Vladimir Rakhmanin
Deputy Web Editor
It’s the start of August already, meaning that the majority of the summer blockbuster season, which this year featured such massive hits as The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises, is unfortunately coming to a close. To help you prolong the summer, I have prepared a short list of what I consider to be the greatest action film classics. Honourable mentions go to Commando, which is great fun and has an insane body count, but is a little too cheesy for my taste to get a spot on the list.
5. Hard Boiled
John Woo, one of the most celebrated action directors who had ever lived, reached his peak with the magnificent Hard Boiled. While I feel that all his films are great, but the reason that I chose it over The Killer and A Better Tomorrow is solely because of a two minute sequence set in a hospital. It boggles the mind how someone would film such a grandiose action scene in one continuous shot with no digitally enhanced effects. It’s truly something special, and ranks alongside the corridor scene in Oldboy as one of the most incredible continuous shots in cinema. Besides that, the film is just full of John Woo’s stylised violence, and it’s a joy to watch it all unfurl.
4. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
I really cannot fully express my love for the Indiana Jones trilogy. Those films represent everything that I want from escapist entertainment – temples, traps, exotic locales, ancient treasure, etc. I even enjoyed the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which is hated on by many due to an unusual element that comes into play at the end of that film (I thought it felt right within the context of the time period, but whatever). Personally, I would even – and some hardcore fans may want to look away – place the trilogy above the Star Wars saga as ultimate all-round film entertainment. Unfortunately, I can’t really call the franchise action – it’s more action adventure. Therefore, as a pure action film, Raiders takes the number four spot in my list. The iconic ‘rolling ball’ scene alone is worth seeing this masterpiece.
3. Die Hard
What can I say? It’s Die Hard. Take the perfect action scenario – man trapped in a hotel which has been overtaken by terrorists – add Bruce Willis, and you have a hell of a film. The thing that I love the most about Die Hard is how it all takes place in one location, making the film feel more intimate than other country-hopping action blockbusters. I think that that’s what made the original so much better than the sequels, even though Die Hard 2 was great, and Die Hard with a Vengeance wasn’t bad either. It also gave as a classic movie quote, that was repeated in every single film in the series – ‘yippee ki yay, motherf*cker!’
2. Aliens
Alien is a fantastic horror film – Aliens is a phenomenal action film, and one of James Cameron’s best films ever. The first half brims with creeping menace, and when it lets loose, it lets loose in such a spectacular fashion that you have hardly any time to breathe until the credits roll. The key here is the fact that Ripley is such an unbelievably strong character, and we really do want her to succeed, especially after seeing her overcome the ordeals of the original movie. Aliens also has the most shocking fake-out ending that I have ever seen in all my years watching film. It would be a crime to spoil it, but the sequence that follows is absolutely mind-blowing in its intensity. Enough to make me forget that two terrible sequels followed…
1. Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Aliens demonstrated how to make an action sequel the right way – in my opinion, Terminator 2 does an even more impressive job at being a superior sequel, as the original Terminator wasn’t even that great. Judgement Day, on the other hand, is an absolute marvel – I would consider it the greatest action film ever made. Arnie is both hilarious and terrifying as always, and the new villain is spectacular in his power – the resurrection scene featuring mercury-like fluid is famous for a reason. Not only are the stunts amazing, the story is surprisingly warm and human, and the combination of both really creates something special. A must-watch.
