The 50 Best Action Movies of All Time
variety.comVariety’s list, you’ll learn a thing or two about how the form has evolved over the years. Arnold, Sly and Bruce (both Lee and Willis) each left their mark.
But Chuck Norris and Burt Reynolds have been eclipsed, since every film on this list had to stand the test of time. We love Shaw Brothers classics, for example (“King Blood” and “The 36th Chamber of Shaolin” came close), but martial arts movies have evolved so much that other titles took their place.
You may well be surprised by the things we excluded, including movies with great action scenes (like “Dirty Harry” or Marvel movies) that ultimately fell slightly outside the genre, while others that might not have been marketed as action movies per se (such as Paul Greengrass’ greatest film) made the cut. “Cut,” of course, is the action word that ends each take.
So, without further ado, here’s Variety’s list of the 50 greatest action movies of all time. James Bond had been in a slump since 1974’s lackluster “The Man with the Golden Gun.” But Roger Moore’s third time as the secret agent ended up being one of 007’s biggest crowd-pleasers, as “You Only Live Twice” director Lewis Gilbert returned to the franchise, pairing the secret agent with Russian counterpart XXX, aka Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach), who was the perfect foil for Moore’s debonair spy.
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