To pick your twenty best and most favourite action movies in your collection. The films you think are beyond cool. Never mind critics or box office. This is your chance to state your case. I've made it twenty because its easier to narrow a shortlist down to than ten and paves the way for more interesting choices that might otherwise be excluded from a more predictible limited number. You might not want to put a Chuck Norris vehicle in your top ten... but top twenty? Maybe? 8)
Simple rules:
1. No Asian films. I'm going to doing a seperate thread for those.
2. No more than two films from any one director. To keep things interesting. Actors can appear in all twenty if so wished.
3. Only one entry from an official series can be chosen. If you select Part III you can't have II or IV alongside it.
4. The definition of "action" is loose so that a western with gunplay could count as a choice. It doesn't HAVE to be a blow-shit-up blockbuster.
5. You can list films either alphabetically or in order of preference if you can manage it.
6. No spitting, no masturbating, no earclaps.
That's all folks!!
In alphabetical order:
1. CLIFFHANGER (1993, Renny Harlin)
*Stallone's "comeback" vehicle after rudely dismissed forays into comedy proved that old Rambo still had it -- with mucho violence and mayhem from Rocky in the Rockies. Nasty villains, brutal fights, great locations.
2. DIE HARD (1988, John McTiernan)
*Possibly the finest American action movie ever made. Deservedly made Bruce Willis a star and created an entire sub-genre of "Die-Hard-on-a..." blockbusters. But this is how it should be done.
3. THE FUGITIVE (1993, Andrew Davis)
*One of only two films on this list to be nominated for Best Picture. A classy, taut thriller with Harrison Ford at his best.
4. GLADIATOR (1992, Rowdy Herrington)
*No, not that overblown Ridley Scott tripe, but rather the little seen underground boxing drama. It's a familiar underdog story, but like the great white hope, it packs a knockout punch.
5. GOLDENEYE (1996, Martin Campbell)
*It was tough picking just one 007 adventure, but I settled for the one that demonstrated just how good a James Bond movie could be in the modern age. Sean maybe definative, but Pierce excels in his debut. Worth mentioning the best hand-to-hand combat in the entire legacy.
6. HARD TARGET (1993, John Woo)
*Forget the hammy campfest Face/Off and revel in this pure blood action movie. Unpretentious and exciting from the word go. The best American gunplay sequences ever commited to celluloid. See it uncut.
7. HUDSON HAWK (1991, Michael Lehmann)
*Reviled as a turkey upon initial release but later regarded as a cult classic by its devoted fans. No one understood the humour behind this film and expected "Die-Hard-in-the-Vatican" -- or something? Very funny and clever.
8. IN THE LINE OF FIRE (1993, Wolfgang Petersen)
*Exceptionally well-crafted and gripping thriller. Clint's best performance for which he should have been nominated. By the way this is the OTHER Oscar nominee.
9. JUDGMENT NIGHT (1993, Stephen Hopkins)
*Went DTV in the UK, but this urban nightmare clicked with me first time I saw it. Builds tension and character throughout. One of those films that gets ignored, but is well worth checking out.
10. THE LAST BOY SCOUT (1991, Tony Scott)
*Slick, ultra-violent detective yarn from Shane Black. Bruce Wills wisecracks, people explode over helicoptor blades. What else do I need to say?
11. LETHAL WEAPON 2 (1989, Richard Donner)
*For me the best of the series as it perfectly balances action, comedy and drama elements.
12. THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT (1996, Renny Harlin)
*More Renny, more Shane, and more of the good shit we've come to expect. Loads of explosions, but it's the characters that make you care. Sam Jackson is on dynamite form.
13. MIDNIGHT RUN (1988, Martin Breast)
*The director maybe named after a tit, but he does himself proud with this delightful action comedy. The ONLY movie in which Robert DeNiro has been funny. Take note. Plenty swearing, but doesn't deserve it's '18'.
14. OUT FOR JUSTICE (1991, John Flynn)
*Seagal's best to date - and judging by his recent output likely to remain so. Good acting from the man in black and subtitles in a Seagal mob flick? Surely not? But it's true. Give it a chance - if only because it's the only film I've seen in which the baddie dies from a corkscrew through the head.
15. PREDATOR (1987, John McTiernan)
*Total Recall gives this a run for its money -- but there's something seminal about this men-on-a-mission jungle adventure that somehow defines genre expectation. Arnie is on top cigar-munching form and there's some nice gore bits for the ketchups.
16. THE PRINCIPAL (1987, Christopher Cain)
*A film which many of you will not have seen. It stars James Belushi (no, stay with me...) as a high school teacher (I'm serious!) Joking aside- I thoroughly enjoyed this High Noon-in-a-school tale of one man (well, two I guess) taking on the most violent punks in the city's worst school. Not a lot of "action" per se. But it's violent and tense and deserves a better reputation.
17. ROAD HOUSE (1989, Rowdy Herrington)
*The cheesiest, corniest popcorn flick on the list. But how can you not love a movie in which Dirty Dancer Patrick Swizzle tears out a homosexual's throat?
18. STRANGE DAYS (1995, Kathryn Bigelow)
*From a James Cameron script... ironically I actually prefer this to his own movies. Millenium nightmare concept might already seem dated, but it's satire and politics remain potent, as does it's darkness and nihilism. Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett are excellent.
19. TOY SOLDIERS (1991, Daniel Petrie)
*Great fun teens-in-peril actioner eschews the expected PG-13 market and goes for R-rated profanity and bloodshed instead. There's plenty humour, a well-chosen cast, a novel setting, some surprises and a tight plot.
20. TRUE ROMANCE (1993, Tony Scott)
*The best film Tarantino almost made. Tony Scott cut the pretention and waffle and distilled the best of what Quent's writing has to offer. The cast is a knockout and so's the extreme censor-baiting violence.
That's my list.... think you can do better?
wow I wish I hadnt, then I could watch them alla fresh again! get them watched, they are truley staggering films of our times.
