Writing Adventure Movies

Adventure movies take many different forms, some of which are not always obvious. It’s one of the oldest genres, easily transcends national boundaries and still plays a huge role in storytelling today – not only as the basis for most US blockbusters.

At the heart of the matter, we are talking about the concept of the Monomyth or the Hero’s Journey. In these stories, the want of the main character is to embark on a literal journey. The characters and situations are mythologically exaggerated, the main character placed in relation to the universe and the theme connected to destiny. The main character usually encounters multiple adverseries, defeating them one by one, episodically, and ideally they learn something from each confrontation.

Adventure Movies are episodic

When you’re writing an adventure story, the first thing you have to overcome is its episodic quality. You can do this by creating an ongoing adversary for the main character. Be sure to let the viewer know early on where the movie’s journey will end to add to the excitement. Here are the two main subgenres of this story form:

Adventure Comedy

Combining it with comedy means that the main character is going on a comical journey and that the storyline is there to create as many gags as possible. A special subcategory of this is the comedic road movie.

• VINCENT WANTS SEA
• LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
• BORN TO BE WILD
• DUMB AND STUPID

Adventure Drama

Combining anything with Drama means dramatization. The episodic quality of adventure can be transcended by compressing everything in the storey with the Aristotelian units of time, space, and action.

• FITZCARRALDO
• SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET
• JOANNA OF ORLEANS
• INTO THE WILD

Sven Eric

A few words about me: As a Writer-Director, I write my own stories. I wrote the eBook The Ultimate Reading Guide for students as a learning aid. I also give Writing Seminars and Film Workshops.