87 - The Rock
Michael Bay isnt exactly known for his serious intellectual output and The Rock isnt going to go against that, not for a second. It flows with signature break-neck Michael Bay speed, Cage spouts more snappy one-liners than a WWE superstar and in general the plot is so preposterous that any pretence of seriousness is dispelled within the opening act. Which if you ask me sets the stage for a pretty awesome action experience. With seriousness out the window, Nic Cage and Sean Connery led of course by Bays aggressive imagination, proceed to lay the smacketh down on Alcatraz in a literal all-or-nothing attempt to save the world from an insane terrorist with a bio-weapon. The Rock comes complete with insane car chases, stylish shower room gun battles and villains with melty-faces. I mean, do you really need more selling on the idea?
Best bit: Sean Connery teaches the gang how to break
in to Alcatraz.
86 Beverly Hills Cop
Arguably Beverly Hills Cop is the movie franchise that took Eddie Murphy from top drawer stand-up comic who did a bit of acting to Hollywood comedy legend. Dont get me wrong, Murphy had appeared on the big screen before Beverly Hills Cop, but after, he was something of a permanent fixture. Director Martin Brest let Murphy almost completely off the leash, allowed him to improvise dialogue heavily throughout; a wise decision, as the natural funny man smashed his turn out of the park in some of action genres genuinely funniest scenes. Yes, its much funnier than your average actioner thanks to Murphys inclusion but the action is as thick and fast as youve come to expect from a buddy cop movie made in the eighties. Fast, brash and boisterous, but with a keen and expertly guided focus on laughs, Beverly Hills Cop is, simply put, a must own for any action fans collection.
85 - Sin City
The award for the most faithful comic book adaptation of all time definitely goes to Robert Rodriguez. Rodriguez brought Frank Millers pulp noir to life by shooting the whole film on blue screen then adding a crazy digital world of black and white. The action does pull any punches either, offering a visceral level of violence that often leaves characters splattered in what looks like white paint. The reason you can invest in Sin City is that the film is fully committed to the art direction of Frank Millers work.
Best bit: Little speccie Kevin kicking the s**t out of Marv.