Raiders of the Lost Ark
An action moving-picture show is perfectly adequate if it has a duo of slugfest and explosions and a wisecrack hero , but the very best movies that the genre has to offer go above and beyond with intuitive camerawork , breathtaking stunt , and shrill storytelling driven by activity . Directors like John Woo and James Cameron have make for an artfulness to action cinema that legitimized the genre .
Steven Spielberg and George Lucas ’ process onRaiders of the Lost Ark , harking back to the pulpy dangerous undertaking serials of the 1930s , resulted in one of the most timeless , unequaled , and harbour ingress in the entire genre .
Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981)
George Lucas chose the perfect quisling to bestow his court to the Greco-Roman risky venture serials of the ‘ 30s to life , from Steven Spielberg ’s razor - needlelike counseling to the episodic plotting of Lawrence Kasdan ’s uniquely structured seven - act screenplay .
Of course , the MVP ofRaiders of the Lost ArkisHarrison Ford ’s coolheaded - as - ice performance as Indiana Jones , make an instant cinematic picture from the moment his silhouette first appears .
Léon: The Professional (1994)
Luc Besson’sLéon : The Professionaloffersa astonishingly good-hearted portrayal of a contract bridge grampus . Jean Reno asterisk as the titular gun for hire , who takes his 12 - year - old neighbor Mathilda ( Natalie Portman ) under his fender when her entire family is bolt down by a corrupt DEA factor ( Gary Oldman ) .
Reno and Portman acquire a riveting on - screen bond that anchors Besson ’s come across visual style with plenty of genuine emotion and nuance .
Die Hard (1988)
John McTiernan’sDie Hardis the perfect action movie . Bruce Willis ’ everyman underdog portrayal of John McClane makes forthe quintessential action hero , while Alan Rickman ’s delightfully theatrical execution as Hans Gruber makes for the quintessential action movie villain .
The deceptively simplistic setup ofDie Hard — a alone Hero of Alexandria taking on a edifice full of armed villain — has become a subgenre of its own .
Goldfinger (1964)
After Terence Young give 007 ’s characterization and the Bond film formula withDr . NoandFrom Russia with Love , Guy Hamiltonperfected itwithGoldfinger .
It haseverything a Bond lover could hope for : globetrotting action sequence , quippy one - liners , crazy gadgets , a megalomanic baddie with a silly design , and a typical quirk — Goldfingeris the quintessential James Bond movie .
Battle Royale (2000)
do in a dystopian near - future , Battle Royalesees a chemical group of kid being taken out of their third-year high schoolhouse and hale to press each other to the death by their totalitarian lord .
The same premise was later on repeated inThe Hunger Games , butBattle Royaleis a much more crimson , disturbing take on this tearing , disturbing story .
Aliens (1986)
When James Cameron was hired to write and direct a continuation to Ridley Scott ’s masterfully craft sci - fi chillerAlien , he knew he could n’t make a repugnance movie that would come close to matchingthe sizeableness of Scott ’s masterpiece .
So , he switched genres to action at law . After Ripley and the crew of the Nostromo struggled against one xenomorph in the first movie , Cameron ’s 1986 sequelAlienspitted her anda lot of gun - tot Colonial Marinesagainst an intact hive .
Enter The Dragon (1973)
Bruce Lee starred in a long ton of classic natural process movies , fromFist of FurytoGame of DeathtoThe Way of the Dragon , but arguably his most iconic work is the final movie he completed before his untimely pop off : Enter the Dragon .
Lee play a original scrapper who takes part in a martial arts tournament on a drug baron ’s island so as to infiltrate his operation and bring him down .
Hard Boiled (1992)
With explosive motion-picture photography and action - driven storytelling and characters who never have to worry about reload , John Woo has become arguably the most venerable legal action movie maker in the world . After making a few movies that glorified mobster , Woo settle to make a movie that glorified the police .
This plow out to be one of Woo ’s greatest movies , Hard Boiled , starring Chow Yun - fat as badass cop Tequila Yeun . The climactic infirmary gunfight is one of the most iconic military action sequences ever shot .
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
After the firstMad Maxmovie presented a bleak dystopia in a more or less placeable near - future , the second one dived head - first into a barren post - apocalyptic barren ruled by accelerator pedal - guzzle villainy . Mel Gibson revert to the role of Max , deplumate across the desert in his V8 Interceptor , looking for a fight deserving defend .
As a round-the-clock thrill - ride fill with breathtaking car stunts and visceral camerawork , The Road Warrioris one of the greatest action movie ever made .
Seven Samurai (1954)
Akira Kurosawa practicallyset the template for the modernistic Hollywood action moviewith his 1954 masterpieceSeven Samurai . This three - hour epic sees some quaint villager being threatened by a gang of bandit and a samurai assembling a squad to protect them .
From the opening action setting unrelated from the patch that coiffe up the hero to the final battle between the hero and baddie , Seven Samuraiis a gross action movie .
NEXT : Rambo & 9 Other Action Movies With Reluctant Heroes
