Hollywood's bread and butter are action flicks. People will pay to watch them whether they are humorous or gloomy, grounded in reality or full of magical elements, great or just plain horrible because they contain just enough adrenaline-pumping action.
It's tough to recall what action movies were like before CGI, bullet time, or the overused phenomenon of the shaky cam in this day and age where everything is digital. That isn't to say that there weren't any excellent action flicks. Instead of slick pixelated visuals, they had to rely on talent, cinematography, stunt work, and solid writing. Here are eleven incredible action movies that you should see.
10. Dirty Harry (1971)
Let's start with Dirty Harry, one of Clint Eastwood's most memorable roles in his illustrious career. This neo-noir film follows a cop who doesn't follow the laws and carries a.44 magnums around the streets of Los Angeles while on the lookout for a serial killer.
While films praising police brutality do not age well, this is nevertheless a cinematic gem with exciting action sequences. The famous "are you feeling lucky" sequence is frequently cited more than four decades after the film's debut, and the titular figure, who dispenses abuse with his gigantic hand cannon, is a cultural symbol in the United States.
9. James Bond: The Man With The Golden Gun (1974).
What action movie list would be complete without at least one James Bond film? After all, secret agent James Bond is the ideal blend of a hard-drinking, tough-guy cold warrior and a charming martini-sipping debonair gentleman.
While The Man With The Golden Gun is not without flaws, it is a picture with twists, humor, and Francisco Scaramanga, a cool but quirky villain played by Christopher Lee. Some of the best close-quarters fighting in the Bond franchise can be seen in this film's martial arts scenes.
8. Seven Samurai (1954).
Seven Samurai is one of the best films ever created, and it has more than earned its place in the Criterion Collection. This action picture, directed by the cinematic genius Akira Kurosawa and starring Takashi Shimura and Toshiro Mifune, depicts a band of samurai who guard a peasant village against robbers during Japan's Sengoku Era.
Every fight in this film is stunning, with the audience feeling the pain and effort as the characters bleed out. It is the only film to make this list as a black and white film.
7. Enter The Dragon (1973).
Bruce Lee is the most well-known martial arts movie star of all time. This is for a good purpose. Lee was trained in the Wing Chun School by another martial arts icon, Ip Man, and founded the Jeet Kune Do School of kung fu. Lee, who was known for performing his stunts, was a sight to behold, his rapid flowing movements striking with lightning speed and mastery.
Enter the Dragon was Lee's final film before his death, which is no doubt one of the reasons for its success, but it's still entertaining to watch decades after.
6. First Blood (1982).
While several of the films on our list have aged poorly, this one improves with time. Rambo is a homeless Vietnam War veteran who is severely tortured by a small-town sheriff, prompting him to relive flashbacks of his torture as a prisoner of war in First Blood. When Rambo fights back, he kills a man by accident and is pursued by the sheriff, who orders reinforcements. Over time, this film has become even more significant.
5. Superman: The Movie (1978).
Superheroes are common nowadays, yet they are relatively new phenomena. Superhero movies have a long history of being notoriously awful.
The film, which starred Christopher Reeve as the titular hero from Krypton, conveyed both the main character's strength and mobility while also contrasting his superhero existence with his secret identity. Even though the action isn't thrilling by today's standards, this is still the best live-action Superman to date.
4. Batman (1989).
In the universe of DC Comics, if Superman is the emblem of radiant optimism, Batman is the brooding Dark Knight who stalks crime from the shadows. Although most people today recognize Batman as the goofy hero from the campy 1960s TV program, in the 1980s, most people thought of him as the silly hero from the campy 60s TV show. That's what made Tim Burton's Batman film so incredible: for the first time, Batman's on-screen persona was as gloomy as his comic book counterpart.
3. Akira (1988).
This is one of the smartest action pictures to ever examine social or philosophical concerns, from fighting motorcycle gangs of disenfranchised youngsters to the military state crushing civil rights to the Aum-like cults that have developed in the post-nuclear world. The opening motorbike duel is only one of several scenes in the film that never fails to give the spectator goosebumps.
2. The Warriors (1979).
The Warriors opens with the Gramercy Riffs, New York's most powerful gang, attempting to unite all of the city's gangs. When the Riffs' leader, Cyrus, is assassinated, the Warriors, a much smaller gang, are mistakenly blamed. Their leader is assassinated, and the squad must fight its way back to Coney Island through the entire city.
1. Die Hard (1988).
Several films have attempted to revolutionize the action genre in recent years. Wire teams and bullet time were prominent in The Matrix. The wobbly cam was first seen in The Bourne Identity. In long clean shots that focused on the performers, John Wick presented precise intense stunts. But there was Die Hard before any of these.
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