Action films are major film genres characterized by non-stop motion, daring stunts, and adventurous heroes. While often financially successful, they are not usually critically acclaimed due to simplistic characters. Some iconic actors of the genre include Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis. Major film studios like Columbia Pictures and Lionsgate have distributed highly profitable action film franchises such as James Bond, The Expendables, and The Matrix.

2. 0 Action films are major genre types which include films that have huge impact,
continuous high energy, lots of physical stunts and activity and possibly
extended scenes such as chases , races, rescues, battles, martial arts,
destructive disasters (floods, explosions, natural disasters, fires, etc.), fights and
escapes.
0 They usually include non-stop motion, spectacular rhythm and pacing, and
adventurous heroes - all designed for pure audience escapism with the action
sequences at the core of the film.
0 Action films and adventure films have tremendous cross-over potential as film
genres, and road films often overlap with action films. Both types of films come in
a variety of forms or genre-hybrids: sci-fi, thrillers, crime-drama, war, horror,
westerns, etc.
0 Oftentimes, action films are great box-office hits, but lack critical appeal because
of their two-dimensional heroes or villains

3. 0 When you think of action films, there are usually patterns of actors that spring to
mind such as Bruce Lee, Steven Seagal, Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, Bruce
Willis, Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Statham and Jean Claude Van
Damme. These are all male action characters and many of them have joined to be in
action films together or as a group such as the film the Expendables which include 6
of the 9 characters listed above.
0 There are however women in action-films. Although women usually play the roles of
accomplices or romantic interests of the hero, although modern action films have
featured strong female characters to broaden demographic appeal.
0 There are many film companies that create action films but there are a few which
stand out from the rest as being leading action film companies. One example of this
is Columbia Pictures who are known for their distribution of action films such as the
James Bond films including Quantum of Solace and Casino Royale.
0 However there are other big film companies that are known for the distribution of
action films such as Lionsgate who are responsible for the distribution of action
films such as The Expendables.
0 Finally Warner Brothers are usually well established in the action film market
dating back a long time with their distribution of the film The Matrix.

4. Sylvester Stallone is an American
action film actor, screenwriter and
film director born in New York in July
1946. Stallone is well known in the
film industry specifically for action
and has most noticeable roles of John
Rambo and Rocky Balboa in the films
Rambo and Rocky respectively. He has
been nominated for best screen play
and best actor awards for the film
Rocky after only Charles Chaplin.

5. 0 Arnold Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-born American actor, filmmaker, activist,
businessman, investor, writer, philanthropist, former professional bodybuilder,
and politician. Schwarzenegger served two terms as the 38th Governor of
California from 2003 until 2011. He is most known for his films such as
terminator and Conan the barbarian.

6. 0 Columbia pictures is an American film production and distribution studio of
the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures
Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the
leading film studios in the world, a member of the so-called Big Six. It was one of
the so-called Little Three among the eight major film studios of
Hollywood's Golden Age.
0 Columbia pictures have many films such as casino royale and 21 jump street.
They have won several awards for their films including the best picture of the
year and best picture Oscar.

7. 0 The Expendables is a 2010 American ensemble action film written by David Callaham and
Sylvester Stallone, and directed by Stallone, who also starred in the lead role.
0 The film co-stars Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Steve
Austin and Mickey Rourke. The film was released in the United States on August 13, 2010. It is
the first installment in The Expendables film series. This was Dolph Lundgren's first
theatrically released film since 1995's Johnny Mnemonic, and Steve Austin's last theatrical
release film until 2013's Grown Ups 2.
0 The film is about a group of elite mercenaries tasked with a mission to overthrow a Latin
American dictator whom they soon discover to be a mere puppet controlled by a ruthless ex-
CIA officer James Munroe. It pays tribute to the blockbuster action films of the late 1980s and
early 1990s. It was distributed by Lionsgate.
0 The Expendables received mixed reviews, praising the action scenes, but criticizing the lack of
story. However, it was commercially successful, opening at number one at the box office in the
United States, the United Kingdom, China and India. A sequel was released on August 17, 2012

8. 0 The Action genre has been round for a long time but the first main films which were created
that had a main genre of action where the James Bond films. According to Guinness World
Records, the most profitable film series of all time is "James Bond" and therefore the film is
most associated with action.
0 Beginning in the Cold War 60s (after restrictions on violence and sex were lifted
somewhat), the slick, escapist Bond action/adventure Spy Films appealed to large
audiences with their exotic, travelogue locales, tongue-in-cheek humour and dialogue, nifty
gadgets and ingenious toys to combat evildoers.
0 The films were mostly favoured by the male audience due to the fast-action suspense and
audacious stunts, and gorgeous scantily-clad sexy women. The action-oriented,
sophisticated and skilful agent, with a taste for fancy clothes (often tuxedos), dry martinis
('shaken, not stirred') and cars (notably the Aston Martin DB5, the Lotus Esprit, and
various BMWs), battled various types of eccentric, deadly and infamous criminals who
planned to assault the world.
0 The intriguing superhero lead role has been played by six actors - Sean Connery, George
Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig.
0 The first James Bond film created was Dr. No which was released in the year 1962 with
Sean Connery playing the role of the hero of Bond himself. Up in till 1981 the films were
distributed by United Artists but from 1983 to present this role has been taken over by the
company MGM.
0 However the first recorded action film was in fact the The Great Train Robbery which was
released in the year 1903, over 100 years ago!!

9. When you think of directors of action films, 9 times out of 10 you will probably say Steven Spielberg or Michael Bay who are
known for the action films that they have directed such as Transformers and Bad Boys for Michael Bay and Indiana Jones and
Jurassic Park for Spielberg but there are some actors who are known for action films that actually direct the films themselves.
Sylvester Stallone is an actor known for directing films that he has been in such as the Expendables, Rambo and Rocky.
There are a few awards which are given out to the best action films such as the broadcast film critics association award for
best Action film, Saturn award for best action film and the Hong Kong best choreography award for action films.
The best film award has seen many action films such as The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), The Treasure of the Sierra
Madre (1948), Airport (1970), Deliverance (1972), The Towering Inferno (1974), Jaws (1975), Raiders of the Lost Ark
(1981), The Right Stuff (1983), The Mission (1986), The Fugitive (1993), and Apollo 13 (1995).
However in general action films do not usually pick up the most awards. Drama films lead the way with almost half of the
awards followed by comedy with 1/5. in fact action is below historical and musical films in the order of most awards won. See
the table below.
Genre 358 Nominees 74 Winners Total: 432 films
Drama 49% 39% 47%
Comedy 18% 14% 17%
Historical/Epic 10% 16% 11%
Musical 8% 11% 8%
Action-Adventure 6% 5% 6%
War 5% 8% 5%
Suspense 3% 3% 3%
Western 2% 4% 2%
Best Picture Nominees by Genre (Chart)
From 1927/8 to 2001