Category: action

Movies with a focus on action: car chases, explosions, gunfights, and other mayhem.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Brandon Gregory2 Comments

Terminator 2

“Come with me if you want to live.”

“Best action movie of all time” is a hotly-debated title, but it would be hard to argue that Terminator 2: Judgment Day is not in the top three. Directed by James Cameron (Aliens, Avatar) and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton, this follow-up to the competent 1984 original was an ambitious endeavor. When it was made, it was the most expensive film in history, with a budget over ten times its predecessor. And it paid off in a big way. It made back double its enormous production budget and held the world record for highest opening-weekend gross of an R-rated film until 2003. This was the first sequel to receive and Academy Award when the previous installment had not even gotten a nomination, and it’s one of the most iconic and memorable action movies ever made.

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Hot Fuzz

Brandon Gregory1 Comment

Hot Fuzz

“Let’s just say that we won’t be short of Chunky Monkey for the next month!”

We’ve had cop movies, and we’ve had funny cop movies, but I can’t think of another quirky British parody of a cop movie, let alone one that’s so hilarious as this one. Hot Fuzz, directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) and starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, is at once familiar territory, parodying famous cop movies, and also delightfully different, set in a small British town in the country. The combination makes for one of the best parodies I’ve ever seen, and it’s a very good comedy in its own right as well. The Wright-Pegg team matured a lot since Shaun of the Dead, and the brilliance and execution of this movie mark a point when both truly hit their stride.

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North by Northwest

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North by Northwest

“Now you listen to me, I’m an advertising man, not a red herring. I’ve got a job, a secretary, a mother, two ex-wives, and several bartenders that depend upon me, and I don’t intend to disappoint them all by getting myself slightly killed.”

If you’re looking for the best classic-era action film, this is it. North by Northwest, directed by master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho, Vertigo) and starring Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint, may not be Hitchcock’s most thought-provoking film, but it’s certainly among his most entertaining. The action and suspense are top-notch—definitely not overdone like action movies today. Cary Grant delivers his trademark vintage-cool charm, and the script is full of iconic lines that make modern action flicks look painfully uncultured. This movie holds up very well today, even in the modern landscape of slow-motion quick-cut action sequences, and is universally loved by viewers—it’s one of the few movies to achieve a 100% rating on movie review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.

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Die Hard

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die-hard-main

“You can walk out of here or be carried out, but have no illusions. We are in charge. So, decide now, each of you. And please remember: we have left nothing to chance.”

Die Hard, directed by John McTiernan (Predator, The Hunt for Red October) and starring Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, and Bonnie Bedelia, is the quintessential action movie. I’ll admit, I’m not the biggest fan of the action genre, which is known for its contrived plots, shallow characters, and excessive fan service. Die Hard stands out for being a bit different. The imperfect and realistic character of John McClane keeps this movie tethered to reality much more than other action movies of that time, or since. That grounding is a big reason why the movie has stood the test of time and remains great even to this day.

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