Entertainment
10 Greatest Action Movies That Are Pure Cinema, Ranked
Action movies are a dime a dozen. Most of the time, audiences aren’t asking for a lot. Like horror fans with a predictable slasher, action junkies are usually happy if a movie gives them plenty of thrilling fight scenes, suspenseful car chases, and a few gun fights and cool one-liners thrown in. Actors like Steven Seagal and Chuck Norris built very successful careers this way, even though many of their films weren’t all that great.
When done well though, action can transcend the tropes and do so much more because the genre has so few limitations. In these worlds, whatever you can think of is possible. The Fast and Furious franchise recognized this. But then there are those action masterpieces that are something more, becoming a stunning visual work of art on the big screen. These 10 action movies will make your jaw drop.
10
‘Sicario’ (2015)
Sicario is the product of two current Hollywood heavyweights. Directed by Denis Villeneuve from a script by Taylor Sheridan, the film follows FBI agent Katie Macer (Emily Blunt) as she joins a government task force to take down a drug cartel. Sicario isn’t a simple action flick with good guys and bad guys, because the more Kate gets involved, the more she sees that those show works for aren’t so trustworthy.
With Blade Runner 2029 and the Dune films, Villeneuve is regarded as a visionary. He’s treated his movies like art since the very beginning and Sicario is no different. Famed cinematographer Roger Deakins was hired to shoot the director’s seventh film. Instead of using chaotic camerawork to match the chaotic plot, Deakins pulls back and stays steady, putting the audience with the characters and letting them and the stunning visuals tell the story. His efforts resulted in a Best Cinematography nomination at the Academy Awards.
9
‘Die Hard’ (1988)
It’s not hyperbole to say that John McTiernan‘s Die Hard might be the greatest and most famous action movie of all-time. Coming out in the late 80s, it could have been just another over-the-top shoot ’em up, but casting Bruce Willis, in the era of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, to play the iconic John McClane added a touch of realism. In the film, McClane is a New York cop separated from his wife who must now save her when a group of terrorists led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) takes over a Christmas party at L.A.’s Nakatomi Plaza.
Die Hard does have the tropes of 80s action, including a badass catchphrase, but what puts it among the greats is its cinematic flare. Most of the plot takes place indoors in the same building, and it’s never suffocating. Cinematographer Jan de Bont, who would later go on to direct Speed and Twister, creates unforgettable imagery. Bruce Willis, lit by the flame of a lighter in an air duct, is a perfect shot. So is the third act slow-motion leap from the top of Nakatomi Plaza, explosions going off in the background. Every scene makes full use of its limited space.
8
‘The Dark Knight’ (2008)
Three years after Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan returned with The Dark Knight. As good as the first film was, the follow-up took things to a different level. Christian Bale was back as Bruce Wayne, this time going up against his most well known enemy, the Joker. It can’t be understated what Heath Ledger brought to the Oscar-winning role, but none of it would have mattered if everything around them didn’t work so well.
The Dark Knight also received Academy Award nominations for Art Direction, Visual Effects, and Cinematography, winning for Best Sound Editing. IMAX cameras made the film feel larger than life, while realistic blue and green hues brought it down to Earth with a real-world look not interested in the bright colors of the superhero genre. The Joker is especially framed perfectly in everything from the opening bank reveal of Ledger removing his mask, to the finale, where the camera twists and turns to show an upside-down Joker right side up.
7
‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ (1981)
If anyone knows how to make a movie pure cinema, it’s Steven Spielberg. By 1981, he’d already proven it several times over with movies like Jaws. Then, pairing up with George Lucas, he created a modern action classic with Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first entry in the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison Ford‘s dry humor adds so much to the character as the adventurer sets out on a journey to get to the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a fun epic built for the big screen. The settings are dazzling and John Williams‘ bombastic score is known by all. At the 1982 Oscars, the film won five trophies, including for Best Sound and Best Visual Effects. It’s a shame that cinematographer Douglas Slocombe didn’t win one too. He brought the elements to cohesion with skilled lighting techniques and lingering tracking shots. From the brilliant opening scene onward, Raiders of the Lost Ark showed audiences what they had to look forward to for the next decade.
6
‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ (1991)
James Cameron‘s The Terminator is a mixture of horror and sci-fi, with a killer cyborg on the hunt for Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), the future mother of the human resistance. Just like he did with Aliens, following Ridley Scott‘s Alien, everything about Terminator 2: Judgment Day is bigger and better. Now, the Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is the badass good guy, and he’s tasked with protecting Sarah’s preteen son, John (Edward Furlong). With such a big plot, Cameron goes all in.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is near the top of every list for the best action movie ever made. The CGI effects are revolutionary and a supplement to a non-stop plot with one big set piece after another. The semi vs motorcycle chase scene is shot with precision by cinematographer Adam Greenberg. Another chase scene, where Robert’s Patrick T-1000’s chases after the heroes in a helicopter that swoops under bridges, is stunning in its impossibility. It won four Oscars and flipped the script on what action was capable of doing.
5
‘Seven Samurai’ (1954)
Akira Kurosawa is a filmmaking legend responsible for such classics as Rashomon and Ikiru. Seven Samurai, however, is his masterpiece. You want cinematic? How about an action film that’s 207 minutes long?! When news spreads that bandits are planning to invade a small town, the residents are desperate for help. This leads them to the seven samurai who can protect them.
That’s a too easy synopsis for such a giant movie. Kurosawa nails it with the execution. He takes his time, establishing his characters first and letting the suspense build. When the action reaches a crescendo in an all-out climax, the director has the viewer on the edge of their seat with his multi-camera fight scenes and sweeping shots. Kurosawa’s directing style influenced everything from the American westerns that came after to more modern action films.
4
‘The Raid: Redemption’ (2011)
Written and directed by Gareth Evans, the Indonesian action film The Raid: Redemption is remembered for its innovations. It stars Iko Uwais as Rama, a rookie cop who is one of the only members of his team left alive when they’re gunned down during a raid on a drug lord’s territory. He and a few others are in a fight to death in one violent gun battle after another all the way to the stunning finale.
The Raid: Redemption is absolutely brutal in its violence. It’s like a non-stop video game where a new bad guy is around every turn for our hero to deal with. It does it all in quarters tighter than what Die Hard had to deal with. Despite its intense pace, Gareth does not give into the usual 21st century shaky cam tropes. He focuses on the action, letting it play out like a twisted painting leaping off the screen.
3
‘John Wick’ (2014)
You can take your pick about which movie from this franchise to put on the list. All of them are action perfection, but we’ll go with the 2014 original John Wick. Directed by former stuntman Chad Stahelski, Keanu Reeves stars as the titular character, a hitman looking for a way out. He only wants to grieve for his dead wife, but one day, thugs break in and kill the puppy his wife had left him. Pushed to the brink, Wick fights back and slaughters everyone in his path.
John Wick is like a samurai movie with guns in place of swords. It’s not about easy point and shoot gun fights. Stahelski delivers highly-stylized and choreographed fight scenes in front of dark, slick colors. The fact that it was made by a man who once made stunts his livelihood shows. The plot is thin, but it more than makes up for it with its unrelenting mayhem. Keanu Reeves’ performance in the chaos resurrected a lagging career and made him one of the most famous actors on the planet all over again.
2
‘The Matrix’ (1999)
Before John Wick, there was The Matrix. It defined pop culture and science fiction in 1999. Written by the Wachowskis, Keanu Reeves is a computer programmer named Neo who discovers that the world he’s living in is a simulation. Now he helps lead a revolution to break free with the likes of Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) as they battle the Agent Smiths (Hugo Weaving) programmed to stop them from getting out.
The cinematography, led by Bill Pope, in The Matrix was legendary at the end of the 20th century and has been copied often. The film won four much deserved Oscars for Best Film Editing, Sound, Sound Effects Editing, and Visual Effects. Perhaps most impressive of all is what is called “Bullet Time”, which allowed multiple cameras to film the same scene from different angles, which made the viewer feel like they were witnessing the camera swoop in through a still shot.
1
‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ (2015)
Several entries on this list were so good that they launched a franchise. Then there’s Mad Max: Fury Road, the fourth movie in George Miller‘s sweeping epic and the first without Mel Gibson. Now played by Tom Hardy, the post-apocalyptic sees Max mostly playing second fiddle to Charlize Theron‘s Furiosa, a War Rig driver who has decided to fight back and save her people.
The original trilogy was highly regarded, but no one was prepared for Fury Road put on the screen. It’s an action movie pushed to the limits in every technical aspect. The sweeping desert setting is amazing to look at, the score will make you sweat, and the characters are perfect over-the-top zaniness. What really sets this one apart, though, is how hard it pushes. Once it gets going, it doesn’t slow down, with one spectacularly wild scene after another. Nothing has been able to compare to it since.
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