Action movies are one of my favorite genres, though a tough one to officially pin down for a list like this. Technically, sports movies have a lot of action, war movies too. What is the line between an action movie and a thriller? Super hero movies? This random online dictionary defines action movies as “a motion picture whose storyline involves fast-paced activity and conflict, usually including such elements as a heroic protagonist, violent fights, acrobatic stunts, chase scenes, and gunplay.” A separate definition added, “…The action typically involves individual efforts on the part of the hero, in contrast with most war films.” That definition becomes important shortly.
As usual, I will link to a scene when I can find one that exemplifies some of the great action presented in the movie.
SPOILERS of course, though people tend to be less concerned with action movie spoilers.
The title says “favorite” because, as usual, there may be some movies I’ve missed out on that are fan favorites that won’t be represented on this list, but it wouldn’t be fair to leave them off a “best” list because I haven’t seen them. Anyway…
To the list!
Most Honored of Honorable Mentions for Saving Private Ryan and Gladiator. These movies have some of the best action of the last 25 years, but they don’t feel like they belong to the genre. Is there anything more chaotic and heart-pounding than the D-Day scene from SPR? Gladiator features both an epic battle scene in the beginning, and several feats of badassery from Maximus in the arena. However, they’re both historical epics. They are much longer, slower, and just have a weightier vibe. They’re less popcorn, and more dramatic, Oscar-y movies. Having said that, both have action sequences that are as intense and exciting as any movie on the below list.
10. Kingsman: The Secret Service
A bit of a surprise to start us off. I’m not sure how popular or well-known this movie was, but it is fun as hell! It’s basically like American Idol, but instead of singing, the competition is to become James Bond. There are different events that have action, a few well-choreographed fight scenes, including the above melee at the church. The quick parkour escape, and pub fight scenes are also favorites.
One thing I enjoy about this movie that it is light. The stakes are technically high, like losing 99% of the Earth’s population, but the movie just isn’t serious. There’s a ton of humor, the ending is colorful, and Samuel L. Jackson’s character has a lisp for no particular reason.
Director Matthew Vaughn was quoted as saying, “If you give the audience what they expect, they’ll be bored. There are no rules: You do what you want while respecting the boundaries. You don’t poke people in the eye; you do things they haven’t seen before and make it accessible, funny and clever.” I think that about sums up Kingsman. There are a few things we haven’t seen before, great action, and some humor. Easy to watch and enjoy.
9. Mission Impossible Franchise (in particular, IV: Ghost Protocol)
This franchise is still going strong with the sixth installment coming out just last year. Tom Cruise is ageless. He does most of his own stunts, and is maybe the best actor when it comes to looking like he is trying really hard to do something epic.
I personally favor movies III and IV, though it’s easy to group them all together. There is usually some deception with masks, they’re always being betrayed by someone within their organization, and chasing some type of international criminal, the criminal’s plans are usually international, and Ethan Hunt is very relaxed. There are a couple of one-liners, though it is not as funny as a movie like Kingsman.
One issue with these movies for me is that despite the dire implications of some megalomaniac getting control of nuclear weapons, the stakes never feel that high, to me. There are some absolutely crazy stunts, but because there are so many movies, I’m never really concerned for anyone’s safety. In action, the audience needs to feel there is real danger, and perhaps I’m being a bit picky in that regard. I don’t know if I love these movies as much as everyone else does, but they’re always an enjoyable watch.
The fourth movie, Ghost Protocol, starts with an awesome prison break/brawl. They have to sneak into the Kremlin, and as seen above, Cruise is running up and down the Burj Khalifa while trying to thwart an arms deal. These movies aren’t all top-to-bottom great, but each one will feature at least one action scene that we haven’t seen before. I really appreciate their daring.
8. The Fugitive
The Fugitive is one of those movies that just moves. It is part action, part thriller, and once Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) is free, he is in a race against time. The police are after him, and he doesn’t spend too much time in any one place, which provides the movie with an excellent pace.
It was nominated for multiple Oscars (including a Best Supporting Actor win for Tommy Lee Jones), but it has the tropes of a typical action flick. Dr. Kimble is accused of murdering his wife, and now he has to prove his innocence while evading the law. It is one long chase scene, as well as a procedural, as we watch Harrison Ford try to connect all of the dots.
Ford is his reliable self, and Tommy Lee Jones is awesome in this movie as the lead U.S. Marshall in charge of bringing Ford in.
A smart and desperate protagonist, and a constantly ticking clock. Other than cell phones, The Fugitive feels like it could’ve come out this year. You can watch this as many times as you want.
7. The Matrix
I never saw the two sequels, but the original was HUGE when it came out. It was so big that many of the awesome action sequences were parodied in movies to follow, whether it was the jumping and pausing in the air, dodging bullets, or running up a wall and doing a flip off of it. There are obviously CGI/special effects, but the action is fierce, especially as Neo (action juggernaut, Keanu Reeves) starts to believe in himself.
Unlike some of the other top action movies, there are also some philosophical questions posed by The Matrix, questions about free will, and the like. It is almost certainly the deepest movie on this list.
However, if philosophy isn’t your thing, that’s fine. There are interesting sci-fi villains, who are also imposing. They are nearly invincible, highly lethal, machines that are dressed as Agents. There’s enough action to wet anyone’s appetite. The above lobby shootout is loud and gun-heavy. Morpheus and co. can basically download knowledge into their brains, and this is utilized in an excellent fight scene where Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne) trains and Neo. The final fight between Neo and one of the agents is awesome, with some terrifically choreographed sequences.
Though it has been surpassed by some more recent fare, The Matrix was a ground-breaking action movie that got me in that perfect 12-14 age range.
I’m not as gung ho over the Bourne trilogy as others, but this third movie is pretty dope. It is one of the things that separates Matt Damon from other actors of his generation like DiCaprio, etc. The fact that he could be a convincing action star is something special.
The above scene is so cool to me because it isn’t action in the traditional sense like it is in the rest of the movie. Bourne is on the phone with a guy being pursued by authorities in a train station, and he is giving him instructions to evade capture. It is a chase scene with a slight twist. I point this out, but there are plenty of more typical action tropes in these movies.
The Trilogy is like a combination of The Fugitive and Memento, with much more lethal fighting. If you don’t know, in the first movie, Bourne is rescued from the ocean, and wakes up on a boat without any memory of who he is. Once the government discovers that he isn’t dead, they are pursuing him. He spends the three movies trying to piece together who he is, what happened, and why the government is after him. He can’t really trust anyone and has several skills he can’t explain, including being awesome at fighting.
Naturally, since the government is after Bourne, they’re sending highly trained agents to either capture or eliminate him. Since these agents are highly skilled and deadly, it creates ample opportunity for fighting and chase scenes. Bourne is lethal, intelligent, great behind the wheel, and most importantly, a great improvisor, which leads to him “yes and-ing” a lot of bad guys.
Imagine if you woke up and were just awesome at everything. Would you even need to know why?
Superhero movies are a tough crossover with action. My one issue with recent Marvel and DC installments is that they feature a lot of different heroes, and a lot of the action is CGI. This makes it more difficult to appreciate the action, and the many characters starts to veer away from the main hero and main villain aspects that we defined above. The Dark Knight is different.
This isn’t to say every stunt in the movie is real or anything like that, but the action is more realistic than in any of the Marvel movies. In a lot of ways, that’s the point of Batman – no superpowers, just a rich guy with gadgets who is good at fighting, and is smart. I already referenced The Joker in an earlier post, but he certainly elevates the movie as a whole, and puts Batman in many a situation that requires action.
As far as the actual action, the movie starts out with a bank heist that moves throughout the bank, not just in the main room. Every time Batman goes out he is fighting and chasing down criminals. There’s an assassination attempt on the mayor and the above chase scene where Batman is chasing The Joker while he chases Harvey Dent. Similar to The Matrix, the movie poses philosophical questions and the characters have extra layers, but on the surface, it kicks ass as pure entertainment.
The crazy thing is that the above scene is cut in half. There is a lot of chase leading up to that point that is also terrific.
I’m not a James Bond expert, but this is comfortably my favorite Bond movie. One issue I always had with Bond was that it never seemed like any of it was any trouble. His hair was barely changed after a crazy action scene, he was perfectly great at everything. He was like Superman, and that was less enjoyable. Casino Royale was to represent a reboot of the franchise, taking us back to the early days of James Bond. Daniel Craig handles this well, radiating the James Bond charisma while incorporating a more raw persona. I think it works wonders for the action in a much more physical performance than we usually see from 007.
The fight scenes are much more brutal than we’re using to seeing from Bond. He’s not winning a ton with gadgets and he isn’t defending or avoiding punches. We are up close and personal while he drowns one guy in a bathroom sink, and chokes out another person. Bond is a savage in this movie. That chase scene above, which again, has several minutes in front of it that are awesome, are unlike any foot chase scenes I can remember watching.
Casino Royale is basically all the things many already like about Bond movies: a cool plot and a charismatic actor surrounded by beautiful locations/women/cars – but with action scenes that are more brutal, and athletically daring. 2012’s Skyfall was pretty good, but unfortunately, the other two Daniel Craig Bond movies haven’t lived up. It is unclear whether or not he’ll return for another movie, but his first entry will likely remain the greatest achievement.
3. Taken
In what universe is Taken only #3?!?! Taken rules! I could watch this movie every day. It wasn’t the first of its kind, but it really seemed to kick off this run of movies where men aged 50+, who have a “particular set of skills” go on vengeful quests where they whoop a lot of ass.
Neeson plays an average guy (at least in the beginning) who is trying to make up for lost time with his seventeen year old daughter after a government job had him overseas for much of her life. It’s hard to remember now, but I’m pretty sure we knew going in that she would get taken by bad people and he would try to rescue her. What I don’t think was apparent going into the movie was how badass Liam Neeson was going to be. We know he worked for the government, but I don’t think it was clear how much actual fighting he would be doing. That is why I included the above scene from the concert. The first time I saw that, and even when I watch it now – when he disarms that would-be assassin, you know it’s on!
I think the two best things about Taken are 1) The more realistic dark side of the hero, and 2) How perfectly tailored the problem is to our protagonist. With regard to #1, the “realistic nature of the dark side”, in many movies, the heroes are honorable, always doing the “right” thing and instead of killing a bad guy they often say something like “you’re not worth it”. Unless time is of the essence, there is no way people wouldn’t kill the person who has caused them the distress. In Taken, Liam Neeson tortures Marco to find out information, and once he gets what he needs, he leaves the electricity switched on so that Marco is electrocuted to death. In maybe the most important scene, when Neeson confronts his Jean Claude at his home over his role in the trafficking, Neeson is demanding answers, and when Jean Claude doesn’t provide them, Neeson shoots Jean Claude’s wife in the arm, threatening to kill her if he doesn’t learn what he needs to. The hero is doing what he needs to do, not sparing lives because he’s “better than that”.
For #2, we see Neeson try to make things right with his daughter, who he doesn’t really know, and even his ex-wife. As frustrating as the ex-wife is, we know she has a point, being alone and wondering if she was ever going to see her husband again is a rough spot to be in. We know Neeson’s job was to prevent terrorism overseas, and he seems like an honorable man. We just want him to have a chance to prove himself. His ex-wife’s new husband is wealthy, Neeson doesn’t have a lot of money, he’s obviously missed out on a lot. The one thing he can offer that almost no one else can is the ability to rescue her from a sex-trafficking ring overseas. And what do you know… (if I ever have a kid, and they get kidnapped, hopefully Academy Awards trivia is more useful than it is now…).
2. John Wick franchise
I’m listing them as a franchise because if I did it individually, all three movies would be on the list, and that would be less fun for all one of my reader. The John Wick movies are awesome.
The fight scenes are well-choreographed and entertaining. Wick is just an animal, he kills so many people in largely realistic ways. Keanu Reeves is great and this is the best entry in his distinguished action movie career.
One thing that sets the Wick movies apart is the world-building. Most of these action movies take place in the regular world. John Wick lives in New Jersey and much of the movie takes place in New York City. But there is a whole underground assassin universe that is introduced in Wick, grown in Wick 2, and even further in Wick 3. Assassins have their own hotels where they hang out and have amnesty, they have their own currency (everything seems to cost 1 gold coin), when new open contracts are announced, the whole network is alerted. There are several NYC businesses that are just fronts for something in the assassin underworld. It’s very cool.
Another thing I love about this series is that even though we root for John Wick, they don’t try to convince us that he’s some great guy, or someone with regrets who is trying to make right, etc. John Wick was the most cold-blooded hitman in the game. He retired to live a quiet life with his wife, he didn’t become some humanitarian or anything like that. Then his wife dies, and amid his grief, a mobster’s son breaks into his house and kills his dog. And that just sets him off. The people he kills are all crappy people, which softens his actions, but at no point do they try to tell us he is a good person.
There are three movies in this franchise, and it looks like they set up a fourth. The fact that the sequel was as good, if not better than the original, and then the third movie was entertaining as hell, is impressive. John Wick does not disappoint. Baba Yaga…
1. Die Hard
Die Hard is the G.O.A.T. in this category. It’s got the best hero, it’s got the best villain, and an awesome plot. The screenplay is featured in the book Writing Movies, as the quintessential high concept movie. There is no fat in the story, the inciting incident is clear and real, each scene escalates the conflict all the way until the very end.
As noted in an earlier post, I tend to like villains more than heroes, but John McClane is a rare exception. He’s a wise-cracking New York City cop who has attitude and sarcasm. He’s a cop so he’s smart, but he’s not muscled up like other 80’s action icons, he’s not a soldier or a government spy, he doesn’t have a “particular set of skills”. McClane is incredibly resourceful, making his way through a building he’s never been in, having to get up and down floors while being pursued by a team of terrorists. Another thing about him is that he’s more vulnerable than other movie heroes. He shows weakness, he’s tired and hurt and alone, and he’s not optimistic about his situation. It’s a rare combination.
I wrote about Hans Gruber in an earlier post, so I’ll try not to do overkill here. He’s a smart, big picture thinker who has a perfect plan, but can also improvise. He also has great people skills, knowing how to manage, delegate, and lead his men. Gruber is also ruthless, and will get his hands dirty to make his point. He poses a consistent threat and helps escalate the conflict.
As for the plot, each scene raises the stakes. The terrorists take the building and try to get Mr. Takagi to give up the codes, when he doesn’t they kill him. McClane needs help and he throws a body out the window and onto a cop car. The FBI comes and the terrorists fire a missile at them. McClane throws a bomb down the elevator shaft. And so on and so forth. No fat, and it was an innovative idea at the time. Bill Simmons has noted that many action movies in the early 90’s copied this model, and you started to see other action stars end up stuck in a foreign place trying to stop a team of terrorists.
Other movies ripped it off, but they didn’t have the characters, or the exact plot points that made Die Hard the greatest action movie of all time. It has held the crown for 30 years and counting. Though opinions can change over time…
Honorable mentions: Blade, Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde, The Equalizer, The Mechanic, Drive, Bullitt, Dirty Harry, Avengers: Infinity War, Rambo: First Blood, Con Air, Rush Hour, Rush Hour 2, The Italian Job, Commando
Movie Opinions 
Leave a comment