Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases. They tend to feature a resourceful character struggling against incredible odds, which may involve life-threatening situations, an evil villain, and/or being pursued, with victory achieved at the end after difficult physical efforts and violence. Story and character development are generally secondary to explosions, fist fights, gunplay and car chases.

While action films have traditionally been a reliable source of revenue for movie studios, relatively few action films garner critical praise, mainly because of their two-dimensional heroes or villains. Nevertheless, Hollywood has been making more action films than ever, in part because advancements in CGI have made it cheaper and easier to create action sequences and other visual effects that required professional stunt crews and dangerous staging in the past. However, audience reactions to action films containing significant amounts of CGI have been mixed, and films where computer animation is not believable are often met with criticism.

Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE (born Chan Kong-sang, 陳港生; 7 April 1954) is a Hong Kong-born Chinesestuntman, actor, and director whose perilous acrobatic stunts and engaging physical humour made him an action-film star in Asia and helped to bring kung fu movies into the mainstream of American cinema. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts. Jackie Chan has been acting since the 1960s and has appeared in over 100 films.

Chan has received stars on the Hong Kong Avenue of Stars and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. As a cultural icon, Chan has been referenced in various pop songs, cartoons, and video games. An operatically trained vocalist, Chan is also a Cantopop and Mandopop star, having released a number of albums and sung many of the theme songs for the films in which he has starred. In addition to acting, Chan pursued a career in the Hong Kong music industry, releasing a number of original albums beginning in 1984. He founded the Jackie Chan Charitable Organization in 1998, which, among other projects, offers scholarships to Hong Kong youths, and he worked as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF.

Joshua Ryan "Josh" Hutcherson (born October 12, 1992) is an American film and television actor. He began working in the early 2000s, appearing in several minor film and television roles. He gained wider exposure with major roles in the 2005 films Little Manhattan and Zathura, the 2006 comedy RV, the 2007 family adventure film Firehouse Dog, and the film adaptations of Bridge to Terabithia, Journey to the Center of the Earth and Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant. On March 30, 2008, Hutcherson won a Young Artist Award (for Leading Young Actor). Hutcherson was also featured on a Celebrity Teens edition of the hit show MTV Cribs, and portrayed Peeta Mellark in the 2012 film The Hunger Games. He will appear in the Red Dawn remake.

Josh Hutcherson was born in Union, Kentucky. His mother, Michelle, is a former Delta Air Lines employee who now assists Josh, and his father, Chris Hutcherson, is an analyst for the EPA. He has a younger brother, Connor, as well as many pets, including two dogs, Diesel and Nixon (a boxer). He has wanted to be an actor since he was four years old, but had only begun auditioning for roles in 2002, at the age of 9. He moved from Union to California, due to limited acting opportunities.