Lights, camera, ACTION: Greatest Action films

771   7   7.8 

I love the little things here. The Predator is introduced very much in the same way as Bruce the Shark in Jaws - bit by bit. Therefore there's this mysterious feeling in the air until that ugly muthafucka reveals his face.
What I also liked about Predator is that it's not just an Arnie flick. There's this same kind of macho crew as in Aliens, all soldiers brought to life by actors who are, not exactly Oscar-worthy, but fitting for their roles and definitely not in Arnold's shade.
Another similarity to Aliens is that this team of gorillas is isolated in a different kind of "space" and, as funny as it is, everyone gets their asses handed to them after being so tough guys and the world's best commmandos.

You know, Predator has some serious skills in hiding its 80sness. Well yeah, one-liners and macho attitude, but I mean there isn't any synthesizer music or hair metal or hard rock playing in the background. No colorful clothes or hair styles. It remains fairly fresh throughout the years. The major aspect that gives away its production year is that Arnie is in his best age.

It's quite interesting how the movie starts off as an action movie, then after 30 minutes or so it turns into a thriller and finally, it comes to one of the wildest adrenaline rides as Ahh-nuld turns into Tarzan and starts the animal vs animal -battle against the ruthless hunter from outer space. Who would have thought Arnold might actually get beaten?

Predator ripping his victim's spine off.

Larri's rating:

788   6.3   7.6 

If RoboCop was the sun, it would shoot ultraVIOLENT radiation.
Hitting the cocaine factory is a nice example of what the action in RoboCop is all about. When RoboCop is in action he's the king of the world. He doesn't need to jump or dodge bullets or even run. He walks around and wipes the scum out of his way. And when he shoots someone there will be blood. Oh, there's blood. Action scenes are accompanied by Basil Poledouris's kick-dick score.

Peter Weller is the one and only RoboCop. No other choice, he has that metallic voice even when he's 100% man. Miguel Ferrer is exaggeratedly egocentric bastard and for some reason always one of my top choices if I got to make the movie of my dreams. But Kurtwood Smith is the f'ckin King.
He looks like the basic dad next door but he's such a malicious weasel. I mean, he's not even any cliché military bad guy or a business suit villain. He's a street wise criminal (and a business man) who doesn't pretend to be anything else.

In conclusion, RoboCop is a masterpiece in action and sci-fi completed with gloominess, a delightful satirical side and just the perfectly cheap outlook that adds to the feel. I'd buy this for more than a dollar.
The drug factory scene:

Larri's rating:

1018   7.9   8.5 

**MILD SPOILERS**
Alien is a grade A movie. James Cameron's magic touch made Aliens the best sequel I've seen. It keeps the dark outlook and atmosphere of its predecessor but also mixes them with intensive action. Besides adding a lot more action without losing the tension or excitement I find it ironic that in the era of extremely macho action movies and characters Aliens has the balls to have basically every single tough-ass combat soldier killed (or incapable) except Ripley. In your face, Rambo.

The cast includes memorable characters: the big-mouthed Hudson, Vasquez who's more manly than most of the crew, the brave and straight-backed Hicks (awesome Michael Biehn who gets unfortunately little screen time), Sgt. Apone who's just badass (he wakes up and has a CIGAR ready. Wake 'n Bake!), the sympathetic android Bishop... and Ellen Ripley.
Ripley doesn't need to rage all the time like Sarah Connor in order to be a strong heroine. I think she's more human, too. She's afraid but has to overcome her fears to survive and save the little girl Newt. When she's confronted by the Alien Queen, all she has is her maternal instinct... and a hell of a loader. "Get away from her you bitch!"
Ripley is among the best heroes and heroines of all time. Thanks to Sigourney Weaver.

Just a trailer.

Larri's rating:

1673   7.6   8.5 

"Wow. Did I buy Terminator 3?" was the first thought in my mind when I first watched the first 20 minutes of T2. That's many firsts. It didn't look outdated one bit. That goes for the rest of the movie. Special effects are mind-blowing but the best thing is they didn't drown the movie in them.
Arnie is once again perfect (duh!). The small-talk isn't most convincing but he can still make that "I'll make mincemeat out of you!"-expression that made the first Austrian cyborg so incredible.
The action scenes are massive and inventive. As a matter of fact, I could watch Arnold blasting that shotgun alone and I would be satisfied since shotgun is such an awesome weapon. But moreover, we get Connors & T-800 destroying the Cyberdyne house, escaping from an insane asylum (injured asylum workers), a great helicopter/van chase and... oh, see it for yourself.

I don't even know what to say. It's just that Jim Cameron knew exactly how to balance action, drama, seriousness, visual style and the feeling of the destruction of humankind. When night falls and T-800 with the Connors are about to change the future, it's a beautiful mixture of atmosphere, visual style (very blue) and action.

Cops don't like T-800, so T-800 doesn't like cops.

Larri's rating:

174   8.2   7.9 

The best bullet ballet I've seen. Chow Yun-Fat is cooler than ever. His character, Tequila, is almost a spoof of all the American action heroes such as John McClane and Dirty Harry. And he doesn't even need to be a gangster or wear a tuxedo. The only person who's any challenge for Tequila is Kuo Chui as Mad Dog who steals the main villain's role from Anthony Wong. What's more interesting is that Mad Dog actually has a code of honour - he really lives up to his name when innocent people get slaughtered.

Visually, the dominating color is blue (as I see it) which only fits perfectly for characters who dream for an unreachable, better tomorrow (heh). At the same time, despite the depressed mood, the overall feel is surprisingly laid-back and enjoyable. Maybe it's the jazz (or that weird jungle drum) playing...

Here's the famous tracking shot. Feels like playing a game.

Larri's rating:

157   8   8 

A hitman and a cop find more in common than they could imagine. Besides having some of the best action scenes I've seen, at least half of The Killer's power is in its feel. It's bleak, sad, dramatic and dead serious. While Hard Boiled's action scenes were divided into three big sequences, The Killer offers respectively little action scenes here and there and finally culminates in a huge fight in a chapel. What sick bastard locates a fight like that in a chapel, anyway!?
It's just an example of Woo's great sense of style. The movie lacks a proper villain but I guess a bunch of Chinese men without a face will work. The Killer also proves that a b-movie star Danny Lee can be taken seriously. The leftover score from Red Heat by James Horner is in good use here.
Actually, now that I watched a clip from Red Heat, I noticed some of the music isn't leftover. Wonder why no one sued. I guess the people who made Red Heat saw The Killer and realized how much ass it kicked.

Jeff is betrayed by his friend and assholes keep coming from every corner.

Larri's rating:

1684   7.2   8.1 

It's easy to say that The Terminator hasn't been worth shit since T2 came out. I still consider the first Terminator to be one of its kind. It's dark and cruel, almost a horror-like nightmare. Sarah Connor is living without a worry and all of a sudden this enormous, unstoppable dude wants her dead.
Brad Fiedel and his synthesizer + various bands are responsible for the 80s music and feeling. One might call it the factor that really makes the movie outdated but fortunately, that's totally my weak spot.

Arnie is magnificent. Plain and simple. He doesn't need to act and yet his performance is priceless. Just stand there and look threatening. Michael Biehn is the perfect "rescue ranger" and God knows why he never became a big action star!
The logic of the time travel is confusing as hell but hey, it got me thinking. The movie as a whole taught me that the best answer to anything is "Fuck you, asshole."

The guys from the future meet at Tech Noir.

Larri's rating:

1194   8.2   8.6 

For an action movie number 8, Léon consists of pretty little action. But quality over quantity. Despite being socially awkward and slightly simple-minded, Léon definitely knows how to clean. He seems to move like a shadow and he can attack from anywhere.
The drama between Jean Reno and Portman works like a charm even though it gets quite dubious sometimes.
And I just gotta appreciate the way N.Y. is made to look like sunny Paris or some other European city.

Reno gives a superb performance as "The little cousin of Rocky" as I like to call him but the greatest and the beautiest show steeler is Gary Oldman. I don't think he's supposed to be there. He just ran off from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. All that trouble with concentrating, babble about Beethoven and Mozart, that creepy "snapping" thing when he takes his "medication" and never forget to bring EVERYONEEE!!!

I'm sure the subtitle isn't about the main character. It's about the people who made this. Truly professional.

Opening: Hit job

Larri's rating:

377   7   7.4 

For a Finn like me it's easy to relate to that autumnal feel of a little town in the middle of nowhere. Put a little melancholic Jerry Goldsmith and damn. Love it.
Rambo combines criticism against the bad treatment of 'Nam veterans and survival in the forest. People also tend to forget that First Blood isn't about the body count and amount of explosions is less than, what, four? In which no one gets killed?

Brian Dennehy is the ultimate asshole and, the most important, he doesn't have an accent. I think it's not any harm if I spoil mildly by saying that for once the ending isn't about explosions and massacre but a speech. Now that I think of it, sounds f'ckin boring but it's not. Stallone lets it all come out. For a guy so stiff it's not too bad!

Rambo escapes.

Larri's rating:

739   6.9   7.6 

Before Martin Riggs became a wise-cracking clown, he was a wise-cracking but also suicidal lunatic. And honestly speaking, I like Mel Gibson as Riggs a lot more than his depictions of historical events. So, Lethal Weapon does good job in mixing up some dark tones with action and comedy.
In addition, I can't help feeling this was ahead of Die Hard in many little details (or they were just similarities); Michael Kamen is the composer, the events take place in L.A. at Christmas and the ending had an absolutely same twist. Even one of the henchmen is the exact same Chinese fellow who was in Die Hard.
Being a sucker for 80s, I must also love David Sanborn's sax music.
(Actually, I don't know if it's Sanborn but he did some music with Eric Clapton for the sequels I think. Sooo... maybe for this too? IMDb doesn't give him much credit though)

What I can't understand is that fist-fight in the end between Riggs and Joshua. What's the purpose? Apparently, it was so personal that they had to have the last fight but they could've arrested him, right?! It would've been anti-climactic but not that out of place.
Otherwise, LW's definitely the grandpa of the buddy cop films and worth seeing.

Larri's rating:

1257   6.7   7.2 

Let's think this for a minute. Would it be possible to switch faces like that? I doubt it. But it's beyond me why some people dislike Face/Off for that. To me it's important that it happens no matter how it's implemented.
I'm sure there are plot holes all over the movie but luckily I'm so simple that I can't track them down.

So, as I said, changing faces is an intriguing thought experiment and it probably makes one of the most exciting plots to an action movie ever. It's not only about misunderstandings of who is who but also mimicking each other's behavior and actions. It causes moral dilemmas, e.g. One is expected to kill a person but he can't, the other can't do it because it will blow their cover. One can exploit the other guy's authority and the other may get his ass kicked because of who he looks like, etc etc. The possibilities are endless.

I was worried first since there's no CYF and not violence as bloody as in the HK flicks (according to rating). But being a skeptic fool couldn't prevent me from loving the action scenes. Guns howl, sparks fly all over the place and characters crash and fall through all sorts of objects. Woo's use of slow motion, camera angles and movement haven't changed much from his HK days so all I gotta do is imagine that all the guys have Asian faces and we have a good old John Woo film!

Looking at it quickly, this clip seems like a random unimaginative mess but I couldn't find a better scene. Sorry for that. But at around 4:45 it's great. Listen to the music.

Larri's rating:

1308   7.7   8.3 

Considered by many to be the best action movie that exists. And why not? The plot is awesome. A police officer on vacation is trapped in a skyscraper. "Exceptional thieves" blow up shit, hold people hostage and speak with an accent. Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman aren't as much concerned about who will win as they are about which one is cooler. My vote goes to Rickman.

Die Hard is hard to place anywhere in the list 'cause I have this on/off-relationship with it. Last time I watched it I loved it. But the time before that I wasn't much impressed. What's going on, really?

I still think Die Hard would be better as a thriller since the action parts were over just when it was getting interesting. Plus, FBI and LAPD interfering the business gets excessively "epic" and there's... too much stuff. I didn't care for that.
But Die Hard is a fine film. An enjoyable piece filled with some serious "You're gonna need a bigger boat" -situations and sincere Christmas spirit ;)

McClane wishes happy holidays.

Larri's rating:

2330   7.5   8 

Okay, Kill Bill: Vol. 2. Is it really action? It's spaghetti western mixed up with martial arts. It's a pop culture homage (is that a word?). Ennio Morricone is playing, the tension slowly builds up and explodes into a fight that lasts less than a few seconds. The training montage (especially when Gordon Liu is included) is a tribute to Shaolin-movies... I'm sure I don't even know a fraction of the references.

To me it's crystal-clear which Kill Bill is better and I got 4 main reasons:
1. David Carradine as Bill. For a ruthless killer he actually seems pretty easygoing and nice fellow. I could have a beer with him. He's everything but a cliché, plain evil bad guy.
2. Gordon Liu as Pai Mei. That five-mile-long fake beard and moustache. You gotta respect an elderly man who kicks ass with his hands tied. He's a classic mentor: exaggeratedly mean and pretty much an asshole.
3. Michael Parks as Esteban Vihaio. He makes like a five-minute appearance as a poor man's Hugh Hefner and is still cool as fuck. With a voice that smooth and seductive yet manly, I wouldn't be surprised if Uma was all wet after having the conversation.
4. Michael Madsen as Buddy. The titty-bar loser. Has a sense of justice - check out that calmly delivered line: "...and we deserve to die."

The change of style is however the thing I liked the most. That is the Leone western influence I mentioned earlier.
But it doesn't mean I don't like the first fight between the bride and Pai Mei.

Larri's rating:

54   7.4   7.3 

You might wonder where ABT I is. I can't help liking the second one better. Woo has perfected the action scenes of which the final battle at the mansion is a great example. Blood is all over the walls and the bodycount-meter is going crazy. Joseph Koo's score is tailor-made for waving guns in both hands. Shotgun is, however, the kick-ass cannon. It makes justice to CYF.
Then one important character/casting aspect. Leslie Cheung makes room for Dean Shek. What a weird SOB. First he flips out, recovers and then filled with vengeance he kicks some major ass.

One of my favorite scenes what many people like to call the reason for ABT II's downfall is the "Eat the rice" scene. Its dramatic values are ridiculous. Overacting and horrendous dubbing.
This is however a completely different scene:

Larri's rating:

970   7   7.4 

John McTiernan returned to direct and I guess the same director is the one to make the best Die Hards. After Die Hard 2 being entertaining but repeating the first one Die Hard: With a Vengeance takes a different approach. First Die Hard was about the ultimate desperate situations in the midnight. The third is about running around the summery city of N.Y. and Hans Gruber's brother is the puppet master. It's more of a traditional action/comedy in the style of a buddy cop film.
Bad Boys came out the same year. Bad Boys had already lost that battle when Martin Lawrence was casted.

I must admit that the idea of the Simon says game is always fascinating despite being also very old. That's what basically makes Die Hard 3 almost as good as the first.
Samuel L. Jackson is in his everyday role but the chemistry between him and Willis keeps the package joyful and the dialog just suitably rude. "-Are you aimin' for these people!? -No. Well, maybe that mime."
Jeremy Irons can never reach the charisma of Alan Rickman but he does whatever he can and that's praiseworthy.

The old American Civil War song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" is definitely a creative choice of music.

Larri's rating:

675   6.8   7.4 

I can't believe Total Recall isn't advertised as an action comedy. Arnie gets his balls tortured at least twice, one-liners are never-ending and he yells: "Gif dis peepl aeae."
But in fact, I think Total Recall would work fine without Arnie. I often consider it a (divorce, WHOOPS!) sequel to RoboCop, since it takes place in the future, Paul Verhoeven directs (so it's violent as shit) and Ronny Cox is, once again, the bad guy. And, I gotta say there's something that reminds me of Matrix. Like, is Arnie's character really a secret agent or is it all part of the souvenir? Open for interpretation.
Total Recall is top-notch entertainment and I got to raise my hat for the special FX crew. This has to be among the last good movies to have those old school effects.

Quaid in a subway:

Larri's rating:

616   6.4   7 

I was in a very "critical" mood when I first watched this. Ready to smash it thinking it can't possibly be better than the first.
When the credits rolled I was instantly a sucker for this movie. I couldn't help loving it. It's not better than the first but it got better by minute. It clearly ripped off many aspects of Die Hard (German villains, the hand-to-hand combat in the end, etc.) but I was ready to forgive it when I realised the action scenes were convincing, more comedy was added yet still keeping the seriousness, and the relationship between Riggs and Murtaugh had got so heart-warming (AWWW!). C'mon, you know they're the only real married couple in the movie!

This was also the part to define the rest of the series. That is, Riggs became nice and funny. But that's a part of the character development. Joe Pesci came along as Leo Getz who's surprisingly not too bad but not later than when Rika appeared I found out I was hooked. She's basically just eye food but when she was found dead I could honestly feel for Riggs. Now how the fuck is that possible?! I take back what I said. Besides being eye food with a personality of sand paper we care about her because of the guy with a mullet. If something happens to Rika, what's gonna happen to Riggs?
That's the power of Lethal Weapon 2.

Chase scene. Not the one I originally wanted but what you gon' do.

Larri's rating:

2882   7.6   8.2 

A love letter to martial art movies as we all know. I usually don't care of QT's much praised music choices and neither do Kill Bill movies include exactly my favorites but goddam is Zamfir's The Lonely Shepherd awesome. I hate the word but it's epic. So emotional and old-fashioned tune (no shit, it's from the 70s).

I actually have a lot to whine about the overall execution of the movie but after all we get so few good ol' fighting/adventure stories that are filled with legends of "great warriors" and stuff and not trying to be realistic in any way that it sort of dominates the market in that business. Neither does it get gross but still keeps the action bloody yet comic-like and smooth.
If John Woo movies weren't enough, watching that Crazy 88 fight makes me convinced that Asian men are the best opponents to get their asses kicked. I don't know why. I guess they have an inborn sense of drama when it comes to gestures or screaming in pain. The song by Human Beinz during that massacre tells pretty much how you should react to the movie.

Larri's rating:

1309   6.5   7.2 

I've seen this a couple of years ago and liked it but I never added to this list because of vague recollections.
Now that I've watched it again, I can say it has lost some of its charm but it still remains very good, very much due to its plot.

That is, Jack Traven played by Keanu Reeves tries to save a bus full of people that must not slow down or it will blow to smithereens. So, it isn't one of them "shoot everyone up" movies but more like problems I could see John McClane dealing with. And boy, do they face every fucking trouble one could think. Panicking minor offender, kids crossing the street, leaking gas, unfinished road etc etc... It pushes the boundaries of plausibility maybe a little too much (yeah, and I'm doing a list for best action films).
What makes it even shittier situation, or as I like to call it "a shituation", is that keeping a bus running non-stop seems to cause more damage to the city than the passengers. Maybe it would save more lives to let the bus explode than put everyone else in the city to a danger. The airplane blows up with the bus. How many do you think died there?

When Reeves opens his mouth he is, as usual, more wooden than Pinocchio hugging a log on a pirate ship in the middle of a paper factory but with his looks and physical abilities he's a refreshing change after "the bodybuilder boys" who will without a doubt save the day.
Hopper makes a solid performance but his evil laughter is a bit too much. It's not like he's the devil. I mean his motive is money, not spreading anarchy or terror or anything.

Speed will not give you a moment to breathe but time sure flies. Or at least rushes at a speed of a bus that's carrying a bomb.

Larri's rating:

579   6   6.3 

Everything is fine in the future. Now, how often does that happen! Birth control works, crimes barely happen, no drugs are used and toilet paper is replaced with three sea shells. Yeah, three sea shells...
Demolition Man is a truck load of fun. A satire of society whose rules fight every bad habit man NEEDS. What's Stallone going to do when he can't have natural sex, swear, or even eat meat. What about the re-programming of John Spartan? His hobbies include KNITTING. That and the sea shells + various other things = insane writing. For once Stallone has some self-irony.

Simon Phoenix performed by Wesley Snipes is like the hidden dark side of the chaste people of Los... I mean, San Angeles. They don't have the guts to let loose because they are afraid of disorder. Very much like in The Gremlins. We naturally root for Phoenix.
I seriously don't even believe Spartan wants to get Phoenix arrested or killed. He's as much savage as Phoenix so they're just having fun tearing up (or should I say DEMOLISHING!) the place while beating each other.

There isn't much to complain except for some aspects in special effects and set design which make a pretty cheap outlook at times. The ending is one of the most worn out clichés in action movies I can think, too. Otherwise, don't miss it.

"We're police officers! We're not trained to handle this kind of violence!"

Larri's rating:

324   6   6.2 

You know why the Wachowski Bros. movie Matrix is so popular? Because John Matrix allowed to use his name in it.

I'll let that joke describe Commando.
Commando deserves an honourable spot on my list. It launched my interest in action movies to start. To be precise, if that wasn't crazy enough, I'm not kidding, it started my interest in movies in general after a few years of "Whatever!" It was, and still is, so over the top macho bullshit it's impossible not to enjoy it. And it's aware of it. Unnecessary violent non-stop action: people get theirselves impaled by pipes; scalps get sliced the fuck off; axe to the groins; pitch fork in the chest... Everything Arnold touches no longer exists.
And what's an action movie without the worst one-liners ever. "I lied", "Let off some steam, Bennett", "He's dead tired", "Wrong!" The dialog is nothing but one-liners, I might say.
James Horner's simple synthesizer was the first thing I loved about it since I am an 80s geek.

Most importantly, Commando made me feel like a boy again. Waving guns and being all hero when I was playing outside. Definitely one of the most entertaining movies I know. Funny stuff.

Toolshed scene:

Larri's rating:

42   5.6   5.8 

This is the most idiotic movie I've seen - and entertaining as hell. The actors are awful (except for Hauer), the script is full of brainless stuff, the ending is sugary and the action's clumsiness with the cheap effects and all that reminds me of Cannon Group's Ninja-movies starring Sho Kosugi. So, what's more appropriate than having Mr. Kosugi himself making an appearance at the end of the movie? I know every fan of ninja movies wet themselves when that happens.
I got to admit, though, that the idea of a blind ninja man is fascinating and they really make the most of it. Randall "Tex" Cobb makes the role he's done whole of his life and Rutger has the wisdom of Master Splinter. Daredevil ain't got shit on Nick Parker!

Larri's rating: