Showdown In Little MoFo: A List Of My Favorite Action Movies!

Love the thread title btw.

38. Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990)



A better sequel than it's considered by Die Hard fans, it's got a lot to offer action fans, especially Bruce Willis' endless charisma and Renny Harlin's great direction of the action sequences. A lot of "that guy" supporting actors help, as well as a very funny script on display, with many funny lines.

37. Escape From New York (1981)



Kurt Russell is the epitome of badass as Snake Plisken, a moody prisoner sent to save the President Of The United States from an open-air prison in Manhattan. Low-key, low budget fun, as Snake has to complete his mission before a poison in his veins kills him.

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I actually have Die Hard 2 rated even higher than you do. I recently watched parts 2 and 3, and I feel the same way I did when they first came out. In my eyes, part 2 is a very worthy sequel and vastly superior to number 3. From what I've read on this forum, I'm in the minority here. I think part 2 is similar to the first in scope and style, and shares multiple characters. I think part 3 is just a decent, standard action movie which only has the name John McClane as a common denominator to the first. I wonder if some people prefer 3 because of Sam Jackson?

Die Hard 10/10
Die Hard 2 9/10
Die Hard 3 6/10
Die Hard 4 N/A

The third one definitely gets higher marks for the chemistry shared between Willis and Samuel L. Jackson and because John McTiernan returns to directing, which gives the film a lot more humour (I laugh a lot at scenes which aren't really funny at all).

I found the second the weaker of the series tbh, simply more of the same with McClane running around in a building, ok it's a bit bigger in scope but it feels just more of the same...
... at least the others tried to give a different layout rather than just going around inside a building again fighting the typical line up of villains.
Still made my top 100 though.


Reviews Percentages Order:
Die Hard: 95%
Die Hard 4.0: 87%
Die Hard With A Vengeance: 85%
Die Hard 2: 40%

Top 100 Order:
Die Hard: #29
Die Hard With A Vengeance: #55
Die Hard 4.0: #82
Die Hard 2: #92


The only difference between the two is that the middle ones are swapped around... I found that 4.0 was better than Vengeance on a personal level, but percentage wise Vengeance is a technically better film.

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Totally agree that part 2 was more of the same, but that's why I liked it so much. And for me, the fact that part 3 was set during the day, it just wasn't as exciting.

36. Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)



I used to be a HUGE fan of this, and while I'm not that big on it anymore, it deserves it's place here on the list for being a balls-out, crazy Eastern cinema homage, laced with that Tarantino touch. The action is superb, and the dialogue from QT is great, like always. It still amazes me how well he managed to mix the dialogue and the action into a film that has no pacing issues or moments of boredom. And we can't forget Uma Thurman's great performance here, either. She's funny, she's lethal, she's just wonderful as The Bride.

35. Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)



"The war won’t stop with First Blood Part II. It will escalate to Rambo III. Which should really be Rambo II: First Blood Part III, but the Rambo titles never made sense. And neither does war." - Abed Nadir.

Weird title issues aside, I've always loved this flick. It completely disregards the inner message of the first film, instead going in a different direction: balls out, badass fun. Stallone is much, much better than stuff like this, but at the same time he's too cool for anything else. And like it or not, this is pretty much the face of American action films.

34. Showdown In Little Tokyo (1991)



If there ever was a movie that was so downright horrible that it becomes the asskicking Holy Grail of bad movies, this is definitely it. Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee are terrible, but very charismatic as two cops trying to bring down an evil druglord, who killed Lundgren's parents when he was a child. Mark L. Lester, director of Commando, directs with a comic book-style energy, with a terrible but at the same time awesome script driving behind it.

33. Speed (1994)



To this day, this still holds up amazingly well. The concept of the bomb on the bus seems like it would never work, but thanks to an underrated, extraordinary script, it does it's job and then some. The whole cast works here, even Keanu Reeves is great as the hero Jack Traven, who engages in a battle of wits with bomber Howard Payne, played deliciously by Dennis Hopper. Just an amazing movie, in general.

Love the last two picks. I've not seen Showdown In Little Tokyo in forever, well, the mid 90's, anyway. I think Speed is genuinely brilliant.

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32. Predator (1987)



It isn't really an action movie list unless some of Schwarzenegger's best are included, and this is a favourite among fans, for many reasons. It's a film that exudes pure testosterone and bicep action, and it's so damn manly that you should have a full beard by the end of it.

31. Timecop (1994)



In my opinion (and many others), Van Damme made his two best films with director Peter Hyams: Sudden Death and Timecop. In Timecop, Van Damme plays Walker, an agent for a corporation that regulates time travel. He finds out that a shady politician is using time travel to tie up loose ends and conceal evidence of his being corrupt. It's fairly well directed and written, but the moost surprising aspect is Van Damme himself, delivering maybe the best performance of his career, portraying the emotion of a man who has lost his wife to the best of his (limited) abilities.

Predator gets worse every time I see it, but I just really like it. I've only seen Timecop once, back when it was released, but I quite enjoyed it.

30. Above The Law (1988)



One of Seagal's better efforts, especially in the acting area, as he quite solidly plays a former CIA operative turned cop. Andrew Davis, director of Seagal's best Under Siege, gives the proceedings a gritty, fun atmosphere, with plenty of bonecrushing action and a reliable supporting cast, featuring Pam Grier as Nico's partner.

29. Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)



This is generally considered the weakest of the Beverly Hills Cop series, but for some reason, it's my favourite. I think it's the funniest and most focused of the series, especially with it's story and direction from the late, great Tony Scott. The cameo appearances from Hugh Hefner and Chris Rock are amusing, but it's Eddie Murphy who's still the main reason to watch this (or any other film of the series).

You think BHC2 is considered the weakest when BHC3 exists? I can only assume that those who think it the worst aren't aware of the third film's existence.

Above The Law's ok, but I really love BHC2.

I had always assumed people considered BHC2 a lesser movie than the third one.

Really like the reviews, most of these movies I have not seen in at least 10 years so it makes me want to go back and watch them again.
I agree with HK that this is a great thread title.....

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Actually, all of Seagal's early flicks were great action movies:
Above The Law
Hard To Kill
Marked For Death
Out For Justice
Under Siege I and II

My personal favorite is Out For Justice. The action is just insane.
I also have a weakness for Into The Sun, but maybe that's just the Japanese in me.
As Seagal got older and fatter, unfortunately the action got sloppier.
You just can't look like Roy Nelson and be believable ( although uncanny as it is, Roy is able to pull it off, but that's not the movies and there is only one Roy Nelson ).

I agree that Seagal's early stuff was his best, although On Deadly Ground is hilarious.

28. Bad Boys (1995)



Being one of the only people on this planet who actually loves a lot of Michael Bay's films (and Roland Emmerich's, but don't tell anyone), I find Bad Boys to be a very enjoyable 'buddy cop' film. Michael Bay's direction of the action sequences is, as always, great, but it's the chemistry between Will Smith and Martin Lawrence that makes it all worthwhile. Seriously, Martin Lawrence is in this! And it's still good!

27. License To Kill (1989)



This is my favourite of all the Bond movies, and that's primarily because of Dalton's intense take on the famous spy and each great action set piece. The bar fight scene is one of my favourites, but the ending featuring the tanker trucks is entertaining stuff. Plus, the always reliable Robert Davi is a superior Bond villian than others, one that doesn't chew the scenery, instead remaining understated and menacing.

Fallen way behind with this list. Anyway you're moving along at a nice pace Tyler. I'll be interested to see your top picks as already some personal favourites of mine have gone - Long Kiss Goodnight, Escape from New York, Speed, Predator, Timecop, Beverly Hills Cop 2 etc

Also your mum is extremely cool if Long Kiss Goodnight is her favourite film.

Pretty sure I've got it taped somewhere from a few years ago. Will try and locate it at some point soon perhaps

How do you mean? Predator is awesome!!!

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Tyler, lots of great flicks here. Die Hard 2 is actually my second favorite of the series, too.

Love Predator, not just for the creature, but for the action as well, including the classic, overkill scene where all the soldiers practically carve an airplane strip out of the jungle with their guns...and without even asking the other what they're shooting at. Great stuff!

I liked Above the Law quite a bit, but I thought Seagal ran a little too effeminate for a tough guy. But don't tell him I said that! Hah! Never mind...he's so big now I could easily outrun him.

Two of my favorites on this list also fall with JayDee: Escape From New York and The Long Kiss Goodnight...two almost perfect action flicks. Shane Black's work on LKG gives me great hope for his directing Iron Man 3.

Great list going here, Tyler!

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