TOP 100 ACTION FILMS OF ALL TIME NOMINATIONS AND DISCUSSION THREAD

the '90s thread feels redundant, if i'm being honest with myself, and a few folks were down with an action movies poll, so let's make it happen.

i think we all know what an action movie is, i guess the only question is do we include action movies that overlap with other genres they might be more readily identified with, i.e. 'the wild bunch', 'starship troopers', 'etc (i vote 'yes' but others may disagree.)

unless we're doing a poll on those other genres too, then yes?

I predict a clusterfuck

that's the most predictable prediction of all time.

Commando (Mark L Lester, 1985), cheeseball 80s Schwarzenneger idiocy at its best

Predator (John McTiernan, 1987), ditto

Raw Deal (John Irvin, 1986), ditto

robocop (verhoeven)
ronin (frankenheimer)
full contact (ringo lam)
the killer (woo)

the seven samurai
from russia with love
the french connection
to live and die in l.a.
north by northwest
heat
robocop
the warriors
aliens
hard boiled

gymkata

Predator is quite different tho' - all the gun-ho stuff gives way to sheer terror and Arnie does wear what seems to be an actually intended confused look by the end of it. He knows he ws lucky...many xps

starship troopers
bullitt
13 assassins
the man from nowhere
48 hours

the getaway (peckinpah)
the nest
assault on precinct 13

I kind of want to blanket-nominate the entirety of Jackie Chan's film career but will unreservedly call out "Drunken Master II" if forced to be specific.

terminator 2
gunga din
the men who would be king
zulu
tombstone
lethal weapon
charley varrick

Asoka
Sholay
Hard Target
Dobermann
Armour Of God

Zatoichi (Takeshi Kitano, 2003) - Kitano eschewing his usual strangeness for a modern, commercial update of the popular Zatoichi character, hugely enjoyable I thought. Predictably he followed it up with the unwatchably self-indulgent mess that was Takeshis'.

terminator
dirty harry
enter the dragon
king of beggars
kung fu hustle
mr majestyk
taking of pelham one two three

the desert rats
sergeant york
five graves to cairo
the dirty dozen

Project A
Escape From New York
Die Hard

unwatchably self-indulgent mess that was Takeshis

this movie is great

it's his other comedies I find inscrutable (mostly because I'm so unfamiliar with Japanese pop culture)

sonatine (kitano)
the mission (johnnie to)
election (johnnie to)
triad election (johnnie to)
who'll stop the rain?

darkman
die hard
die hard 2
hunt for red october
i come in peace

sub category of superior andrew davis action films:

above the law
code of silence
the fugitive
the package
under siege

omg

TIMECOP

Spielberg section:
Jaws
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Saving Private Ryan
War of the Worlds

total recall
the last boy scout
stone cold
heroic trio
trespass
clear and present danger

the hidden fortress
escape from new york
the great escape
its a mad mad mad mad world
jason & the argonauts
yojimbo
the untouchables
kelly's heroes
dr. no
sanjuro
hell is for heroes
goldfinger
the good, the bad and the ugly

bloodsport

rapid fire
sniper
iron monkey
once upon a time in china
once upon a time in china II
once upon a time in china III

Double Impact
Speed

bloodsport

my man

the crow
blue steel
leon: the professional
the assignment
no escape
speed
true lies
the blade (tsui hark)
prison on fire
mission: impossible
the rock
con air
face/off
the fifth element

a fistful of dollars
a fistful of dynamite
the italian job (1969)
the guns of navarone
on her majesty's secret service
billy jack
vanishing point
shaft
le mans

Stagecoach (1939)

Will Smith corner:
Bad Boys
Men in Black
Enemy of the State
I, Robot

the 39 steps (hitchcock)

the road warrior
mad max
thief
thunderball
casino royale (2006)
red dawn
wheels on meals
they live
police story

the thing
tiger on beat
run and kill
city on fire
beast cops

throwing these out there

The Matrix
Pitch Black
The Fast and the Furious
Rumble in the Bronx

psyched for this poll

point break
strange days
k-19
hurt locker

project a
for a few dollars more
samurai assassin
where eagles dare
hard times
the driver
conan the barbarian
star trek ii: the wrath of khan
48 hours
death wish

oh snap CONAN

spartan

le cercle rouge
le samourai
army of shadows

spartan is dope

Romeo Is Bleeding
The Long Kiss Goodnight
The Bourne Identity

all three bournes imo!

post-bournes

casino royale
hannah

collateral
miami vice
thief

was Miami Vice good?

miami vice was AMAZING

yeah miami vice is murderously good

Bad Boys
The Rock
Con Air

i think i said this elsewhere but it's like michael mann attempted to make a film comprised of nothing but "michael mann moments" and succeeded.

oh damn, must see

i took my girlfriend and a couple friends to see it and they hated it and they were so mad at me that they dont let me pick movies anymore

q: is anime allowed?

superman
dawn of the dead (1978)
the blues brothers
the empire strikes back
the big red one
you only live twice
westworld
rob roy
the four musketeers (1974)
scaramouche (1952)
the mark of zorro (1940)
the seven-ups
52 pick-up

*superman (1978)

i think anime should be allowed

anime's totes allowed:

akira

as long as it's a movie

dan i bet you'd hate miami vice

Taking of Pelham 123 (1973)
Galaxy Quest
Star Trek (2009)
Die Hard with a Vengeance
The Incredibles

anybody say Kelly's Heroes yet?

street fighter the animated movie

ghost in the shell (prob, haven't seen it in awhile)

yes xxp

oh shit anime is allowed??????

NINJA SCROLL
FIST OF THE NORTH STAR
VAMPIRE HUNTER D

HERO

crouching tiger hidden dragon

marked for death

two mules for sister sara

Kung Fu Hustle

chinese connection

game of death

(neither as good as enter the dragon but wth)

tryna think of movies with particularly good fight choreography

red belt

troy (lol)

the princess bride (lol)

I still need to see the original but:

Iron Monkey (1993)

rocky
lone wolf & cub: sword of vengeance
lone wolf & cub: baby cart at the river styx
lone wolf & cub: baby cart to hades
lone wolf & cub: baby cart in peril
across 110th street
the karate kid
rolling thunder
the castle of cagliostro

nikita

blade runner
gladiator
kingdom of heaven

mission-impossible: 3

highlander

lone wolf mcquade!

minority report

streets of fire

near dark

the empire strikes back

if we're judging by just action I'm gonna nominate return of the jedi, the space fighting is unbelievable

better tomorrow

the wanderers

infernal affairs

branded to kill
tokyo drifter
dead or alive (1999)
el dorado
the professionals
the wild bunch

infernal affairs 2

bullet in the head

top gun
winged migration

(heh)

Freebie & The Bean
Prime Cut
Point Blank

I think you should accept the Wiki def and only include films w/ cardboard characters.

get carter
sorcerer
the wages of fear

children of men

the warriors

"Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" isn't really an action movie, is it

i think it is! its an action-comedy, but still action

my feeling is that we should nominate everything and encourage ppl to only vote for things they consider to be "action movies"--that way the stuff at the top will also be stuff most people agree counts as an "action movie"

the seven ups

-70s french connection knockoff w/roy scheider and the best-ever car chase

yes

xp

peking opera blues
once upon a time in china
beverly hills cop
midnight run
red heat
boiling point
brother
the abyss
temple of doom
black rain
henry v (1989)

i listed the seven ups, but yeah it owns. roy scheider owns

Batman (Burton, 1989)
Kill Bill Volume 1 (Tarantino, 2003)
Kill Bill Volume 2 (Tarantino, 2004)

speaking of scheider:

warlock

a better tomorrow ii
demolition man
the last boy scout
backdraft
the rocketeer
highlander
the last of the mohicans
the running man
operation condor
once a thief
f/x
the way of the gun
big trouble in little china
gallipoli
master & commander: the far side of the world
army of darkness
the dark knight
universal soldier: regeneration
el mariachi
desperado

f/x

^^^hell yes

cyborg

was just thinking about f/x the other day. i took a screenwriting course from a guy who said he wrote it but uh his name isn't on it. i know that's entirely possible...

Kinda happy that I got to mention Burton's Batman before Dark Knight got listed.

The unsolicited screenplay was written by two novice writers, actor Gregory Fleeman and documentary filmmaker Robert T. Megginson.[1] Producer Jack Wiener read their script, which was submitted as a low-budget television movie, and felt that it should be made into a theatrical release. Wiener and his co-producer Dodi Fayed hired Robert Mandel, an Off-Broadway director. They did not want to hire an action director,[1] but instead wanted a director who would bring a realistic touch to the film and make the audience care about the main character. Mandel accepted the job because he wanted to dispel the perception that he was a "soft, arty director".[2] Initially he was not impressed with the film's screenplay, which he felt was not well-crafted but felt that it provided for "a lot of action and a lot of things I did not have under my belt".[2] In preparation for the film's action sequences, Mandel studied chase scenes from Bullitt and The French Connection.[2] To pull off the film's special effects, the producers hired John Stears, who had worked on the first eight James Bond films and shared a special effects Academy Award for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.[1]
The movie was filmed during the summer of 1985 around New York City and in Rye, New York, as well as Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Toronto locations included Sherway Gardens Mall in Etobicoke.
A preview screening in the San Fernando Valley produced some of the best statistics Orion Pictures had seen in some time. A week before its release, a film industry screening was very successful, as was its premiere at the United States Film Festival (later known as the Sundance Film Festival).[2]
[edit]

f/x is such an awesome movie

willow
excalibur
legend

Ladyhawke
Krull

lord of the rings

trespass
once upon a time in china ii
city on fire (1987)
armour of god
enemy mine
remo williams: the adventure begins
in the line of fire
la femme nikita
iron monkey
the legend (1993)
the heroic trio
patlabor 1
patlabor 2
the bride with white hair
undefeatable (cynthia rothrock)

was thinking about lord of the rings when thread started, wondering if it was even fair to include them. dope movies though

apocalypto

#1-100:

Commando
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmPylZecOQc

fist of legend
goldeneye
air force one
grosse pointe blank
conspiracy theory
the edge
executive decision
escape from l.a.
the god of cookery
blade (snipes)
blade ii (more snipes)
rush hour

lb otm

though this is what i'd use to make my case for it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ceq19u-t_pM

crank
transporter
the negotiator

wasabi
exiled (johnnie to)
district B13
taken

heh tamtam otm

ong-bak

three kings
payback
the iron giant
the 13th warrior
the end of evangelion
riki-oh: the story of riki
robot jox
street fighter (1994)
fast five
bangkok dangerous (1999)
danny the dog
tokyo fist
cowboy bebop the movie: knockin' on heaven's door
crank 2: high voltage

d-war

f&f 3: tokyo drift

FAST THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT

most of tamtam's list tbh but additionally:

deadly prey
time & tide
brotherhood of the wolf
fire & ice
point blank
strange days
waterworld
return of the living dead
hard boiled
the limey
a chinese ghost story
equilibrium
game of death
drunken wu tang
bad boys 2

district 9
l.a. confidential
the fast and the furious: tokyo drift
fast & furious
2 fast 2 furious
hulk (2003)
hellboy
once upon a time in mexico
rush hour 2
shaft
shaft (2000)
spider-man 2
x-men 2
versus (2000)
machete
how to train your dragon
the freshman (1925)
safety last!
the general (1926)
mononoke hime
macross plus: the movie
roujin z
redline
battle royale

heh, thought i already put chinese ghost story on there. good choice

1 fast 1 furious

the writer i was trying to think of is this guy:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0691193/

but then there's this

http://www.praxisfilm.com/en/people/interviews/seconddraftmisfiresn/default.aspx

Thomas Pope is an ongoing script advisor and mentor for Praxis. He has worked for Francis Coppola, Barry Levinson, Ridley Scott, Penny Marshall, Wim Wenders, Frank Oz and many others. He's written the screenplays for BAD BOYS, SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME, F/X, HAMMET, LORDS OF DISCIPLINE and numerous other projects (some uncredited). His 1998 book, GOOD SCRIPTS/BAD SCRIPTS, analyzes twenty-five of the best and worst recent American screenplays to determine what makes them work (or not). Tom Pope currently lives near Minneapolis and teaches screenwriting at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

hmm

(o/t i know sry)

Tsui Hark's Time and Tide
Tsui Hark's The Blade
Exiled
Battle Royale
Swords of Vengeance
Yakuza Graveyard
Street Mobster
Yakuza Papers
Lady Snowblood
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Once Upon A Time In The West
Duck, You Sucker

death race 2000
crazy safari
tron legacy
avatar

the last samurai (2003) (massive wasted potential here)
the rundown
open range
dawn of the dead (2004)
house of flying daggers
appleseed (2004)
steamboy (2004)
drive (2011)
avatar (2009)
sin city
king kong (2005)
serenity
300
rocky iv
rescue dawn
night watch (2004)
undisputed ii: last man standing
undisputed iii: redemption
hot fuzz
shooter
3:10 to yuma (2007)
elite squad
kung fu panda
hellboi two
appaloosa
red cliff

i remember last samurai being surprisingly good!

Kitano eschewing his usual strangeness for a modern, commercial update of the popular Zatoichi character, hugely enjoyable I thought.

Yeah, the full cast dance number at the finale was a determined effort to eschew his usual strangeness in this by-the-numbers samurai flick.

i wanted really badly to like it, because the concept had massive potential to be a Badass Classic, but that ol leadfoot eddie zwick had to make a movie about something. the action sucks except for one cool thing where it like rewinds a fight and shows it to you in slow motion, and its 3 hours long without anything really happening or making you care about any characters. if it was in the hands of someone who could've shaped it to be a lean, cool as shit Man Movie, it would've owned hard

yeah thats probably fair. i remember both cruise and watanabe being great

The Passion of Joan of ARc
Ugetsu
The Silence
Solaris
Xala

jesus i wanna watch everything again

xpost

http://t2.ftcdn.net/jpg/00/10/38/19/400_F_10381930_vRMsNlrmL0I6OvTymP3VPN2si9pD95nu.jpg

lol alfred

yeah watanabe owned. i liked his character, but at the same time i found myself wanting more from him - he was too serene, and not like in a contemplative way. it felt phony to me

heh did u know that keanu reeves is going to star in a film of the 47 ronin

i should see it again but i remember thinking that watanabe was good enough to rescue a thankless 'orientalist' part

would have been a lot more interesting film if it was shot from the japanese pov

this guy was pretty good in it too http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroyuki_Sanada

2012 (2009)
zombieland
blood and bone
scott pilgrim vs the world
elite squad: the enemy within
rise of the planet of the apes
warrior (2011)

true lies
thos crown remake
scott pilgrim
star trek

i should see it again but i remember thinking that watanabe was good enough to rescue a thankless 'orientalist' part

would have been a lot more interesting film if it was shot from the japanese pov

― max, Monday, November 7, 2011 8:09 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

yeah deffo

i heard about the keanu thing. im sorta cautiously excited for it. its so weird! all japanese cast aside from him, shot in hungaria, in english.

lol 'hungaria'

have to nominate

One Armed Boxer
Master of the Flying Guillotine
Ricochet
Running Scared (1986)
The Hidden
Dead Heat

oh and Strike Commando 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B-F2O6m1EA

independence day

heat

the mummy
the saint
national treasure
pirates of the caribbean

i think ive listed all the crap i need to list. im gonna stump for some favorites now:

to live and die in l.a. - i actually like this more than the french connection. nobody in it is as charismatic as hackman & scheider, and the milieu isn't as fascinating as 1971 new york, but i find it more compelling. everyone has their favorite car chases, i know a lot of people dig Ronin, but this is the greatest car chase ever filmed imho:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDK8OtjE7O4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ_39lxlDAg

the griminess, the great location shooting, the careening chevys, the escalating stakes, attention to detail in the sound design, and its role in the narrative - it all comes together like crazy. you feel like you're in the car with these guys, freaking out along with them. also, wang chung

as a bonus, the movie also has what i consider to be maybe the best foot chase in a movie ever:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLTGV07Gc7E

love how william petersen runs his ass off, bounding onto the divider between the moving sidewalk. the clarity of the direction and editing really makes me weep for the state of 2000s action cinema

such a great movie--great soundtrack, too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf4x36XKhsM

i love that a totally minor peripheral heavy is the one who starts and finishes peterson's mission of vengeance.

oh i see you mentioned wang chung

theres a fantastic HOLY SHIT moment in that movie that i wont spoil for ppl who havent seen it

heh omar otm

yeah the holy shit moment in tladila is probably one of the top five holy shit moments ever

INCEPTION

something ive always wondered--is "to live and die in LA" the source of the "cops buddy gets killed days away from retirement" "cliche" that mcbain & others make fun of?

just reminded me
White Sands
Extreme Prejudice

running scared (2006)

extreme prejudice owns, love powers boothe, love the ambiguous black ops CIA crew.

Running Scared is about 15-20 minutes of absolutely awesome cinema surrounded by nonsense (albeit, some it awesome nonsense as well).

I was going to nom Papillon but then felt bad about it not being actiony enough. THEN I saw some of the stuff people were nominating and it's absolutely comparable, so...

Papillon

from the wiki for extreme prejudice

The film was directed by Jim Carrey; it was written by Jim Carrey, Jim Carrey and Jim Carrey (the latter collaborated with Jim Carrey on Silent Running and The Deer Hunter). Extreme Prejudice stars Jim Carrey and Powers Boothe as two former friends on opposing sides of the law forced to confrontation.

re: last samurai: did zwick know he was making a fascist movie?

paul mooney otm on that movie btw

wheels on meals - im curious how jackie will do, since he has so many stone cold classics and everyone has their own favorite. this miiiiight be mine, the character comedy, weird euro vibe and benny the jet fight scene all pull it together for me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6eC-BAsVdQ

police story is probably the one i would big up just for sheer mayhem

running scared (2006)

― omar little, Monday, November 7, 2011 8:34 PM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark

thats a mondo underrated lil flick

dubious treasures of the Reagan era:

Cobra
Death Wish 3
Tango & Cash
Road House
Over the Top

re: last samurai: did zwick know he was making a fascist movie?

paul mooney otm on that movie btw

― goole, Monday, November 7, 2011 8:45 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

"best action movies" thread probably not the place to complain about fascist politics in film

I'll dip even further into the well of Reagan (or maybe 1st Bush?) era guilty pleasures and cop to really liking Dead Heat and Blind Fury at the time (the time for me being pre-adolescence, but still).

a little more basically overt in that one tho!

xp

I went way too long without ever seeing Road House and don't have a lifelong history of loving it, but I'm sure as hell voting for it here.

yeah but its the cool part of fascism not the 'inevitable genocide' part

"best action movies" thread probably not the place to complain about fascist politics in film

― max, Monday, November 7, 2011 8:53 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark

^ understatement x 1000

they live - the list will be a sham if this isn't on it. just as an aside, thinking about the 10 minute slugfest in this also makes me think of all the movies with timeless fight scenes that i cant really nominate for this poll. the bathhouse fight in eastern promises is an all-timer, but you couldnt call it an action movie with a straight face.

Stagecoach - a morbs nom that i slapped my forehead for not thinking of. yakima canutt was one of the greatest/most important stuntmen to ever live, and he created a shitload of classic stunts on this movie (like jumping from horse to horse on an out of control stagecoach horse train, to take control of the lead horse)

johnny handsome

the crow
blue steel
leon: the professional
the assignment
no escape
speed
true lies
the blade (tsui hark)
prison on fire
mission: impossible
the rock
con air
face/off
the fifth element

haha this list contains like 90% of the titles i crtl-f'd

rio bravo
valley of the wolves: iraq
grand illusion (wld make this argument anyway haha)
gamer
night watch

city hunter

valley of the wolves: iraq

is this actually worth seeing? speaking of movies w/ troublesome politics

ohman To Live and Die in LA is so awesome

is this actually worth seeing? speaking of movies w/ troublesome politics

well, its p entertaining but i think its mostly worth tracking down for its troublesome politics really, not the anti-semetic stuff so much as the casual anti-americanism which works p strangely against the usual implicit political/cultural assumptions of big budget hwood action movies. idk, i thought it was p 'interesting' to watch + think abt

i think pretty much all of the films i would've picked have already been said, so, hm...

Logan's Run
Ghostbusters

running scared (2006)

― omar little, Monday, November 7, 2011 8:34 PM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark

thats a mondo underrated lil flick

came here specifically to nominate that one

May have to throw a vote in the direction of The Seventh Curse.

training day
equilibrium
taken

fireworks (hana-bi)

yeah the holy shit moment in tladila is probably one of the top five holy shit moments ever

Saw the film, liked it, have no memory of this Top Moment.

I will pay you guys to exclude John Ford from this shitfest.

how much

I kind of want to blanket-nominate the entirety of Jackie Chan's film career but will unreservedly call out "Drunken Master II" if forced to be specific.

I >>> II - mainly based on the unpleasant ending - but maybe you have never seen that bit!

In addition, a 35 second cut was made to the concluding scene of the film which showed Wong blinded and mentally crippled as a result of drinking industrial alcohol during the film's ultimate fight. Played for laughs, the scene was considered to be in bad taste by the American distributor, Dimension Films

morbs, that moment is when (x) blanks (y) in the (z) with a blank (spoilers redacted)

lol i remember that ending.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqgKIzLiDQw

rip anita mui : /

lol I never saw that ending

repping for:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0eLKLiPj8I

wait this clip, the one above isn't subbed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcpbZUqvRq0

i didn't nom hana-bi because more than any of his other cops and yakuza movies it just isn't paced or structured like an action movie

i was about to write something on full contact. thats a great nom, lam was never that good again

full contact is also has the totally incongruous role in chow yun fat's career. simon yam is awesome in this, and so is anthony wong (though his role is also kind of unusual considering what he went on to do, his character is super ineffectual.)

52 pick-up - really cool, gritty frankenheimer/leonard/scheider thriller. my favorite clarence williams perf. produced by one of the patron saints of this poll, menahem golan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT9JvYYc3cI

mr majestyk - the most badass movie about a watermelon farmer ever, probably. another leonard adaptation, one of the older ones that emphasized his humor less than the 90s adaptations that came later. i would argue maybe the best non-death wish bronson vehicle, but ive kinda only recently discovered bronson, after writing him off for a long time. which reminds me...

red sun - pretty fun movie with charles bronson as a cowboy, toshiro mifune as a samurai, alain delon as an asshole. sort of a proto-rush hour, but the humor is mostly good natured. i would say it's the best attempt at the highly seductive, yet tricky to pull off, 'badass white dude and badass samurai bro team up and wreck shit' genre

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sULTwrKipc

the yakuza - this one's more of a disappointment. bob mitchum and takakura ken take on the yakuza. should be a home run, right? more like a base on balls. or HBP. an early paul schrader screenplay, and it feels pretty rough.

hell in the pacific - ive never thought of this as an action movie, but its a great Man Movie where toshiro mifune and lee marvin grunt at each other monosyllabically for two hours. beautifully shot by conrad hall. i think cross-cultural buddy movies were actually more respectful back in the 60s and 70s. in the 80s you had this trend of movies like red heat and black rain, where the protags are slovenly, cruel asshole americans who would constantly barrage their partner with slurs and insults, and then in the last five minutes of the movie there'd be an unearned moment of mutual respect/admiration/love between them. the older flicks had a similar formula but i believe they were a little less mean, and less insulting for expecting you to identify with the asshole character.

charley varrick
taking of pelham one two three

charley varrick is a minor classic in the 'quiet, gets shit done badass' genre of the 70s, kind of an atypical role for walter matthau. he plays a more matthauian character in pelham, gets to do a lot of quick talking and be a real wise-acre, so that plus robert shaw makes it a more enjoyable movie for me, but i think they're both great. pelham also has one of the greatest final shots ever

i think you mean a proto shanghai noon

shanghai noon was a rush hour cash-in! but i see what you mean~

shanghai noon's one for the 'coulda been great' category too, come to think of it. i never saw the sequel

hell in the pacific is basically enemy mine right?

shanghai knights is p entertaining, its on cable all the time

i liked 'noon

i liked it too but its not as memorable as either of the first two rush hours, imo

ya fair enough

I'm sure this has been debated above, but there's got to be a definition of action movies beyond "any movie with action in it." Like, are war films all "action" films? Is "Starship Troopers" an action film, or a war film, or just sci-fi? When I think of action movies, I think of car chases and machine gun fire.

i would define it as "any movie with action in it"

my feeling is that we should nominate everything and encourage ppl to only vote for things they consider to be "action movies"--that way the stuff at the top will also be stuff most people agree counts as an "action movie"

― max, Monday, November 7, 2011 5:44 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i mean is aliens not an action movie now because it's sci-fi too?

for shame, sir

soon starting an INACTION POLL that will be won by Jeanne Dielman or Derek Jarman's Blue

would vote in that one too

Nope, they'll be swept by

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7idi_5IaMrk

i think its a tricky question that everyone's gonna have to wrestle with on their own. the best action movies are ones where you love the whole picture, not just the action parts, but at the same time there are movies that i would consider really good where i really dig everything about them *except* for the action scenes - and i dont know if i can bring myself to vote for those, for this poll

like, robocop produces conflicted feelings in me. great movie, probably gonna be in the top 15. i'll vote for it, but i'll feel weird about it. the action in it is great, but i dont think of it as a 'great action movie' - maybe its just me. i always think of the sci-fi and the satire first

i dont see why you cant just look at them through the prism of action for the purposes of THIS POLL... i mean if it was "top peter weller movies" would you guys be conflicted because robocop is a peter weller movie AND a great satire?

would you put robocop on your list of great comedies?

*stops dead in tracks*

srsly tho, i would if i couldn't think of [x] number of movies funnier than it.

okay but that just proves ade's point--i can think of a lot of movies actionier than robocop

with better action? not just more?

Is District 9 an action movie? Is Star Wars? Is Saving Private Ryan? Is Rocky?

Is Point Blank an action movie? Is Pee Wee's Big Adventure?

(Would totally vote in an inaction poll!)

"9 1/2 Weeks" is an action movie, although probably not in the sense everyone is thinking

sex

there's not that much of that action in it, either

is action jackson an action movie? or a jackson movie?

dan you kind of charmingly date yourself there with using 9 1/2 weeks as a touchstone sexy movie

I think I was 14 when I saw it (with my dad!), it made an impression

in the end i think you know what an action movie is in your heart, could make up some stupid rules about whether progress and ultimate success/failure of the protagonist is mainly achieved thru (on screen) action...like no way are most Noirs action movies but you cd make an action movie along a v. similar plot line

like if The Maltese Falcon was an action movie it would've ended with Bogart dropping Sidney Greenstreet off the top of a big building after a 10 minute machine gun fight

im probably going to vote for a couple of westerns at least if only those that i think are particularly important in developing the idea of the 'action movie' as a genre but i can see most people disagreeing w/ that.

Westerns mostly are action movies I think. A lot of the big 80s action movies aren't much more than Westerns set in the city.

Yeah, see, that's a great example. I'd say a movie like "Die Hard" can only be defined as "action," or "action/x." But a western would be defined as a western, which almost by definition entails ... action. Likewise stuff like "Terminator," "RoboCop," "Starship Troopers," which are hyphenates; the question is what comes first, the sci-fi or the action? Something like "Aliens" is even tougher, since it's so clearly an action movie, and yet ... it's not.

xpost That totally gets at it. I mean, "Die Hard" is, like, a modern, vertical western.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ7z5CUsrbk

But, like, "Seven Samurai" is totally an action movie, no? Or is it a ... western? Any more so than "The Magnificent Seven" is a samurai movie?

My strict definition of an action movie, must have explosions and/or car chases.

trying to decide whter to nom any action horror

with a slate of 100 movies voted by a bunch of voters with ranked ballots, definitional questions like this will come out in the wash, so to speak

true that, ok

28 Weeks Later
The Descent
Death Race 2000

ah shit, didnt ctrlf death race 2000 and someone already got it upthread, ignore

I'm defining an action movie as one that has shitloads of fighting in it, and therefore throw TROY into the mix--they did some great hand to hand stuff and had a good take on the army vs army battles as well in the post Peter Jackson environment.

yes but Troy was terrible

troy's a real cheesefest. contains brad pitt's worst performance ever, probably

sean bean as odysseus was kind of inspired, though im not sure it wouldve been successful in a movie of the odyssey

tamtam have you seen/what did you think of guy ritchie's 'revolver'? its a p flawed movie but i think there are some really outstanding sequences in the movie. i wouldnt nominate itp mostly because the best parts of the movie are not the action parts but yr post upthread reminded me of it...

troy is the only movie i have ever seen where the hair design obtruded on the rest of the movie

also i remember a lot of the hand-to-hand stuff in troy kinda sucking?

Troy indeed fails as an action movie, historical drama and wannabe epic, but it is a pretty good bad movie.

tamtam have you seen/what did you think of guy ritchie's 'revolver'? its a p flawed movie but i think there are some really outstanding sequences in the movie. i wouldnt nominate itp mostly because the best parts of the movie are not the action parts but yr post upthread reminded me of it...

― so solaris (Lamp), Wednesday, November 9, 2011 2:03 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

no, and i didnt even know it existed until a few weeks ago! i guess it came out after swept away (rightfully) near destroyed his career. throw statham and mark strong in a movie together and i will probably watch it though

Undisputed 3: Redemption

no you are all wrong about Troy, except with regard to the stunningly bad hair. The confrontation between Achilles and Hector is well shot and staged IMO. The director's cut may not change your mind, but it does up the blood and chaos factor by a larger margin.

I love Troy. The Achilles beach/Apollo Temple, the big armies daylight battle (best CGI army battle imo), and the Achilles/Hector fight are among my favourite action sequences of the past decade or so. Could make an argument that it's actually a pretty good film - and certainly a good big-budget Hollywood film - but I won't.

noms list thus far. probably some doubles in there. continue to nominate your faves!

300
13 assassins
2 fast 2 furious
2012 (2009)
28 Weeks Later
3:10 to yuma (2007)
48 hours

52 pick-up
a better tomorrow
a better tomorrow 2
a chinese ghost story
a fistful of dollars
a fistful of dynamite aka duck you sucker
above the law
across 110th street
air force one
aliens
apocalypto
appaloosa
appleseed (2004)

armour of god
army of darkness
army of shadows
Asoka
assault on precinct 13
avatar

backdraft
Bad Boys
bad boys 2
bangkok dangerous (1999)
Batman (Burton, 1989)
battle royale
beast cops
beverly hills cop
big trouble in little china
billy jack
black rain
blade (snipes)
blade ii (more snipes)
blade runner
blood and bone
bloodsport
blue steel
boiling point
branded to kill
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
brother
brotherhood of the wolf
bullet in the head
bullitt
casino royale

charley varrick
children of men
chinese connection
city hunter
city on fire
clear and present danger
Cobra
code of silence
collateral
Commando (Mark L Lester, 1985)
con air

conan the barbarian
conspiracy theory
cowboy bebop the movie: knockin' on heaven's door
crank
crank 2: high voltage
crazy safari
crouching tiger hidden dragon
cyborg
d-war
danny the dog
darkman
dawn of the dead (1978)
dawn of the dead (2004)
Dead Heat
dead or alive (1999)
deadly prey
death race 2000
death wish
Death Wish 3
demolition man
desperado
Die Hard

die hard 2
Die Hard with a Vengeance
dirty harry
district 9
district B13
Dobermann
Double Impact
dr. no
drive (2011)
drunken master 2
drunken wu tang
el dorado
el mariachi
election (johnnie to)
elite squad
elite squad: the enemy within
enemy mine
Enemy of the State
enter the dragon
equilibrium
escape from l.a.
Escape From New York

excalibur
executive decision
Exiled

Extreme Prejudice
f/x
face/off
fast & furious
fast five
fire & ice
fireworks
fist of legend
FIST OF THE NORTH STAR
five graves to cairo
for a few dollars more
Freebie & The Bean
from russia with love
full contact
Galaxy Quest
gallipoli
game of death
gamer
get carter
ghost in the shell
Ghostbusters
gladiator
goldeneye
goldfinger
grand illusion
grosse pointe blank
gunga din
gymkata
hannah
hard boiled

Hard Target
hard times
hard to kill
heat

hell in the pacific
hell is for heroes
hellboy 2
hellboy
henry v (1989)
hero
heroic trio
highlander
hot fuzz
house of flying daggers
how to train your dragon
hulk (2003)
hunt for red october
hurt locker
i come in peace
I, Robot
in the line of fire
INCEPTION
independence day
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
indiana jones and the temple of doom
infernal affairs
infernal affairs 2
iron monkey
its a mad mad mad mad world
jason & the argonauts
Jaws
k-19
kelly's heroes

Kill Bill Volume 1 (Tarantino, 2003)
Kill Bill Volume 2 (Tarantino, 2004)
king kong (2005)
king of beggars
kingdom of heaven
kiss kiss bang bang
Krull
kung fu hustle

kung fu panda
l.a. confidential
la femme nikita
Lady Snowblood
Ladyhawke
le cercle rouge
le mans
le samourai
legend
leon: the professional
lethal weapon
Logan's Run
lone wolf & cub: baby cart at the river styx
lone wolf & cub: baby cart in peril
lone wolf & cub: baby cart to hades
lone wolf & cub: sword of vengeance
lone wolf mcquade
lord of the rings
machete
macross plus: the movie
mad max
marked for death
master & commander: the far side of the world
Master of the Flying Guillotine
Men in Black
mi: 3
miami vice
midnight run
minority report
mission: impossible
mononoke hime
mr majestyk
national treasure
near dark

night watch (2004)
NINJA SCROLL
no escape
north by northwest
on her majesty's secret service
once a thief
once upon a time in china
once upon a time in china II
once upon a time in china III
once upon a time in mexico
Once Upon A Time In The West
One Armed Boxer
ong-bak
open range
operation condor
Over the Top
Papillon
patlabor 1
patlabor 2
payback
peking opera blues
pirates of the caribbean
Pitch Black
Point Blank
point break
police story

predator
Prime Cut
prison on fire
Project A

Raiders of the Lost Ark
rapid fire
raw deal
red belt
red cliff
red dawn
red heat
red sun
redline
remo williams: the adventure begins
rescue dawn
return of the jedi
return of the living dead
Ricochet
riki-oh: the story of riki
rio bravo
rise of the planet of the apes
Road House
rob roy
robocop

robot jox
rocky
rocky iv
rolling thunder
Romeo Is Bleeding
ronin
roujin z
Rumble in the Bronx
run and kill
Running Scared (1986)
running scared (2006)
rush hour
rush hour 2
safety last!
samurai assassin
sanjuro
Saving Private Ryan
scaramouche (1952)

scott pilgrim vs the world
serenity
sergeant york
shaft

shaft (2000)
Sholay
shooter
sin city
sniper
sonatine (kitano)
sorcerer
spartan
Speed

spider-man 2
stagecoach
Star Trek (2009)
star trek ii: the wrath of khan
starship troopers
steamboy (2004)
steel dawn
steele justice
stone cold
strange days
street fighter (1994)
street fighter (animated)
street fighter (chiba)
Street Mobster
streets of fire
Strike Commando 2
superman
Swords of Vengeance
taken
taking of pelham one two three
Tango & Cash
terminator
terminator 2
the 13th warrior
the 39 steps
the abyss
the assignment
the big red one
the blade (tsui hark)
the blues brothers
The Bourne Identity
the bourne supremacy
the bourne ultimatum
the bride with white hair
the castle of cagliostro
the crow
the dark knight
The Descent
the desert rats
the dirty dozen
the driver
the edge
the empire strikes back
the end of evangelion
The Fast and the Furious
the fast and the furious: tokyo drift
the fifth element
the four musketeers (1974)
the french connection
the freshman (1925)
the fugitive
the general (1926)
the getaway (peckinpah)
the god of cookery
the good, the bad and the ugly
the great escape

the guns of navarone
the heroic trio
The Hidden
the hidden fortress
The Incredibles
the iron giant
the italian job (1969)
the karate kid
the killer
the last boy scout
the last of the mohicans
the last samurai (2003)
the legend (1993)
the limey
The Long Kiss Goodnight
the man from nowhere
the mark of zorro (1940)
The Matrix
the men who would be king
the mission (johnnie to)
the mummy
the negotiator
the nest
the package
the princess bride
the professionals
the right stuff
the road warrior
the rock

the rocketeer
the rundown
the running man
the saint
the seven samurai

the seven-ups
The Seventh Curse
the thing
the untouchables
the wages of fear
the wanderers
the warriors

the way of the gun
the wild bunch
the yakuza
they live

thief
thomas crown affair
three kings
thunderball
tiger on beat
time & tide
timecop
to live and die in l.a.
tokyo drifter
tokyo fist
tombstone
top gun
total recall
training day
transporter
trespass

triad election (johnnie to)
tron legacy
troy

true lies
two mules for sister sara
undefeatable (cynthia rothrock)
under siege
undisputed
undisputed ii: last man standing
undisputed iii: redemption
universal soldier: regeneration
valley of the wolves: iraq

VAMPIRE HUNTER D
vanishing point
versus (2000)
War of the Worlds
warlock
warrior (2011)
wasabi
waterworld
westworld
wheels on meals

where eagles dare
White Sands
who'll stop the rain?
willow
x-men 2
Yakuza Graveyard
Yakuza Papers
yojimbo
you only live twice
zatoichi
zombieland
zulu

I can't remember if it was this thread or a different one, but there was some discussion about when people started using the term "action film." I've been reading the Kael interview book, and there was an interview with her from '72 where she used the phrase a few times.

I love Troy. The Achilles beach/Apollo Temple, the big armies daylight battle (best CGI army battle imo), and the Achilles/Hector fight are among my favourite action sequences of the past decade or so. Could make an argument that it's actually a pretty good film - and certainly a good big-budget Hollywood film - but I won't.

― encarta it (Gukbe), Wednesday, November 9, 2011 3:29 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark

i'd like to hear that argument, cuz i thought it was pure corn a la the original clash of the titans. which, i guess that could be a positive depending on your angle.

only nom i see missing:

transformers (og cartoon movie w/ orson welles and weird al; not the live action)

Speaking of cartoons:

Akira
Princess Mononoke
Castle in the Sky

nighthawks
encounters of the spooky kind
sharky's machine
southern comfort
first blood
the 13th warrior
valhalla
pusher
pusher 2
pusher 3
dead or alive
the island
wanted
salt
shoot 'em up
the chaser
forced vengeance
blue thunder
sudden impact
uncommon valor
superman 2
missing in action
delta force
the big red one
year of the dragon
runaway train
yes, madam!
eastern condors
the good, the bad, and the weird
split second
the dead pool
shoot to kill
dead bang
licence to kill
violent cop
punisher
punisher: war zone
snake in eagle's shadow
the spy who loved me
the gauntlet
telefon
enter the fat dragon
black sunday
north face
the eiger sanction
the towering inferno
live and let die
the hunted
madigan

Warlock

I was both confused and delighted for a couple mins before realizing this wasn't what I initially thought it was.

i'm going to let noms roll out for another week and then post the voting list. i think a top 100 is too much, so maybe a top 50?

100 doesn't seem enough.

gonna nominate the original GI Joe cartoon too

midnight run

http://www.chickensmoothie.com/oekaki/image/image.php?id=546865&size=large&format=auto&rev=2

robotcop

Ip Man
Flesh & Blood
Redbelt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B76ZWYcmP_M

This is extremely fake, but this is the kind of cop we need. All human cops were bullies in high school and all cops are criminals with badges. They rape, they beat they torture. Robo-cops can't do that shit unless they're programmed to.

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Drunken Master (the FIRST, much better one)
Tears of the Sun
The Thin Red Line
Titus

gonna nominate the original GI Joe cartoon too

omg dayo i kiss u.

i'm going to roll this shit out soon, get your noms in~

Dark of The Sun (aka The Mercenaries)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BymeLkZ7GqM

i'm tryin to think of a movie thta was recommended on here and i can't remember the thread- maybe a western, very inluential on the indie filmmakers of the 90's, matthau in the cast?

only remembered matthau there, i'll check again

not Pelham 123??

charley varrick?

lonely are the brave?

i keep meaning to do a post on the new school of dtv action cinema; movies like universal soldier: regeneration and undisputed ii & iii are leagues better than their theatrical predecessors and break the mold for what you expect from cheapo direct to video productions

omg dayo i kiss u.

― Leee, Monday, January 2, 2012 3:54 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN034sBeF4c

prob saw it at least 20 times growing up

lol now I remember why I named all my FFRPG characters 'Serpentor' ;_;

ok I'm pretty sure there's a GI Joe live-action movie thread but eff it, I want to see the new one why because of Jinx.

also, the RZA's going to be in it!?

Basically this is going to be the first movie I see in the theater since Tree Of Life.

ya charley varrick once i clocked matthau it was easy

anybody follow chinese cinema?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXA36GFpBFw

first minute or so of this comp contains some very promising shots! wish I knew more about them

http://shanghaiist.com/2012/01/17/watch_chinas_movie_highlights_of_20.php

nice~

looks like the full list of films shown is listed here:

http://shanghaiist.com/2012/01/17/watch_chinas_movie_highlights_of_20.php

The Thin Red Line

so the def u guys have of "action" is either "cool and recent" or "a film where anything happens"

nuts

i just hope it's not only you and i voting in this poll, homes~

Did you give instructions on how you want votes?

not yet...soon......

warrior's way

is 'children of men' an action flick?

jason and the argonauts
the big red one
clash of the titans (harryhausen film)
ip-man
wages of fear
the warriors

my weekend now looks like this:

Fri night: The Sting
Saturday: The Seven Ups, To Live and Die in LA
Sunday: Midnight Run, Charley Varrick

Psyched

Sunday: Midnight Run, Charley Varrick

nice double bill there. 'midnight run' is hilarious. tarantino blatantly stole some dialogue from 'charley varrick' for 'pulp fiction'. keep your ears peeled, youll know what i mean.

i've seen midnight run in installments here and there, cv will be all new to me

shit I forgot about midnight run, that was a favorite of mine in my post-high school pre-college haze. Love Yaphet Kotto in that flick.

i happen to just watch the seven-ups today -- is barely an action flick fyi, tho def of a set w/ the rest of ur sched

altho id prob take 'friends of eddie coyle' or 'the nickel ride' in the 70s procedural mold

man but i love 70's procedural tho

Speaking of the 70s, did Peckinpah's The Killer Elite get mentioned? It's overlong and not too engaging in spots, but does feature Robert Duvall vs ninjas on a battleship, IIRC.

i nom 'Dirty Mary Crazy Larry'

eastwood and his sequels eh

The Thin Red Line

so the def u guys have of "action" is either "cool and recent" or "a film where anything happens"

Notwithstanding Malick's profound ambivalence towards the filming of the, uh, action scenes, TTRL is shot through the war film genre, and these scenes are, furthermore, hella rad, man. (I admit it's a challopsy/leftfield nomination, but imo qualifies nonetheless.)

i keep meaning to do a post on the new school of dtv action cinema; movies like universal soldier: regeneration and undisputed ii & iii are leagues better than their theatrical predecessors and break the mold for what you expect from cheapo direct to video productions

― maghrib is back (Hungry4Ass)

the new universal soldier movie features scott adkins!!

also i would add sniper: reloaded to that list.

I wonder if there'd be any appetite for a science fiction poll? I'm not necessarily volunteering to wrangle the ballots though could be persuaded to.

It seems like the action movie poll is one that could be redone, since it was unleashed in the era before the new Mad Max films, the John Wick series, the Rebecca Ferguson era Mission impossible films, Edge of Tomorrow, Dredd, etc

wider availability of martial arts cinema means there's like 20 Hong Kong films that totally need to be in there and aren't

would be up for a sci fi poll too