The Action genre has nine necessary conventions:

• An intense setting. The setting must be a disturbed, unbalanced physical and social environment that gives rise to conflict.
• Dueling hierarchies. A growth hierarchy is at odds with a power/dominance hierarchy (or a dueling protagonist and antagonist).
• The hero.
• The villain.
• The victim.
• A speech in praise of the villain.
• The deadline.
• Set-piece sequences.