Screen Story Success from Lindsey Hughes

Action: More Than Explosions

In action scripts a common mistake I see beginning writers make is writing wall to wall action and nothing else.  Cool fights and car chases will fall flat if there is no emotion behind them.  The audience’s response will be so what, if they don’t care about the characters.  Action sequences have to further the emotional story – what the hero wants or needs.  The plot is all window dressing to our guy’s evolution.  I’m not suggesting that every action movie needs a tangled and dramatic character arc, but there has to be something going on besides spiffy hardware and explosions.  Caring about the characters gives your story stakes and tension.  You want the audience on the edge of their seats rooting for the good guys. 

Let’s take a look at a few examples.  In ALIENS Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is fighting to save a little girl.  In the Bourne movies Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is figuring out who he is and why people want to kill him.  In RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK Indy (Harrison Ford) is fighting the Nazis and reuniting with his lost love, Marion (Karen Allen).  However, in THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL, the emotional story is less clear.   Indy is fighting the Russians this time, who are not as scary as the Nazis.  While he is once again reuniting with his lost love Marion, there is no romantic tension between them.  His relationship with Mutt (Shia LaBeouf) is equally underdeveloped.   Consequently, we don’t care when these three characters are in jeopardy. 

In addition to engaging the characters, action sequences must further the plot.  While this may seem like a no-brainer, I read lots of scripts full of action sequences where nothing happens.  Bullets are flying, but the plot is not advancing.  The hero is not gaining or losing ground.  This was another problem in THE KINDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL.  What exactly was going on in that long chase sequence in the jungle with the jeeps and vines?  In the end the heroes escaped death, but were no better or worse off than they were before. 

When writing action, make sure that something happens in each action sequence.  In addition to cool effects and big explosions, action should advance the plot and have an emotional component.  Compelling action will make your script stand out from the pack.