Action movies are the ones I re-watch the most. To repurpose and paraphrase Christopher Plummer as Mike Wallace in The Insider, you put them on, push play, and you’re going to get your fix.

After figuring out which ones I wanted to include on my favourites list, I then attempted to rank them by trying to gauge/recall how exhilarated each of them made me feel. Or, put more simply, I thought about how many times they made me think, “holy shit.” Such as, “Holy shit, this attack on Zion is crazy intense.” Or, “Holy shit, that car missed hitting Tom Cruise by mere inches.” Or, “Holy shit, that woman just ripped off her own damaged finger so she could keep fighting.” “Or, “Holy shit, that stuntman just flew off his bike and did, like, five somersaults in the air. How did he survive? … Did he survive?” Or, “Holy shit, ninjas are sooooooooooo sweet that I want to crap my pants.”

50. Action U.S.A. (John Stewart, 1989)

49. Commando (Mark L. Lester, 1985)

48. The Beekeeper (David Ayer, 2024)

47. Unstoppable (Kim Min-Ho, 2018)

46. Punisher: War Zone (Lexi Alexander, 2008)

45. John Wick (Chad Stahelski, 2014)

44. Waterworld (Kevin Reynolds, 1995)

43. Revenge of the Ninja (Sam Firstenberg, 1983)

42. Rambo: First Blood Part II (George P. Cosmatos, 1985)

41. The Yellow Sea (Na Hong-jin, 2010)

40. Eega (S.S. Rajamouli, 2012)

39. Fast Five (Justin Lin, 2011)

38. The Rock (1996, Michael Bay)

37. Haywire (Steven Soderbergh, 2011)

36. Taken (Pierre Morel, 2008)

35. The Fugitive (Andrew Davis, 1993)

34. Police Story (Jackie Chan, 1985)

33. Hard Boiled (John Woo, 1992)

32. Prey (Dan Trachtenberg, 2022)

31. Predator (John McTiernan, 1987)

30. First Blood (Ted Kotcheff, 1982)

29. Hero (Yimou Zhang, 2002)

28. The Matrix Reloaded (Lana & Lily Wachowski, 2003)

27. The Matrix Revolutions (Lana & Lily Wachowski, 2003)

26. Avatar: The Way of Water (James Cameron, 2002)

25. Hanna (Joe Wright, 2011)

24. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (Christopher McQuarrie, 2015)

23. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (Brad Bird, 2011)

22. The Hunted (William Friedkin, 2003)

21. Apocalypto (Mel Gibson, 2006)

20. Speed Racer (Lana & Lily Wachowski, 2008)

19. Edge of Tomorrow (Doug Liman, 2014)

18. The Bourne Supremacy (Paul Greengrass, 2004

17. Mission: Impossible – Fallout (Christopher McQuarrie, 2018)

16. Avatar (James Cameron, 2009)

15. Runaway Train (Andrei Konchalovsky, 1985)

14. The Matrix (Lana & Lily Wachowski, 1999)

13. The Bourne Ultimatum (Paul Greengrass, 2007)

12. The Road Warrior (George Miller, 1981)

11. RRR (S.S. Rajamouli, 2022)

10. The Bourne Identity (Doug Liman, 2002)

9. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (George Miller, 2024)

8. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (James Cameron, 1991)

7. The Night Comes for Us (Timo Tjahjanto, 2018)

6. Aliens (James Cameron, 1986)

5. Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015)

4. Die Hard (John McTiernan, 1988)

3. Big Trouble in Little China (John Carpenter, 1986)

2. The Abyss (James Cameron, 1989)

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1982)