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An Introduction to Action-Cinema

24 August 2023 Tico Romao

This website aims to answer that question by taking an action scenario approach and combining it with an empirical analysis of action in films.

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How to Analyze Action in Film

22 December 2023 Tico Romao

In this post, I will summarize the methods I have employed when analyzing action moments and how I go about quantifying them.

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13 Assassins (2010)

7 November 2023 Tico Romao

Amongst the longest action sequences in film history, the town battle at the end of 13 Assassins (2010) is astonishing in many ways.

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A Better Tomorrow (1986)

31 October 2023 Tico Romao

A Better Tomorrow (1986) is often cited as the progenitor of the 1980s heroic bloodshed cycle that set the template for the films to come later in the production trend.

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The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

24 August 2023 Tico Romao

The climactic action sequence of the film consists of a battle between Prince John, and his guards, against Robin Hood, his merry men, King Richard the Lion-Heart, and his supporters.

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Attack (1956)

13 April 2024 Tico Romao

Combat films are usually noted for the showcasing of battle sequences, normally situated in outdoor settings. However, Attack (1956) was based on Norman Brooks 1954 play Fragile Fox. Robert Aldrich decided to retain the theatrical dimension of the story by having the narrative focus of the German Advance sequence on the drama taking place inside the command post while the action scenarios instead primarily serve as exterior background context.

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Back to Bataan (1945)

19 April 2024 Tico Romao

Like other combat films of the period, Back to Bataan (1945) relies heavy on sound design to help shape the auditory and visual space of the battle field. In addition, depictions of violence in combat films also were constrained by the strictures of the Production Code. As a result, certain scenes of potential graphic violence in the film are rendered off screen, in shadow, or only the aftermath is presented.

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Bad Boys II (2003)

4 May 2025 Tico Romao

The Haitian heist sequence is among the longest action sequences appearing in the first act of a film. At close to a 15-minute running time, the sequence takes up more than 37% of the first act, creating an unusual 2-3-4-1 action structure in which over 61% of the total action in the film is placed within its first 40 minutes. In terms of action scenarios, the sequence primarily consists of an attempted heist that segues into an extended and highly destructive pursuit.

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Batman (1989)

31 December 2023 Tico Romao

The sequence has distinct plotlines that primarly follow the story paths of Batman, the Joker and Vicki Vale. What is noteworthy is that not only do these plotlines converge as a means to signal to the viewer that the sequence is coming to its climax but also the converge is executed on the planes of action.

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The Birth of a Nation (1915)

9 June 2024 Tico Romao

To fully understand the climactic Clansmen Rescue sequence in The Birth of a Nation (1915) it is necessary to first situate it in relation to the film’s overall racist ideological project. As a Civil War film, it overlooks the socioeconomic and political differences between the North and the South. Instead, the film proposes that the seeds of the conflict rested with the racial difference between whites and blacks and when the natural right of the former to rule over the latter was challenged by radical and misguided politicians. The Clansmen Rescue sequence supports this project by exploiting the moral valence of the rescue scenario. The sequence portrays the Ku Klux Klan as a heroic force that vanquishes Silas Lynch and his Black militia from control over the town of Piedmont.

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Black Panther (2018)

24 August 2023 Tico Romao

The second-longest action sequence of the film commences in a casino in Busan, South Korea, in which T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Okoye (Danai Gurira) seek to capture Ulysses Klaue, a black-market arms dealer, who is due to meet up with Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman) a CIA operative.

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The Black Pirate (1926)

17 February 2024 Tico Romao

A feature of seafaring folklore, walking the plank was a mode of execution that extends as far back to popular writings on pirates in the 1700s. It is also a distinct variant of the fight scenario that is unique to the swashbuckler film. The walk the plank scenario appears in The Black Pirate (1926) and exhibits all the conventions associated with its event schemata.

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Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

15 November 2023 Tico Romao

The final police raid that ends the 3rd section of the film coincides with what in screenwriting theory is labelled the all-is-lost moment.

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The Bourne Supremacy (2004)

4 October 2023 Tico Romao

The Moscow pursuit sequence is without a doubt the major action set piece of the film, if not amongst the best action sequences in the entire Bourne franchise.

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Carter (2022)

16 December 2023 Tico Romao

The are several aspects of Carter (2022) that make it stand out from other entries in contemporary action cinema.

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The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936)

28 April 2024 Tico Romao

The final act set piece of The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) is at once celebrated for the scale of the recreation of the Battle of Balaclava and notorious for the claimed number of horses injured or killed during its production. The sequence is unique beyond its reputation from an action scenario standpoint. The sequence is structured in terms of acceleration and a possesses a deadline structure that is interspersed with spectacular stunts.

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Dirty Harry (1971)

29 March 2024 Tico Romao

The ransom rescue sequence in Dirty Harry (1971) clearly reveals how filmmakers can innovate the rescue scenario. On the hand, the sequence exhibits the prototypical character roles associated with the rescue scenario. The sequence features the captive — the kidnapped girl buried in the ground, the rescuer — Inspector Harry Callahan entrusted to deliver the ransom, and the captor — Scorpio the kidnapper who demands $200,000 in ransom for the release of the girl. On the other hand, the rescuing action presented in the sequence takes on a significantly different form. Instead of literally liberating the captive from their state of captivity, the rescuer in this instance provides a ransom to the captor in the belief that they will follow through on the release of the captive.

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Dodge City (1939)

10 February 2024 Tico Romao

One of the most interesting features of action scenarios is their ability to adapt to the genres in which they are situated. This is specifically the case with the western and how it refashions the speed, fight and transfer scenarios. All such genre specific variations can be found in Dodge City (1939), including the saloon brawl, a staple of the western genre.

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Dredd (2012)

17 October 2023 Tico Romao

Dredd (2012) is a dystopian sci-fi action film historically placed in an unspecified future. It also is noteworthy for staging action along the y-axis, a feature representative of a broader trend that film scholar Kristen Whissel described as the new verticality in contemporary cinema.

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Dr. No (1962)

6 April 2024 Tico Romao

As the first installment on the James Bond franchise, Dr. No (1962) set the narrative template for the films that followed. One convention that the film lays down is a final act set piece in which Bond foils the plans of the antagonist through a set of actions that normally involves the explosion of their facility.

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Tenet (2020)

3 July 2024 Tico Romao Action Profiles, United States, Superhero Film, Kenneth Branagh, Elizabeth Debicki, Christopher Nolan, 2020, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Robert Pattinson, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, John David Washington Leave a comment

Tenet (2020) is without a doubt among the most innovative espionage-sci-fi films ever produced. While time travel in sci-fi films is not new, the film features technology that can reverse entropy permitting objects and characters to travel backwards in time. This premise departs from the standard ways time travel is depicted in film, namely by presenting scenes where objects and characters traveling forward through time interact with objects and characters traveling in the reverse temporal direction. The film’s action scenarios are given a novel twist as a result of this narrative premise. In the film, fights, battles, and rescues feature forward and reversed temporality fundamentally altering the narrative logic of these action scenarios and extending what can be imaginatively conceived when staging action for the screen.

Thunderball (1965)

24 August 2023 Tico Romao Action Profiles, Espionage, United Kingdom, 1965, Sean Connery, Terence Young Leave a comment

The underwater battle sequence is the action highlight of the film and is a significant set-piece within the James Bond franchise as well.

The Wild Bunch (1969)

21 January 2024 Tico Romao Action Profiles, United States, Ernest Borgnine, Western, 1969, Sam Peckinpah, Emilio Fernández, William Holden, Bo Hopkins, Ben Johnson, L.Q. Jones, Strother Martin, Warren Oates, Edmond O'Brien, Robert Ryan, Jaime Sánchez 2 comments

Despite being a late entry into the western genre, given its long history, The Wild Bunch (1969) manifests action scenario variations revealing how they are shaped by genre. Amongst the most notable of these is the dragged-by-a-horse stunt, a variation of the speed scenario, that often showcases its danger for both stuntperson and character.

X-Men (2000)

6 October 2023 Tico Romao Action Profiles, United States, Superhero Film, 2000, Bryan Singer, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart Leave a comment

The Liberty Island battle set piece is an exemplar of the extended action sequence, given its 19-minute plus duration.