I am going to discuss on the action genre by analysis from the aspect of semantic and syntactic approach. Genre can be classified by looking at the semantic and syntactic of the film, films from the same genre will have similarities in their themes and the cinematography.
The action genre was started around the time of Edwin Porter with The Great Train Robbery (1903). The action films usually consist of continuous high energy physical stunts and activities, extended chase scenes, fights and escapes, non-stop motion, spectacular rhythm, and pacing, features various modes of transportation, and spectacular visual effect. While the syntaxes are usually good vs evil, violent & graphic imageries and themes. The threat can only resolves after the protagonist fight with the enemy.
Professional assassin Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) were being drugged by Ricky Verona (Jose Pablo Cantillo) after he failed his job to kill Don Kim (Keone Young). He will need to keep his adrenaline running or else he will be kill by the drug . Chev head into his journey to make revenge toward Ricky Verona and his former employer, Carlito (Carlos Sanz) who also involved in poisoned him,while trying to stay alive by keeping himself pumped with adrenaline with various methods such as taking drugs and drives into a mall.
Crank is considered an action film mix with comedy traits. In the movie, Chev will have to keep his adrenaline flowing to survives from the poison. In order to do that, he performed some extreme act such as drives into a mall, killed someone using his gun while the owner's palm still attached on the weapon, and even public sex.The film was in very face pace throughout the whole avenge journey of Chev Chelios. Upbeat background music and quick cut editing were used to stimulate Chev's "high on adrenaline" condition.
As for the movie syntax, the movie uses the theme of good vs evil as their main theme. Chev had been the bad guy who killed people for his employer Carlito. He tried to be a good man by spared the life of Don Kim and its got himself into trouble. While he struggles to stay survives, he decided to revenge in his remaining time, he fights his way to kill Carlito and Ricky and ends up killing himself by falling from the helicopter.
The comedy traits can be recognized as the movie was a parody of the action film genre. The brilliant concept of "be an adrenaline junkie or die" and some of the action scene in the movie can be quite common in the action film genre, but Crank exaggerated it to make it even more absurd.
Reference
Nelmes, J. (1996). An Introduction to film studies. London: Routledge.
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