If you are a movie buff, you must at some point in time loved action movies. They are hard to resist and the allure and entertainment that comes with them is worthwhile. Action figures have attained commercial god status in some countries with millions in memorabilia sales. A few action movies stand out with epic storylines, action scenes and memorable dialogues. Here are the top ten:
1. Die Hard
The first installment of the Die hard franchise will forever be in the history books of action cinema. The 1988 classic redefined both the action movie and the action star, creating the formula terrorists and lone heroes co-exist. Bruce Willis made a name for himself, starring as detective John McClane. Directed by John McTiernan, Die Hard is the perfect action movie, with great set-pieces, humor, character development, a brilliant and nasty villain, and a plot that actually makes you care about the characters. Yippee-ki-yay indeed!
2. Terminator 2: Judgment day
Director extraordinaire James Cameron’s 1991 sequel to the 1984 movie, Terminator that made Arnold Schwarzenegger a worldwide star, Terminator 2: Judgment Day awes with in non-stop action, state-of-the-art special effects (that still manage to look impressive today), and a great villain (the seemingly unstoppable T-1000, played by Robert Patrick)
3. The Raid : Redemption
The leanest, meanest action movie of the last couple of years came to us from Indonesia. Released in 2011, The Raid’s incredible action sequences don’t just stun you, they kick your teeth in. The story is simple: when a SWAT team of 20 elite cops are trapped in a building full of killers with no backup, they must fight or die. The Raid’s absolutely incredibly choreographed fight scenes are what action movies are about. Confidently shot and brutally realistic, The Raid is an essential action experience. Thumbs up to Director Gareth Evans.
4. Enter The Dragon
Enter the Dragon was the last movie the legendary Chinese actor Bruce Lee acted in before his death. It marked the martial arts master’s entrance into big-budget Hollywood films. Directed by Robert Clouse, with the fighting choreographed by Lee himself, Enter the Dragon was thrilling and shocking in similar fashion. With some of the best action sequences in any martial arts movie, including a memorable battle between Lee and the claw-fisted Han , Enter the Dragon showed a great martial artist at his peak and makes fans wonder what would have come next.
5. Speed
Director Jan De Bont reduced action moviemaking to its most febrile essence by creating Speed, a thrill ride that is so unrelenting that audiences are still catching their breath almost 20 years after its release. The movie offers one thrilling set-piece after another as the heroes do everything in their power to keep a bomb laden bus moving. Even when the bus is blown to smithereens, the explosions still keep coming right until the very end. Keanu Reeves, playing to his strengths as a strong, silent type, pairs up with Sandra Bullock for a series of unforgettable set-pieces.
