Time Out's The 101 Best Action Movies Ever Made

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Everyone loves a good action movie, even if some won’t admit it. Film school snobs may pretend to turn up their noses, but no matter how cultured you’d like to think 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.

But action flicks needn’t be dumb, loud or graphic to succeed. Some find beauty in orchestrated violence. Others might crane-kick you right in the heart. Some even have – gasp! – character development. 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 action genre better than anyone, from Die Hard director John McTiernan to Machete himself, Danny Trejo. Pull the pin, light the fuse and batten down the hatches – these are the most pulse-pounding, edge-of-your-seat thrill rides ever put to film.

Written by Eddy Frankel, Eddy Frankel, Yu An Su, Joshua Rothkopf, Trevor Johnston, Ashley Clark, Grady Hendrix, Tom Huddleston, Keith Uhlich, Dave Calhoun, Phil de Semlyen, Dave Calhoun and Matthew Singer

The list has 102 titles because Kill Bill was counted as one entry.
Last Updated: Friday 13 September 2024

Modnote about list order: When Timeout changed the web formatting of the list from its previous pagination the ordering of each group of 10 got reversed, so we kept the list in it's original correct ordering. However, since then, subsequent updates have used the new order consistently, so we've followed suit in order to match the source.
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  1. 1 -

    Die Hard

    1988, in 21 top lists Check
  2. 2 +8

    Aliens

    1986, in 24 top lists Check
  3. 3 +6

    Shichinin no samurai

    1954 — a.k.a. Seven Samurai, in 36 top lists Check
  4. 4 +4

    The Wild Bunch

    1969, in 25 top lists Check
  5. 5 +2

    Ging chaat goo si

    1985 — a.k.a. Police Story, in 10 top lists Check
  6. 6 -

    Enter the Dragon

    1973, in 14 top lists Check
  7. 7 +33

    Mad Max: Fury Road

    2015, in 23 top lists Check
  8. 8 -4

    Lat sau san taam

    1992 — a.k.a. Hard Boiled, in 12 top lists Check
  9. 9 -6

    Terminator 2: Judgment Day

    1991, in 27 top lists Check
  10. 10 -8

    Raiders of the Lost Ark

    1981 — a.k.a. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, in 29 top lists Check
  11. 11 -6

    Mad Max 2

    1981 — a.k.a. The Road Warrior, in 14 top lists Check
  12. 12 +8

    Kill Bill: Vol. 1

    2003, in 18 top lists Check
  13. 13 +8

    Kill Bill: Vol. 2

    2004, in 9 top lists Check
  14. 14 +5

    Face/Off

    1997, in 7 top lists Check
  15. 15 +3

    The Terminator

    1984, in 23 top lists Check
  16. 16 +1

    Ong-bak

    2003 — a.k.a. Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior, in 2 top lists Check
  17. 17 -1

    Predator

    1987, in 9 top lists Check
  18. 18 -3

    The Bourne Ultimatum

    2007, in 9 top lists Check
  19. 19 -5

    Wong Fei Hung II: Nam yee tung chi keung

    1992 — a.k.a. Once Upon a Time in China II, in 4 top lists Check
  20. 20 -7

    First Blood

    1982, in 5 top lists Check
  21. 21 -9

    RoboCop

    1987, in 15 top lists Check
  22. 22 -11

    The Matrix

    1999, in 30 top lists Check
  23. 23 +8

    C'era una volta il West

    1968 — a.k.a. Once Upon a Time in the West, in 29 top lists Check
  24. 24 +6

    Shao Lin san shi liu fang

    1978 — a.k.a. The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, in 8 top lists Check
  25. 25 +4

    Heat

    1995, in 23 top lists Check
  26. 26 +2

    Jui kuen II

    1994 — a.k.a. Drunken Master II, in 4 top lists Check
  27. 27 -

    'A' gai wak

    1983 — a.k.a. Project A, in 4 top lists Check
  28. 28 -2

    Lethal Weapon

    1987, in 5 top lists Check
  29. 29 -4

    Dip huet seung hung

    1989 — a.k.a. The Killer, in 16 top lists Check
  30. 30 -6

    Bullitt

    1968, in 11 top lists Check
  31. 31 -8

    Serbuan maut

    2011 — a.k.a. The Raid: Redemption, in 2 top lists Check
  32. 32 -10

    The General

    1926, in 34 top lists Check
  33. 33 +8

    The French Connection

    1971, in 24 top lists Check
  34. 34 +5

    The Adventures of Robin Hood

    1938, in 17 top lists Check
  35. 35 +3

    Commando

    1985, in 2 top lists Check
  36. 36 +1

    Wo hu cang long

    2000 — a.k.a. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, in 27 top lists Check
  37. 37 -1

    Fei lung mang jeung

    1988 — a.k.a. Dragons Forever, in 3 top lists Check
  38. 38 -3

    Oldeuboi

    2003 — a.k.a. Oldboy, in 34 top lists Check
  39. 39 -5

    Rambo: First Blood Part II

    1985, in 4 top lists Check
  40. 40 -7

    Ying hung boon sik

    1986 — a.k.a. A Better Tomorrow, in 10 top lists Check
  41. 41 -9

    Point Break

    1991, in 9 top lists Check
  42. 42 +9

    Kung fu

    2004 — a.k.a. Kung Fu Hustle, in 11 top lists Check
  43. 43 +7

    Mission: Impossible - Fallout

    2018, in 5 top lists
    Check
  44. 44 +4

    The Professionals

    1966, in 2 top lists Check
  45. 45 +4

    Ip Man

    2008, in 4 top lists Check
  46. 46 +1

    Saat po long

    2005 — a.k.a. Kill Zone, in 3 top lists Check
  47. 47 -1

    Ben-Hur

    1959, in 22 top lists Check
  48. 48 -3

    True Lies

    1994, in 5 top lists Check
  49. 49 -5

    Dao

    1995 — a.k.a. The Blade, in 3 top lists Check
  50. 50 -7

    Léon

    1994 — a.k.a. Léon: The Professional, in 23 top lists Check
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Last updated on Dec 21, 2024 by Fergenaprido; source