We want speed and intensity, wit and wisecracks, cartoon violence and things going boom. We don’t want to see ourselves reflected, we don’t want understanding or honesty or intellectual insight. If cinema is the perfect escapist medium-and until someone invents a virtual-reality device that works, it will be-then action movies are its purest expression, the best way we know of for humanity to shake itself loose from the trappings of humdrum reality and take to the ether. It isn’t exactly what pseuds would call High Art.Īll of which is precisely the point. It doesn’t offer much insight into the human condition (though the image of Bruce Willis walking on broken glass could be taken as a poignant metaphor for life’s little brutalities). But does Die Hard really fit the bill? It doesn’t have anything to say about the state of the world. The killer scene: Alan Rickman’s final tumble: iconic, nostalgic, slightly-shoddy-effects–based glory. 🥋 The 25 best martial arts movies of all-timeĬast: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedeliaīest quote: “Now I have a machine gun. 🪖 The 18 greatest stunts in cinema (as picked by the greatest stunt people) 🌊 33 great disaster movies that’ll have you running for cover Written by Eddy Frankel, Eddy Frankel, Joshua Rothkopf, Trevor Johnston, Ashley Clark, Grady Hendrix, Tom Huddleston, Keith Uhlich, Dave Calhoun, Phil de Semlyen, Dave Calhoun & Matthew Singer Light that fuse, clip that wire and batten down the hatches – these are the most pulse-pounding, heart-racing, edge of your seat thrill rides ever put to film. Time Out ’s critics have weighed in, too. And so, to help put together this definitive list of the greatest action movies ever made, we reached out to some of the people who understand the glory of action better than anyone, from Die Hard director John McTiernan to the actual folks in the line of fire, such as Machete himself, Danny Trejo.

Shoot, some even have character development. Others might dropkick you right in the heart. Action flicks needn’t be dumb or epic or even particularly loud to succeed. The truth is, action is a deeply misunderstood genre. And the only thing that will scratch the itch is watching something get blowed up real goodnb v. No matter how cultured you are, there’s a part of your lizard brain that loves explosions and shootouts and badass one-liners – and it needs to be satisfied. Sure, film school snobs may turn up their noses, but even hardcore cineastes cannot live on indie dramas and experimental art flicks alone.

A daring pursuit the ruthless rivals