100 Greatest Action Movies of All Time

94 - The Fast and The Furious

I hate to say it but behind the cars that are the colour of Irn Bru and the Californian suntans is a pretty tidy movie. Yes it is single handedly responsible for the mass spread use of dump valves in pedestrian vehicles and it also help keep Vin Diesil in movies......which could be classed as bad depending on your Vinclination. But those races, they be some meaty thrills. Fast and furious, not to mention expertly shot and a superb example of Hollywood stunt driving at its best. It is car porn but it is done well enough that even the Ford Mondeo crowd can switch off and have some fun. Best bit: Nothing like a drag race being interrupted by a train.

93 - 300

The historical epic is one of those film genres that generally garners great respect for the film makers. Laurence of Arabia, Sparticus, Gladiator. We revere these sword and sandal epics. Then came 300. Based on the famous battle of Thermopylae, where 300 Spartans (and a few thousand other Greeks but let's forget that for a moment) held off a horde of over 100,000 Persian soldiers. Yes, this remarkable historical event renders its self well to a film adaptation. Of course, this film is based on Frank Millar's graphic novel 300, not on real life events. What we get is less a history less and more a group of semi-naked men kicking the s**t out of a range of unlikely foes. Ninja esq Immortals....pish, giants with toothy saws for hands....posh. 300 is pure nonsense but it is also wildly entertaining. The fights are stylish and brutal, portraying each blow as a car crash of destruction. The best part is, its all played straight, which is just about the best way to go about a film so ludicrous. Best bit: Obvious as it is, it has to be: "THIS IS SPARTA!"

92 - Hard Target

Ahhh John Woo. His presence on this list is practically omniscient. The greatest action director of all time? Maybe, maybe not. He is certainly up there with the best though. Hard Target was Woo's first Hollywood film and it stars none other than the mullet...I mean man himself, Jean Claude Van Damme. The film is cheesier than a ball pool filled with Quavers but it is also unrelentingly entertaining. You get motorbike surfing, grenade catch and for once you don't have to suffer Van Damme's cringe worthy splits. Truly Van Damme's best film and the only one to make it onto this list. Best bit: Van Damme punching out a rattle snake. BAM!

91 - The Last Boy Scout

The teaming up of Tony Scott, Shane Black and Bruce Willis sounds like a recipe for delightful mayhem. It is. Brucie is doing what he does best, playing it cool. Tony Scott delivers the action in slick, meaty set pieces that are full of fun without being full of crazy editing and hand cranked camera work. It's Die Hard meets Lethal Weapon and if that doesn't make you go ooooh, you are reading the wrong list! Best bit: "Got a light?"
 
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A video editor by trade and a lover of movies, games and manga.