Adventure Film
Quests, Exploration, Glory
Adventure films are a genre of film. Unlike action films, they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way.
Main plot elements include:
Quests for lost continents
Jungle, mountain, island, urban and/or desert settings
Characters going on a treasure hunts
Heroic journeys for the unknown
Adventure films are mostly set in a period background
May include adapted stories of historical or fictional adventure heroes within the historical context
Kings, battles, rebellion or piracy are common
Adventure films may also be combined with other movie genres such as, science fiction, fantasy and sometimes war films
Popular concepts
An outlaw fighting for justice or battling a tyrant (e.g., Robin Hood, Zorro or Star Wars)
Suspense and dangerous situations the characters must escape from.
Pirates (e.g., Captain Blood or Pirates of the Caribbean)
A journey or quest of some kind, such as searching for a lost city or for hidden treasure (e.g., King Solomon’s Mines or Indiana Jones)
The Campbellian hero-myth cycle, coming of age, discovery of one’s destiny (e.g., Star Wars, Dune, Lord of the Rings).
Allegorical themes as social commentary (e.g., Planet of the Apes or Star Trek)
Adventure films can contain stock characters and stereotypes. In some cases this has been accused of going as far as implicit racism; claimed examples of this are Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, First Blood and James Bond “kicking third-world people around” in Dr. No.
The subgenres of adventure films include, swashbuckler film, disaster films, and historical dramas – which is similar to the epic film genre.