200 Best Action Movies of All Time
by Tamara_Nartichti | created - 24 Jan 2011 | updated - 03 Jan 2014 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
R | 111 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After awakening from a four-year coma, a former assassin wreaks vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen
Votes: 1,194,427 | Gross: $70.10M
the Best Action movie ever made - fight scenes evolved since Day One of Kung Fu movies, sword fights like you didn't think it was possible
Fist of Fury -> Drunken Master -> Kill Bill (the climax of evolution at the moment) ” - Tamara Nartichti
Bruce Lee -> Sonny Chiba -> Zoe Bell
2. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
R | 137 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
The Bride continues her quest of vengeance against her former boss and lover Bill, the reclusive bouncer Budd, and the treacherous, one-eyed Elle.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah
Votes: 805,914 | Gross: $66.21M
3. Grindhouse (2007)
R | 191 min | Action, Horror, Thriller
Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's homage to exploitation double features in the '60s and '70s with two back-to-back cult films that include previews of coming attractions between them.
Directors: Robert Rodriguez, Eli Roth, Quentin Tarantino, Edgar Wright, Rob Zombie | Stars: Kurt Russell, Rose McGowan, Danny Trejo, Zoë Bell
Votes: 191,207 | Gross: $25.04M
4. From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
R | 108 min | Action, Crime, Horror
Two criminals and their hostages unknowingly seek temporary refuge in a truck stop populated by vampires, with chaotic results.
Director: Robert Rodriguez | Stars: Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Juliette Lewis, Quentin Tarantino
Votes: 340,761 | Gross: $25.75M
5. Sin City (2005)
R | 124 min | Crime, Thriller
An exploration of the dark and miserable Basin City and three of its residents, all of whom are caught up in violent corruption.
Directors: Frank Miller, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba
Votes: 793,907 | Gross: $74.10M
6. The Terminator (1984)
R | 107 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A human soldier is sent from 2029 to 1984 to stop an almost indestructible cyborg killing machine, sent from the same year, which has been programmed to execute a young woman whose unborn son is the key to humanity's future salvation.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, Paul Winfield
Votes: 924,495 | Gross: $38.40M
7. The Matrix (1999)
R | 136 min | Action, Sci-Fi
When a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding underworld, he discovers the shocking truth--the life he knows is the elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence.
Directors: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving
Votes: 2,053,966 | Gross: $171.48M
8. Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
PG-13 | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A prince of the mythical world starts a rebellion against humanity in order to rule the Earth. Hellboy and his team must fight to stop him from locating the all-powerful Golden Army.
Director: Guillermo del Toro | Stars: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, John Alexander
Votes: 285,993 | Gross: $75.75M
Prince Nuada
he made this movie into a supervillain one, he deserves his own movie
an amazing fan video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQtWYvmERiQ
the greatest character ever created
the finest male warrior even seen in a film
9. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
R | 137 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A cyborg, identical to the one who failed to kill Sarah Connor, must now protect her ten year old son John from an even more advanced and powerful cyborg.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick
Votes: 1,174,479 | Gross: $204.84M
10. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)
PG-13 | 100 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Video game adventurer Lara Croft comes to life in a movie where she races against time and villains to recover powerful ancient artifacts.
Director: Simon West | Stars: Angelina Jolie, Jon Voight, Iain Glen, Noah Taylor
Votes: 219,007 | Gross: $131.14M
11. Aliens (1986)
R | 137 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Decades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn, Paul Reiser
Votes: 763,344 | Gross: $85.16M
12. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life (2003)
PG-13 | 117 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Adventurer Lara Croft goes on a quest to save the mythical Pandora's Box, before an evil scientist finds it, and recruits a former Marine turned mercenary to assist her.
Director: Jan de Bont | Stars: Angelina Jolie, Gerard Butler, Chris Barrie, Ciarán Hinds
Votes: 144,899 | Gross: $65.66M
13. Hard Boiled (1992)
R | 128 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A tough-as-nails cop teams up with an undercover agent to shut down a sinister mobster and his crew.
Director: John Woo | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Teresa Mo, Philip Chan
Votes: 54,041
14. Highlander (1986)
R | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
An immortal Scottish swordsman must confront the last of his immortal opponents, a murderously brutal barbarian who lusts for the fabled "Prize".
Director: Russell Mulcahy | Stars: Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown, Roxanne Hart
Votes: 147,498 | Gross: $5.90M
15. El Mariachi (1992)
R | 81 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A traveling mariachi is mistaken for a murderous criminal and must hide from a gang bent on killing him.
Director: Robert Rodriguez | Stars: Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gómez, Jaime de Hoyos, Peter Marquardt
Votes: 71,315 | Gross: $2.04M
16. Equilibrium (2002)
R | 107 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
In an oppressive future where all forms of feeling are illegal, a man in charge of enforcing the law rises to overthrow the system and state.
Director: Kurt Wimmer | Stars: Christian Bale, Sean Bean, Emily Watson, Taye Diggs
Votes: 347,096 | Gross: $1.20M
17. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
PG-13 | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A young Chinese warrior steals a sword from a famed swordsman and then escapes into a world of romantic adventure with a mysterious man in the frontier of the nation.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang, Chang Chen
Votes: 281,666 | Gross: $128.08M
18. Sucker Punch (2011)
PG-13 | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A young girl institutionalized by her abusive stepfather retreats to an alternative reality as a coping strategy and envisions a plan to help her escape.
Director: Zack Snyder | Stars: Emily Browning, Vanessa Hudgens, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone
Votes: 252,851 | Gross: $36.39M
19. Fist of Fury (1972)
R | 107 min | Action, Drama, Romance
A young man seeks vengence for the death of his teacher.
Director: Wei Lo | Stars: Bruce Lee, Nora Miao, James Tien, Maria Yi
Votes: 33,898 | Gross: $1.29M
20. Skyfall (2012)
PG-13 | 143 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
James Bond's loyalty to M is tested when her past comes back to haunt her. When MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
Director: Sam Mendes | Stars: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris, Judi Dench
Votes: 731,245 | Gross: $304.36M
21. Predator (1987)
R | 107 min | Action, Adventure, Horror
A team of commandos on a mission in a Central American jungle find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.
Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Kevin Peter Hall, Elpidia Carrillo
Votes: 455,032 | Gross: $59.74M
22. Man of Steel (2013)
PG-13 | 143 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
An alien child is evacuated from his dying world and sent to Earth to live among humans. His peace is threatened when other survivors of his home planet invade Earth.
Director: Zack Snyder | Stars: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane
Votes: 812,030 | Gross: $291.05M
23. Desperado (1995)
R | 104 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Former musician and gunslinger El Mariachi arrives at a small Mexican border town after being away for a long time. His past quickly catches up with him and he soon gets entangled with the local drug kingpin Bucho and his gang.
Director: Robert Rodriguez | Stars: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Joaquim de Almeida, Cheech Marin
Votes: 197,704 | Gross: $25.63M
24. Wanted (2008)
R | 110 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A frustrated office worker discovers that he is the son of a professional assassin, and that he shares his father's superhuman killing abilities.
Director: Timur Bekmambetov | Stars: Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Terence Stamp
Votes: 408,667 | Gross: $134.51M
25. Face/Off (1997)
R | 138 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
To foil a terrorist plot, FBI agent Sean Archer assumes the identity of the criminal Castor Troy who murdered his son through facial transplant surgery, but the crook wakes up prematurely and vows revenge.
Director: John Woo | Stars: John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Alessandro Nivola
Votes: 401,009 | Gross: $112.23M
26. Die Hard (1988)
R | 132 min | Action, Thriller
A New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.
Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson
Votes: 945,849 | Gross: $83.01M
27. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
PG-13 | 164 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
Eight years after the Joker's reign of chaos, Batman is coerced out of exile with the assistance of the mysterious Selina Kyle in order to defend Gotham City from the vicious guerrilla terrorist Bane.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman
Votes: 1,828,002 | Gross: $448.14M
breath-taking visuals
could have been higher if it wasn't for my love for great dialogue, interesting characters, a plot that makes sense and poetic kung fu fight sequences
Despite a rather underwhelming plot, forced character development, sloppy fight sequences (but I never expect much from Nolan in that particular department) and somewhat weak acting from certain individuals, the action scope of this picture is magnificent, I'd say unprecedented. The Dark Knight is still the better FILM in my book, this one, however, is the better ACTION.
28. The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
R | 121 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Samantha Caine lives in a small town with her daughter. Eight years ago she emerged, two months pregnant, from a nearby river with no memory of her past or who she is. However, she's getting closer to finding out about her past.
Director: Renny Harlin | Stars: Geena Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, Yvonne Zima, Craig Bierko
Votes: 85,685 | Gross: $33.33M
29. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)
R | 116 min | Crime, Drama
An African-American Mafia hit man who models himself after the samurai of old finds himself targeted for death by the mob.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: Forest Whitaker, Henry Silva, John Tormey, Cliff Gorman
Votes: 96,987 | Gross: $3.31M
30. G.I. Jane (1997)
R | 125 min | Action, Drama, War
Lt. Jordan, a US Navy topographic analyst, joins the US Navy Special Warfare Group and struggles to prove her worth in a unit dominated by men. But a cynical woman Texan senator has sold her out.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Demi Moore, Viggo Mortensen, Anne Bancroft, Jason Beghe
Votes: 87,037 | Gross: $48.17M
31. Under Siege (1992)
R | 103 min | Action, Thriller
An ex-Navy Seal turned cook is the only person who can stop a group of terrorists when they seize control of a U.S. battleship.
Director: Andrew Davis | Stars: Steven Seagal, Gary Busey, Tommy Lee Jones, Erika Eleniak
Votes: 95,533 | Gross: $83.36M
32. Team America: World Police (2004)
R | 98 min | Action, Comedy
Popular Broadway actor Gary Johnston is recruited by the elite counter-terrorism organization Team America: World Police. As the world begins to crumble around him, he must battle with terrorists, celebrities and falling in love.
Director: Trey Parker | Stars: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Elle Russ, Kristen Miller
Votes: 178,614 | Gross: $32.79M
33. The Dark Knight (2008)
PG-13 | 152 min | Action, Crime, Drama
When the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine
Votes: 2,871,725 | Gross: $534.86M
34. Fast Five (2011)
PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Dominic Toretto and his crew of street racers plan a massive heist to buy their freedom while in the sights of a powerful Brazilian drug lord and a dangerous federal agent.
Director: Justin Lin | Stars: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster
Votes: 407,269 | Gross: $209.84M
35. Point Break (1991)
R | 122 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
An F.B.I. Agent goes undercover to catch a gang of surfers who may be bank robbers.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Lori Petty
Votes: 202,374 | Gross: $43.22M
36. Mortal Kombat (1995)
PG-13 | 101 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Three unknowing martial artists are summoned to a mysterious island to compete in a tournament whose outcome will decide the fate of the world.
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson | Stars: Christopher Lambert, Robin Shou, Linden Ashby, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Votes: 124,654 | Gross: $70.45M
37. Hero (2002)
PG-13 | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A defense officer, Nameless, was summoned by the King of Qin regarding his success of terminating three warriors.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Ziyi Zhang
Votes: 187,680 | Gross: $53.71M
38. La Femme Nikita (1990)
R | 117 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Convicted felon Nikita isn't going to jail; she's given a new identity and trained, stylishly, as a top secret spy/assassin.
Director: Luc Besson | Stars: Anne Parillaud, Marc Duret, Patrick Fontana, Alain Lathière
Votes: 76,447 | Gross: $5.02M
39. Blade II (2002)
R | 117 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Blade forms an uneasy alliance with the vampire council in order to combat the Reapers, who are feeding on vampires.
Director: Guillermo del Toro | Stars: Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Ron Perlman, Leonor Varela
Votes: 234,487 | Gross: $82.35M
40. Underworld (2003)
R | 121 min | Action, Fantasy, Thriller
Selene, a vampire warrior, is entrenched in a conflict between vampires and werewolves, while falling in love with Michael, a human who is sought by werewolves for unknown reasons.
Director: Len Wiseman | Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Shane Brolly, Michael Sheen
Votes: 285,231 | Gross: $51.97M
41. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)
R | 92 min | Action, Fantasy, Thriller
A prequel centered on the origins of the centuries-old feud between the race of aristocratic vampires and their former slaves, the Lycans.
Director: Patrick Tatopoulos | Stars: Rhona Mitra, Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Steven Mackintosh
Votes: 167,894 | Gross: $45.80M
42. RoboCop (1987)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
In a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.
Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox
Votes: 283,227 | Gross: $53.42M
43. The Killer (1989)
R | 111 min | Action, Crime, Drama