Here‘s an interesting excerpt from Paul Seydor, Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman‘s commentary on the Twilight Time Bluray of The Train. They’re basically saying that 21st Century moviegoers are completely accepting of action feats that no one outside of cyborgs would be able to do in any realm governed by the laws of physics. Even people in the best of shape (i.e., X-treme sports champs) get tired and bruised and can only handle so much. They’re capable of this and that but they’re made of flesh, blood and bone. And yet vulnerability is something you rarely see in films these days. That, again, is due to the ComicCon influence, and that is why someday you will see certain producers and directors facing charges in the cinematic equivalent of the Nuremberg War Crimes trials. I can’t wait to prosecute. Here, again, is the mp3.
Cyborg action behavior is linked, of course, to the 21st Century chaos cinema aesthetic. Consider also the law of action set-ups as laid down by Walter Murch — i.e., no more than 14 per minute!