Right alongside thrillers, action movies (including superhero movies) are the top movie genre in the entire world. With insanely high budgets and A-list celebrities, there is no doubt that these movies rack up the highest box office profits across the movie board, but why? I’ll never understand why these movies get so much credit, and I’ll explain why…
- They Are So Dang Long
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You can’t quickly sit down for an action film. I mean, they’re usually 2 to 3 hours long. If you want to relax and watch a short film, I wouldn’t recommend an action movie. Maybe my attention span has shrunk to the size of a pea, but still: wrap it up already!
- You Can’t Double Task
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I’ll admit it, I’m the friend who’s always on her phone during a movie, doing dishes, or talking about something completely unrelated to the movie with the people next to me. During an action movie, you have to be completely focused on the storyline- or else you probably won’t understand anything. You’ll be like: who’s this guy? Why are they in the car? Where are they going? Why does this guy have a huge scar on his face? And I’ll be honest: I never know.
- They All Seem Identical
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There are always some guys who are good, some guys who are bad, and the good guys end up overpowering the bad guys, even though all odds are against them. You can probably think of about 20 action movies off the top of your head right now with that exact plotline. Don’t lie to yourself. It just gets old!
- Plot Holes Galore
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Remember those questions you had in your head about certain characters? Yeah, well you’ll probably never really understand the “why’s” or the “what’s” unless you watch the film over and over again.
- There’s Always A Love Story
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Why does everything have to involve a love story? A good film shouldn’t have to wrap its audience into a love story. Unless that’s the whole point of the movie. I always ask myself when I’m (rarely) watching action movies: How do these characters even have time for relationships? Seriously, though, how does someone who’s trying to save the world from falling into a million pieces have time for love? I’m just an average college student and I don’t even have time for it.
- Weak Woman/Strong Man Trope
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Ahh, here comes the knight in shining armor to come and save his lady from turmoil. Nothing new. It seems as if action movies are only focused around a man going after a woman, but what about a strong woman saving a man? Of course, we have some strong leading ladies in action movies, but they are never seen as a true hero, and even if they are, they aren’t doing it alone. They have help from a man. Come on! We’re pretty tough, too.
- They’re Kinda Boring
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Yeah, I know, they’re supposed to be the most exciting movies and to most people, they are! But when the characters are done punching each other in the face, they’re having an hour-long conversation with some “other guy” about something (probably important) remarkably boring. In simpler terms, action movies are only good for their action.
- The Same Actors Are Casted
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Paramount Pictures How many action films have Scarlett Johansen, Mark Wahlberg, or The Rock? Too many to count. I personally like to see new actors given roles, fresh faces on the big screen. It gets old seeing the same few A-list celebrities cast in movies.
You may feel the same way that I do about action films, or you might be sitting there with steam coming out of your ears and eyes. Either way, I think we can all agree that action movies are often only interesting during the “action-y” parts.