11 replies to this topic

[QuiteContrary]

I realize spy/law enforcement action movies have always been about stunts that are out of human reach. As well as stamina and a steel anatomy that defies nature. And indestructible "everyday" vehicles the auto industry has never or will never manufacture.  But does any one else, like me, find the more and more impossible the stunts get and the more and more immortal the main characters, it just ruins the point of the action flick in the first place?

What I mean is, don't you want to be that character as you watch. Isn't that why we watch?
It is the vicarious thrills, something none of will ever experience, that makes these movies attractive.
Whether to be the hero or the antagonist.

I find action movies I once enjoyed, I actually get bored during the heavily touted action scenes.

Anyone else?

Edited by QuiteContrary, 14 February 2013 - 02:54 AM.

[Sean93]

The 80's action movies are more ridiculous than the modern day action movies. Just watch an Arnie or Van-Damme flick and prepare to laugh your balls of at their sheer indestructible bodies.

I like the action in films like Bourne - The action and fights/ chases etc. are all believable and the fights are really claustrophobic and dirty as oppose to being these big slow-mo, bullet dodging extravaganza's - Refer to the scene in Ultimatum when Bourne fights Desh in the apartment bathroom.

Still, I love the old 80's flicks, hilarious night in. Segal...lulz. I think we need those OTT action films though, for the entertainment they provide.

[QuiteContrary]

Sean93, on 14 February 2013 - 04:41 AM, said:

The 80's action movies are more ridiculous than the modern day action movies. Just watch an Arnie or Van-Damme flick and prepare to laugh your balls of at their sheer indestructible bodies.

I like the action in films like Bourne - The action and fights/ chases etc. are all believable and the fights are really claustrophobic and dirty as oppose to being these big slow-mo, bullet dodging extravaganza's - Refer to the scene in Ultimatum when Bourne fights Desh in the apartment bathroom.

Still, I love the old 80's flicks, hilarious night in. Segal...lulz. I think we need those OTT action films though, for the entertainment they provide.

You're right, with all the movies out there, I did make a sweeping generalization, that can be easily argued against.

I realize it's Hollywood and reality is not their foremost intent in these movies. Maybe I'm just looking at them differently than I would have in the past? Idk.

But I do find some of the stunts today (not fighting) just too over the top, for my enjoyment.

As far as fighting, fist fights are one thing, but with elbows and kicks and knees and submission holds taken to the breaking point, I just don't see the reality.

And it seems the less important a fight scene or characters involved the more realistic the length/damage of the fight. And the more important the fight scene and characters the less realistic the length/damage of the fight.

But, having witnessed only street fist fights, and not having witnessed every fighting style imaginable between two bodies of steel out to kill each other, I can't say what reality might be/look like.

Hey, It's Hollywood, I Know.

Edited by QuiteContrary, 14 February 2013 - 06:36 AM.

[Paranoid Android]

QuiteContrary, on 14 February 2013 - 02:50 AM, said:

I realize spy/law enforcement action movies have always been about stunts that are out of human reach. As well as stamina and a steel anatomy that defies nature. And indestructible "everyday" vehicles the auto industry has never or will never manufacture.  But does any one else, like me, find the more and more impossible the stunts get and the more and more immortal the main characters, it just ruins the point of the action flick in the first place?

What I mean is, don't you want to be that character as you watch. Isn't that why we watch?
It is the vicarious thrills, something none of will ever experience, that makes these movies attractive.
Whether to be the hero or the antagonist.

I find action movies I once enjoyed, I actually get bored during the heavily touted action scenes.

Anyone else?

Can you give us an example or two of what you think is an over-the-top fight in modern films?

Edited by Paranoid Android, 14 February 2013 - 06:33 AM.

[QuiteContrary]

Paranoid Android, on 14 February 2013 - 06:33 AM, said:

Can you give us an example or two of what you think is an over-the-top fight in modern films?

I was referring to stunts in my OP, not fighting. I just got done watching MI:Ghost Protocol. Cruise's stint outside the Dubai tower is an example.

As far as fights, when you have fists and fewer deadly moves, I can see the fighters walking away.

But now it is all about extreme, ultimate fighters, male and female, with more moves than Michael Jackson. And yet they walk away or live after lengthy fighting.
Each move serves a deadly or incapacitating purpose, or so we are led to believe that would be the case.
If these are trained killers, they need more training.

Unless of course a struggle involves an unimportant character, who gets taken out in a more realistic way and time frame.

Imo there just seems to be too much stamina, hardened bodies with thick bones and ineffectual moves that should not be ineffectual, for me to take seriously.
But as I said above, having never witnessed a fight between two ultimate fighters out to kill each other, what do I know?  
And maybe I've just started to look at action movies differently than I ever did.

But the bad guys with guns have never been able to hit the road even if it came up to meet them, so it all fits,  a la Hollywood.

Edited by QuiteContrary, 14 February 2013 - 07:25 AM.

[EllJay]

Jackie Chan is someone I beleive took pride in doing most of his stunts, unless it was some suicide-prone scene that took special training, like being lit on fire etc.

Seeing some sluggers going at eachothers bodies with baseball-bats and kicked in the head 15 times ceased to amuse after I was 10 years old, unless when it is "nice" fighting", which mean nicely choreographed, which many movies are. The Bourne-movies (as mentioned above) I can watch over and over for just that thing. Same for many martial-arts movies. Its like ballet. Jackie Chan, Jet Li etc.
The general slug-fest is boring though.

Another thing,- I dont know if it is some women-lib, feminist-got-to-kick-some-balls kind of thing that is mandatory in scripting these days, a sort of union-regulation or something- but what is more ridiculous than having two 260p/120Kg steroid-pumped guys bashing each-others head for a lengthy time??..well I tell ya,.. a 100p/45kg women doing it to those two guys. A petite girl/women with a waistline the size of one of the guys wrists would not fare well if any of them decided to sneeze a bit forceful IRL.

I know it's there to create feminist role-models, ´women-can` sort of thing, kick 5 guys in the balls without breaking a sweat. It's all fine and dandy in sci-fi flicks, extended powers and all that, (except no girl ever gets to kick Hulk's ass, that's the law ).  But in "regular" movies it just gets " *yawn*, wake me when you finished making your point". When a women in a fight use cleverness and outsmart a man it is at least intelligent and more likely a possible outcome, but in cases as mentioned above, it's just laughable and pandering.

Speaking of incredible stunts, I wonder if someone here remember this scene? It is a guy in a car driving through a park full off people and he comes to a small narrow bridge over a stream. The bridge has some concrete and steel railings and at the top of the bridge the car meets this guy on a bicycle. In a split of a second this guy on the bike folds and lay down the bike and manage to squeeze his body between the small gap of the concrete and steel-railings one millisecond before the car smashes the bike. It actually looks authentic and made on the spot, but I wonder who would have done such a stunt. I think it was in some Arnold Schwarzenegger-movie, or if it was in one of the Beverly Hills Cop movies or something.
Anyone here remember that scene?

[Paranoid Android]

QuiteContrary, on 14 February 2013 - 07:24 AM, said:

I was referring to stunts in my OP, not fighting.

And so you were.  I apologise, I was sidetracked by a comment made in a follow-up post.  Can you give an example of what you think is an over-the-top stunt then?

[QuiteContrary]

Paranoid Android, on 16 February 2013 - 04:37 AM, said:

And so you were.  I apologise, I was sidetracked by a comment made in a follow-up post.  Can you give an example of what you think is an over-the-top stunt then?

I said Cruise outside the Dubai tower in MI 3:Ghost Protocol.

[Hazzard]

This has always been one of my favorite stunts,... from back in the days.



http://www.youtube.c...=uds&autoplay=1

[Paranoid Android]

QuiteContrary, on 16 February 2013 - 09:07 AM, said:

I said Cruise outside the Dubai tower in MI 3:Ghost Protocol.

Unfortunately for the discussion in this thread, I haven't seen that movie so can't really say anything about it.  The other Mission Impossible movies I've seen include some pretty unrealistic scenes, so I guess it'd make sense that MI3 continues on with that tradition.  For me, though, action movies should be over-the-top, that's why we watch them.  I'm willing to suspend my disbelief for the sake of clever action (eg, Pirates of the Caribbean).

Edited by Paranoid Android, 16 February 2013 - 12:53 PM.

[QuiteContrary]

Paranoid Android, on 16 February 2013 - 12:52 PM, said:

Unfortunately for the discussion in this thread, I haven't seen that movie so can't really say anything about it.  The other Mission Impossible movies I've seen include some pretty unrealistic scenes, so I guess it'd make sense that MI3 continues on with that tradition.  For me, though, action movies should be over-the-top, that's why we watch them.  I'm willing to suspend my disbelief for the sake of clever action (eg, Pirates of the Caribbean).

Yes. I've always generally enjoyed them in the past too. My favorite over the top is Long Kiss Goodnight.

Nevertheless, I'm finding myself bored by some over the top fights and stunts any more.

That is why I thought maybe lately, I'm just looking at them differently for some reason? Or, my taste is changing?

[ExpandMyMind]

Hazzard, on 16 February 2013 - 10:52 AM, said:

This has always been one of my favorite stunts,... from back in the days.



http://www.youtube.c...=uds&autoplay=1

I don't think this one is even too unrealistic. No CGI, so it must have been preformed by an actual car. Pretty cool stunt.