Features - A History Of Violence

FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

Action fans everywhere got their quarantine fix with the Netflix mega-hit <i>Extraction</i>

FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

Action fans everywhere got their quarantine fix with the Netflix mega-hit Extraction

The highest-grossing movie of 2020 was an action movie. This was simply by default; movie theaters were only really…

Tom Breihan

12/16/20 6:00AM

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FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

In a year of stalled franchises, <i>John Wick</i> looked more unstoppable than ever

FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

In a year of stalled franchises, John Wick looked more unstoppable than ever

Oh shit, I thought. Here we go. It was 2014. I was in a movie theater, watching the first John Wick, a shockingly…

Tom Breihan

12/18/19 11:00AM

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FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

<i>Mandy</i> looms, triumphantly bloody, over a year when action and horror fused

FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

Mandy looms, triumphantly bloody, over a year when action and horror fused

A funny thing happened to action movies in 2018: Horror movies swallowed them whole. This wasn’t an across-the-board…

Tom Breihan

12/07/18 6:00AM

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FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

Chinese blockbuster Wolf Warrior II is a very ’80s-style bombast opera

If you haven’t seen Wolf Warrior II, the massive 2017 Chinese blockbuster, the first thing you might know about it…

Tom Breihan

1/12/18 6:00AM

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FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

<i>Kill Zone 2</i> is one incredible action scene after another

FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

Kill Zone 2 is one incredible action scene after another

Wu Jing, now a massive action star, was in the first Kill Zone, the 2005 Donnie Yen vehicle that helped translate…

Tom Breihan

12/15/17 6:00AM

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FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

<i>Mad Max: Fury Road</i> might be the best action movie ever made

FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

Mad Max: Fury Road might be the best action movie ever made

It takes a whole lot to turn The Road Warrior into an afterthought. George Miller’s second Mad Max movie, released…

Tom Breihan

12/01/17 6:00AM

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FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

<i>John Wick</i> solidified Keanu Reeves as one of the greatest action stars of all time

FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

John Wick solidified Keanu Reeves as one of the greatest action stars of all time

In the entire history of American action cinema, there are very, very few movies that take their fight scenes as…

Tom Breihan

11/17/17 6:00AM

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FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

Captain America leads the resistance in the locomotive end-times fable <i>Snowpiercer</i>

FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

Captain America leads the resistance in the locomotive end-times fable Snowpiercer

About midway through Bong Joon-ho’s 2013’s apocalyptic class-warfare fable Snowpiercer, we get to the scene with the…

Tom Breihan

11/03/17 6:00AM

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FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

Action movies don’t come much more visceral, simple, or awesome than <i>The Raid</i>

FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

Action movies don’t come much more visceral, simple, or awesome than The Raid

You’re all alone. You haven’t even been on the police force for that long, but here you are, disarmed and cut off…

Tom Breihan

10/20/17 6:00AM

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FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

The best <i>Fast & Furious</i> movie charted a path for the series—and got The Rock in on the action, too

FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

The best Fast & Furious movie charted a path for the series—and got The Rock in on the action, too

Stuntmen loved Fast Five. The year after the movie came out, I spent a few days at ActionFest, a film festival in…

Tom Breihan

10/06/17 6:00AM

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FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

In South Korea, a horrifically extreme thriller can be the box-office champion of the year

In the 2011 South Korean movie War Of The Arrows, a historical drama about a master archer who practically wins an…

Tom Breihan

9/22/17 6:00AM

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FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

<i>Universal Soldier: Regeneration</i> breathed life into both Jean-Claude Van Damme's career and straight-to-DVD action<em></em>

FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

Universal Soldier: Regeneration breathed life into both Jean-Claude Van Damme's career and straight-to-DVD action

Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009)

Tom Breihan

9/08/17 6:00AM

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FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

Liam Neeson describes his particular set of skills and a new action craze is born

Taken (2008)

Tom Breihan

8/24/17 10:50PM

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FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

Zack Snyder’s <i>300</i> presaged the howling fascism of the alt-right

FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

Zack Snyder’s 300 presaged the howling fascism of the alt-right

“Was that racist, or did it just seem racist?” That was the basic idea of the conversation that my friends and I had…

Tom Breihan

8/11/17 12:00AM

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FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

<i>Casino Royale</i> thrillingly rebooted James Bond for the grim-and-gritty era

FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

Casino Royale thrillingly rebooted James Bond for the grim-and-gritty era

When I started this column, I decided that the modern action movie began with Bullitt in 1968. But a strong…

Tom Breihan

7/28/17 12:00AM

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FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

Donnie Yen established his ass-kicking star power long before <i>Rogue One</i>

FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

Donnie Yen established his ass-kicking star power long before Rogue One

Last year, when Rogue One came out, America learned something that much of the rest of the world already knew:…

Tom Breihan

7/14/17 12:00AM

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FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

It’s hard not to hold shakycam against the otherwise terrific <i>Bourne Supremacy</i>

FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

It’s hard not to hold shakycam against the otherwise terrific Bourne Supremacy

Paul Greengrass didn’t invent shakycam. The technique of frantic handheld camerawork and chaotic editing had been…

Tom Breihan

6/30/17 12:00AM

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FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

Quentin Tarantino makes his one true action movie, and it’s glorious

Quentin Tarantino loves action movies. Quentin Tarantino’s characters love action movies. The history of action…

Tom Breihan

6/16/17 12:00AM

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FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

A new action franchise is Bourne

It’s one of our great action-movie traditions, right up there with the moment that 007, in the middle of the circle,…

Tom Breihan

6/02/17 12:00AM

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FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

How the hell did <i>The Fast And The Furious</i> launch one of cinema’s biggest franchises?

FilmFeaturesA History Of Violence

How the hell did The Fast And The Furious launch one of cinema’s biggest franchises?

Wheels within wheels within wheels: The surprise hit of summer 2001 was The Fast And The Furious, a goofy low-stakes…

Tom Breihan

5/19/17 12:00AM

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