I'm not sure what makes The Matrix an action movie and not Winter Soldier or Iron Man.

Pew pew splosions = action movie

Bruce Almighty said:

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I'm not sure what makes The Matrix an action movie and not Winter Soldier or Iron Man.

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Maybe the G rated violence of the MCU.

I dont particularly consider car chase films "action films" even though action requires movement and cars move.

That's part of it, but not all of it. Bloodsport doesnt really have explosions.

PatAg said:

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That's part of it, but not all of it. Bloodsport doesnt really have explosions.

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That brick sploded at the dim mak demonstration.

Bruce Almighty said:

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I'm not sure what makes The Matrix an action movie and not Winter Soldier or Iron Man.

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I feel like Action in the Marvel movies is a tool for the plot, rather than being the plot itself. Also, with superhero's as soon as you get into super powers, it starts feeling like a fantasy movie and not an action movie.

I don't think the actor has to do all the stunts to get credit, as long as they're believably selling the action moments that their character is in. Harrison Ford may not be hanging off the side of a tank, but Indy is, and it cuts to Ford many times throughout, so he has me reasonably convinced that he's really doing the stuff.

Regarding MCU, I think some of that applies. Chris Evans has a stunt double, but he also does a fair amount of his own work. Think about the times he fights without a helmet on. A fair chunk of that is him. Full credit.

CGI is where it gets a bit more tricky. RDJ would absolutely get credit for Iron Man 3, for example, but should not for Spider-Man: Homecoming. Iron Man makes two appearances in Homecoming - one is via remote control and the other may as well be until he steps out onto the rooftop. But there aren't even any shots of his face in the suit's UI until then.

All the DC superheroes would get credit, but the line gets a little blurry for Iron Man or characters that are 100% CGI. In my opinion.

Where's Jackie Chan on the list?!

ATM9000 said:

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Bruce Almighty said:

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I'm not sure what makes The Matrix an action movie and not Winter Soldier or Iron Man.

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I feel like Action in the Marvel movies is a tool for the plot, rather than being the plot itself. Also, with superhero's as soon as you get into super powers, it starts feeling like a fantasy movie and not an action movie.

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You can make all those same arguments with The Matrix. Does Neo not become super-powered? People get stuck on thinking movies have to fit under one genre, but most movies do not. Superhero movies are a sub genre of action just like The Matrix would fall under sci-fi action.

Even in-story, Tony Stark is not even in the suit for the best action scene in IM3.

Bruce Almighty said:

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ATM9000 said:

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Bruce Almighty said:

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I'm not sure what makes The Matrix an action movie and not Winter Soldier or Iron Man.

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I feel like Action in the Marvel movies is a tool for the plot, rather than being the plot itself. Also, with superhero's as soon as you get into super powers, it starts feeling like a fantasy movie and not an action movie.

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You can make all those same arguments with The Matrix. Does Neo not become super-powered? People get stuck on thinking movies have to fit under one genre, but most movies do not. Superhero movies are a sub genre of action just like The Matrix would fall under sci-fi action.

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True... but I also don't think The Matrix was so animation heavy that most of the sequences just start looking like elaborate video games either.

And most superhero movies still tend to be heavier on building the mythology of characters vs. focused on the action itself. Same reason I agree with the poster above that Star Wars isn't really an action movie. As a rule of thumb, anytime that the characters in the movie feel bigger than the movie itself, I'm going to say that isn't an action movie at that point but rather a fantasy/mythology movie. Superhero movies are just modern day mythologies.

Your immediate retort to that will be what about a movie like John Wick? John Wick is mostly about John Wick using his skills to get out of a bad situation... it isn't just a couple of hours hyping his skills and superpowers like the Marvel movies.

Charles Bronson

It's hard not to give this to Tom Cruise. Kind of a loon in real life but probably the greatest movie (not only action) star of all time and still going strong.

The fact that he's done so many of his own stunts at his age is GD impressive as well.

Blanco Ag said:

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Using this criteria Orlando Bloom should get an honorable mention.

3 LOTR's, 2 Hobbits, 4 Pirates of the Caribbean, Kingdom of Heaven, Troy. At least 4 of those is >8.0 on IMDB.

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Also in Black Hawk Down.