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Have you seen the John Wick movies?



I have. Definitely better than the superhero flicks that plague theaters, but he's still got that invulnerable mechanical efficiency that gets a bit old after he's plowed through the 50th person in a 10 minute shootout. I'm talking more like Die Hard, Alien, Air Force One, or even First Blood, where the main character is a mostly regular person with some combat training, is in a situation where they're believably screwed, and has to rely on their wits to survive the odds stacked against them, not just their incredible reflexes.


One thing John Wick gets right though, is that they took their time with the choreography and training rather than using shaky cam and jump cuts to cover the fact that the actors have no idea what they’re doing. Keanu Reeves spent a lot of time learning how to handle firearms and it shows.


Very good point, and it's way easier to follow because of it.


My only complaint is that I would prefer they figure out some way to simulate firearm recoil. As a hobby / target shooter it always takes away from the action when I see guns rock steady every shot. If guns were like that everyone would be John Wick.


At the ranges he's typically dealing with, is it that big an issue?


It affects the ability to rapidly fire.


Yeah, to be honest the rare action movie that really made me invested into the action lately was The Raid (2011), which was shot in a way that made the action sequences look significantly more realistic and you didn't get the feeling that anyone has plot armor in it.

(It also got a huge amount of awards for it.)


I similarly enjoyed that movie. It skimps a lot on the plot to provide the best action I've ever seen. The meat of the movie all takes place in one building and if you don't count the small pauses, is basically one giant action scene.


Is this the film (The Raid: Redemption) you're referring to?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1899353/


Ah yeah, The Raid is an excellent example.


> in a situation where they're believably screwed

There's a lot of action-packed neo-noir that you might like:

http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2014/the-20-best-neo-noir-films...


Awesome list (the ones I know), I'll have to check out the rest. Thanks!




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