Top 10 Action Films of All Time
I think that perhaps the action genre might be my favorite. I will never forget the first time I witnessed a Jackie Chan flick or when I saw in Imax George Miller’s return to the world of Mad Max with “Fury Road” (2015). Yet, countless times, I revisit particular action gems not because they have exquisite fight choreography or a well-made shoot out but because they offer more than a spontaneous shot of adrenaline - they present heroic stories that can inspire the viewer to invoke some form of justice while varying in tone and style. For films to be qualified in my list, they need to register either as action films or to have a lot of action (e.g., “Star Wars” comes to mind), thus movies that might have a standout sequence like the doomed heist in Michael Mann’s “Heat” (1995) are not included. Here are my top ten action films of all time!
Explosions:
-
Shoot outs:
🔫
Car chases:
-
Fights:
👊👊👊👊👊
Stunts:
🏍🏍🏍🏍
Battles:
⚔️
Death count:
💀💀💀💀💀
Style:
👓👓👓
Characters:
🎭🎭
Stand out moment: A machete stand off is particularly memorable but the final fight with Mad Dog is a stellar accomplishment in fight choreography.
10. The Raid
Director: Gareth Evans
Starring: Iko Kuwais, Joe Taslim, Donny Alamsyah, Yayan Ruhian
Genre: Action
Release year: 2011
Country: Indonesia
Gareth Evans’ “The Raid” exploded back in 2012 offering a strict antidote to the CGI spectacles that galvanized the big screen. With a high concept at its core, “The Raid” is a testament of Evan’s ability as a director and writer following the interesting but mild “Merantau” (2009). Initially taking cues from Carpenter, he crafts extremely novel tense sequences with impressive stunt and camera work while simultaneously avoiding traditional action clichés. By the time the main course arrives, you are left with the brutal and lengthy fight sequences of Silat, a south east Asian martial art style, filmed with such gusto by Evans that altered forever the worldwide action film map.
Explosions:
-
Shoot outs:
-
Car chases:
-
Fights:
👊👊👊👊👊
Stunts:
🏍🏍🏍🏍
Battles:
⚔️⚔️
Death count:
💀
Style:
👓👓👓👓👓
Characters:
🎭🎭🎭🎭
Stand out moment: A skirmish at the top of a lake or in a golden forest are the stuff that dreams are made off but it is the extensive fight between Li and Yen in a rainy chess court that would leave your jaw dropping on the floor.
9. Hero
Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Jet Li, Maggie Cheng, Tony Leung, Donny Yen, Zhang Ziyi
Genre: Wuxia
Release year: 2002
Country: China
“Hero” might not be the first film that comes in mind when you are thinking of high octane action. Yet, upon a closer look, it is packed with amazingly choreographed fights by Tony Ching in unique settings boasting some of the most gorgeous cinematic visuals of all time. Displaying a tremendous amount of poetic beauty through Christopher Doyle’s astonishing cinematography and simplistically grand scale production design, “Hero” is a wonder of colors and subtle storytelling. Characters reside in grey morality areas that get explored through heavy philosophical questions that while they might alienate those who are uninitiated with Eastern culture, they will be welcomed from action junkies who seek more in their films.
Explosions:
💣💣💣💣💣
Shoot outs:
🔫
Car chases:
🚔🚔🚔🚔🚔
Fights:
👊👊👊
Stunts:
🏍🏍🏍🏍🏍
Battles:
⚔️⚔️
Death count:
💀💀💀💀💀
Style:
👓👓👓
Characters:
🎭🎭🎭🎭
Stand out moment: Perhaps the moment that Joe and his goons give initial chase until a desert storm arrives; yet the final race has so much action, explosions and stunts that takes the cake.
8. Mad Max: Fury Road
Director: George Miller
Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne
Genre: Post apocalyptic
Release year: 2015
Country: Australia
It had been 30 years since we last saw Max in “Beyond Thurderdome“ (1985) but that did not stop George Miller to deliver an action masterpiece. “Mad Max: Fury Road” is packed with visual storytelling, breathtaking stunts and spectacular CGI-free car sequences that have to be seen to be believed. The film not only showcases gorgeous action but has a surprising amount of emotional heft that usually is missing from films of similar caliber. Never shying away from the brutality of this post-apocalyptic world with fantastic production and costume design, “Mad Max: Fury road” might feel like a two hour car chase but that does not mean it cannot bring to the table dramatic catharsis and some genre bending character arcs. Hardy is solid as Max but it is Theron who steals the show with a nuanced vulnerability (and believability) under the thick skin of an absolute bad ass.
Explosions:
💣💣💣💣
Shoot outs:
🔫🔫🔫
Car chases:
-
Fights:
👊👊👊👊👊
Stunts:
🏍🏍🏍
Battles:
⚔️⚔️
Death count:
💀💀💀
Style:
👓👓👓👓👓
Characters:
🎭🎭🎭🎭🎭
Stand out moment: Perhaps the lobby shoot out that made Western audiences being aware of what John Woo is capable of.
7. The Matrix
Director: Lana and Lilly Wachowski
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss
Genre: Science fiction
Release year: 1999
Country: USA
A true pioneer in the genre of science fiction, “The Matrix” took the world by storm with its industrial style, innovative special effects and mind bending story telling. With an intriguing premise and exploring concepts of free will and reality, the Wachowskis have managed to combine “Dark City” (1998) and “Ghost in the Shell” (1995) into a hyperstylized action combo for the masses. Keanu Reeves as could-be-our-savior is fantastically stoic but it is Fishburne and Weaving who relish their roles as mentor and antagonist respectively. The action is top notch with nods to John Woo’s gun epics and fight choreography by the legendary Yuen Woo Ping (“Drunken Master II” (1994), “Iron Monkey” (1993)); there is not a lack of memorable moments in “The Matrix” as pretty much it is a flawless film.
Explosions:
💣💣💣💣
Shoot outs:
🔫🔫🔫
Car chases:
-
Fights:
👊👊👊👊
Stunts:
🏍🏍
Battles:
⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️
Death count:
💀💀💀💀
Style:
👓👓
Characters:
🎭🎭🎭🎭🎭
Stand out moment: The opening uninterrupted shot through the battle of Coruscant is fantastic but it is the emotional duel in Mustafar that stands out the most.
6. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Director: George Lucas
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman
Genre: Science fiction
Release year: 2005
Country: USA
Boasting state-of-the-art digital effects, an appropriately darker tone that borrows elements from a Greek tragedy and a vastly improved performance by Hayden Christensen, George Lucas delivers the most emotional entry in the Skywalker saga. “Episode III” has more action than any other entry in the franchise with full scale battles, dog fights and plenty of lightsaber skirmishes. The duel in Mustafar is a visual masterpiece with both Ewan McGregor and Christensen conveying appropriate emotions of confusion and betrayal amidst the rise of the true standout of the film: Ian McDiarmid as the Machiavellian Emperor Palpatine who is having the time of his life delivering his lines with Shakespearean panache. Despite some shortcomings (Portman’s Padme has not much to do and Jackson’s Windu needed a stronger exit), “Episode III” delivers on what the genre it belongs to suggests: a grandiose space opera.
Explosions:
💣💣💣💣💣
Shoot outs:
🔫🔫🔫🔫
Car chases:
🚔🚔🚔🚔🚔
Fights:
👊
Stunts:
🏍🏍🏍🏍🏍
Battles:
⚔️
Death count:
💀💀💀💀
Style:
👓👓👓
Characters:
🎭🎭🎭
Stand out moment: A chase involving a car carrier and a boat (!) is the action junkie’s paradise but racing Humvees through hilltop slums are a feast for the eyes.
5. Bad Boys II
Director: Michael Bay
Starring: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Joe Pantoliano, Jordi Molla
Genre: Action
Release year: 2003
Country: USA
Perhaps his most fully Michael Bay movie, Bay takes what made the first movie likeable to blockbuster heights. While it sometimes verges on bad taste, it is evident that Bay has great command of the complex and large scale action sequences. There is an underrated (and unprecedent) amount of stuntwork that does not get the credit it deserves with Bay’s advert background in full display here. While the constant barrage of explosions, (bad) one liners, profanities, shoot outs, car chases and ridiculous product placement will taste your patience, Smith and Lawrence made this second outing enjoyable. Those who care in over-indulgent but exquisitely crafted mayhem will still have a blast as these Bad Boys are not responsible for the destruction of Miami but Cuba as well!
Explosions:
💣💣💣💣
Shoot outs:
🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫
Car chases:
-
Fights:
👊
Stunts:
🏍🏍🏍🏍🏍
Battles:
⚔️
Death count:
💀💀💀💀💀
Style:
👓👓👓👓
Characters:
🎭🎭🎭🎭
Stand out moment: A skirmish in a chop shop would leave you thinking how people did not die in real life but a two-minute uninterrupted sequence in the hospital where Tequila and Co are fighting goons from every corner is an all time great.
4. Hard Boiled
Director: John Woo
Starring: Chow Yun Fat, Tony Leung, Anthony Wong
Genre: Action
Release year: 1992
Country: Hong Kong
Perhaps John Woo’s best film, “Hard boiled” features Chow Yun Fat’s badass inspector Tequila (!) disposing creatively hundreds of Triad goons through multiple gun skirmishes. A glorified cinematic temple for gun-fu (choreographed fights with gun play and extravagant stunts) with too much action, it is an appropriate shot of adrenaline for those who wish to see bullet mayhem with a ridiculous high body count on a whole new scale. Despite the presence of multiple explosive sequences, there is a layered approach to the proceedings and the characters involved resulting to the audience sharing some investment to the traditional cop story. Insipired an army of cheap knock offs and imitators and even “The Matrix” itself, gun fu never looked better!
Explosions:
-
Shoot outs:
🔫🔫🔫🔫
Car chases:
🚔🚔🚔🚔
Fights:
👊👊👊👊
Stunts:
🏍🏍🏍🏍
Battles:
⚔️⚔️
Death count:
💀💀💀💀💀
Style:
👓👓👓👓
Characters:
🎭🎭🎭🎭🎭
Stand out moment: A fight in a hall filled with antique weapons is effectively brutal and inventive but the use of dogs within a shoot’em’up setting is truly original.
3. John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum
Director: Chad Stahelski
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne
Genre: Action
Release year: 2019
Country: USA
Raising up the dramatic stakes with the inclusion of the high table, “John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum” saves some truly breathtaking stunts and novel sequences for part 3. Backed with a more cosmopolitan flair and an expansive cast, “Parabellum” has dazzling cinematography (Dan Laustsen) and exquisite direction from (former stuntman) Chad Stahelski who favors practical-made action with real stunt people and vehicles. Despite a rather long running time, it is still a joy to watch Keanu Reeves stoically dispatching various henchmen in a number of settings even if his actions are causing an even larger amount of people to come after him. The cast is great too with Ian McShane complementing the rather straight-faced ensemble with his vibrant personality and Dacascos makes for an interesting opponent as Wick fanboy Zero.
Explosions:
💣💣💣💣
Shoot outs:
🔫🔫🔫
Car chases:
🚔🚔🚔🚔🚔
Fights:
👊👊
Stunts:
🏍🏍🏍🏍
Battles:
⚔️⚔️
Death count:
💀💀💀
Style:
👓👓👓👓
Characters:
🎭🎭🎭🎭🎭
Stand out moment: The initial car chase by T-1000 can be enough but the last 25 minutes are the best that action filmmaking has to offer and money can buy.
2. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong
Genre: Science fiction
Release year: 1991
Country: USA
With a surprisingly effective emotional core at its center, “Terminator 2” proved that sequels can surpass the original. Expanding the mythology of the first film and exploring themes of artificial intelligence and human nature with a nuanced approach, James Cameron directs glorious spectacle that ranges from massive shoot outs to breathtaking car chases that even to this day are hard to beat. But what makes it more meaningful is the fact that this grandiose action actually serves the story while raising the narratives stakes that come in the form of a new terminator (T-1000) who can imitate anything or anyone. The role of T-800 fits Arnold like a glove but the true standouts are Linda Hamilton as the damaged bad ass Sarah Connor and Robert Patrick as the T-1000.
Explosions:
-
Shoot outs:
-
Car chases:
-
Fights:
👊👊👊👊👊
Stunts:
🏍🏍🏍🏍
Battles:
-
Death count:
💀💀💀💀💀
Style:
👓👓👓👓👓
Characters:
🎭🎭🎭🎭🎭
Stand out moment: The face off with Lucy Liu’s O-Ren Ishii is a masterpiece of action while a squirmish fight with Hannah’s Elle Driver is perhaps the best fight between two female assassins ever.
1. Kill Bill Volumes 1 and 2
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Lucy Liu, Darryl Hannah
Genre: Martial arts
Release year: 2003/4
Country: USA
This is style over substance but my goodness what style! Quentin Tarantino demonstrates his skill as an action director placing Uma Thurman at the front and center of his globe trotting martial arts epic. While all of his trademarks are present here, they are wrapped in such an appealing visually package that boasts myriads of film references, fantastic shots, a groovy soundtrack, gratuitous cartoon-like violence and fascinating characters. Uma Thurman’s Bride is officially one of the all time great action heroes along with Ellen Ripley and Sarah Connor in a more dramatic than usual role that demonstrates her ranger as an actress. Yet it is the supporting cast that lightens up the screen: from Lucy Liu’s take-no-shit-from-no-one Yakuza leader to a nasty Darryl Hannah, but it is David Carradine that steals every scene in volume 2 in perhaps one of the greatest performances of all time. Tarantino does not forget the action, managing to outdo “The Matrix Reloaded” in the same year, crafting incredible (and bloody) action sequences (choreographed by Yuen Woo Ping again) with very impressive camerawork and cool stunts. “Kill Bill” is a gargantuan martial arts masterpiece.