Research Paper

Action Flicks:

The testosterone driven cheap thrill of

mega explosions.

The action flick is a classic style of movie making that was popularized in the 70’s and 80’s and even the 90's. They hold a special place in my heart for two reasons, one, I’m a man and this is how it should be. Two, my earliest memories of television and movies are those of Rambo, The Terminator, Under Siege, Braveheart, Conan the Barbarian,True Lies, Die Hard, and countless others. My childhood heroes were Arnold Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Bruce Willis, Clint Eastwood, Steven Segal. I loved action movies as a kid and I still love them today. The best thing about an action flick is reliving that childish joy of seeing stuff get blown up and the bad guys getting beat up by your favorite action hero. There’s nothing like it, it’s almost primal and instinctual. I have a complete ten part criteria on what makes a good action flick but I’m going to focus the three most important elements of an action flick, over the top unbelievable action sequences, one liners and payoffs, and fighting is the answer to everything.

One of the biggest and most blaringly obvious things that define the action genre is well, action. Not just any action though, I’m talking over the top, bust your balls, edge of your seat, nigh impossible, heart pounding, head exploding, visual feast of moving cinema! This is what separates a manly man’s movie from Suzy’s tea party with friends bull crap that seems to plague the silver screen these days. The hero is put into an impossible situation and through incredible feats of strength, skill, luck, and pure hairy chest manliness, he manages to beat these impossible odds and do it with style. The biggest thing to remember about this is to suspend your disbelief, of course this crap is impossible, FOR YOU, but not for any action hero worth his manly salt. That’s what’s awesome about it, you can’t do it and even if you could you can’t get to see the awesomeness of it from the outside when you’re so busy missile diving through fiery explosions; they can and you get to watch it all go down. As an obligatory note, I must mention that all action sequences must end an explosion, violent kill, or combination thereof.

Usually precluding the climax of a great action sequence is one of the most iconic things of action flicks ever conceived and is rivaled by no other genre, either out of taste or pure lack of the ability to contain such pure unbridled manliness. I’m talking about one liners and pay offs. I can’t begin to express the skull crushing joy I feel when one of my favorite action heroes lets one these bad boys loose right before the fiery explosion filled climax to every good action movie. The best one liners are usually those that have been set up earlier in the movie, the hero will usually learn a phrase, mention something offhandedly, or even say something that defines his character as a whole. One of the most infamous and successful one liners to ever be utter by an action hero was “Hasta la vista, baby!” coined by none other than the terminator himself Arnold Schwarzenegger. I can remember so many people repeating this and countless parodies of it ensued. One liners are like the match that sets of the heaping mountain of explosives sitting directly on top of the main bad guys forehead and is always the most memorable part of any action movie. Everything builds up that one moment and a One liner personifies the climax of an action movie. Nothing is more manly than being able bust one of these volatile explosion starters out when you need to and flex those rippling muscles of manly genius.

However, at the end of the day talk is cheap and there’s only one thing left to do, kick some ass. The single most important thing about any and all action flicks is that the answer to everything no matter what, is either punching, shooting, blowing up, or down right annihilating everything in your way. It’s the action hero code of conduct. If there isn’t a way out, fight your way out, if your opponent is smarting than you punch him in the head and give him brain damage, if you’re outnumbered you’re never outnumbered just kick all their asses, and finally, when all else fails just dig deep down into the pits of your primal and beastly reserves of manly fortitude and find a way to blow something up in a fiery and spectacular way and MAKE everything else work. In any true action movie, violence isn’t just the answer, it’s the ONLY answer. So sack up some balls of steel, grab the nearest sexy woman near you, and go get your daily dose of pure unrefined testosterone driven thrill ride of mega explosions and manliness and go see an action flick today!