Top 5 Action Films
Posted by Matt Rosenberg on April 1, 2009 at 10:55 am
The genre of Action films has been defined by many. We at TheMovieBanter would like to offer a different perspective. I have had this discussion with many people, but action films are just that – plain old action.
Here are some of our criteria: over the top fighting, guns blazing, bombs exploding, clever premise, excessive watchability and most importantly set in real life/reality as we know it. By adding this element of the real life setting we eliminate many movies from the action genre. Included in this would be The Matrix (and alike), Indiana Jones, Independence Day, Terminator…pretty much science ficion/adventure movies that have an element of action. They are merely science fiction or adventure movies, not action movies. Comic movies are also not included in this as they would be simply comic book movies. Is it fair to compare action in Spiderman to action from Commando? No, two completely different settings. Thus, we cannot compare them. That takes out all comic book movies.
In addition, we would like to stress the importance of a cool plot. For example, Rambo 4 is full of action, but is an unoriginal remake of every straight forward action war movie. We want corruption, twists, bad guys we love to hate, good guys we want to see win, awesome one liners, and out of control characters we love to watch on screen.
Honorable Mention: Bad Boys, Face Off, Under Siege, Lethal Weapon, Mr and Mrs Smith, Rambo, Taken, Bourne Series
5 – Speed – Despite The Matrix not being defined as an action film in our definition, Keanu Reeves does make this list. Speed has a very original plot; a cop has to keep a bus above 60mph or it’s going to blow up. Great one liners, a bad ass bad guy in Dennis Hopper, a bus jumping a 100 foot gap in a bridge, plot twists, great music, a Keanu Reeves action hero coming out party, and explosions all over the place. “Yeah, well I’m taller”….This is definitely a must watch.
4 – District B13 – the coolest action film to hit theaters in a long time and it came out of the French film industry. This one has it all. Awesome fight scenes, crazy twists, lots of guns and witty characters. I can honestly say this has some of the best fight scenes I have ever scene in a movie. These guys bounce around like monkeys. A real life version of the Matrix. Definitely a movie to check out. Will leave you speechless when its done.
3 – Con Air - Nick Cage makes this list (but is he done) with Con Air. Con Air had an incredible cast just to start. Nick Cage, John Cusack, John Malkovich, Ving Rhames, Steve Buscemi, Monica Potter, and many others. We had a bunch of guys we didn’t like and felt bad for a guy who was getting out of prison for committing manslaughter while defending his wife. Think about this, this guy was hitching a ride home on Con Air. hah. How did they not see things would go wrong. Cyrus The Virus was a goner from the start. Great script, great fighting and cool movie.
2 – Die Hard Striking Distance ipod – Can anyone deny John Maclane a spot on this list. Perhaps the greatest American action character ever created. That is one cop I would never want to mess with. You can’t kill him and he laughs when you try to. He also doesn’t feel pain; anyone see his bloody beat up feet in this movie while he continues to walk on glass. Pretty much Jack Bauer on screen but much funnier. Hans Gruber never had a chance.
Toolbox Murders 1 – The Rock AVP: Alien vs. Predator film
– an action movie that doesn’t get the credit it deserves. You can watch this movie every time it is on TV. It has a great plot, hilarious characters, incredible music, and a clever script. To this day, I still say “Losers go home and cry about their best, winners go home and F*ck the prom queen…Carla was the prom queen.” These guys broke INTO Alcatraz..Yes, into the prison. Man is that ironic. Lesson number 1 – Don’t mess with VX Poison gas. The Rock is an all timer. Stanley Goodspeed reigns supreme. Perhaps Michael Bay’s best.
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You guys are missing Armageddon. You’ve got Bruce Willis at his sarcastic best. Liv Tyler letting animal crackers roam her stomach by Ben Affleck. Billy Bob Thornton in an anti Bad Santa role. Michael Clarke duncan being a big teddy bear. Steve Buscemi being crazy. Guy from remember titans. Plenty of good one liners. Bigtime aerosmith song. And ofcourse steve buscemi going nuts on that crater. How’s that for banter?
I’ve never heard of District B13 but belive it or not…I’ve never seen The Rock. I know, I know…everytime I say that someone always goes “what’s wrong with you?!” Trust me, it’s on my list of movies to rent once I sign up for Netflix. That clip was pretty sick though, maybe I should rent it sooner than later.
Kyle’s last blog post..You Know What’s Annoying?
@justrobby and @ Kyle,
Armageddon was not ignored from the list. It just wasn’t good enough to make it. The movie entertaining and I agree with all your points above. What about the weird Russian guy…”russian part, american parts…all made in Taiwan”
District B13 is a must watch. You will be happy you watched it. Also, I like many others cannot believe you have not seen The Rock. Get on it. Put it to the top of you que, sit down and enjoy. It’s on TV a lot as well. You could always watch it on like TNT or TBS. Let us know what you think when you finally get the time to watch it
@justrobby This is where Matt and I differ. I love Armageddon and agree with you. To me, that should be on the list, and on the greatest movies of all time list. Why? Comedy, sarcasm, stars, action, drama, tear jerker, soundtrack. This movie is gold and has everything to it. Anytime it comes on TV I have to watch it, and always get goosebumps at the end. Wipes Con Air any day of the week