If you ask me, the 1980s and 1990s were the golden age of action films. However, everyone knows the classics from the 20th century. If we start the clock at the year 2001 or later to give newer films a fair chance, how do they rank? This is my attempt at putting up a scoreboard for the new century so far.
6
Dredd
No Rob Schneider in this one, but I think we’ll survive.
The first movie I ever watched on LaserDisc was the ’90s Judge Dredd film with Stallone and Rob Schneider of all people. I love that movie, even though it really isn’t a great adaptation of the comics, which I started reading because of said film.
I will always love that campy and comedic movie, but Dredd is a lean, brutal, and refreshing movie that perfected that genre of “siege” films like Assault on Precinct 13 or even the original Die Hard. I still can’t get enough of seeing bad guys blown away in slow motion, and this Dredd never takes off his helmet. Respect to Karl Urban for having no ego!
5
Edge of Tomorrow
A manga to live action adaptation that’s good?!
You know, I knew there was going to be at least one Tom Cruise movie on this list, but trying to figure out which one is a challenge. It should probably be one of the Mission: Impossible entries or the amazing Minority Report, but the more I think about it, the more it’s clear that Edge of Tomorrow (based on the manga All You Need Is Kill) is his best work this side of the year 2000.
It’s smart sci-fi with tight action sequences that will make your eyes bug out. The “die and repeat” gimmick also means we get to see some gnarly deaths too. I have the manga and recommend it if you enjoy the movie. Which you will.
4
The Bourne Identity
Now that’s a journey of self-discovery
I’ve always had a soft spot for spy movies. The Bourne Identity completely reset my expectations of what an espionage film could be. The action is so brutal and grounded. The paranoia is palpable, and the plot just gets twistier the further you go.
Even the tired old trope of amnesia felt fresh in this context, and this is one of the few film franchises that kept up the quality in most of the sequels. While it’s an awesome movie in its own right, it also deserves a spot on this list just because of how influential it was. Taken, Jack Reacher, and the later Mission: Impossible entries clearly carried that Bourne DNA, but perhaps no film more so than the next one on my list.
3
Casino Royale
James Blonde
Casino Royale was the movie that dragged James Bond into the 21st century, and, for better or worse, it carries the clear influence of The Bourne Identity on its sleeve. Daniel Craig’s Bond is rougher around the edges and more of a brawler. The action is brutal, the cheesiness and camp are minimal, and the gadgets play a less central role.
Since I like the Bourne movies so much, it makes sense that his is the Bond movie I’d put on this list above the Brosnan films or the classics starring Dalton, Connery, and the rest.
2
John Wick
Something wicked this way comes
In 1999, Keanu Reeves helped The Matrix become a film that has influenced every action movie that’s been released since. We had to make this list about 21st-century movies just so that The Matrix didn’t automatically go to the top.
But it’s the last great action movie of the 20th century, and so Keanu will have to be happy about making the second-greatest action movie on this list. In my opinion, at least.
John Wick is yet another movie that went on to reset expectations of action films. Unlike the Matrix films, it strives for a more grounded style of gun combat, although not total realism. Reeves trained hard to play the aggrieved assassin out for revenge, and in some ways the gunplay reminds me a little of the excellent 2002 Equilibrium and its awesome “gun katas,” but again with a more believable, grounded approach.
The movie would go on to spawn a whole franchise with action that gets further and further from reality, and it is fun. However, as a standalone movie, John Wick is still the best of the bunch.
1
Mad Max: Fury Road
Lightning strikes twice for this legendary franchise
The original Mad Max from 1979, starring Mel Gibson (who I thought was Australian until recently), is a groundbreaking movie, and its sequels have lived up to that high watermark to varying degrees.
However, 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road is in a different class altogether. It’s not just the best movie in the franchise; I think it’s the best action movie of the 21st century so far.
Setting aside the action itself, the movie is a visual masterpiece. A feast for the eyes, and the story and characters are iconic and compelling. The whole movie is basically one long drawn-out car chase, but somehow it doesn’t feel a second longer than it had to be.
As for the action, it has yet to be outdone. A masterful mix of in-camera stuntwork and CG, it’s choreographed chaos. There’s so much happening and so many jaw-dropping moments, and yet you never have to struggle to figure out what’s happening.
The term “magnum opus” gets thrown around a lot, but for once, this is literally George Miller’s magnum opus.
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