There are so many great films in the action genre, like the “Indiana Jones” movies, the “John Wick” movies, the “Terminator” movies, and obviously the Marvel movies, which everyone’s been going crazy over for the last decade. But this list is not necessarily about the most popular action movies (though there are a few in this list), it’s more about the action movies that I personally recommend. So keep in mind, these are my personal opinions. With that said, here are my top ten action movie recommendations:
10: “The Dead Pool”
No, not Marvel’s “Deadpool” as good of a movie as that may be. I’m talking about the sequel to one of Clint Eastwood’s most popular series, “Dirty Harry”. Laugh at the name all you want, but if your a serial killer, and you hear that Dirty Harry is after you, you won’t laugh. You’ll probably cry! Because that’s just the kind of guy Dirty Harry is… he is a dirty man. A cop that doesn’t follow the rules, but gets the job done in a violent and merciless way.
I first watched this movie when I was a kindergartner. It was my first R-rated movie, and I watched it with my grandma. It scared me, not necessarily because of the content, but the fact that every time someone died my grandma would laugh hysterically. After watching the movie again, I didn’t find anything too-too funny, but I did rediscover a pretty good action / cop movie. I don’t think this movie is as violent and inappropriate as some of the other films in this series, but do watch with caution if you’re not used to the content.
9: “Tombstone”
“Tombstone” is one of the coolest westerns I’ve ever seen in my life. It is based on true events, in the town of Tombstone. After a gang of law breakers get on the wrong side of three brothers and their friend, they decide to fight back, which later turns into a war of vengeance. I don’t want to give too much away though… The characters in this movie are so iconic and interesting. There’s Doc Holiday (played by Val Kilmer), the brothers (the Earps): Wyatt (Kurt Russel), Morgan (Bill Paxton) and Virgil (Sam Elliot). So I mean, it’s got a great cast of talented actors, who all do an excellent job. Especially Michael Biehn who plays the main antagonist Johnny Ringo.
I highly recommend this movie! It’s not necessarily a non-stop action movie, which is why its so far back on the list, however, the action scenes that it has are intense and enjoyable!
8: “They Live”
This movie is incredibly well-made, and I personally think the plot is genius! I don’t want to give too much away, but here’s a basic run through of the plot: It starts off with a homeless man named George Nada (played by WWE legend Roddy Piper) wandering the streets of Los Angeles. He comes across a homeless shelter where he stays until he notices fishy business happening in a building across the road. When investigating it he finds a bunch of sunglasses that allow him to see the world around him in a completely different way. He sees what used to be normal advertisement signs for normal everyday things now said things like “obey” and other commands. Then George realizes some of the people around him started looking like aliens only under the glasses. Once he takes the glasses off, he can’t see through their human disguise. So you can kind of see where this is going without me giving too much more away. But it turns into this amazing action / sci-fi movie with some cool horror elements thrown into the mix.
I love this movie, and I think you might too! It certainly gives us another way to look at the world. I’m not saying aliens are necessarily among us and starting to take over our planet, I’m just saying it shows you how we see things like advertisements, and trends and we let it control us…
7: “Rambo 3”
Here’s a movie series I’m sure you’ve heard of! It doesn’t matter how crazy some of these movies get, it all centers around a broken man who realizes the brokenness in the world around him. I think “Rambo 3” is one of the best out of the series, though people often think its sort of a recycled plot from “Rambo: First Blood Part Two.” I think it has some great action sequences that are pretty consistent from start to finish. The final battle where Rambo, Colonel Trautman, and the Mujahideen tribe face off against Soviet troopers is so powerful and exciting. I think that even if you watched “Rambo 2” you should still watch 3. In my opinion it was even better. It’s at least worth a watch.
6: “Die Hard With a Vengeance”
Bruce Willis is back as the quick thinking, witty policeman John McClane. It starts with the bang of a bomb in New York City. The guy that set it off threatens to do it again if John doesn’t do a series of tasks to disarm more bombs in a short amount of time. After a series of events, John teams up with a shopkeeper named Zeus Carver (played by Samuel L. Jackson) when they find out that the bombs were just a distraction for the terrorists to achieve something else. John and Zeus catch on, and end up going after them alone.
Before I say anything else… this film is an absolute thrill ride! It takes the heart pounding, intense scenes from the previous two movies in the franchise and one ups it; which is really hard to do! If you’ve seen those movies you’ll know what I mean. From start to finish, I was engaged in the film and didn’t once get bored throughout the two hour length of it. Absolutely watch this if you’re into action thrillers!
5: “Road House”
This is a good movie. It’s about a guy named John Dalton (played by Patrick Swayze) who is basically paid to beat people up in a bar, because the bar he works at has people in it who do inappropriate stuff. So it’s really cool to see Patrick Swayze doing his thing. Sam Elliot is also in it, and he is pretty cool as well. There are some really cool bar fights, and that’s the main reason I really like the movie. But there is a very talented cast in this movie. Patrick Swayze is kind of playing a character with similar characteristics to that of Johnny Castle (his character in the film “Dirty Dancing”) but the main difference is that he beats people up all the time. It’s also a pretty inappropriate movie… I just thought I’d mention that… But it doesn’t matter. Still watch it! I don’t care how uncomfortable it makes you!
4: “Predator”
So, this movie is about a group of body builders… I mean highly trained soldiers, who go into the rain forest for a rescue mission. They end up shooting up a village of violent locals after finding some dead bodies, but it turns out that the dead bodies didn’t come from the village savages, but from an alien creature. Then it starts hunting them and starts killing them one by one. Luckily, Arnold Schwarzenegger is in the movie, because he is the only person I can imagine standing toe to toe with the predator.
Though the plot may seem sort of simple, I can assure you its worth the watch. If you like explosions, muscle-y guys roaming the jungle, and cool guns so powerful that they’re cutting trees down, I think you’ll like this movie! I sure did! It’s most certainly a movie I am amused by every time I watch it. The complete mystery of the alien that is slowly revealed throughout the film is enough to excite me. Plus the movie has pretty cool lines I look forward to in every watch.
3: “Rambo: First Blood”
You know, I really tried to do a new movie from a new franchise throughout all of these, but if we’re going to mention a Rambo movie that’s not “First Blood,” then obviously we’re going to have to mention “First Blood” at some point. Its just that good.
Its about John Rambo (played by Sylvester Stallone) who has returned from the Vietnam War, to find out people are protesting against him and other soldiers. He looks for a friend that he fought alongside during the war, only to find out he died of cancer due to the chemicals the Vietnamese sprayed onto the jungles. He then walks to a local town for a bite to eat, before being intimidated by the town sheriff. Rambo doesn’t take to well to this, and eventually disobeys the lawman leading to his arrest. After he is abused in the jail, he has a Vietnam flashback. Rambo flips out before escaping the law. One thing leads to another, and before long he is in the forest gunning down whoever tries to take him in.
The film is an instant classic. I knew it the first time I watched it. It is a lot simpler than the movie’s sequels, but that doesn’t make it worse! It is the definition of action-adventure as far as I’m concerned. It captured the pure emotion that soldiers were feeling after the war. Great film.
2: “Lethal Weapon”
“Lethal Weapon”… the perfect blend of serious action and drama, but also some great humor. I love everything about this movie! Its about a crazy cop named Martin Riggs (played by Mel Gibson) and an old fashioned by the book cop named Roger Murtaugh (played by Danny Glover) teaming up for the first time to take down a massive drug operation.
The first time I started to watch the movie, I only made it so far in because it started right off the bat with nudity and stuff, but keep in mind the entire movie isn’t like that. It does have bad words and violence throughout, but that’s what makes an R-rated movie R-rated! I guess what I’m saying is, if you decide to watch the movie know what you’re getting into. I found out that the movie was worth the watch. It has an excellent plot and relatable characters. Riggs and Murtaugh were almost complete opposites of each other, and I still found each of them relatable! I guess I can relate to the way Riggs feels about sadder events that happened to him in the past, and I can also relate to Murtaugh’s nervous way of not wanting to do something that’s going to get him in trouble.
Overall, excellent! One of the best action movies I have ever seen. I also loved the chilled out instrumental blues music that gave the film a very classic detective feel, while maintaining the ’80s feel as well. I think this movie deserves second place out of my top ten!
1:
“Die Hard”
“Happy trails, Hans!” I don’t care what Bruce Willis says… it’s a Christmas movie! A Christmas movie that I watch any time of the year but still a Christmas movie. And it is the best holiday and action movie there is. Movies today try to copy some of the elements that made me crazy about the film, but it just doesn’t work the same. “Die Hard” has an un-replicate-able charm to it along with insane action.
John McClane (played by Bruce Willis) is a cop from New York, who goes down to California to visit his wife and two children (after him and his wife go through what’s basically an unofficial divorce). John goes to a Christmas party at his wife’s job location: Nakatomi Plaza. All goes wrong when a group of terrorists take over the party in attempt to steal 640 million dollars. After everyone except for John is held hostage, John decides to take the matter into his own hands.
This movie is nonstop explosions, one liners, and cuss words. I don’t care what anyone says, the cuss words make the movie better in every possible aspect. “Die Hard” is so iconic, and so cool, you just can’t beat it; and there is a reason it is as popular as it is. Bruce Willis is perfect as the protagonist John McClane, and Alan Rickman is perfect as the antagonist Hans Gruber. It’s the kind of movie that never gets old and just gets better every time you watch it… although the first time’s experience is too perfect. And I think that is a good way to describe “Die Hard”… it’s an experience!
I hope you enjoyed my Top Ten action movies that I recommend you watch if you haven’t already. Sure there is a lot more I could have (or would have) added to the list, but I think that this nicely shows some of the best ones without going on for too long. So check them out if you have the chance, and determine whether or not you agree with my rankings.
