Before I stop myself, here I go. The action genre has been filled with excessive amounts of violence and outrageous plot lines since the get-go. Over time they have generally become more gratuitous in what is shown onscreen, and modern action filmmakers seem to test audiences with incredibly bloody action scenes and exaggerated storylines. By these modern films I mean the prodigies of B-movies and of the Grindhouse era, where exploitation films were shown in shady cinemas. While my favorite films remain those far more realistic and serious than the films mentioned in this piece of writing, there is no doubt that many people find a guilty pleasure in over-the-top action pictures.
Traditional action films originated from the early swashbuckling films of Hollywood. Silent films starring Douglas Fairbanks (among with many other famous silent stars) such as The Mask of Zorro were the first in a progression that led to the modern action film. Next came the emergence of cowboys as heroes, along with a vast line of Western pictures. The 51 films falling under the umbrella of “The Three Mesquiteers” (including 8 films starring John Wayne- such as The Desert Trail) built up the success of Westerns from 1936-43. John Ford was a particularly influential filmmaker of this time, his work on movies like The Stagecoach inspired many other directors to tap into the cowboy genre. Early war movies like All Quiet on the Western Front also began to use the notion of action to entice audiences.
Alfred Hitchcock later introduced audiences to the world of espionage and adventure in film with the release of North by Northwest. In the 1940s cities like New York saw an emergence of small theatres which showed exploitation films, often paired with live dancing girls. These sleazy places were later turned into more credible theatres to show exploitation films in, but the films themselves still contained many elements of everything from pornographic films to slasher films. Modern movies like Machete make reference to the exploitation era, with an almost twisted yet humorous approach. The emergence of Agent 007 in 1962 was the next milestone in mainstream action cinema, with James Bond quickly becoming a hugely successful series, causing the star Sean Connery to become the highest paid actor at the time. These movies were far more acceptable than any exploitation movie and yet they pushed the limits for stunts, action scenes and sex in cinema.
Today, action movies come in all shapes and sizes. From Michael Bay’s horribly done CGI flick Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which lacked any sense of coherency or style, to Drive, a highly stylistic and relatively simplistic film. I’m going to focus primarily on those few over-the-top action movies that often don’t even take themselves seriously. Yes, I’m talking about the Smokin’ Aces and Hobo With A Shotgun type films (actually these two films aren't mentioned again as I believe neither are worthy of re-mentioning).
In the genre of over-the-top action flicks, many are trashy, but some are created with a heightened sense of style. Take into account many of the films by Quentin Tarantino. Kill Bill is excessively violent, as is Reservoir Dogs or Death Proof. All of these are written brilliantly and are directed with confidence and originality, acting as individual exercises on stylistic filmmaking. Another example would be the excellent cinematography and style of Robert Rodriquez’s Sin City. However, for each stylistic and violent movie, there are hundreds of cheesy movies made. Some of these films are actually quite good; take into account guilty pleasures like the Jason Statham-starring Crank.
Robert Rodriquez has always had a flair for the violent, the satirical, the tongue-and-cheek, the gory, and the sexual. His earlier films like From Dusk till Dawn or Desperado displayed a talent at filming cheesy action scenes that were still in some way unique and were entertaining. His contribution to the ‘Grindhouse’ project with Tarantino, Planet Terror, is so over-the-top that it becomes a joke. I have never seen another film have the protagonist lose a limb, only to get a machine gun placed where that appendage previously existed. Luckily, Rodriquez seems to be aware of the trashy quick back to B-movies, purposefully including missing scenes in the film reel.
In 2010 Robert Rodriquez released the film Machete. One of the most outrageous films of the decade, it included the lead character swinging a machete around a room and chopping up enemies, a motorcycle with a chain-gun attachment, and a heroine who gets shot in the eye only to return a few scenes later wearing an eye patch. While it sounds horribly kitsch and cliché – which it is – Machete is also somehow an enjoyable film. Movies that don’t take themselves seriously can be fun, even if they contain absolutely no depth or even character development.
Another prime example would be Shoot ‘Em Up, an action movie so preposterous that we can enjoy it, assuming we are willing to shut down all logical or intellectual functions for the 86-minute duration. Clive Owen leads in this movie that opens with a shootout in which the star delivers a baby while firing off rounds and he uses the gun to cut the umbilical cord. On top of that the protagonist uses a carrot like a multi-tool, reaching for weapons, firing weapons, and even as a weapon itself. A film this over-the-top must not take itself seriously, and luckily director Michael Davis seems to be aware of the tongue-and-cheek aspect of the film, openly mocking all other cliché action films, making it enjoyable despite an utter lack of sustenance.
It can actually be a problem when over-the-top films try to take themselves more seriously. Just look at a movie like Wanted, which I enjoyed, but it didn’t seem to get that it wasn’t serious. Curving bullets aside, the assassins receive their orders from a loom. That alone is ridiculous, and when coupled with the car chase in the Dodge Viper or the end shootout, results in a typical cheesy and violent over-the-top action movie. I’m definitely not trying to say that any of these cheesy films have achieved greatness, if you want a violent film that is also brilliant watch Pulp Fiction, Taxi Driver, or The Godfather. Going against almost all of my opinions about cinema, I'm simply saying that some films can be fun despite their lacking of story or character. Recently many such films have been created, but in only a finite few will you find yourself surprised (or at times ashamed) that you are enjoying yourself.