Whether it’s our basest human tendencies toward competition and argumentation, an obsessive quirk of some hobbyists, or a simple marketing ploy, we love ranking things and pitting them against each other. From restaurants on Yelp to human beings on Uber, we love to rate things and force them into comparative structures, no matter how much harm we might cause in the process. ‘Best Of’ lists are extremely popular, and feed into the awful, divisive impulses of people (as evidenced by the comment section below), so what better genre to rank than the one solely focused on people fighting each other — action?
Then again, these lists can be extremely useful. They shine a light on titles which more people should see, bringing exposure to a variety of films while also validating the opinions of others and celebrating the truly worthy. Now, it’s tricky to list the best action films ever made, because few films solely exist within one single genre, most of all action.
There are a bevy of amazing action scenes in films which are essentially sci-fi (Aliens, Terminator, Predator, The Matrix), there are the action-packed CGI spectacles of superhero movies, there are comedy movies with a lot of action (Hot Fuzz, 21 Jump Street, The Other Guys), and there’s Quentin Tarantino, whose movies have action but are never action movies, except Kill Bill. Those two films are brimming with artful action sequences, and for many people remain the best action films of the past couple of decades. However, there are so many movies that Tarantino took from (as he himself admitted), that Kill Bill feels more like an action Frankenstein than anything else. It’s a greatest hits compilation, really, and an excellently constructed one, but let’s call it an honorable mention.
However, we’re going to limit this list of the best American action movies to something as pure as possible — no aliens or monsters, no laugh-out-loud comedies, no flying heroes in pantyhose, and no Tarantino. While there are obviously many films which debatably could be listed here (and will be mentioned in the comments as dull people call this author a talentless idiot for not including them), the following are the most essential and greatest of all time.
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11 The French Connection
20th Century Fox
If Bullitt paved the way for action cinema to truly unleash itself, then The French Connection is perhaps its first masterpiece (and no, Point Blank is not an action film). For a long time, the action genre simply couldn’t compete with other genres; the violence, realism, camerawork, and editing that great action usually needs basically didn’t exist until the ’70s, for a variety of reasons. The closest any genre came to this would be the Western, with films like The Wild Bunch coming closer to actual action than most other films prior to the ’70s.
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This 1971 film from Exorcist director William Friedkin, on the other hand, is a gritty, exhilarating journey through the dank depths of New York City as cops pursue the drug trade. With a career-defining performance from Gene Hackman as Detective Popeye Doyle, Friedkin’s documentary-like direction immerses viewers in the action, making the outstanding chase sequences some of the greatest of all time.
10 Unleashed (Danny the Dog)
United International Pictures
Jet Li is rightfully considered one of the best action stars of all time, and while he’s given many gravity-defying performances, his work in Unleashed (also known as Danny the Dog) is his most underrated and arguably his best.
With a script from Luc Besson (Leon the Professional, The Fifth Element) and direction from Louis Leterrier (the Transporter films, Now You See Me), an incredible techno score from Massive Attack and RZA, and beautiful performances from Li, Morgan Freeman, and Bob Hoskins, it’s mind-blowing how little-known Unleashed is. The film follows the slow self-awareness and revenge of a bodyguard, trained from a young age with a shock collar to work for a gangster.
9 The Rock
Buena Vista Pictures
For many, Michael Bay is the bane of Hollywood, a director whose dependence upon explosions and smudgy CGI has ruined action cinema; for others, he’s created some of the most consistently fun movies of the past three decades. Both parties can probably agree that The Rock is simply an amazing movie (good enough to sit next to the greatest auteur in the Criterion Collection).
The Rock has extremely fun performances from Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage (as well as a soulful Ed Harris), as a pair of men tasked with infiltrating Alcatraz to save the world or whatever; honestly, the plot doesn’t matter much, it’s the energy, dialogue, acting, and epic fun of the whole thing that makes The Rock a somewhat cheesy but timeless action classic.
8 Speed
20th Century Fox Releasing
Of the many bottle movie thrillers that sprouted up after Die Hard changed the action game, Speed is perhaps the best. The time-tested formula of confining action to one small location (as seen in Con Air, Panic Room, The Raid, Snowpiercer, Bullet Train, etc.) is thrillingly perfected here thanks to the pairing of Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, the over-the-top brilliance of a villainous Dennis Hopper, and the neat set pieces with a speeding bus that will blow up when it slows down.
7 John Wick
Lionsgate
John Wick seemed to signal a shift in the action landscape, embracing more whimsy and world-building than the increasingly grim, humorless action movies of the 2000s. Yes, it adopts the ‘one man against the world’ revenge format of Taken, like every other action movie after 2008, but almost as a morbid joke — Wick’s daughter hasn’t been kidnapped; his dog was killed.
Yet again, Keanu Reeves proves why he’s arguably the greatest action star of the past three decades (in his third wonderful, action-packed franchise), playing a hit man in a world in which seemingly every third person is an assassin. The almost neo-noir film, helping initiate a new era of fun action flicks directed by stunt coordinators, deservedly became a huge sensation.
6 James Bond
EON Productions
This is a more complicated entry. First because it’s a bit of a cheat to include an entire franchise (and arguably no single James Bond film could be called one of the top ten action films ever made, except perhaps Skyfall), but also because the James Bond movies aren’t completely action films, at least not until Pierce Brosnan’s era.
However, there are more than enough amazing action scenes from the franchise and intense set pieces for the James Bond property to warrant a place in the greatest action movies of all time. The notorious spy has lived through some of the best American action sequences in movies, so he deserves to be here.
5 Mad Max
Warner Bros.
While we’re discussing franchises, one more cheat is being admitted here — Mad Max. While ostensibly a post-apocalyptic movie series, the Mad Max movies don’t include the usual sci-fi stuff and are generally more focused on relentless chase sequences and epic fights.
Mel Gibson’s time behind the wheel featured many great action moments, but it’s arguably the most recent installment, Mad Max: Fury Road, that takes the cake. Hailed as one of the greatest action movies of all time, this incredibly choreographed, imaginatively designed, endlessly entertaining film feels like watching one incredible race that never gets dull and never quits.
4 Die Hard
20th Century
Die Hard changed the action game in so many ways. From helping popularize the idea of action movies taking place in one location, to celebrating a more relatable hero rather than a ripped Stallone or Schwarzenegger, to its incorporation of wit and character humor, Die Hard upended many old notions of what an action flick could be. With a towering yet quirky performance from Bruce Willis as a cynical man trying to save a hostage situation and his marriage, Die Hard is a Christmas classic for some and just an action masterpiece for everyone else.
3 Face/Off
Touchstone Pictures
Face/Off may not be the most critically acclaimed action film, and may not have launched a big franchise, and may be extremely ridiculous, and yet there is something about this English-language film from action master John Woo that is irreverently endearing.
Eccentric and over-the-top, Face/Off features two of the wildest performances from Nicolas Cage and John Travolta as two men on opposite sides of the law who literally switch faces. With hilarious line readings, Woo’s consistently brilliant use of visual metaphors, and some amazing set pieces, Face/Off is an immensely fun film that only seems to get better with age.
2 Raiders of the Lost Ark
Paramount Pictures
Raiders of the Lost Ark blurs the line between action and adventure, but has enough iconic sequences, chases, and fights that it’s rightfully gone down in history as one of the greatest action movies of all time. With a magnetically charming performance from Harrison Ford as one of the most iconic characters of all time, Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark is the first and best of Indie’s adventures throughout the world to discover treasure, save women and children, fight Nazis, and run from boulders and snakes.
1 Mission Impossible
The original Mission Impossible movie from director Brian De Palma is a paranoid masterpiece which seems to exist as just one technically impressive set piece after another, setting the template for a franchise which basically replicates the model. The thing is, the Mission Impossible films simply do it better than any other.
There may be more meaningful, culturally important, or intelligent action films out there, but each Mission Impossible film seems to top the last in terms of death-defying stunts, delightful characters, masterful cinematography, and intense scenarios. Even if one were to discount the whole franchise and only look at that first De Palma film, Mission Impossible is very possibly the best action movie of all time.
