Action Movies

Imagine sitting in a semi dark movie theater. You look around and notice the people around you. There are males and females. There are boys and girls. They are young and old. This is because you are in a theater waiting to see the latest blow ‘em up, save the world, action flick. Action movies are the best kind of movies. The genre has something for everyone. They do not require a lot of thought. They are exciting. There is an aspect of fear involved. There is usually some passion and romance. Friendships are forged from fire. The world, or at least a small corner of it, is almost always saved.

            I love movies. Getting lost in a story is therapeutic. The best movies to get lost in are action movies. This is because they do not require a lot of thought. When you see an action movie you are signing a covenant with yourself that you are going to check reality at the door. You have to let yourself believe that aliens have come to take over earth and our only hope is a guy who has never held a gun in his life. You have to truly believe that a person can be thrown fifty feet in an explosion, get up, dust himself off, and fight to the death against killer robots. Sometimes you just need to turn your brain off and let someone else think for you.      

In your average action film there is something for everyone. The movie executives make sure to pander to the greatest common denominator. You are a fan of explosions? We have them. They are bigger and better than any explosion you have ever seen. Are you looking for some eye candy? We have lovely ladies and hunky men for your viewing pleasure. They get lovelier and hunkier every movie. You are looking for good dialogue? We even have that. That is assuming that the movie was written by Joss Whedon. Otherwise dialogue isn’t really our thing. If you are looking for something specific there is an action movie that has it.

Action movies are exciting. There is always some sort of nail biting, edge of your seat action happening. This is why they are called action movies. Depending on the movie you can have car chases, aliens, a guy surfing on the wing of a plane, or a superhero. Sometimes, if you are really lucky, all of those are in the same movie. In action movies everyone is always on the brink of death. I believe this causes the audiences hormones to surge. The men are overcome with testosterone fueled emotions. The women’s protective instincts come to the forefront.

There is also an aspect of fear-fueled adrenal responses. The really good action movies lead you into a sense of calm and quiet. One of the characters believes that things are just fine when the wall behind them explode. The lead character thinks that the monster is dead and things have calmed down when suddenly something jumps out of the dark. The audience jumps in their seats and hearts are pounding. This scene has triggered their fight or flight response. The adrenaline kicks in and they are prepared. Prepared to either fight the threat or run screaming from the room. This kick of adrenaline is actually addictive. It is why thrill rides are so popular. It is why we keep coming back to these movies.

This aspect of danger and fear brings out passion onscreen. The passions are stirred. The kisses are hot. Women are swooning in the theaters. There is nothing quite like that “we are going to die in the next five minutes” kiss. The relationships are hot and fast. This is not a very strong foundation for a relationship. No wonder the relationships never make it to the sequels.

This passion also comes out in the form of friendship. As J.K. Rowling says in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets “There are some things you can’t share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.” These friendships that are forged in fire seem to have a much better chance of surviving than the romantic relationships. Knowing that your friend will have your back and will die for you makes for a rock solid friendship.

Finally, there is the reason we all go to the movies. We want to see the happy ending. We want to see the underdog triumph over unbelievable odds. We want to see the aliens get blasted out of the sky. We want to see the hero and heroine standing in the rubble, smoke billowing behind them, the music swelling, and the credits rolling on a kiss. We want to see the little boy waving the American flag while the fighter jets fly overhead. I believe this is because our country was founded on turmoil and strife. We as Americans have always overcome the odds and arose from the ashes like a phoenix. These movies are a metaphor for the American dream.

Action movies bring us all together on an even plain. Together, in the theater, for a couple of hours we are fighting to save the world. We are watching relationships and friendships bloom. We are biting our nails with excitement and cowering in fear. We run through the full range of emotions. We have not had to use any brain power that was not required for the basic human functions of breathing and digesting. Everyone got out of the movie what they came for. The lights come up and you look around. No longer do you see men and women or boys and girls. You see fellow survivors. Ladies and Gentlemen, congratulations, you have saved the world once again. I’ll see you at the movies.