but his skill/dedication demands respect. he literally took over as executive producer of one of the Mission Impossible movies because they wouldn't let him do his stunts, and they can't say no if he's paying for it lol
@@Khorne_of_the_Hill You can dislike and respect someone at the same time.
@@Shiek200 respecting and liking someone have nothing to do with one another. I don't like Alberto Pujols as a person but what he's done in baseball you have to respect if your a fan of the game
What's there to hate about Tom Cruise?
@@-.._.-_...-_.._-..__..._.-.-.- I don't hate him I'm just not a fan of his shilling for scientology
That shaky cam compilation was brutal man
Dylan Murray shaky cam got popular in NYPD Blue, folks I know said it made em feel sick
Dylan Murray resident evil movies are the king of shaky cams
Bordas Studios The last RE movie was the worst perpetrator of shaky cam.
Five years late but this just showed up on my recommended feed. I agree with everything you've said in this video except for when it comes to the Anakin-Kenobi battle. To me, the entire point of that fight was the fact that these two were brothers in war, fighters and soldiers who had not only trained excessively with each other throughout a major conflict but had put their very lives in each other's hands more times than either could count.
It's a dance because they know each other too well. Even the cringy lightsaber twirling scene is actually a reflection of this as you can consider the two warriors to both be blocking strikes they would normally expect to come at them and instinctively moving to block what their muscle memories are treating as feints. The dance is essentially them acting on nothing but instinct with the fight only sometimes breaking out of this pattern into an actual attempt to defeat/kill the other.
In a similar way, it's like how two close friends have a such a bond that they can spend hours slagging each other off as a means of showing their love for each other only for the friendship to shatter and then they get into a shouting match for real. They'd naturally fall into their old habits because of how much they're running on emotions and instincts.
Don't get me wrong, that fight isn't flawless and I understand why some might not like it. But taking its choreography as is without actually looking at its context is, in my opinion, a massive disservice to the second greatest lightsaber duel in the entire franchise.
Still pretty boring to watch with no dialogue in between, and they could’ve made it seem like they were highly trained but still have made it exciting. They literally twirl around quietly for minutes on end
Holy cow, the camera work is probably the most important part of action sequences. I notice stuff like that, and the editing, when watching an action movie. The Road Warrior is an example of good camera work at times. For instance, when the guy uses the pole to vault over over the compound wall and then the next shot is his feet landing close up to the camera. A good action sequence flows.
I always liked Keanu Reeves, but this video makes me appreciate him even more than before!
The new Mad Max and MI: Rogue Nation restored my faith in action films.
+LoN3wOlF5tudi0s and then came Fan4stic, Hitman 47 and Transporter Refueled.
I hope Spectre would be as awesome as Skyfall
+Andrew Shieh Haven't watched any of them. There will always be bad movies, unfortunately. But obviously 2015 has been an amazing year for films.
+LoN3wOlF5tudi0s kingsman, john wick, Edge of tomorrow, rogue nation, spectre, winter soldier, and of course mad max. and even some that arent masterpieces but are still pretty fun like man from uncle and american ultra. it looks like we're starting to get some great action movies again.
+LoN3wOlF5tudi0s john wick was recent and it was pretty awesome
I learned many things about films from this video.
Thank you ❤
This was excellent. I haven't been this sucked into a video in a while. Thank you!
To me the shaky cam is the element that kills an action movie entirely, I dont get what is the point of making so hard to see the biggest selling point of your movie, the action, that only proves that your movie has nothing to offer and the one having more action then the characters in the movie is the camera man.
Shaky cam is about as annoying as that person asking a million questions during the movie. You just can't concentrate and figure out what's happening in the movie.
Shaky cam to me I see it nowadays as a very lazy attempt by most producers to A) cover up people who cannot physically do action and B) to just copy and paste what everyone else did. The Bourne movies make sense because the shaky cam is used as a story means to showcase just how competent Jason Bourne is.
Now, for granted outside Bourne, I do think there were movies that used this very well. Some CBMs, like WS, did this surprisingly well. And I forget the film, but the one staring Denzel Washington that was an action movie was good too. Overall, I agree with you.
Jorge Vila Agreed! I went to see Cloverfield in the cinema and almost puked. Horrible experience.
To add to that point hand held cam IS shaky cam. There is no differentiating between the two
slowmoe1964 Yes, both are handheld cams, the difference is the effort, one is intentionally annoying, and the other tries to at least make watchable
I agree with you completely. Gross overuse of cgi is a weak point for me as well. It looks cartoonish to me. Fine in a cartoon but I don't like it in movies much.
NewHampshireBoy god damn prequels doing literally everything wrong
I like my animation in animated films okay!
Hi Chris, I was reminded of this video after watching Frame Voyager's analysis of John Wick 4's cinematography. The part that stands out to me about this video and the other on Voyager's channel is the explanation of effective vs ineffective camerawork in action movies. "The Problem with Action Movies Today" specifically is one of the videos that helped to deepen my own analysis on films and film making. Thank you.
I come back to this video from time to time, and I always loved the toonami soundtrack in the background of this!
damn my respect for tom cruise just went up tenfold
m0ments-have-you same happened to me with christian bale when i found out he literally starved himself for some of his roles
yeah, he went from the machinist to batman in 1 year. Nobody does physical transformations like christian bale. unmatched dedication.
m0ments-have-you Tom Cruise can be a crazy person but I fucking buy him in every role. Dude fucking commits.
m0ments-have-you Same here. I knew he did a lot of his own stunts, but I had no idea he was actually outside that tower in Ghost Protocol.
gyllenhaal also doing crazy transformations latey. Went from nightcrawler to huge boxer in one year. impressive
I think John Wick had something other action films can learn from. The world in which John Wick takes place feels so unique which is even better explored in the sequel
Well... out of over 13,000 comments I don't think you may notice this one... 😊 But, FWIW, you sir are indeed the *REAL DEAL!* I love your calm and thankfully INTELLIGENT manner! Not thinking you need to hype everything with Super-Crack just to keep our attention. Bravo to you sir, a VERY rare and refreshing thing to see here. A very big 'Thank You' to you!
I just hate that almost every action movie is trying to be like Marvel nowadays
I feel like action movies nowadays have accepted the label of being most mindless genre for people who want to see some explosions and gunfights, that producers don't even bother with doing anything more ambitious than that.
What always ruins movies for me is that the hero will always win and i will know for a fact that they will.
No Country For Old Men
Yeah, instead of them getting their ass kicked, then kidnapped, having to be rescued or given an edge so that they can try again.
I like this method, but anime, cinema and video games use it as well.
The main draw is in how they win, what is their demon and/or challenge and how are they going to over come it. Also there are plenty of movies where the protaginist does not win, their victory is incomplete, or they have been the badguy without relizeing it and their victory is wrong.
Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid = They do not win but they go out in style.
Conspirecy Theroy = Jerry finally breaks free from the demons of his past but dies in the process leaving behind the woman he loves, who only just reciently relized that she loves him too.
Fight Club = the prothanist ends up starting a terrorist group.
Exactly, so it's when a movie makes you doubt if the hero will actually win, then it becomes great. That's how I felt in The Dark Knight. It begins and I obviously KNOW for a FACT Batman will win. He's freakin Batman! And then the plot starts going, there's some mafia bosses planning shit, thinking they can out manoeuvre Batman, BOOM Batman kicks their ass! Just as I knew he would. Then this other character comes in. He's not as organised, not seemingly as smart or powerful as these mafia bosses, Batman isn't worried. "One man? Or the whole mafia?" Batman arrogantly asks Commissioner Gorden. Then this guy starts freaking Batman out. He is just completely the apposite of what Batman expects and knows from bad guys (and thus feels in control over them). "Some people just wants to see the world burn" Alfred tells Bruce, as he tries to study this guy. And you can see Batman still doesn't get it. He's still arrogant and overconfident in his abilities. So he hatches a scheme, to catch the Joker. It works! "Finally we got you, you son of a bitch!" Every body celebrates! Yes the Joker put up a good run, he had some good moves, but Batman is ultimately the best! The movie is done, that was good I enjoyed that", I say to myself, getting ready to get up and go home. But then I realise the credits haven't started rolling yet (I'm getting emotional just typing this). "What? It's still going? But why? Batman won. He caught the Joker!" And it turns out Joker was in control all the time. He played Batman. Batman get's called back from chilling after a job well done: "they never made it home" Batman is angry! How dare this guy!? He's Batman! He'll just apply more muscle to the problem!" It doesn't work, Joker laughs at him. And it all starts falling apart for Batman. Joker plays a low blow, he doesn't play by Batman's rules. He kills Batman's child hood friend and love. Now the scales have shifted. Joker is in control (shown by the scene where he sticks his head out the cop car like an excited puppy and swerves the car, Gotham in the back ground blurs chaotically). Anarchy has won. While Batman is sitting in self doubt and pity at home. Not even in his "Batcave" planning his next move. And things keeps unravelling for the Hero. Suddenly -in my eyes- the invincible "cartoon/comic" Cape Crusader image is broken. I see Batman sitting in an every day normal looking room, with his mask in his hands, his face, his humanity revealed. Feeling insecure and scared and "out of control", just like I do sometimes. Just like we all do.
I think I'll come back some other time and finish this, it's getting a bit too emotional for me now. But it's an insanely good movie that reflects so much of life.
few action movies have any sort of tension anymore, we just have some SEAL Team 6 level super soldier fighting some mildly retarded criminals without breaking a sweat, saving the child/woman/sandwhich they've decided to rescue before walking off into the sunset. It's like watching the Harlem Globetrotters compete against a little league team, you know your in for a decent show, the Globetrotters may even pretend to lose for awhile, but you know that no matter what happens the little league team doesnt stand a chance.
You nailed it! The first time i really started noticing just how bad shaky cam is was the Battlestar Gallactica reboot. It seems now days danger is much more synthetic and much less visceral, like it is in reality.
i enjoy listening to people who are passionate about the medium. great work!
The problem with youtube?
This being recommended 4 years after date! The video surely got good points, just the recommendation is.. out of date? unlike some action movies.
OMG, I thought this video was recent but your comment made me check that it's from 2015! And it seems that during these 4 years almost nobody from Hollywood watched this video
How is it out of date?
The points are still valid, and relevant to today.
There's NOTHING MORE RECENT that addresses the issue. It's like a cone of silence has descended. I'm surprised this 5-yr-old video is still up!
I'm guessing that you don't realize that your favorite-of-all-time movie (this week's all-time fave, that is) is going to be ridiculed as being old and stupid in just a few years and then lost to history. Why bother even watching one, or a TV show, or sporting event? Within a year they're ready for permanent obscurity and nobody will ever give a shit about them ever having existed; simply targets to laugh about. Do you know when history starts?
Please do a video about problems about comedy movies, as this year is a terrible year for comedy (The Cobbler, Mortdecai, Hot Tub Time Machine 2, Unfinished Business, Get Hard, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, Hot Pursuit, Vacation)
+Quan Pham "While we're young", What we do in the shadows" and "the voices" are good examples of fantastic comedy movies that came out in 2015. But you're right, they're really sucking ass lately (although I think this isn't very relevant yet, since we did have pretty good comedies that came out over the last few years).
+Connie TheMadMan But we also have many atrocious comedies over the last few years, like Grown Ups 1 & 2, That's my Boy, Jack & Jill, Bucky Larson, Movie 43, Saving Christmas.
Quan Pham Yeah, but there's always gonna be shitty comedies.
Maybe he can make a video on how to improve Adam Sandler movies.
Connie TheMadMan That's not necessary. Adam Sandler is now like Nic.Cage, giving no single shit about nothing.
+Connie TheMadMan How to improve Adam Sandler movies: Don't make Adam Sandler movies.
Dude seriously love this!!! Absolutely great stuff! I had a slow week for my channel and this (along with a rewatch of the Point Break remake) inspired me to make a video called "Why Remakes Suck". While I think there is alot of great movies coming out right now I cant deny that there's alot of problems with modern film making and hopefully Hollywood can learn from that. Keep up the great work man!!!
This was the best analysis I've heard on the topic
When will you make a video about "The Problem with Porn Movies Today"???
This is an in-Porn-tent question!
SUGRA SUSY thats too easy. coercion of performers and abuse.
Rainbow Girl Are you really a girl? Can you help me out?
Rainbow Girl and awful acting like that woman is obviously not the mom with the daughter
ReZisT Lust I am too innocent to understand what you are saying.
This critique is right on. It explains why my movie-loving friends and I hardly ever go to the movies any more.
...I thought it was just me! I rarely go to movies anymore--they ALL suck: comedy is FORCED, action is rehashed, horror: they STILL go toward the mysterious "noise". Too much CGI. And actors, in general, CAN'T ACT. What the hell is going on with Hollywood?
Gary Rector lucky you, I wish I had friends like that. All my friends hate it when I want to show them films but then they go on to watch shitty movies.
Me too. I use to be a huge movie goer, going to the cinemas a couple times a week on average. I haven't gone to the cinema in 5 years now.
you look familiar, wasnt you in the jurassic park?
Well done! Nicely articulated review, thank you!
6 years later still one of my favorite videos