LIST: Top 10 Action Movies of All Time

You know the drill. These are my favorite action movies, not necessarily the best action movies.

A note on genres. What I consider to be an action movie may be a little different than your definition. To me an action movie is one wholly dependant on it's action scenes; if you can remove the action scenes from a movie and it remains watchable then it's not, in my mind, an action movie but a hybrid. Star Wars isn't an action movie it's sci-fi/action, just like Gladiator is drama/action and Lord of the Rings is fantasy/action.

10 - Pirates of the Carribean(2003): I thought this was a ridiculous idea for a movie. It was an entire film based on a mediocre ride at Disneyland for God's sake! But it ended up being a great movie. Johnny Depp spends 2+ hours absolutely chewing the scenery as Captain Jack Sparrow and sailing through some great light-hearted, family friendly action sequences. And Keira Knightly in a corset.

9 - Kill Bill(2003-4): I consider Quentin Tarantino's love letter to 70's pop cinema to be one single film. Mostly so I don't have to choose between which movie had the better fight scenes. The action scenes in this epic are great not only on their own merits but also when taken as the homages they are meant to be by Tarantino.

8 - Enter the Dragon (1973): And we come to our first action movie Icon: Bruce Lee. A revolutionary movie form both an artistic and business perspcetive Enter the Dragon was the first Kung-Fu movie produced by an American studio and most Americans first exposure to the genre. A great movie that is taken to the next level by it's charismatic star. It also features cameos by future stars Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung.

7 - Marked for Death (1990): Someone whose only exposure to Steven Seagal has come in the last 8-10 years may laugh at this selection, but back in the day he was the baddest of the badass. Chuck Norris had faded into television obscurity and Jean-Claude Van Damme was more of an exihibition martial artist, but Seagal seemed closer to the real deal than anyone else in film at the time. Marked for Death was in many ways a typical late 80's/early 90's action film: a little martial arts, a little gunplay, and an unambiguously evil nemesis, but somewhere along the way it managed to set itself apart from the herd and stand out as a great flick. Maybe it was Screwface, who was one of the great villains of all time, or the novelty of having a crime family that wasn't Italian, Chinese or Russian, but this is one fun movie.

6 - Commando (1985): Ahhhnoldd. Maybe the greatest action star of all time in a movie that has the greatest one-liner density of any known film. "Remember when I said I'd kill you last? I lied." and after impaling a man on a heating pipe "Why don't you let off some steam." It also features a young Alyssa Milano and Dan Hedaya sporting the worst Spanish accent this side of Al Pacino. It's cheesy, violent and oh so much fun.

5 - Terminator 2 - Judgement Day(1991): The movie that transformed Arnold from a star to an Icon. T2 featured some of the best effects in movie history alongside great action scenes from one of the masters: James Cameron. Loud, violent and innovative T2 is one of the all time greats.

4 - The Matrix(1999): I thought long and hard about whether this one qualified as an action movie. It has a better, more thought provoking story than any movie on the list, but if you take the action scenes out no one would every be able to sit through the whole story. Regarless of how it is classified The Matrix is still one of the most influential action movie of all time. The 'bullet time' effect, commonplace and pedestrian now, was revolutionary at the time and is still one of the best uses of the effect. A landmark film, even if the subsequent sequels were terrible.

3 - Drunken Master 2 (1994): This may be better known by it's American title - Legend of Drunken Master, but regardless of what its called this is the best martial arts movie of all time. Jackie Chan, another Icon, has done great work both before and since, but to me this will always be his Citizen Kane. The fight scenes have Chan's trademark wit and whimsy without being as goofy as, say Rush Hour. The fights are epic, sprawling and brutal, really words cannot properly convey how awesome this movie is.

2 - Die Hard 3(1995): I'm especially partial to this film since New York is my town and she gets a starring role in it. I have a deep, almost unnatural love for all of the Die Hard movies, but this one occupies a special place in my heart. Like all great movies this one is timeless, you can watch it at 15 or 50 and still have a great time.

1 - Raiders of the Lost Ark(1981): The apex of action cinema. There really is nothing bad that I could say about this movie. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg's ode to movie cliffhangers of yore is simply one of the best movies, of any genre, of all time.

Honorable Mention: Die Hard 1(1988) & 2 (1990), Indiana Jones 2(1984) & 3(1989), Cliffhanger (1993), Spider-Man 1(2002) & 2(2004), True Lies (1994), Predator (1987), Rush Hour 1(1998) & 2(2001), The Running Man (1987), Conan the Barbarian (1982), Speed ()