Cover -- Copyright -- Contents -- Illustrations -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction: 'Where are we, and how did we get here?' -- chapter 1 Narrative and the action film -- chapter 2 The action body -- chapter 3 The action sequence -- chapter 4 Action women -- chapter 5 Action men -- chapter 6 Race in the action film -- chapter 7 Homosexuality in the action fi lm -- chapter 8 Action cinema after 9/11 -- chapter 9 The 'European connection' -- Afterword -- Bibliography -- Filmography -- Television Series -- Index.