How important is the MA element in all action films

[suicide]

MA is in every movie now in days :angel:

 

[astrobiologist]

I would say that there is definitely fight choreography in most of the best action films these days.

I love watching choreographed fighting in films. You see some crazy stuff, but a lot of it just looks so unreal. I prefer fight scenes that are totally convincing.

 

[terryl965]

I just hate them they are so preditable, 12 against one and the one always wins. What a movie line.

 

[MA-Caver]

I just hate them they are so predictable, 12 against one and the one always wins. What a movie line.

Agreed, but with the right fight choreographer (like Wo Ping) they can be really fun to watch.
But it does get old if it's written without real cause to fight. Otherwise if they put it in there because it's a pre-requisite or they think that they need to fill in the 2-4 minutes in between dialogue then... ehh.. but it shouldn't always have to be a Martial Arts...

 

[chinto]

Ok, done right, it can make or brake a good action film depending on the sequence. done badly, it can make that film unwatchable.

that said there does not always have to be a hand to hand combat seen in the film. but, that said, I like to think that they are a good thing to have.

 

[Andy Moynihan]

Unless it is marketed specifically as a MA film, not very.

 

[Phoenix44]

Did you ever notice that martial arts seems to defeat every vampire, zombie, demon and other preternatural creature? What's that about?

 

[Aiki Lee]

Did you ever notice that martial arts seems to defeat every vampire, zombie, demon and other preternatural creature? What's that about?

I'm sure that it's all based in reality. I'm attending a self-defense seminar for werewolves next month, actually.

Jokes aside, I like more realistic martial arts in flims like the bourne series or dark knight, and tend to want to gouge out my eyes everytime I see a wire fu movie. Don't get me wrong, wires are fine in some cases, but they should be used to enhance a stunt man's skill not replace it.

 

[zDom]

I just hate them they are so preditable, 12 against one and the one always wins. What a movie line.

FWIW, I've been attacked by multiple attackers many times over my lifetime.

Fighting multiple attackers and winning is a lot easier than you would think.

For one thing, depending on their size and where you are, only 3 or 4 can get within striking distance at any one time — and those guys are likely to get in each other's way.

And I've seen over and over again that they WILL stand around and "take turns" attacking. Defies logic, but they very often do.

And if the outnumbered guy ATTACKS? They very often scatter. Fast.

Rarely, I've found, do these pack animal types have the brains and/or skills to use their numerical advantage.

I know this isn't always the case, but I have seen it play out in the way I've described over and over and over again.

But the other side of it is, yea: in movies they often script the fights in unrealistic ways.

 

[LordOfWu]

I am a fan of Hong Kong style kung fu movies, I like the wire work and seeing stuff that is physically impossible. I also like very realistic movies where you can see techniques that work, and that are well filmed to be realistic. Movies to me are a chance to suspend reality for a couple of hours, a chance to experience something outside of my normal life.

How important is it? To me, extremely, it's my favorite type of movie. To my wife/mom...eh, not so much. That's movies!

 

[Steve]

I really enjoyed movies like Troy and 300, where there was definitely well choreographed fighting, but the style wasn't Eastern.

I guess it depends upon how you define martial arts. It sounds like you're referring strictly to Eastern Martial Arts.

 

[zDom]

I really enjoyed movies like Troy and 300, where there was definitely well choreographed fighting, but the style wasn't Eastern.

I guess it depends upon how you define martial arts. It sounds like you're referring strictly to Eastern Martial Arts.

I don't know about the OP, but for ME this counts: fight scenes choreographed well, whether armed or unarmed, western or Asian, matter to me when watching films.

Also, and I've gone on and on about this in other threads, I like to SEE what is going on in the fights. Shaky camera bouncing all over showing blurred glimpses of fists and feet flying = crap in my book, lazy film making.