Hello everyone, here I left you my entrance to the contest of @ocd for the Movies & TV Shows Community that you can read here. They left 3 questions and I decide to answer this:

What is your favorite genre and why?

^{Cite specific examples of movies that you liked the most in that particular genre.}

My answer is: Epic Action.

Who doesn't love Maximus Decimus? - Source

The term epic cinema refers to those films that have large productions and a dramatic theme on a regular basis, applied more thoroughly, it speaks of stories based on the epic novel, which is a literary subgenre of fantasy, this genre can include historical films, fantasy and even westerns, among many others.

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The term epic action film combines, as its name says, the action with the epic, a remarkable feature of epic cinema is the long duration of his films, which focus on plots of wars and are based on a historical setting, that creates a huge context on which you can work thousands of subgenres that result in spectacular works. The visual works a lot in this genre, landscapes and ambience are an important part to sharpen the visual experience of this type of cinema, and as the years go by and technology advances, we have been able to see increasingly impressive things of this genre, besides the hero's journey is a plot that is especially recurrent in this type of cinema.

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The genre reached its peak in the 50's and 60's when Hollywood expanded its collaboration with foreign studios to use their exotic landscapes in their films, one of the most remembered films was the 1963 release of Joseph Mankiewicz's Cleopatra, which won 4 Oscars and starred the beautiful Elizabeth Taylor. Within itself, the genre expands to many subgenres that could seem very different and that variety is one of the things I like most about this genre, you can see very different contexts within it, without leaving the scheme that characterizes it. On the other hand, action movies were born as a described genre, a long time after epic movies, and although it is quite different, it is similar in some things. With very marked elements such as chases, shootouts, fights and explosions, plus the hero's journey is another security that we will almost always find in this film, although this genre is usually more film noir or explicit violence, in addition, almost always you will see the typical villain, the damsel in distress and the hero to the rescue.

However, there were many films that serve as a reference or ancestor of this genre and that crosses with the epic, and that is why it is more common than we think to find both genres together in the same film. This genre, obviously also transfers to TV shows, where we have seen spectacular productions of this genre and where we will continue to see it surely because the epic action sells, it is a genre that likes a lot and entertains most of the public that sees it, Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021), Avengers: Endgame (2019), The Revanant (2015), 47 Ronin (2013), The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003), Avatar (2009), Matrix (Since 1999), Star Wars Saga (Since 1977), Spartacus (1960) and The Robe (1953) are some of the examples of the wide range of possibilities that can cover this cinema talking about stories and contexts, I want to talk about the 3 productions that for me have been the best I have seen of this genre.

TROY (2004)

Directed by Wolfgang Petersen and starring Brad Pitt, Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom, this movie is a humanized version of Homer's The Iliad, plus it includes content from the Odyssey, by the same author of The Iliad and also from Virgil's The Aeneid, along with other historical references. Something I love about this movie is that it eliminates the myth factor and turns the whole story narrated by Homer into a real war and that you can live every second of the movie, which has a duration of 163 minutes and cost a total of 175,000,000 USD, was a success at the box office, collecting a total of 497,409,852 USD according to IMDb. In it we see two stories that converge in the conflict when Paris, prince of Troy, kidnaps Helen, the wife of Menelaus, this leads him to seek the help of his brother Agamemnon and both decide to invade Troy, where Paris and Helen are, after arriving there Paris and Menelaus agree to a fight to the death where Menelaus wins but Hector, brother of Paris, ends his life thus saving his brother, which triggers the Trojan War, which will have as protagonist Achilles when he has his own personal motivations to join, a very good movie that I highly recommend, has an excellent atmosphere, some battle scenes very well done and a story told in a very good way.

SPARTACUS (2010-2013)

This is a television series that presents in a novelized form the life of the gladiator Spartacus, according to the vision of Steven S. DeKnight, creator of the series. DeKnight, creator of the series, although the genre framed is historical drama, the epic action is seen in virtually every episode of the series and even in his last 2 seasons, is the basis of the entire conflict and its resolution, in it we accompany Spartacus and his fellow gladiators, from the moment they are recruited until they become the gods of the arena, then they escape and become the terror of Rome, initiating a movement that completely destabilized the Roman government and ended in its disappearance, what I love most about this production are its powerful scenes, a very raw and shocking visual material, a very good narrative that can sin of being a little accelerated at times but that still can be enjoyed very well, and spectacular performances by the entire cast, although something that if it falters a lot is in the historical accuracy, as it plays with elements that are known that did not exist in real history, some that are not important, such as the type of uniform that the Romans wore in the series (did not exist in that period of time in real life) while others are quite remarkable, such as the appearance of Julius Caesar in the conflict, something that never happened. Still, it's a very good series that you have to watch if you are a fan of this genre.

GAME OF THRONES (2011-2019)

Not even that rushed and absurd ending that David Benioff and D. B. Weiss gave us makes this series stop being what it is, a marvel of this genre, for me the best production in terms of epic action is concerned, with a spectacular plot bathed in the saga of novels published by George R. R. Martin, the Song of Ice and Fire, is by far the most expensive series in the history of television so far, and was praised by everyone, critics, press and viewers, a masterful music. Martin, the Song of Ice and Fire, is by far the most expensive series in the history of television so far, and was praised by all, critics, press and viewers, a masterful music, visual effects of first level and stellar performances, there is a lot to choose from to praise this series, which is based on a world so huge and so spectacular that it is impossible not to get lost in it, a wonder that you will love from the first moment and even until the end, the only point where this production failed because of its screenwriters.

This has been all for now, if you have an opinion to give, do it in the comments, I will read it with pleasure, thank you very much for reading and see you later.