Your votes have been cast and tallied. Here are the people’s choices for the Greatest Action Movies Ever…
20. Casino Royale (2006)
James Bond’s return to glory under the helm of Kiwi director Martin Campbell (also behind the excellent GoldenEye) saw everyone’s favourite secret agent take a leaf out of Jason Bourne’s book, with a toughed-up Daniel Craig more fond of breaking necks than swilling cocktails. Effectively a reboot for the tired, increasingly far-fetched franchise, Casino Royale up the ante for kick-ass action, from its parkour beginning to its collapsing building finale.
19. Speed (1995)
Proving once again that there’s nothing like an absurdly simple concept to make a great action movie, Speed’s premise involved a bomb on a bus that would detonate once the vehicle slowed to below 50 kilometres per hour. Unbelievable for those of us used to Auckland’s gridlock, these bus passengers managed to survive thanks to a smooth Keanu Reeves and newbie Sandra Bullock. Once again, Dennis Hopper lost his head as a maniacal villain.
18. Dirty Harry (1971)
Approaching its 40th anniversary, this is the oldest action film on the list. Still a firm favourite after all these years thanks to the grizzled performance of Clint Eastwood as Harry Callahan, a San Francisco cop with little regard for rules. He’s tracking down a serial killer called Scorpio, and is inclined to ask punks about their level of luck.
17. Gladiator (2000)
Russell Crowe is definitely ‘one of ours’ when it comes to this sword and sandals epic. Ridley Scott’s awesome dust-up was about a disgraced Roman commander forced to become a gladiator to reclaim his dignity and bring honour to his slain family. Responsible for ressurecting a dead genre, Gladiator still remains the top dog. “Are you not entertained?” Yes, yes we are.
16. Enter the Dragon (1973)
This martial arts classic made Bruce Lee a cultural icon. Not only is it the most famous entry in its genre, it’s arguably the best, and well deserving of its unofficial tag as the Citizen Kane of kung fu films. Lee stars as a martial-arts expert determined to help capture the narcotics dealer whose gang was responsible for his sister’s death.
15. Lethal Weapon (1987)
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, everyone loved Mel Gibson. A top-notch buddy flick saw a veteran cop (Danny Glover) unwillingly paired with a crazed young rookie (Gibson). This ebony and ivory double team delivered on its appealing straightforward title, as the pair learned to work together to stop a gang of drug smugglers.
14. The Transporter (2002)
Jason Statham seems to be the shining light from the ‘new guard’ of action stars. This star vehicle works so well because the concept is simple. It’s about a dude whose job is to deliver packages. He transports them. He’s a transporter. And he strictly sticks to his three rules. Rule one: never change the deal. Rule two: no names. Rule three: never investigate the package. Of course, what happens when he breaks the rules results in stunts and explosions.
13. The Star Wars Trilogy (1977-1983)
Encompassing A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, space opera’s finest trilogy has too many amazing action sequences to recall, but here goes: The X-wing assault on the Death Star, the battle of Hoth, the asteroid chase, Luke’s slaying of the Rancor, the skirmish by the Sarlacc, the speeder chase on Endor, Vader and Luke’s final duel…
12. Inception (2010)
At the time of writing, this is still going strong in cinemas, but Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi opus has blown enough people’s brains so far to see it receive a one-way ticket straight to the upper echelon of action movies. An action-thriller set within the “architecture of the mind”, Inception is a narratively bold film that packs in memorable action moments, particularly Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s gravity-less corridor fisticuffs.
11. Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)
Part one of a two-part, 247 minute homage to kung fu and samurai movies, this was the story of one woman’s bloody quest for revenge told, like most Tarantino films, in titled chapters and non-chronological order. While it didn’t quite meet his high standards in the dialogue department, it made up for it with the fight scenes (especially the climactic Showdown at House of Blue Leaves). Filled with some of the most kick-ass sequences of the decade.
10. The Dark Knight (2008)
One of the best superhero movies ever made, this contemporary classic delivered a hefty uppercut of superior pop entertainment. The late Heath Ledger’s Joker went down a treat but was only part of this terrific crime epic, which delivered everything it promised and entertained us to no end. Batman 3 can’t come soon enough.
9. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
The trilogy-making chapter of the first-class espionage series, still with its original lead (Matt Damon) and the same director of the second film (Paul Greengrass, United 93). This was the sharpest tent-peg blockbuster of 2007. Smartly plotted, sublimely cast, and presented with such panache you could almost forget the Seagal-worthy dialogue.
8. Commando (1985)
Retired elite commando John Matrix (Arnie, again) has only a few hours to find and rescue his kidnapped daughter from an exiled dictator. The ransom demands are that Matrix hunt down and kill a Latin American president, in order to allow the corrupt dictator to return to power. But Matrix has other ideas. Ideas that involve lots of guns and explosives…
7. Aliens (1986)
James Cameron once again proves that under his guidance, a sequel can be better. His follow up to Ridley Scott’s sci-fi horror pumped up the action. Sigourney Weaver returned as Ripley, awakened from hypersleep and tasked with leading a group of marines into the alien-infested colony on planetoid LV-426. The power suits would make a re-appearance (of sorts) in Cameron’s Avatar.
6. The Matrix (1999)
The film that blew everyone’s socks off at the tail end of the ’90s was this existential action-thriller. Keeping to classic structures of myth, The Wachowski brothers provided never-seen-before visual effects (bullet-time) and started a fashion trend for goths (shades and trenchcoats) at the same time. Followed by some puzzling sequels, The Matrix was nonetheless one of those films that again raised the bar for action filmmaking.
5. Predator (1987)
Voted the slight favourite out of the alien-enemy action films, Predator was about a team of commandos, on a mission in a Central American jungle, who find themselves hunted by an extra-terrestrial warrior. One of the humans to survive this vicious attack was Arnold Schwarzenegger, naturally.
4. Rambo: First Blood (1982)
Sylvester Stallone earned his action stripes as John Rambo, a misunderstood Vietnam War veteran who wanders into a small American town only to be victimised by an overzealous sheriff. Whilst sequels took place in foreign countries, this was on good ol’ yankee soil, focusing on the psychological difficulties war vets had with re-adjusting to normal life back in America.
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
As an alternative to making his dream Bond movie, Steven Spielberg created one of the legends of the silver screen. Together with George Lucas, the pair created an ode to the serial adventures of the 1930s. First choice Tom Selleck was unavailable so they settled on Harrison Ford. Movie magic happened when mild mannered archeology professor, Dr Henry Jones, put on that famous fedora and got himself involved in fighting Nazis and cowering before the power of the supernatural. All while dodging bullets, arrows, cobras and giant boulders.
2. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Everyone’s favourite Terminator film comes in second. Although Arnold Schwarzenegger was the bad guy the first time around, in this one he’d been sent back through time to be the good guy, and to protect a young John Connor from an advanced terminator, the T-1000. Always a man with a penchant for impressing, James Cameron (Avatar)’s action choreography was impeccable, and his shape-shifting T-1000 raised the bar for visual effects at the time.
1. Die Hard (1988)
The clear winner was 1988’s action classic. In a career-defining role, Bruce Willis played John McClane, a good cop with a wisecracking streak and a solid work ethic. When 12 terrorists, led by a slimy Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), take over a skyscraper, it was left to McClane to take on the task of stopping them himself. Willis would later reprise the character in three sequels, while director John McTiernan (fresh off helming Predator at this point) later made Die Hard: With a Vengeance. Yippee-ki-yay motherf**ker.
