While we stress to keep the choices action - movie centric ( which meant excluding some classic moving picture likeStar Wars , which just did n’t find at home with the respite of the movies chosen ) , there ’s doubtlessly some genre - bleeding , but you may stay secure that every movie on our leaning will raise your adrenaline and have you crave more railroad car chases , dull - motion gunfight , cocky one - liners , and most of all , epic explosions . From
So without further ado , here are 12 of the most striking action movies ever made . Buckle up !
12. John Wick (2014)
Chad Stahelski’sJohn Wickfilm is adored by both critic and audiences alike and was a return to form for more or less disgraced action star Keanu Reeves . The humanity who starred in seminal action films such asPoint Break(1993 ) andThe Matrix(1999 ) , Reeves had n’t done some real quality work in quite some time before bringing us one of the most awful action flicks of the past tenner seemingly out of the blue . John Wick , which also asterisk Willem Dafoe , Michael Nyqvist , Alfie Allen , Ian McShane , and Adrianne Palicki , see Reeves playact the titular assassin who goes on a devastating retaliation fling after his dog is kill in a house intrusion ( it was a parting gift from his stagnant wife , dammit ! ) . boast telling world - building that pull out you in and some of the most unbelievable action stage dancing in recent memory , John Wickis the kind of motion-picture show action yellowish brown love to brag about date .
author : Screenshot via Summit Entertainment
11. Mission Impossible (1996)
It ’s easy to draw a blank that Tom Cruise was already a movie star by the time theMission Impossibleseries rove around ( circa 1996 ) . What he did n’t have was a franchise to call his own , and that ’s where a present-day re - hashing of a once - democratic television series from the sixties came in . Directed by Brian De Palma and featuring Tom Cruise as IMF agent Ethan Hunt , Mission Impossibleis an first-class action / spy film that holds up signally well almost twenty years later . The motion picture , which sees Hunt border for the deaths of his squad after a seemingly routine process go terribly awry , feature a tightly wound hand that emphasizes the cerebral elements of spycraft rather than the strong-arm ones , with Hunt using his brain as often as his brawn to discover the double agent responsible for killing those faithful to him . With plenty of twists , peck of action ( include a still - thrilling chase conniption atop a moving caravan ) and a substantiate mould including Jon Voight , Emilio Estevez , Ving Rhames , and Jean Reno , it ’s a great action flick that kicked off one of the most successful moving-picture show franchises of all meter .
Source : Screenshot via Paramount Pictures
10. Predator (1987)
We screw , we know . You ca n’t includeStar Wars , but you may includePredator ? It ’s about alien , valet ! Well , yeah , but it also takes spot in the jungle and sport more machine guns and biceps than you’re able to think , which we ’re taking as a signaling it lands nigher to “ action ” than “ scientific discipline fiction ” in the music genre word . manoeuvre by the legendary John McTiernan and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger at the height of his life history , Predatorfollows Delta Force Major Dutch Schaefer and his squad as they flush the hobo camp face for evidence of a special operatives squad that had vanished six weeks in the beginning . When fellow member of the Dutch ’s team set about to go leave out , they learn they ’re being hunted for summercater by an noncitizen with superior technology and know - how . Cue the motorcar guns and biceps . While initially critique for its somewhat flimsy plot of ground , Predatorhas become an action picture show classic that helped delimit many of the tropes we agnize and expect from the music genre today .
Source : Screenshot via 20th Century Fox
9. Top Gun (1986)
engineer by Tony Scott and starring the indomitable Tom Cruise as Pete “ Maverick ” Mitchell , Top Gunis the quintessential action movie ; it ’s got fighter jet dog fight , it ’s got dialogue so distinctively cheesy it ’s glorious , and it ’s got Kenny Loggins telling us to depend upon into the Danger Zone . What more could you enquire of the genre , really ? In all seriousness , Top Gunrequires a certain suspension of skepticism when determine . Yes , there ’s some parts of the motion-picture show that are authentically defective . The oddly mislay homoerotic volleyball montage ? Take it for what it is , laugh , and move on to appreciate the film for the awing slice of action cinema that it is . Also star a immature Val Kilmer , Kelly McGillis and Anthony Edwards as Maverick ’s trusty wingman Goose , Top Gunis a requisite course in any legal action film education .
8. Speed (1994)
We ’ve come to carry action from Tom Cruise , and one could say the same about Keanu Reeves . While he ’s made occasional ( and often ill - advise ) turn towards the dramatic , his most successful films are usually filled with gunfights and fisticuffs . 1994’sSpeedis no elision . A movie so ridiculously awing that it have not one , but TWO musical mode of DoT placed on bare roads / railways . That ’s right , two . Also asterisk Sandra Bullock , Dennis Hopper , and Jeff Daniels , Speedfollows young Los Angeles Police Officer Jack Traven ( Reeves ) as he attempts to foil a bomber ( Hopper ) who has placed a bomb on a bus and set it to explode should the vehicle dangle below fifty mi per hour . It ’s a ridiculous assumption that plays surprisingly well , as the pic features a not bad sense of momentum ( pun intended ) and really zips along . There ’s serious alchemy between Reeves and Bullock , and Hopper gives an excellent good turn as the baddie , gain this mid-’90s military action flick a must - watch over for anyone who has the indigence for speed .
7. The Bourne Identity (2002)
Drawing its statute title from the Robert Ludlum novel of the same name ( a school text with which it shares few similarities),The Bourne Identitysaw Matt Damon modulation from “ the genius janitor in that Robin Williams movie ” to a veritable action principal . A riveting moving picture which follow former assassin Jason Bourne ( Damon ) through his pursuance to recover his memory , The Bourne Identityalso stars Chris Cooper , Franka Potente , Clive Owen , and Julia Stiles . One of the first motion picture to debut the now - usual “ shaky - cam ” filming of fight sequence , The Bourne Identitywas followed by two equally successful films ( The Bourne SupremacyandThe Bourne Ultimatum , respectively ) to take shape one of the most critically and commercially respected activeness trilogy of all time . With Damon gestate to reprize his role as Jason Bourne in an of - yet untitled sequel , it would appear that the enfranchisement is set to move forwards with its compounding of quality filmmaking and heart - pound natural action .
Source : Screenshot via Universal Pictures
6. Lethal Weapon (1987)
The spiritual forefather to the brother bull genre , 1987’sLethal Weapon , target by Richard Donner and starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover , follows two mismatched police detectives as they essay to unravel the mysteries behind the mysterious last of a cocotte . One of the earliest iterations of the “ good pig , bad cop ” convention , Lethal Weaponis the film that made Mel Gibson a star and gave us the instantly recognizable personal line of credit “ I ’m too old for this … [you live how it ends ] . ” Featuring a large soundtrack ( the saxophone ! ) and an spookily villainous turn of events by Gary Busey , this film spawned three sequels , only one of which was able to live up to the high expectations dress inLethal Weapon(Lethal arm 2 , while not quite as charming and deft as the original , is not without its highlights ) .
Source : Screenshot via Warner Bros.
5. The Matrix (1999)
We ’re willing to concede thatThe Matrixtrends a little closer to science fiction than it does action mechanism ; however , in light of the film ’s overpowering influence on action filmmaking , competitiveness choreography , stunt work , and visual effect , it ’d be a criminal offense not to include it here . Another action classic starring Keanu Reeves along with Carrie Anne Moss , Laurence Fishburne , and Hugo Weaving , The Matrixfollows a computer programmer , Neo ( Reeves ) as he discovers that his reality is in reality a feigning prepare by sentient machines to conquer the human population for use as an vim source . organize by the Wachowski siblings , it ’s a rotatory film that changed the natural process genre forever and a day with the induction of the “ bullet train meter ” technique , which regard wearisome - motility choreography interspersed with unconstipated action sequences . While the disappointing sequel never truly go up to the promise of the first film , they did continue to deliver the same excellent fight sequences and sci - fi action as this first flick , lead to one of the more profitable ( if not always critically lauded ) action enfranchisement in recent computer memory .
4. Point Break (1991)
3. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
permit ’s not forget there were action stars before Tom Cruise and Keanu Reeves . Arnold Schwarzenegger , of track , is the original activity star and a man whose legacy need not be explained . That legacy tip with 1991’sTerminator 2 : Judgement Day , which see Schwarzenegger and director James Cameron take their fabled villain from the firstTerminatorfilm and make him a protagonist , task with protecting young John Connor ( wager by Edward Furlong ) and his mother Sarah Conner ( played by the incredibly badass Linda Hamilton ) from the more advanced T-1000 ( the terrific Robert Patrick ) . It ’s a watershed while of movie house whose visual effects ( both CGI and animatronic ) have got up super well on a repetition watch ; badly , go pop in the Blu - Ray and strain and figure out how they made this film almost 25 years ago . It look right smart , way better than most of the stuff you see now .
Source : Screenshot via TriStarPictures
2. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Thanks toStar Wars(1977 ) , Harrison Ford was already an activity hero by the time he was cast as hoarded wealth hunting watch Indiana Jones in Steven Spielberg’sRaiders of the Lost Ark. However , it was his execution as the prof / archaeologist / all - around charmer that convince the world he could contain a dealership all by his lonesome . In many ways , Raiders of the Lost Arkis a perfect film ; Ford and the rest of the mold are smear on , it looks absolutely beautiful , and it ’s get joke and thrills in equal measuring rod . Featuring a sloshed book with the most notorious baddie of all ( those all-fired Nazis!),Raidersisn’t just an important activeness film , it ’s an important film period .
1. Die Hard (1989)
This is the 2d John McTiernan film to come along on this list , and that ’s no fortuity . The man knows his way around an activity picture show , and he just so happened to craft the neat one of all time with 1989’sDie Hard , a film which should require neither introduction nor kudos ( since we ’re strike anyone read this article has already seen it , because IT’SDIE HARD ! ! ) . Starring Bruce Willis as John McClane , the wise - cracking , cowboy - loving , trouble - causing New York police police detective compulsive to foil a mathematical group of thieves led by Alan Rickman ’s Hans Gruber , Die Hardestablished so many of the natural process movie tropes , stereotype , and clichés consistently found in legal action movies today . Those films and the genre as a whole oweDie Harda great debt for establishing a convention upon which most action movies have work off of . It ’s the greatest natural action movie ( and the greatest Christmas movie ) of all time , the form of flick you have to finish every meter you turn it on .
