The Action Genre - Intended Effect and Typical Themes

The intended effect of action films is to entertain and thrill the audience. Action films are designed to keep the audience on the edge of their seats, waiting for fast-paced sequences, intense chase scenes and adrenaline-pumping moments of action. Audiences are transported into an exhilarating world where they can follow the chaotic action and feel the excitement and suspense of the film. Ultimately, audiences go to watch action films to feel the anticipation and leave feeling satisfied after going on a intense high-energy journey.

Typical themes of action films include:

• Good vs Evil - ‘Hero’ battles the ‘villain’ to try and ‘save the day’. Most of the time the audience are shown that good can triumph evil as the hero’s personality and skills allows them to beat the villain.

• Heroism - The protagonist is usually presented as brave and selfless as he has to navigate obstacles so that he can save innocent lives or defeat the villain.

• Revenge - This theme is sometimes presented through either the ‘hero’ or the ‘villain’ as they believe they must get their own back for something wrong done to them or a relative. This leads to a conflict between the two sides and the audience witness the chaos in the film.

• Teamwork - This is an important theme in action films as sometimes people have to work together to achieve their goal and the audience feel a sense of unity after watching them succeed.