50) John Wick (2014)

Directors: Chad Stahelski

Writer: Derek Kolstad

Stars: Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen

Action Sub-genre: Revenge, Shoot ’em Up

Synopsis: “An ex-hit-man comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that killed his dog and took everything from him.”

6 Ultimate Action Stars Who Should Have Starred in John Wick

49) Aliens (1986)

Director: James Cameron

Writers: James Cameron, David Giler, Dan O’Bannon, Walter Hill

Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn

Action Sub-genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller, War

Synopsis: “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?”

Watch: What Makes ‘Aliens’ an ULTIMATE Action Classic

48) Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)

Director: Brad Bird

Writers: Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, Bruce Geller

Stars: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg

Action Sub-genre: Spy, Thriller, Adventure

Synopsis: “The IMF is shut down when it’s implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization’s name.”

Ranking the Mission Impossible Franchise Movies

47) Lionheart (1990)

Director: Sheldon Lettich

Writers: S.N. Warren (earlier screenplay), Jean-Claude Van Damme (story),Sheldon Lettich (screenplay), Jean-Claude Van Damme (screenplay)

Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Harrison Page, Deborah Rennard

Action Sub-genre: Martial Arts, Tournament

Synopsis: “An Ex-French Soldier begins participating in underground street fights in order to make money for his brother’s family.”

Lionheart (1990): Van Damme’s Forgotten Masterpiece

46) The Expendables (2010)

Director: Sylvester Stallone

Writers: Dave Callaham, Sylvester Stallone

Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li

Action Sub-genre: Special Forces, Shoot ’em Up, Comedy

Synopsis: “A CIA operative hires a team of mercenaries to eliminate a Latin dictator and a renegade CIA agent.

What The Expendables Series Got Right (and What it Got Wrong)

45) Above the Law (1988)

Director: Andrew Davis

Writers: Andrew Davis, Steven Seagal, Steven Pressfield, Ronald Shusett

Stars: Steven Seagal, Pam Grier, Henry Silva

Action Sub-genre: Cop, Martial Arts

Synopsis: “A former Special Operations Vietnam vet works as a Chicago cop, and uncovers C.I.A. wrongdoing.”

 

44) Hard Boiled (1992)

Director: John Woo

Writers: John Woo, Barry Wong

Stars: Yun-Fat Chow, Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Teresa Mo

Action Sub-genre: Cop, Shoot ’em Up

Synopsis: “A tough-as-nails cop teams up with an undercover agent to shut down a sinister mobster and his crew.”

Why John Woo’s ‘Hard Boiled’ is Pure Modern Action Perfection

43) Goldeneye (1995)

Director: Martin Campbell

Writers: Michael France, Jeffrey Caine, Bruce Feirstein, Ian Fleming

Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco

Action Sub-genre: Spy, Thriller, Adventure

Synopsis“James Bond teams up with the lone survivor of a destroyed Russian research center to stop the hijacking of a nuclear space weapon by a fellow Agent formerly believed to be dead.”

Why ‘GoldenEye’ is The Ultimate ’90s James Bond Movie

42) Sudden Death (1995)

Director: Peter Hyams

Writers: Karen Elise Baldwin, Gene Quintano

Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Powers Boothe, Raymond J. Barry

Action Sub-genre: Cop, Die Hard, Thriller

Synopsis: “A former fireman takes on a group of terrorists holding the Vice President and others hostage during the seventh game of the NHL Stanley Cup finals.”

Sudden Death: When Jean-Claude Van Damme Checked Die Hard

41) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Writers: Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas, Philip Kaufman

Stars: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman

Action Sub-genre: Adventure, Thriller

Synopsis: “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.”

5 Reasons ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ is Absolutely an Ultimate Action Movie

1 COMMENT

  1. wow this is one screwed up list, cobra #1 really? this movie never even got a sequel because it was one of stallones worst ever, picking it over terminator and die hard, again WOW

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