When it comes to writing action scenes, in a thriller, I feel I have to make characters behave illogical in order for the desired action sequence to happen.
Like if you want a chase, or a hide and seek scene, they have to do things that are not the most plausible in order for the chase to continue rather than not begin at all.
Since I am into writing screenplays, I watch and use a lot of movies as examples. In the movie Die Hard for example, there is the scene where John McClane, his hiding and evading Kristoff.
Kristoff is looking for him and comes around a corner. John points a gun at Kristoff's head and tells him to drop his machine gun. Kristoff does not. Now the most realistic thing a cop would do here is shoot him after he doesn't drop it.
But John decides to pistol whip him, get on top of him, and wrestle the gun out of his hand, while Kristoff is trying to shoot him in the process.
The reason why they had it happen this more illogical way, is so that they could have a fight scene.
Another movie example is Internal Affairs (1990). Avilla (Andy Garcia), predicts that Peck (Richard Gere), will go to his house and come after his wife, as his next move.
But instead of calling for police back up, Avilla decides to go his home, all by himself, logically prolonging the rescue of his wife, should she be in likely danger.
He could have just picked up the phone and had other cops go there before he could get there, bu the chose to go there by himself to add suspense.
In Point Break, when Utah and his partner predict where the bank robbers will strike next, they were right. But they also did not call for back up and decide to chase them all by themselves, in order for them to have a longer more exciting chase, between hero and villain.
In Lethal Weapon, Riggs arrest the villain, but instead of slapping the cuffs on his he decides to give his gun to his partner, so he can have a long elaborate martial arts fight with the villain.
You get the idea. However, I been told by readers that it's not good to defy logic just for the sake of having an action scene. If an action scene does not naturally fit, don't force it. But if this is the case, then I cannot really find any action scenes naturally fit, without defying logic in order to force action into it.
In The Dark Knight, Batman is chasing after The Joker on his Batpod and takes a short cut by firing .50 caliber bullets through the windows of the mall, and riding through them. But if he had those guns all along, then why did he go for five minutes of a chase with the police and everyone without using them, by shooting out The Joker's tires right at the start of the chase?
Is their a way to have logical action scenes, where you do not have to do this? Some movies do this but it is rare, and if I look for an illogical move, in order for the action scene to continue, I can often find it. What do you think? Is it possible to write it so it doesn't bother reader's?
Like if you want a chase, or a hide and seek scene, they have to do things that are not the most plausible in order for the chase to continue rather than not begin at all.
Since I am into writing screenplays, I watch and use a lot of movies as examples. In the movie Die Hard for example, there is the scene where John McClane, his hiding and evading Kristoff.
Kristoff is looking for him and comes around a corner. John points a gun at Kristoff's head and tells him to drop his machine gun. Kristoff does not. Now the most realistic thing a cop would do here is shoot him after he doesn't drop it.
But John decides to pistol whip him, get on top of him, and wrestle the gun out of his hand, while Kristoff is trying to shoot him in the process.
The reason why they had it happen this more illogical way, is so that they could have a fight scene.
Another movie example is Internal Affairs (1990). Avilla (Andy Garcia), predicts that Peck (Richard Gere), will go to his house and come after his wife, as his next move.
But instead of calling for police back up, Avilla decides to go his home, all by himself, logically prolonging the rescue of his wife, should she be in likely danger.
He could have just picked up the phone and had other cops go there before he could get there, bu the chose to go there by himself to add suspense.
In Point Break, when Utah and his partner predict where the bank robbers will strike next, they were right. But they also did not call for back up and decide to chase them all by themselves, in order for them to have a longer more exciting chase, between hero and villain.
In Lethal Weapon, Riggs arrest the villain, but instead of slapping the cuffs on his he decides to give his gun to his partner, so he can have a long elaborate martial arts fight with the villain.
You get the idea. However, I been told by readers that it's not good to defy logic just for the sake of having an action scene. If an action scene does not naturally fit, don't force it. But if this is the case, then I cannot really find any action scenes naturally fit, without defying logic in order to force action into it.
In The Dark Knight, Batman is chasing after The Joker on his Batpod and takes a short cut by firing .50 caliber bullets through the windows of the mall, and riding through them. But if he had those guns all along, then why did he go for five minutes of a chase with the police and everyone without using them, by shooting out The Joker's tires right at the start of the chase?
Is their a way to have logical action scenes, where you do not have to do this? Some movies do this but it is rare, and if I look for an illogical move, in order for the action scene to continue, I can often find it. What do you think? Is it possible to write it so it doesn't bother reader's?