History of Action Movies

If you love movies with lots of high-speed car chases, martial arts fights,
gun battles, and big explosions, you're a fan of action movies. This genre
includes superhero movies like the Batman and X-Men movies, spy movies
like the James Bond and Mission Impossible, martial arts movies like
Japanese samurai movies and Chinese kung fu movies, and action-packed
thrillers like the Fast and Furious and Mad Max movies. The most
successful action movies are usually from major Hollywood studios like
Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Sony Pictures. These are the
movies with enormous budgets, the most famous actors, the most
expensive special effects, and the most spectacular action scenes.
Millions of action movie fans worldwide flock to see them as soon as
they're released.

To create these special effects and spectacular action scenes, directors

use CGI which means computer-generated images. When we see a
superhero like Spider-Man swinging from building to building or an entire
city collapsing and burning, we're probably watching scenes created with
CGI. Before the invention of CGI, directors had to film real explosions and
fires started by experts in pyrotechnics. They had to use specially-trained
actors to perform dangerous stunts like jumping from moving trains and
falling off speeding motorbikes. While these older techniques are
sometimes still used, most of the special effects and stunts we see
nowadays are created with CGI.

Action movies are usually about a conflict between a hero or a group of

heroes and one or more villains. In the Batman movies, for example,
Batman's the hero, always in conflict with a criminal who's the villain. We
see them trying to defeat one another in exciting action scenes, but we also
see other scenes that build up to and follow from these scenes. Movies like
these almost always reach a climax near the end, in which the hero and the
villain meet for a final battle. This climax usually includes some of the
movie's most spectacular scenes and special effects.
Since the invention of CGI, more and more action films have been based on
comic-book superheroes like Superman, Batman, and The X-Men. Before
CGI, directors found it difficult to create realistic scenes of superheroes
using their superhuman powers. Still, with CGI, they can make it look like
Superman is flying between buildings and crashing through walls.
Big-budget action movies like these are often followed by a sequel in which
the same hero faces new enemies or an archenemy they've been in conflict
for a long time. If a movie has many sequels, they form a series like the
X-Men series.

Not all action movies feature heroes and villains. Some feature anti-heroes
like Rambo and Mad Max, who face terrible dangers and will do whatever
they must to survive. Anti-heroes don't have all the good qualities of a hero
like James Bond, but we still enjoy watching them face these dangers and
battle against others who are also trying to survive. Most action movie fans
don't care if the main character is a hero or an anti-hero. If the story is good,
the special effects are excellent, and the action scenes are exciting, fans
will leave the cinema satisfied.

Word List

anti-hero (noun): a central character without the qualities of a typical hero -

If I need an actor to play an anti-hero, I'll get Tom Hardy.

archenemy (also "nemesis") (noun): a hero's biggest enemy - Will Sherlock

Holmes finally defeat his archenemy, Moriarty?

big-budget (adjective): well-funded, with lots of money for production - My

son loves those big-budget Hollywood movies.

CGI (noun): computer-generated imagery used in film and TV production -

Those old movies were made without CGI, you know.

climax (noun): the moment when something reaches its most incredible
intensity - She finally defeats her enemy in the climax near the end.

conflict (noun): a severe disagreement between people or groups - The

story's about a conflict between two street gangs.
hero (female: heroine) (noun): the main character with good or "heroic"
qualities - Brad's the hero, and Angelina's the heroine.

kung fu (noun): Chinese martial art in which hands and feet are used as
weapons - Was Bruce Lee a kung fu champion in real life?

martial art (noun): an Asian fighting style such as judo, karate, kung fu, and
taekwondo - I only like the fight scenes in martial arts films.

pyrotechnics (noun): fireworks and explosions for entertainment - Before

CGI, experts in pyrotechnics staged explosions.

samurai (noun): traditional Japanese warrior who worked as a guard or a

soldier - Those samurai swords are incredibly sharp.

sequel (noun): a book or movie that continues the story of an earlier one - If
a film's success, they usually make a sequel.

series (noun): a set of books, films, or TV shows with the same main
characters - How many movies are there in the James Bond series?

special effect (also "FX") (noun): a unique or strange visual effect, usually
CGI - The special effects in the space scenes were impressive.

spectacular (adjective): extremely impressive or visually amazing - The

action scenes were spectacular!

spy movie (noun): a movie about secret agents and espionage - Those
Mission Impossible films are spy movies, aren't they?

star (verb): to be the main actor or actress in a movie or TV show - It's an

action film starring Hugh Jackman and Jennifer Lawrence.

stunt (noun): a dangerous act performed by a highly-trained stuntman or

stuntwoman - If you try doing these stunts at home, you'll hurt yourself.

superhero (noun): a hero in comic books, movies, etc., with special powers
who does good in the world - My favorite superhero is Superman.
thriller (noun): a book or film that tells an exciting story with lots of action
and suspense - Drive is an exciting, action-packed thriller.

villain (noun): the most essential bad or evil character in a story - Anthony
Hopkins is great at playing villains.

Question

1. In an action movie, the _______ is usually a spectacular battle between

the hero and the villain near the end of the movie.

a)stunt
b)sequel
c)climax

2. A villain who's repeatedly in conflict with the same hero over a series of
movies can be called the hero's

a) archenemy
b) anti-hero
c) supervillain

3. Which are in the martial arts sub-genre of action films?

a) gangster films
b) spy movies
c) kung fu films

4. What did you know about invention of CGI