50 - Man on Fire
Tony Scott and Denzel Washington, a match made in heaven? I think so. For some reason the middle aged and slightly paunchy stature of Denzel radiates danger like so few can. It isn't a physical presence so much as a natural instinct. It's like looking at a lion, or a pissed off hippo. You just know not to mess. Well, kidnapping the cute little girl Denzel has been hired to protect was a bad move. Denzel has been teaching the girl how to swim faster, so you know, they love each other. Denzel plays a wounded and broken man so well you almost forget he can still bring the pain, until of course he brings the pain and then the film hits 6th gear. The tense 3rd act is one of the best contemporary action scenes period.
Best bit: I'm a sucker for the part where he admits his love for Pita. It's not creepy, its parental and you know you don't f**k with someone's kids.
49 - Saving Private Ryan
Few directors have truly captured the horror of conflict. The horrors of war yes, the scarred youths, the tormented consciences, the fear that takes men who have seen too much. Spielberg captured the chaotic, messy and unbelievably dangerous nature of conflict and the Normandy landings weren't about skill, or tactics. It was just plain luck. Never before had an audience of non-military people understood, quite like they understood when watching the opening of Saving Private Ryan. The rest of the film is almost superficial, a sentimental plot, a rag tag crew of vets, a stunning final conflict. The real achievement was always that opening, which lends nothing to the narrative but everything to the experience.
Best bit: Omaha Beach
48 - Once Upon a Time in China
By the 90s interest in Kung Fu movies had drastically dropped in Hong Kong. That all changed however when Tsui Hark teamed up with Jet Li to reboot the classic Wong Fei Hung movies. Yes, that same guy I was going on about in Drunken Master. It's not surprising that the character features twice in this list, he has been featured in over 100 movies (a world record) and played by many actors. Even though Li was only in his early 20s, he successfully portrayed the Kung Fu master through a stoic and reserved performance which to this day stands out as his most iconic role. Half way through the films production Tsui Hark decided that the fights weren't spectacular enough so after a couple of more realistic and grounded action scenes, none other than Yuen Wo Ping took over and things got more OTT. A good example is a fight between Fei Hung and Iron Robe Yim where the two guys are kicking a huge log at each other, like some sort of insane hacky sack. It is the final fight that is truly legendary, as Fei Hung and Yim face off again in a huge warehouse full of ladders and huge packages of rice. Often imitated but never matched.
Best bit: Fei Hung is attacked during an opera performance and ends up showing off his stick fighting. The fight includes some seriously impressive kicking techniques without the aid of the wires that dominate the later scenes.