Top 100 Best Action Movies Of All Time
by Ximbas | created - 22 Sep 2016 | updated - 10 months ago | PublicThese are not just great action flicks, but movies that, in one way or another, changed how we view this badass genre. (This list is constantly changing)
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1. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
R | 137 min | Action, Sci-Fi
A cyborg, identical to the one who failed to kill Sarah Connor, must now protect her teenage son, John Connor, from a more advanced and powerful cyborg.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick
Votes: 953,907 | Gross: $204.84M
2. Die Hard (1988)
R | 132 min | Action, Thriller
An NYPD officer tries to save his wife and several others taken hostage by German 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: 752,582 | Gross: $83.01M
3. Aliens (1986)
R | 137 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Ellen Ripley is rescued by a deep salvage team after being in hypersleep for 57 years. The moon that the Nostromo visited has been colonized, but contact is lost. This time, colonial marines have impressive firepower, but will that be enough?
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn, Paul Reiser
Votes: 625,317 | Gross: $85.16M
4. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
R | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a woman rebels against a tyrannical ruler in search for her homeland with the aid of a group of female prisoners, a psychotic worshiper, and a drifter named Max.
Director: George Miller | Stars: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz
Votes: 827,036 | Gross: $154.06M
5. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
PG | 115 min | Action, Adventure
In 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before Adolf Hitler's Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, John Rhys-Davies
Votes: 845,604 | Gross: $248.16M
6. Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)
PG-13 | 147 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
Ethan Hunt and his IMF team, along with some familiar allies, race against time after a mission gone wrong.
Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Stars: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg
Votes: 266,346 | Gross: $220.16M
7. 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: Yun-Fat Chow, Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Teresa Mo, Philip Chan
Votes: 44,929
8. Dirty Harry (1971)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
When a madman calling himself "the Scorpio Killer" menaces the city, tough as nails San Francisco Police Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan is assigned to track down and ferret out the crazed psychopath.
Director: Don Siegel | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Andrew Robinson, Harry Guardino, Reni Santoni
Votes: 137,199 | Gross: $35.90M
9. The Raid 2 (2014)
R | 150 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Only a short time after the first raid, Rama goes undercover with the thugs of Jakarta and plans to bring down the syndicate and uncover the corruption within his police force.
Director: Gareth Evans | Stars: Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian, Arifin Putra, Oka Antara
Votes: 108,884 | Gross: $2.63M
10. The Last Boy Scout (1991)
R | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A private detective's protected female witness is murdered, prompting him and the victim's boyfriend to investigate the crime that leads to a corrupt politician and a crooked football team owner.
Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Bruce Willis, Damon Wayans, Chelsea Field, Noble Willingham
Votes: 89,425 | Gross: $59.51M
11. Bullet in the Head (1990)
Not Rated | 136 min | Action, Crime, Drama
When three close friends escape from Hong Kong to war-time Saigon to start a criminal's life, they all go through a harrowing experience which totally shatters their lives and their friendship forever.
Director: John Woo | Stars: Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Jacky Cheung, Waise Lee, Simon Yam
Votes: 9,448
12. Inception (2010)
PG-13 | 148 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Ken Watanabe
Votes: 1,937,062 | Gross: $292.58M
13. The Matrix (1999)
R | 136 min | Action, Sci-Fi
A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers.
Directors: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving
Votes: 1,589,332 | Gross: $171.48M
14. 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: 2,187,931 | Gross: $534.86M
15. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
PG | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
After the Rebels are brutally overpowered by the Empire on the ice planet Hoth, Luke Skywalker begins Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued by Darth Vader and a bounty hunter named Boba Fett all over the galaxy.
Director: Irvin Kershner | Stars: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams
Votes: 1,106,926 | Gross: $290.48M
16. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)
R | 131 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
John Wick is on the run after killing a member of the international assassins' guild, and with a $14 million price tag on his head, he is the target of hit men and women everywhere.
Director: Chad Stahelski | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne
Votes: 234,173 | Gross: $171.02M
17. The Rock (1996)
R | 136 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A mild-mannered chemist and an ex-con must lead the counterstrike when a rogue group of military men, led by a renegade general, threaten a nerve gas attack from Alcatraz against San Francisco.
Director: Michael Bay | Stars: Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris, John Spencer
Votes: 302,000 | Gross: $134.07M
18. A Better Tomorrow II (1987)
Not Rated | 105 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A restauranteur teams up with a police officer and his ex-con brother to avenge the death of a friend's daughter.
Director: John Woo | Stars: Leslie Cheung, Yun-Fat Chow, Lung Ti, Dean Shek
Votes: 8,818
19. Speed (1994)
R | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A young police officer must prevent a bomb exploding aboard a city bus by keeping its speed above 50 mph.
Director: Jan de Bont | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Joe Morton
Votes: 315,174 | Gross: $121.25M
20. Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)
R | 128 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
John McClane and a Harlem store owner are targeted by German terrorist Simon Gruber in New York City, where he plans to rob the Federal Reserve Building.
Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson, Graham Greene
Votes: 351,355 | Gross: $100.01M
21. Gladiator (2000)
R | 155 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed
Votes: 1,274,390 | Gross: $187.71M
22. The Legend of Drunken Master (1994)
R | 102 min | Action, Comedy
A young martial artist is caught between respecting his pacifist father's wishes or stopping a group of disrespectful foreigners from stealing precious artifacts.
Directors: Chia-Liang Liu, Jackie Chan | Stars: Jackie Chan, Ho-Sung Pak, Lung Ti, Anita Mui
Votes: 41,506 | Gross: $11.55M
23. The Raid: Redemption (2011)
R | 101 min | Action, Thriller
A S.W.A.T. team becomes trapped in a tenement run by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs.
Director: Gareth Evans | Stars: Iko Uwais, Ananda George, Ray Sahetapy, Donny Alamsyah
Votes: 182,428 | Gross: $4.11M
24. The Untouchables (1987)
R | 119 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
During the era of Prohibition in the United States, Federal Agent Eliot Ness sets out to stop ruthless Chicago gangster Al Capone and, because of rampant corruption, assembles a small, hand-picked team to help him.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, Charles Martin Smith
Votes: 266,144 | Gross: $76.27M
25. Elite Squad: The Enemy Within (2010)
Not Rated | 115 min | Action, Crime, Drama
After a prison riot, former-Captain Nascimento, now a high ranking security officer in Rio de Janeiro, is swept into a bloody political dispute that involves government officials and paramilitary groups.
Director: José Padilha | Stars: Wagner Moura, Irandhir Santos, André Ramiro, Milhem Cortaz
Votes: 76,879 | Gross: $0.10M
26. Predator (1987)
R | 107 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
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: 357,568 | Gross: $59.74M
27. The Hitcher (1986)
R | 97 min | Action, Thriller
A young man who escapes the clutches of a murderous hitchhiker is subsequently stalked by the hitcher and framed for his crimes.
Director: Robert Harmon | Stars: Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jeffrey DeMunn
Votes: 41,622 | Gross: $5.84M
28. Dog Soldiers (2002)
R | 105 min | Action, Horror, Thriller
A routine military exercise turns into a nightmare in the Scotland wilderness.
Director: Neil Marshall | Stars: Sean Pertwee, Kevin McKidd, Emma Cleasby, Liam Cunningham
Votes: 53,341
29. The Killer (1989)
R | 111 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A disillusioned assassin accepts one last hit in hopes of using his earnings to restore vision to a singer he accidentally blinded, only to be double-crossed by his boss.
Director: John Woo | Stars: Yun-Fat Chow, Danny Lee, Sally Yeh, Kong Chu
Votes: 44,246
30. Lethal Weapon (1987)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Two newly paired cops who are complete opposites must put aside their differences in order to catch a gang of drug smugglers.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitchell Ryan
Votes: 227,379 | Gross: $65.21M
31. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
PG-13 | 112 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
Scott Pilgrim must defeat his new girlfriend's seven evil exes in order to win her heart.
Director: Edgar Wright | Stars: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Anna Kendrick
Votes: 356,251 | Gross: $31.49M
32. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
PG-13 | 149 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
The Avengers and their allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans
Votes: 757,123 | Gross: $678.82M
33. Avengers: Endgame (2019)
PG-13 | 181 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), the universe is in ruins. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers assemble once more in order to reverse Thanos' actions and restore balance to the universe.
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth
Votes: 686,894 | Gross: $858.37M
34. Elite Squad (2007)
R | 115 min | Action, Crime, Drama
In 1997 Rio de Janeiro, Captain Nascimento has to find a substitute for his position while trying to take down drug dealers and criminals before the Pope visits.
Director: José Padilha | Stars: Wagner Moura, André Ramiro, Caio Junqueira, Milhem Cortaz
Votes: 94,759 | Gross: $0.01M
35. Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)
R | 129 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A spy organisation recruits a promising street kid into the agency's training program, while a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.
Director: Matthew Vaughn | Stars: Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Caine
Votes: 567,424 | Gross: $128.26M
36. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
PG-13 | 115 min | Action, Mystery, Thriller
Jason Bourne dodges a ruthless C.I.A. official and his Agents from a new assassination program while searching for the origins of his life as a trained killer.
Director: Paul Greengrass | Stars: Matt Damon, Edgar RamÃrez, Joan Allen, Julia Stiles
Votes: 590,577 | Gross: $227.47M
37. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
R | 96 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In the post-apocalyptic Australian wasteland, a cynical drifter agrees to help a small, gasoline rich community escape a horde of bandits.
Director: George Miller | Stars: Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Michael Preston, Max Phipps
Votes: 159,995 | Gross: $12.47M
38. The Man from Nowhere (2010)
R | 119 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A quiet pawnshop keeper with a violent past takes on a drug-and-organ trafficking ring in hope of saving the child who is his only friend.
Director: Jeong-beom Lee | Stars: Won Bin, Sae-ron Kim, Tae-hoon Kim, Hee-won Kim
Votes: 58,407 | Gross: $0.01M
39. GoldenEye (1995)
PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
Years after a friend and fellow 00 agent is killed on a joint mission, a secret space based weapons program known as "GoldenEye" is stolen. James Bond sets out to stop a Russian crime syndicate from using the weapon.
Director: Martin Campbell | Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco, Famke Janssen
Votes: 230,102 | Gross: $106.60M
40. John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)
R | 122 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After returning to the criminal underworld to repay a debt, John Wick discovers that a large bounty has been put on his life.
Director: Chad Stahelski | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Riccardo Scamarcio, Ian McShane, Ruby Rose
Votes: 336,330 | Gross: $92.03M
41. John Wick (2014)
R | 101 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
An ex-hit-man comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that killed his dog and took everything from him.
Directors: Chad Stahelski, David Leitch | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Willem Dafoe
Votes: 500,884 | Gross: $43.04M
42. First Blood (1982)
R | 93 min | Action, Adventure
A veteran Green Beret is forced by a cruel Sheriff and his deputies to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.
Director: Ted Kotcheff | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Brian Dennehy, Richard Crenna, Bill McKinney
Votes: 215,930 | Gross: $47.21M
43. 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: 610,627 | Gross: $304.36M
44. True Lies (1994)
R | 141 min | Action, Comedy, Thriller
A fearless, globe-trotting, terrorist-battling secret agent has his life turned upside down when he discovers his wife might be having an affair with a used-car salesman while terrorists smuggle nuclear war heads into the United States.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton
Votes: 228,180 | Gross: $146.28M
45. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
PG-13 | 127 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Peter Parker is beset with troubles in his failing personal life as he battles a brilliant scientist named Doctor Otto Octavius.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina, James Franco
Votes: 521,485 | Gross: $373.59M
46. Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
R | 141 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy