These videos are usually a lot of fun to watch since movie magic tends to make a lot of things seem a lot more feasible than one might realize. Bringing in a professional stuntman though definitely sheds some more light on certain movies that might have amazed a lot of people but mystified others as to how it was really pulled off and if it could be done in real life. When you look at how some stunts are performed and the effects they produce it becomes a lot easier to think that some things in the movies are not representative of real life since. Eric Francisco of Inverse makes this point quite well. For instance, a gunshot will not typically send a person flying several feet through the air unless it happens to be a very high caliber weapon that’s capable dealing a very lethal impact as well as projectile that will blast its way through a body. Also, the stunts that we see and find so hilarious in some movies are insanely dangerous when taken in a real-life context since anything from falling down a hill to jumping a ramp with a bike to even just falling to the ground in a quick and forceful fashion can be enough to damage a person in many different ways. There’s a reason why there are stuntmen and women in movies and it’s not just about looking good, it’s to insure that the shot looks right and that the actors have someone there to take the hits that might otherwise do some serious damage to those that aren’t trained or even prepared for such actions.
Some actors do take on their own stunts when it’s allowed, but these are few in number and often it comes with a good deal of training that involves toughening their bodies and taking calculated risks that are designed to minimize any damage and maximize the effect on the movie. Patrick Swayze jumping from a plane wasn’t exactly authorized at first but the footage that he managed to get for Point Break was too valuable to simply disregard. Tom Cruise has been known to do his own stunts and he’s also been known to need time to heal and recuperate afterwards as well since he’s taken on a few injuries that have sidelined him for a little while. Perhaps one of the greatest to ever do his own stunts and be known for it however is Jackie Chan, since he’s been doing his own stunts for a long time and has shown the kind of acting and action talent that has managed to amaze people throughout the years. The feats he’s depicted on screen haven’t always gone off without a hitch, but they’ve definitely impressed enough people to call him a certified legend in the industry. Yet if you watch the behind the scenes clips you’ll note that not every take was perfect and not every stunt went according to plan at times since he had to sit back and take his time to heal up from some injuries, and to this date he could probably write a long and storied history of every injury he’s incurred on set. To think that the guy is still walking to this day is amazing since he’s taken some seriously hard hits over the course of his career.
Jane Rose of Mental Floss goes into a few details concerning stunt people and what they go through for their craft. Those that work in the stuntman role have to be in good shape and they have to be knowledgeable about a great many things when it comes to the movie since they’re the ones that tend to step in and make the fights, the action sequences, and in general the movie look even more professional when it comes time for things to pop off. As many of them might tell you however there are many things in the movies that aren’t as they seem. For instance, being hit multiple times and getting back up as though you’re still energized is something that common sense tells us just isn’t possible unless a person is that insanely tough or coked out of their mind. Also, taking on multiple opponents in an action scene is a great way to impress viewers, but in real life it’s more likely that multiple attackers are going to overwhelm just about anyone. In short, Hollywood is very skilled at making people believe that certain scenes are entirely possible given the right situations, but in real life those situations rarely ever come along since the variables that we have to deal with on a daily basis are hard if not impossible to control. Without being on a movie set where said variables can be adjusted, things are going to happen a lot differently than they do in the movies.
It’s easy to watch an action movie and be impressed, but when you sit back and break down the meat of it a lot of people should be able to realize just how much work really goes into getting each shot to look right.
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