Studying Action-adventure Cinema

Studying Action-Adventure Cinema revisits the roots of action-adventure films and contextualizes the genre, particular with reference to the development of the Western. Wayne O’Brien describes conventions and audience expectations and reproduces diverse case studies that trace the evolution of action-adventure films from the 1970s to today. The volume investigates the impact of action-adventure cinema on the industrial dynamics of Hollywood, consideringStar Wars (1977) and its early 1980s sequels, along with Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and its sequels. Since the release of Tim Burton’sBatman (1989), comic books have become key contributors to the wider action-adventure genre. O’Brien discusses adaptations of DC and Marvel Comics characters, considering their implications for issues of gender, discrimination, justice, and law. He also features case studies on the representation of masculinity and femininity. Analyzed films include Michael Bay’sBad Boys (1995) and Bad Boys II (2003) and the Lara Croft and Charlie’s Angels’s series. A concluding chapter weighs the impact of 9/11 on action-adventure cinema, questioning the effect of real world events on screen representations, particularly in the The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), Casino Royale (2006), and Stephen Spielberg’sWar of the Worlds (2005).