- published: 28 Sep 2013
- views: 3673521
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.
Jared Drake Bell (born June 27, 1986), better known as Drake Bell, is an American actor, comedian, musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional television director. After beginning his career as a child star in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he appeared on The Amanda Show and became well-known among young audiences for his role on the series Drake & Josh while playing Drake Parker. As of 2010, Drake Bell remains one of Nickelodeon's most popular stars ever and has won nine Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. His latest film role is the live-action Timmy Turner in the TV film A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner! shown on July 9, 2011, on Nickelodeon; he is also the voice of Peter Parker / Spider-Man in the animated series Ultimate Spider-Man on Disney XD. Bell is commonly associated with his real-life friend Josh Peck, who co-starred with him in The Amanda Show and Drake & Josh.
In addition to acting, Bell has a growing career as a musician, and co-wrote and performed the theme song to Drake & Josh, entitled "I Found a Way". In 2005 he independently released his debut album, Telegraph. His second album, It's Only Time, was released in 2006 after signing with Universal Motown Records.