Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life-threatening situations, an indestructible villain, or a pursuit which usually concludes in victory for the hero.
Speed is a 1994 American action film directed by Jan de Bont and written by Graham Yost. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Joe Morton, and Jeff Daniels. Its story revolves around a bus that is rigged by a terrorist to explode if its speed falls below 50 miles per hour.
Alias is an American action thriller and science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC for five seasons from September 30, 2001, to May 22, 2006. It stars Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow, a double agent for the Central Intelligence Agency posing as an operative for SD-6, a worldwide criminal and espionage organization. Main co-stars throughout all five seasons included Michael Vartan as Michael Vaughn, Ron Rifkin as Arvin Sloane, and Victor Garber as Jack Bristow.
Last Action Hero is a 1993 American fantasy action comedy film directed and produced by John McTiernan and co-written by Shane Black and David Arnott. It is a satire of the action genre and associated clichés, containing several parodies of action films in the form of films within the film. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Jack Slater, a Los Angeles police detective within the Jack Slater action film franchise, while Austin O'Brien co-stars as Danny Madigan, a boy magically transported into the Slater universe, and Charles Dance as Mr. Benedict, a ruthless assassin from the Slater universe who escapes to the real world. Schwarzenegger also served as the film's executive producer and plays himself as the actor portraying Jack Slater. The film also marked Art Carney and Tina Turner's last feature film before their deaths in 2003 and 2023 respectively.
The Long Kiss Goodnight is a 1996 American action thriller film co-produced and directed by Renny Harlin, and produced by Shane Black and Stephanie Austin with screenplay written by Black. It stars Geena Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Amandes, Yvonne Zima, Brian Cox, Patrick Malahide, Craig Bierko and David Morse. The story follows an amnesiac schoolteacher (Davis) who sets out to recover her identity with the help of a private detective (Jackson) when they discover a dark conspiracy.
Leonard Part 6 is a 1987 American spy parody film. It was directed by Paul Weiland and starred Bill Cosby, who also produced the film and wrote its story. The film also starred Gloria Foster as the villain, and Joe Don Baker. The film was shot in the San Francisco Bay Area. It earned several Golden Raspberry Awards; Cosby himself denounced and disowned it in the press in the weeks leading up to its release.
Invasion U.S.A. is a 1985 American action film produced by Cannon Films, and starring Chuck Norris. It was directed by Joseph Zito. It involves the star fighting off a force of Soviet/Cuban-led guerrillas.
The Specialist is a 1994 American action thriller film directed by Luis Llosa and starring Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone, James Woods, Eric Roberts, and Rod Steiger. It is loosely based on "The Specialist" series of novels by John Shirley. The film was met with negative critical response, but became a box office success, and Gloria Estefan's version of "Turn the Beat Around" became a dance sensation, becoming #1 on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart.
Bo Svenson is a Swedish-American actor, film director, film producer, published author and award winning screenwriter, known for his roles in American genre films of the 1970s and 1980s.
Nemesis is a 1992 American cyberpunk action film directed by Albert Pyun and starring Olivier Gruner, Tim Thomerson, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Yuji Okumoto, Marjorie Monaghan, Brion James and Deborah Shelton. Set in a near future world populated by androids, the film centers on Alex Rain (Gruner), a cybernetically-enhanced, ex-counterterrorism operative charged by his former employers with assassinating his former lover, the leader of an underground militant group. This is the first installment in the Nemesis film series, and was followed by four direct sequels and a spinoff film. After premiering in Japan, it was released in the United States by Imperial Entertainment in January 1993.
Cracker Jack is a snack consisting of caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts.
Bad Company is a 2002 American action-comedy film directed by Joel Schumacher, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and starring Chris Rock and Anthony Hopkins. Based on the script for a cancelled sequel to Blue Streak, the film became somewhat famous for its connections to the September 11th terrorist attacks; amongst other things, it was the last major production to film inside the original World Trade Center. The film plot, written years before the attacks, involved a variety of Serbo-Balkan extremists planning a huge attack in New York City. The film's release date was moved out of its late 2001 spot and into a summer 2002 release, similar to several other films with terrorism or violent crime-related stories, including Collateral Damage.
Olivier Gruner, is a French former naval commando, actor, director, producer, screenwriter, martial artist, and pilot. Born in Paris, France, he moved to the United States in 1988 after serving in the French military and competing as a professional kickboxer, during which time he won a World Championship silver medal. Gruner made his acting debut in 1990 film Angel Town.
George Mikell was a Lithuanian-Australian actor and writer best known for his performances as Schutzstaffel (SS) officers in The Guns of Navarone (1961) and The Great Escape (1963). Mikell appeared in over 30 British and American feature films and had numerous leading roles in theatre.
Euro War, also known as Macaroni Combat, Macaroni War, Spaghetti Combat, or Spaghetti War, is a broad subgenre of war film that emerged in the mid-1960s. The films were named Euro War because most were European co-productions, most notably and commonly by Italians, as indicated by the subgenre's other nicknames that draw parallels to those films within the mostly Italian Spaghetti Western genre.
The Action On Film International Film Festival, also known as the Action On Film Festival, was founded in 2004. It was held in California until 2017 when it moved to the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. As a hub for many returning filmmakers, AOF has become an Official Distributor to SHORTS.TV as well as programming Feature Films for a number of Indie Theaters.
Special Delivery is a 1976 American neo-noir comedy crime film directed by Paul Wendkos and starring Bo Svenson and Cybill Shepherd.
Crackerjack is a 1994 direct-to-video action film directed by Michael Mazo and starring Thomas Ian Griffith, Nastassja Kinski and Christopher Plummer.
Unlocked is a 2017 action thriller film directed by Michael Apted, written by Peter O'Brien, and starring Noomi Rapace, Orlando Bloom, Michael Douglas, John Malkovich and Toni Collette. It was Apted's final film before his death in 2021. It was released in the United Kingdom on May 5, 2017, by Lionsgate.
