The best action movies of all time
The top 3 according to 931 votes from people: Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) · Die Hard (1988) · Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). (Updated Sep 12, 2024.)
The action classics that top the critics' all-time lists (Rolling Stone, Empire): car chases, shootouts and the best stunts ever filmed.
Top 15
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1
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
George Miller's two-hour chase across the desert, number one on Rolling Stone's list.
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2
Die Hard (1988)
Bruce Willis against terrorists in the Nakatomi Plaza, number one for Empire.
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3
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Spielberg and Harrison Ford's first Indiana Jones adventure.
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4
Aliens (1986)
James Cameron turns Ridley Scott's horror into a war film in space.
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5
John Wick (2014)
Keanu Reeves and the stunt team that redefined modern action choreography.
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6
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Groundbreaking effects and Arnold Schwarzenegger switching sides.
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7
Seven Samurai (1954)
Akira Kurosawa's epic, the template for countless action films.
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8
The Matrix (1999)
The Wachowskis' bullet time changed action cinema forever.
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9
The Raid (2011)
Gareth Evans' Indonesian martial arts film set in a single tower block.
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10
Heat (1995)
Michael Mann's downtown Los Angeles shootout is still unmatched.
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11
The Dark Knight (2008)
Christopher Nolan's Batman, with Heath Ledger's Joker.
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12
Predator (1987)
Schwarzenegger and his commandos hunted in the jungle.
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13
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)
Tom Cruise's HALO jump and helicopter chase, peak stunt work.
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14
Hard Boiled (1992)
John Woo's Hong Kong masterpiece of gunfights.
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15
Police Story (1985)
Jackie Chan's stunts, including the famous pole slide in the mall.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
Is something missing?
Comments (11)
Fury Road at #1 is the right call, practical stunts at a scale nobody will ever try again.
Heat isn't really an action movie, it's a crime drama with one shootout.
That one shootout is better than most entire action movies.
Police Story's mall fight is the most dangerous stunt sequence ever filmed.
Where's Point Break? Or Speed?
The Raid in the top 10, finally some love for Indonesian martial arts.
Seven Samurai being on an action list makes me so happy.
Hard Boiled's hospital one-take, John Woo was decades ahead.
Fallout's helicopter chase, Cruise learned to fly it himself.
Die Hard should be #1, it invented the modern action hero.
Both are perfect, it's like choosing between kids 😂