Hello, hello, hello! Nice to have you here, my friends! Let’s start by saying thank you to you guys who have been sticking around for my weird shenanigans for a longer period. Not mentioning any specific names because… well, I don’t remember who have been with me since early on. And you who arrived here recently I thank as well because you decided to start following me, it warms my heart. Now that we got all that fluffy shit out of the way, let’s talk about macho stuff! Action movies! They are awesome and provide a lot of entertainment (mostly) and are really fun to just watch since they rarely make you feel bad or make you think too much. And today we are here to talk about my 13 favorite action movies. Now before we begin we have to establish some rules.
#1: This is my list, so don’t start bitching when a movie you like isn’t on the list or if a movie you dislike is on the list. My opinion and ego is the center of attention here.
#2: As much as I would love to put movies like “Guardians of the Galaxy” or “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” on this list I am not going to. This is a list that is made up of movies mainly focusing on action, so sci-fi is not fit for it. I can say now though that a few movies with sci-fi elements in them will appear but they don’t rely on it overly much. Westerns are (unfortunately) out of the game to. And while you would expect me to put “Drive” on this list, I can’t. I see “Drive” more as a drama/thriller with action bits in it.
#3: This list will not look the same in the future, I am sure of that much. There will be more action movies added to it (not editing this post for that). So while this list isn’t forever definitive, it is like this as of when it was made.
And finally I want to mention any good action movies I didn’t, feel free to leave a comment, I would love to hear your thoughts.
So let’s stop standing on the same spot, let’s go… My Top 13 action movies!
Number 13: Sherlock Holmes: A game of Shadows (2011)
Kicking off the list the sequel to the pretty successful movie “Sherlock Holmes” starring Robert Downey Jr. This is one occasion where I think the sequel is more enjoyable than the first. I seem to be the only one thinking that though. Trust me, I really like the first one too, but I think I prefer this on an entertainment level and as an action movie. Plus, this movie has more of James Moriarty (Jared Harris) than the first movie. And I like that. Now this is as low on the list because, well I think the other movies are better action movies (and movies in general) than this. But I do like this movie a good amount.
Number 12: Batman Begins (2005)
I’ve always loved that picture of Batman, it looks so cool! Oh crap, right… action movies! Putting a Batman movie in the list is a bit of a no-brainer. But which one? Most people would probably choose “The Dark Knight” and I can respect that. But my pick is my favorite of the Nolan Batman movies, “Batman Begins”. And while I think the title is a little funny “Batman Begins”, a sequel should have been called “Batman Continues” and then “Batman Quits”… hehe. Sorry, getting off track. But despite the somewhat silly title I love this movie. Sure, I love the entire trilogy but this is my favorite of them all. The action is nothing short of great and it helps that this movie knows how to tell a great story as well based on everybody’s favorite flying rodent. Plus, Christian Bale is perfect in this movie as Batman. To be honest, everyone in the movie does a great job with their performances. But I love this movie and think it is a great action movie.
Number 11: Die Hard (1988)
Yippee ki-yay motherfucker, it’s “Die Hard”. The movie that solidified Bruce Willis as not only an actor, but also an action star. And man is it a good one! And some of you might be thinking “Die Hard so low!? Fuck you man!”. And then I will have to refer you to rule #1: No bitching. Second of all, I really love “Die Hard”. It is a great action movie. Plus, be glad it is on my list in general! It is here for a reason and that is that I think it is a great action movie… and it’s set during christmas. So it’s a great action and christmas movie!
Number 10: Sin City (2005)
This movie is pretty violent. But the violence in this movie is one of the things that makes it so unique. Another one is the badass color palette. I am aware “Schindler’s List” used a similar style, but “Sin City” did it in a way that gives it an edge. This movie is big, bold and badass, which happens to be something a critic said about 2014’s “The Guest”. But this was big, bold and badass before that so… “Sin City”! The action in this movie is brutal and awesome. And like I said before, the color palette makes it so much cooler. This movie is awesome.
Number 9: Cowboy Bebop: The movie (2001)
In my rules, I said that extreme science fiction and westerns were ruled out… I never said anything about animation. Sure, this has sci-fi and it has a bit of western in it’s title, but it is more of an action movie than anything. I am a huge fan of the “Cowboy Bebop” television show. I would go as far to say that it is my second favorite anime show of all time. But back to the movie! It got (like the show) excellent animation by Studio Sunrise, a kickass soundtrack and the best dub in animation history. Steve Blum IS Spike Spiegel! The action is also really kickass, like the show. I love this movie so much and thought it was a good tie-in to the show. It isn’t a sequel, it is set during the show…ish. But I do still recommend that you watch the show first to get to know the characters and then come back and watch this movie because it is so awesome!
Number 8: Casino Royale (2006)
Yeah, a James Bond movie made it to the list. And damn is it a good one! Not only did it eliminate my doubts about Daniel Craig being Bond, but it was also a lot better in general than I thought it would be. It had a great plot, a fucking awesome opening theme (Chris Cornell – You know my Name), great performances and some really great and intense action sequences. Not only is this number 8 on my list over favorite action movies, but it is also my favorite James Bond movie. “Casino Royale” is a great movie that is perfect in being both a great friday night action movie and a really good character-driven drama.
Number 7: Heat (1995)
Going a little bit old school again with this 1995 action/drama/crime/thriller from director Michael Mann (who later this month comes out with “Blackhat”). This movie is pretty great, and not only because it is on my list. It manages to be more than a simple heist-action movie. It is a heavily character-driven and really well told story. But how does it do in the action department? It is pretty great actually! And the acting in the movie is pretty great too. But that should have been obvious considering the three main stars are Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer… and Jon Voight… Tom Sizemore… getting off track. But when action happens in this movie it is glorious. It is intense, it is badass and it is grand! It takes up a lot of space in the awesomeness room. “Heat” is one of those movies that may be very long, but it is still so worth seeing!
Number 6: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014).
Like with “Cowboy Bebop” this movie may have sci-fi elements in it, but it is mainly an action movie mixed with some spy-espionage-thriller elements. And for that I have to salute Marvel for making a really awesome movie. A great twisty-turny story, great performances, great music reminiscent of “Metal Gear Solid” and some of the greatest action in a movie in recent years. I loved seeing this and I will definitely watch it again some time. It is a great action movie!
Number 5: Taken (2008)
Don’t piss off Liam Neeson, he will kill you with his pinky finger. “Taken” was one of those movies that really surprised me in how great it was. Did I expect it to be this great? No. Did I expect to hate it? Not really. Did I like it? It should be obvious since it is on the list. Sure, some of the action was hidden behind shaky-cam, but a lot of the action was still really great. I also really liked the plot of a man who is like the deadliest father ever go and look for his kidnapped daughter halfway across the world… and also kick a lot of ass during his little “visit” there. I also love Liam Neeson, the guy is a great actor. This movie also gave us something we never knew we wanted that would become what we love now… Liam Neeson doing action things. Yeah, this movie was awesome.
Number 4: Dirty Harry (1971)
From one badass of an older age to another, it is the original badass himself… Clint Eastwood! This has to be one of his most iconic roles/movies, everybody knows about “Dirty” Harry Callahan. He is one of those badasses you don’t want pursuing you because he will growl you to death… if doesn’t kill you with his .44 magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world that can blow your head clean off, so you gotta ask yourself “Do I feel lucky?” Well do ya, PUNK!?
Number 3: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
How could I not? This is the definite sequel! This is the one example I can give when someone asks “Is there a sequel to a movie that is better than the original?” and then I go “Terminator 2”. That is how it always goes and will always go. This is what a sequel should be; improve on the original. And don’t get me wrong, I really like the original “Terminator”, but this movie basically grabs it by the collar and throws it out the window. Hell, even the theme song (which is the same as the original) is better. And the visual effects are so much better! Both the practical ones and the CGI ones. I adore this movie so much.
Number 2: The Matrix (1999)
Oh come on, you expected this movie to be on the list somewhere! It got some of the best action scenes ever put in any movie ever! It’s also the movie that really gave us Hugo Weaving who plays one of the best villains in movie history. I would also say it is Keanu Reeves’ best performance (Sidenote: Take to mind that I have not seen “John Wick” yet which a fair amount of people seem to say has the best Keanu performance ever). Still, think what he would be like if he put a little of that one scene I have seen from “Point Break” in this movie. “I, AM, A, COMPUTER, HACKER!” That would have been pretty hilarious. But still, “The Matrix” is a great action movie and one of my personal movies of all time.
Number 1: Inception (2010)
Yes this is technically an action movie. But a very ambitious and brain-driven movie. And even if you don’t like overly complex stuff, you still get a really good amount of action the movie to be entertained for about two hours. It also got some amazing visual effects, great performances, great music and one of the coolest concepts ever. I love this movie so much in terms of the whole action movie thing and as a movie in general. I am going to say it, “Inception” is one of my favorite movies of all time.
As you may have noticed this list isn’t really ranked based on how much action or explosions there are, but more on my opinion of the movie itself and it of course being an action movie. So like I said before, are there some great action movies I didn’t mention? Feel free to leave a comment. Thanks for sticking around both on the blog and this long post, you rock!
See ya!
TheMarckoguy 