Entertainment
8 Most Exciting Action Thrillers of All Time
For a long time, I assumed action thrillers would be the easiest genre to get tired of. This was when I had just started rolling through Hollywood’s catalog. After all, there are only so many car chases, explosions, and shootouts a movie can throw at you before all of those films start looking the same. That happened to me with a lot of action movies. I always mixed up their names and action sequences because most of the time they all looked the same to me.
The movies on this list, however, even then, never had that problem. You can watch them multiple times, year after year, and still won’t get tired because the adrenaline rush will be the same as if you’re watching it for the first time. Let’s have a look at eight such exciting thrillers.
8
‘Speed’ (1994)
In Speed, Officer Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves) discovers that a city bus has been rigged with a bomb that will explode if the vehicle drops below 50 miles per hour. This simple idea becomes ridiculous almost immediately because Los Angeles is not exactly designed for a bus that doesn’t slow down. Passengers panic, traffic keeps getting in the way, and Annie Porter (Sandra Bullock) suddenly finds herself driving dozens of strangers through a situation she barely understands herself.
The movie becomes more fun because their problems keep changing. At one point, the bus is running out of road. Later, Jack has to climb underneath it while it is moving. Even the passengers become part of the tension because they start doing absurd things out of fear. The film spends two hours showing multiple disasters can happen on one bus before everything finally goes wrong, and somehow it keeps finding new answers.
7
‘The Fugitive’ (1993)
In The Fugitive, Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) is convicted of murdering his wife, though he knows somebody else committed the crime. Before he can begin proving it, the prison transport carrying him crashes, sending inmates and guards into chaos. Kimble escapes and disappears, which immediately turns him into the target of Deputy U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) and an entire manhunt stretching across Chicago. Every step forward in the investigation creates another risk because Kimble cannot go to the police without being arrested.
The film is a lot different from other chase thrillers. Kimble sneaks into hospitals, studies medical records, and follows leads connected to the mysterious one-armed man he saw the night his wife died. Meanwhile, Gerard is never portrayed as incompetent. He keeps getting closer because he is good at his job. That balance makes every encounter dangerous and thrilling because both men are smart enough to stay one step ahead of almost everyone else.
6
‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ (2007)
The Bourne Ultimatum starts with Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) still trying to understand who turned him into an assassin and why. A newspaper reporter begins investigating Treadstone, which draws Bourne back into the story he has been trying to piece together for years. CIA officials scramble to contain the damage, while Bourne moves across Europe following fragments of information that might finally lead him to the truth about his past.
Some of the film’s most exciting scenes involve people simply talking into phones. At Waterloo Station, Bourne guides a journalist through crowds while secretly watching CIA agents close in from every direction. Later, he manages to stay ahead of entire surveillance teams by predicting their movements before they happen. The action scenes are excellent, though what really makes Bourne interesting is how quickly he processes information. Every room becomes something to analyze, every exit becomes a plan, and his every mistake could get somebody killed but still he maneuvers his way through everything. While watching The Bourne Ultimatum you are just glued to your seats.
5
‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’ (2018)
In Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) loses control of plutonium that could be used in a devastating terrorist attack. The mission quickly spirals into a race across multiple countries as Ethan, Luther (Ving Rhames), Benji (Simon Pegg), and Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) try to prevent a group known as the Apostles from carrying out a catastrophic plan. The problem becomes even messier once CIA operative August Walker (Henry Cavill) enters the picture.
The film constantly places Ethan in situations where completing the mission and saving lives are not the same thing. He always has to choose one over the other. Early on, he chooses to protect a teammate instead of securing the plutonium, which creates the entire crisis. The most exhilarating scee of the movie was the helicopter chase through the mountains, where Ethan is hanging from the aircraft, crashing through terrain, and trying to stop multiple nuclear detonations at the same time. The scale, the pressure and the thrill is what makes it a must-watch.
4
‘Die Hard’ (1988)
Die Hard begins with New York police officer John McClane (Bruce Willis) arriving in Los Angeles to visit his estranged wife during a company Christmas party. Before he can repair his marriage, a group of heavily armed criminals led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) takes over Nakatomi Plaza and traps everyone inside. McClane escapes detection almost by accident, leaving him alone in a skyscraper filled with men who have far more weapons and manpower than he does.
Unlike many action heroes, McClane gets noticeably worse at his job as the night goes on. He becomes exhausted, bloody, and increasingly desperate. By the middle of the film, he is pulling glass from his feet and wondering whether he will survive long enough to see his wife again. The action sequences of the film are still memorable, though the vulnerability is what keeps the tension alive.
3
‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ (2015)
In Mad Max: Fury Road, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) drives a war rig away from the Citadel while secretly helping Immortan Joe’s wives escape. Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) becomes involved almost by accident after being captured and used as a living blood bag by Joe’s army. Once Furiosa changes course, the entire wasteland seems to come after them, turning the story into a massive pursuit across deserts, canyons, and sandstorms.
What I find most interesting is that the movie eventually realizes the destination does not exist anymore. Furiosa spends years dreaming about returning to the Green Place, only to discover it has disappeared. Suddenly the entire journey has to be reconsidered. Instead of continuing forward, the characters decide their best option is to turn around and drive directly back through the army chasing them. That decision changes everything that follows.
2
‘The Dark Knight’ (2008)
The Dark Knight starts with Gotham’s criminal underworld struggling to adapt after Batman (Christian Bale) begins disrupting its operations. Into that chaos steps the Joker (Heath Ledger), a criminal who seems less interested in money than in creating disorder wherever he goes. His attacks become increasingly unpredictable, drawing Batman, Lieutenant Gordon (Gary Oldman), and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) into a conflict that keeps expanding beyond ordinary crime.
The Joker spends most of the movie attacking people’s assumptions rather than their physical safety and immediately becomes the favorite character. Heath has performed it with immaculate versatility. He targets Harvey because Gotham views him as its future. He targets Batman because Gotham believes heroes can solve problems. Two groups of strangers are handed the power to destroy each other, and the Joker expects both sides to choose themselves. The film is a treat to watch nonetheless.
1
‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ (1981)
In Raiders of the Lost Ark, archaeologist Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is recruited to locate the Ark of the Covenant before Nazi forces can get their hands on it. The search takes him from jungles to deserts to ancient excavation sites as he races against rival archaeologist Belloq (Paul Freeman), who keeps appearing at exactly the wrong moment. Every major discovery seems to create a new obstacle, usually involving snakes, traps, armed soldiers, or all three.
One reason the movie remains so entertaining is that Indy spends surprisingly little time in control of the situation. He finds the Ark, then loses it. He steals it back, then loses it again. Even the famous truck sequence begins because he is desperately trying to recover something that has already been taken from him. The film keeps throwing him into trouble and forcing him to improvise his way out which creates the sense of thrill. That unpredictability makes the movie a wholesome thriller.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Release Date
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June 12, 1981
- Runtime
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115 minutes
- Writers
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Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas, Philip Kaufman
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