1 - The Wild Bunch
This might be a controversial choice, especially considering that many people overlook westerns as a source of bad ass action. Well, I assure you that this isn't the pretentious option, The Wild Bunch is the granddaddy of the modern action movie. Sam Peckinpah introduced the world to slow motion violence. Think about that. People often credit John Woo for introducing Hollywood to bullet ballet and it is fair to say that John Woo had a profound impact on many modern film makers. But Woo was influenced by Peckinpah, specifically by The Wild Bunch. The best thing about The Wild Bunch is that you don't even sit there saying "this is really good for its time" you sit there and go "holy crap this is awesome!" It really is awesome. Mega props to my film studies teacher at college, who quite rightly berated me for not acknowledging The Wild Bunch as the forerunner to the action movie.
Best bit: The horrific opening shoot out. So, what do you think of our list? Let us know in the comments bar below!