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

I saw Con Air once at the movies; I remember not liking it but don't actually remember the movie. I like your taste and Nic Cage so I want to give it another shot.

3. Red Heat (1988)



I think of this more as a Walter Hill film than an Arnold Schwarzenegger film. Arnie is definitely the main focus, but Walter Hill's superb atmosphere and subtle deconstruction of the similarities and differences between American and Russian culture and conditions is the main draw for me in one of the best buddy cop films ever made. And even if you don't think it's the multilayered '80's time capsule that I do, you can still have an extremely fun time with the great action set pieces on display, with a hotel shoot out and a high octane bus chase (completely ripped off in the recent Badass with Danny Trejo) among the highlights. Not only is James Belushi in this and doesn't completely ruin the film, he's actually quite good! He and Arnold share great chemistry as two cops, from different backgrounds, trying to take down a Russian drug dealer.

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"George, this is a little too much for me. Escaped convicts, fugitive sex... I've got a cockfight to focus on."

Another that I've only seen once when it was at the movies. Now that it's on your list, I will try to see it again.

Red Heat's ok. I like that it's quite a dark, downbeat action thriller, for "an Arnie film." I'd agree that James Belushi doesn't ruin the film, but I wouldn't go so far as to call him good. I think adequate is praise enough for him.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

Welcome back Tyler. Had wondered when you were going to get back to your list. Con Air is one I really need to watch again, I think I've only seen it all the way through once and not for a long while. I know I've seen Red Heat but honestly can't remember a great deal of it.

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2. The Rock (1996)



As evidenced by my top ten, I think this is an action masterpiece. I think that for all their other respected work, Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery have never and never will be better than they are here. I think they achieve perfect chemistry as the chemical geek and aging British spy, respectively. I think Ed Harris is as fantastic as always as the understandable villian General Hummel, who just wants compensation for the families of soldiers that the government turned the back on. I think Michael Bay has made a perfectly paced, genuinely exciting action film featuring plenty of explosive set pieces, a superb script and n unforgettable soundtrack by Hans Zimmer. I think Michael Bay has made a career best film that he will never match again ever and has shown evidence that he has a set of skills that he can use to create solid action films, not the crap he makes today.

Basically, I think The Rock is the *****.

Just saw once, but I remember that it kicks ass

Two actors I really don't like but, on the one occassion I saw The Rock, I quite enjoyed it.

1. Under Siege (1992)



I suppose, being No.1 and all, this deserves a huge write-up about how much I love and cherish every little detail of Under Siege. But it's position speaks for itself (discounting countless posts on this forum, proclaiming my love for the film). The fact I've chosen it as the greatest action film of all time, with hundreds of other candidates, should show how highly I think of Under Siege: a lot. Steven Seagal is the man, and in Under Siege, he finally found a film that worked well with his wooden persona. And the result is millions at the box office, critical praise and the definitive film of it's star's career.

All from just a lowly cook.

And there we have it. Thanks to all who have been following this thread, offering both rep and feedback, but in particular, a special thanks to Honeykid, JayDee, Cricket and Rodent. I love action films and I enjoyed devoting a bit of my time to provide a few examples of the best the genre has to offer. And as a bonus, here's a few honorable mentions:

Executive Decision (1996)



Passenger 57 (1992)

Under Siege is so damn good.

Good list, TD. I've enjoyed it.

Under Seige has everything a great action film needs to have. That was a great list; my only regret is that it wasn't longer.

Well, I'm thinking of making a follow-up list: The 20 Best Action Stars Of All Time.

Under Seige is a great #1 choice. The sequel is a bit meh though.

Loved the list TD99... makes me want to work on the several top 10s that are currently hiding in the hard drive of my computer.

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Quite late on this but congrats on finishing the list man! And while I didn't completely love it I won't make too much fuss about Under Siege as I know you adore it and knew it was going to be #1 right from the star.

Wooh I got a personal mention!


Also if I remember correctly you mentioned at the start how you may also get some recommendations for other action films from people. You seem to have seen a large amount so not sure how much help I can be but I'll have a think. To start with are there any films of the big action stars (Stallone, Shwarzenegger etc) that you haven't seen? And what about Asian action films? There weren't many on the list; is that because you've not seen all that many or because you don't particularly like them? Just wondering about films of Jackie Chan, John Woo etc

Of Schwarzenegger, the only I haven't seen is The Running Man, which I've heard several good things about. Stallone, I haven't seen all of his films, but I own most of them, including ones I haven't seen (like Lock Up and D-Tox).

Asian action cinema, outside of Bruce Lee, is my biggest blind spot. I've heard several good things about older Jackie Chan films, like Rumble In The Bronx and Drunken Master. I've seen most of John Woo's American films, but none of his Asian cinema, though I would definitely like to see The Killer and Hard Boiled.

Frankly, you haven't seen Woo until you've seen The Killer and Hard Boiled.

You have to see Running Man. Such an entertaining flick with some great 80s cheese thrown in. For Arnold films only a few would be above it in my eyes (Terminator 1 + 2, Total Recall)

I've not seen all that much of Woo's Asian output either but certainly recommend Hard Boiled. As for Chan it's been a while since I've seen a number of them and due to the nature of the films many of them tend to blend together. You don't watch them really for plot or acting, just for the action and stunts and trying to remember and pinpoint which films they were in is a little bit tough at times.

Anyway films of his that I think are worth watching include Rumble in the Bronx, Drunken Master, Legend of Drunken Master, Project A 1 + 2, Police Story (at least the first two for sure), Miracles, Dragons Forever, Armor of God, Wheels on Meals. And for his US films I'm a big fan of the first two Rush Hour films and Shanghai Noon

I'll try and think of others and get back to you. Off the top of my head Harley Davidson & the Marlboro Man (which I reviewed not long ago) is good fun. Oh and there's a film that I've not seen in a long while but remember really liking/loving - Judgment Night. It stars a lot of actors I like (Emilio Estevez, Cuba Gooding Jr, Dennis Leary, Jeremy Piven) though it's perhaps more in the thriller/action genre than pure action. Need to watch that again sometime soon actually. As I said will try and think of more