What is action packed? It is not difficult to answer this question. The term denoting this genre is derived from the corresponding English word, which means "action". It is the action, the quick change of external circumstances, the sequence of the most varied adventures that underlies the films of this genre. And everything else fades into the background and is involved only as necessary. It is hardly necessary to take seriously the statements of those who admit to their antipathies to this genre. They either lie or flirt, but the militants watch with constant interest.
What is action for the average viewer?
Perhaps no other cinema genre has such commercial success and such dizzying budgets as various kinds of action films and adventures. The answer to the question of what action is for the average viewer and what is the source of his unquenchable popularity lies in the depths of the subconscious. Perhaps the main thing here is the intersection with the sphere of imaginary being, which the ordinary person is completely deprived of in his everyday existence. This is an accessible window into the world of mortal danger and unpredictable, but dizzying twists of fate. And people want adrenaline. Especially when there is no need to put aside a bag of popcorn or a bottle of beer to get its next dose. Of course, the action genre is far from homogeneous. In all the abundance of works of cinema based on an adventure basis, you can find a considerable number of masterpieces that stand out sharply from the average level.
A very special fate for the main characters of your favorite films. They break out of the scope of the scripts and gain a cult dimension for many people. Entire generations around the world have been brought up on the heroic adventures of the characters of Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger or Jason Statham. A holy place, as you know, is never empty. And some characters will soon be replaced by others, superior to all previous ones in terms of steepness. And they already have to explain to the viewer what action is and how to get out of it as a winner. If possible, not posthumously.
A bit about the evolution of the genre
Adventure films were born simultaneously with the birth of cinema. Entrepreneurial people could not help but appreciate the transcendental commercial potential of this genre, even when it was just a dumb moving picture on an impromptu screen with the same piano accompaniment, changing its tempo depending on the intensity of events on this screen. Further development of the genre was explosive. And it is characteristic here that even well-made films became obsolete quite quickly. Technological progress quickly translated the entire arsenal of special effects into the category of yesterday. But the best action films are forever included in the golden fund of world cinema. They are interesting today. Starting from dumb westerns with galloping cowboys and ending with space fighters overloaded with special effects. The talent of actors, directors and scriptwriters cannot be canceled by any technical means.