Let’s be honest: the best action movies are often better—or at least more entertaining—than the best movies from any other genre. Good action movies are worth celebrating, and that’s what the following list of titles aims to do: show the action genre at its very best. Adrenaline junkies and action fans should make it a priority to check out all the following, as they comprise what can be definitively declared the best action movies of all time.
In celebration of what could be the most cinematic genre out there, here’s an overview of the action genre throughout the decades, and the movies that represent it best. With a mix of classics and newer films, the following is an attempt to rank some of the greatest action-packed movies of all time, with all being essential viewing for fans of the action genre.
70
‘A Better Tomorrow’ (1986)
Directed by John Woo
The first of a handful of John Woo movies worth talking about for present purposes, A Better Tomorrow was one of his earliest films to attain a certain level of popularity and acclaim, putting him further on track to be one of the all-time great action movie directors. His name’s going to pop up a further four times below this (spoilers?), which should say a lot about how great he is at making this kind of movie.
A Better Tomorrow was his earliest borderline perfect heroic bloodshed movie, with its plot pitting two brothers against each other in a complicated test of loyalty, as one is an ex-gangster who wants to break free of that sort of life, and the other is a police officer. It’s more of a melodrama for a good chunk of its runtime (not that there’s anything wrong with that), saving its best action sequences for the final act, but when they hit, they hit uncompromisingly hard.
69
‘Braveheart’ (1995)
Directed by Mel Gibson
Braveheart is probably more definable as a historical epic (albeit one that’s more set in historical times rather than going for historical accuracy) than an action movie, but there’s still quite a lot of action. It’s about William Wallace (Mel Gibson) seeking revenge for the murder of the woman he loved, but then this act of revenge snowballs into full-on rebellion against English rule in Scotland.
It’s a little like Spartacus in terms of its premise and structure, but it feels bloodier and more brutal than that film and the other epics of old. Braveheart scarcely holds back and might well be a little too over-the-top at times, but it’s also easy to get swept up in the film, even with it being as broad, bombastic, unsubtle, and historically shaky as it is. There’s a good story here bolstered by compelling battle sequences, and that ends up being more than enough.
68
‘Battle Royale’ (2000)
Directed by Kinji Fukasaku
The premise of Battle Royale is instantly horrifying and successfully stomach-churning, given that it’s about a class of teenage students being sent to an island and told they have to kill each other. It’s established early on that the people behind this are not messing around in the slightest, and that it really will be a “last person standing” sort of competition, with only one student allowed to live, once all others are dead.
It’s heavy stuff, but Battle Royale is also quite exciting and has a ton of action alongside all the depressing drama. It’s the sort of thing that could’ve really gone wrong, but it’s pulled off well here. It’s also a must-watch for anyone who was intrigued by the premise of The Hunger Games but wanted to see it executed in a rawer and (mostly) more realistic way.
67
‘The Dirty Dozen’ (1967)
Directed by Robert Aldrich
Even if The Dirty Dozen disappointed when it came to its action scenes, it would still be worth checking out for how ridiculously great its cast was. This World War II action/adventure movie stars the likes of Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Telly Savalas, and Donald Sutherland, and has a super enticing and well-executed premise, too.
Essentially, The Dirty Dozen is about assembling a group of military prisoners and training them for a hugely dangerous mission; one in which their survival (though unlikely) will be rewarded by their crimes getting pardoned. It’s got a very straightforward three-act structure, but it’s also very satisfying to watch play out nonetheless, with the performances and the memorable characters also going a long way toward making The Dirty Dozen a classic.
66
‘Sholay’ (1975)
Directed by Ramesh Sippy
Functioning as both a great epic movie and an over-the-top action flick, Sholay runs for well over three hours yet stays entertaining for pretty much every minute of its runtime. Broadly, it’s about one man seeking revenge against a notorious criminal for the murder of his family, and the way he seeks the help of two slightly less notorious outlaws to carry out his plan.
Sholay is a maximalist film that, on the surface, might look like it’s overstuffed, but everything just comes together somehow, and it ends up being a blast.
Also, if that doesn’t sound like enough, Sholay is also a musical, sort of a Western, and it balances its dramatic moments with the more buddy comedy-style moments surprisingly well. It’s a maximalist film that, on the surface, might look like it’s overstuffed, but everything just comes together somehow, and it ends up being a blast. If you’re not too familiar with Indian cinema and want to get acquainted with it, so to speak, then this is honestly a pretty good starting point.
65
‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’ (1984)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
It’s honestly pretty easy to summarize Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom as “the dark one” and leave it at that, because it is noticeably bleaker than the other two acclaimed Indiana Jones films of the 1980s. It sometimes feels like the forgotten middle child of the series, but as an action movie, it does really satisfy… it’s just that, for better or worse, the action/adventure stuff has to share the screen with some really dark and gross things.
Steven Spielberg was at least going for something different here, and the content of Temple of Doom did also help bring about the PG-13 rating, given how this film, though intended for a wide audience, did have some pretty chunky (almost) R-rated violence. It’s a mean-spirited, strange, weirdly bloody, and honestly admirable romp, and it more than works as an action movie.
64
‘Kung Fu Hustle’ (2004)
Directed by Stephen Chow Sing-Chi
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Functioning as both a live-action cartoon and a martial arts movie, Kung Fu Hustle attempts to do a lot within a fairly short runtime, and it honestly succeeds across the board. It’s somewhat inspiring that such a wild film can come together this well, and the film’s narrative itself is oddly inspiring, in that it’s about one unlikely person achieving greatness and standing up to immense adversity.
Of course, Kung Fu Hustle does this in a way that’s far from straightforward, and parts of it are more than willing to parody martial arts movie conventions more than play them straight. It feels like every cartoon and kung fu film you’ve ever seen thrown into a blender, and spiked with additional sugar for more energy. It’s a glorious and strangely beautiful mess, and unlike much else out there.
63
‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ (2022)
Directed by Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan
Well, okay, Kung Fu Hustle is a unique martial arts comedy, but by no means is it the only great martial arts comedy, since Everything Everywhere All at Once also exists. Though, to be fair, this Best Picture winner is more than just a comedic martial arts movie, with it also functioning as a family drama, an adventure film, and a sometimes complex piece of science fiction, too.
Everything Everywhere All at Once explores the idea of the multiverse—and eventually saving it—in a thrillingly unique and unpredictable way. There’s too much going on here to break down in the space of a few short sentences, but if you come away from Everything Everywhere All at Once not having felt some kind of unexpected emotion, then that would be genuinely surprising.
62
‘Redline’ (2009)
Directed by Takeshi Koike
Redline shows that a movie doesn’t have to be in live-action to have great action. This is a top-tier anime film that revolves around an interplanetary car race that takes place in the distant future. An already intense and sometimes dangerous sport is just made even more intense, dangerous, and high-stakes, thanks to the vehicles people drive when taking part in this futuristic race.
Speed is the name of the game with Redline. It wants you to feel like you’re racing through the entire thing, and the amount of adrenaline provided, thanks to the immense animation and expert use of sound, is undeniable. Few animated movies come even close to being as exciting as Redline, and even if you’re the sort of action movie fan who doesn’t usually like anime, this one’s a must-watch.
61
‘GoldenEye’ (1995)
Directed by Martin Campbell
There are lots of good 007 movies that themselves can count as good action films, since even though you’d call them spy movies, action scenes naturally play a big part in just about every single one of them. GoldenEye might not quite be the best of the best, but it is a very good James Bond film, having everyone’s favorite secret agent deal with the usual sorts of world-ending stakes.
Things get a bit spicier in GoldenEye because the main villain (who’s played by Sean Bean) was once Agent 006, so there’s that whole friends-to-rivals thing at play, which always makes for good drama. Elsewhere, GoldenEye is explosive and pretty over-the-top, though there’s just enough here by way of grit and intensity to keep it from falling into full-on camp (not that the campier 007 films don’t have their fans, though).
