Top Ten Action Films
Masterpieces of an underappreciated genre
Action films don’t get the formal recognition that they deserve as high art filmmaking. Many action films are not very good, or very interesting.
But sometimes…every once in a while…action films are not just good, they are great. And when they are really great, they can be masterpieces. They are the movies that we wish we had made. They elevate the action genre from “Boom Kapow!” to “Damn, how did they do that?!”. However, we don’t always appreciate them as examples of great filmmaking because of their guilt by association to what is otherwise considered a lowbrow genre of movies. After all, how many action movies have ever won the Academy Award for Best Picture? (Here’s a hint: It rhymes with the word NERO.)
So here is a list of ten action films that I think deserve recognition as not just the best of their genre but also examples of the finest levels of filmmaking. They are in my humble opinion, THE BEST OF THE BEST.
Some of your favorites might not be on this list. If that’s the case, @ me and give me your list. So, here goes:
THE UNEXPECTED GEMS
#10. Tremors, 1990, Dir: Ron Underwood
“I say they’re from outer space…ain’t no way these are local boys.”
You might not notice at first, but Tremors is a perfect movie. That does not mean it has universal appeal. For instance, my mom probably wouldn’t like it. The plot revolves around desert creatures who live under the ground and terrorize a local group of folks played by Fred Ward, Kevin Bacon, Michael Gross, and in her film debut, country superstar Reba McEntire.
There is not a wasted moment, not an unnecessary scene, not a shot in it that doesn’t further the story. It is economical, taut, and amazingly fun.
#9. El Mariachi, 1992, Dir: Robert Rodriguez
The production of Robert Rodriguez’s debut film was the stuff of legend: Made independently at a cost of $7,500 for the Spanish language home video circuit, Rodriguez shot El Mariachi in silent 16mm and edited on VHS tape. He sold his blood to raise the funds. Carlos Gallardo, the star and Rodriguez’s best friend, did all his own stunts. There were no second takes. Nobody got paid, and Rodriguez’s mother did all the cooking for the cast and crew. But what came out of that small wind-up camera was a high octane, high energy, high concept film that taught an entire generation of film students how to make films that are, as Rodriguez puts it: “fast, cheap, and totally in-control.” Columbia Pictures would end up releasing the film in 35mm with a souped-up Spanish language soundtrack and an incredible ad campaign. El Mariachi also spawned two sequels: Desperado and Once Upon A Time in Mexico (although the Mariachi character got recast with Antonio Banderas). The sequels are great too, but the original is just that…an original.
THE ONES THAT GOT IT RIGHT
#8. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, 1982, Dir: George Miller
“You want to get out of here…talk to me.” This sequel to the iconic (but inferior) Mad Max set the stage for what we now think “Post-Apocalypse” looks like. The one question that never got answered in the film is, who designed all the clothes in the Post-Apocalypse? Where does everyone shop to get that look? Target should start putting together a line of clothes just for the Post-Apocalypse so we all know how to coordinate our outfits when the time comes to pillage the Outback for gasoline and water.
#7. Terminator 2: Judgment Day, 1991, Dir: James Cameron
“Come with me if you want to live.” When a sequel has the power has the power to eclipse the original, the results can be glorious. Such is the case with Terminator 2: Judgment Day, James Cameron’s sequel to his classic 1984 hit that made stars out of Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, and some other guy whose name escapes me but I think might have become a governor or something. T2 sported breakthrough CGI effects, chase scenes that top each other, a killer Guns N’ Roses song, and a surprisingly emotional ending.
#6. Mad Max: Fury Road, 2018, Dir: George Miller
“Oh what a day…what a lovely day!” Over 20 years after the release of the previous installment in the Mad Max series, director George Miller’s follow up was besieged by well-documented production problems. It was set up by the press to fail before it was even released. What the naysayers didn’t count on was that Mad Max: Fury Road was going to be, in and of itself, a masterpiece. Nominated for ten Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director, and winning six, it was the most nominated Australian film since Jane Campion’s The Piano in 1993. Unlike previous installments, MM:FR centered less on the Max character (no longer played by Mel Gibson but by Tom Hardy) and focused more on Furiosa, the character played to perfection by Charlize Theron. There is nothing about this film that doesn’t work.
#5. Skyfall, 2012, Dir: Sam Mendes
“Where the hell have you been, 007?” Finally with 2012’s Skyfall we got not just a good James Bond movie, but a GREAT James Bond movie. The 23rd film in the 007 series was so disproportionately good from the rest of the franchise that it felt like a revelation. It’s not that it was a great Bond film, it’s that it’s a great movie whose main character happens to be a spy named James Bond 007. It also featured an Oscar-winning song by Adele, one of the best of the Bond themes (which when they’re good, they’re classics.) Skyfall was Daniel Craig’s 3rd out of 5 outings as 007 and no doubt the apex of his tenure. It will be a hard act to follow no matter who slips into the Aston Martin in the future.
THE MASTERPIECES
#4. The Dark Knight, 2008, Dir: Christopher Nolan
“You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain…” The second entry into Nolan’s Batman reboot, is arguably the best and, frankly, the only one you will really remember. Punctuated by the Oscar-winning and profound performance by Heath Ledger as the Joker, The Dark Knight eclipses all Batman films (with the possible exception of Tim Burton’s excellent but very different Batman from 1989). The dynamic use of changing aspect ratios between the full IMAX frame alternating with the letterboxed CinemaScope frame made an emotional impact that I think few moviegoers expected. Hans Zimmer’s pulsing score, coupled with death-defying stunts, and intricate plot, helped make The Dark Knight stunning.
#3. Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981, Dir: Steven Spielberg
“It’s not the years baby, it’s the miles.” The ad campaign read, “From the Creators of Star Wars and Jaws comes Indiana Jones, a New Kind of Hero.”
Harrison Ford’s best role. John Williams’ best theme. Steven Spielberg’s razor- tight direction. Who doesn’t want to swing from a whip?
#2. Aliens, 1986, Dir: James Cameron
“Get away from her, you bitch!” James Cameron has never made, and I dare say, will never make a better film than Aliens. This sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1979 stunning original film Alien introduced a theme that had never before been put into a sci-fi action film: motherhood. Sigourney Weaver’s Ridley protects young Newt, a 10-year-old girl she finds hiding in the air ducts of an abandoned mining base from the race of aliens who have taken over the planet. Ripley protects Newt like the Alien Queen protects her hatchlings. It is the epic fight of two very protective mamas and every moment is thrilling. When Herbie Kleinman and I snuck into Aliens at the Loews Orpheum during the summer of ’86 when we were 14-years-old we had never seen anything so thrilling or scary. It still holds up today.
And finally, the masterpiece among masterpieces…
#1. Die Hard, 1988, Dir: John McTiernan
“Come out to the coast, we’ll get together, have a few laughs…” Die Hard is the gold standard of action films. Since its release in 1988, it has neither been equaled nor surpassed in its perfection. Bruce Willis’ character John McClane fights off a group of baddies, led by Alan Rickman’s career defining Hans Gruber, as they take over Nakatomi Plaza (a high-rise office tower in Los Angeles). Die Hard not only defined a genre, but it also rendered any subsequent entries into the genre useless. Even its own sequels could not live up to the level of characters, storytelling, dramatic stakes, or calibre of filmmaking of the original. John McTiernan set the bar, and set it impossibly high. Yippee-ki-yay.
That’s my list. What are your Top Ten Best Action Films?
