Entertainment
The Greatest Action Movies Of All Time
List Rules
Be a real action hero and vote up your favorite movies in the action genre.
The greatest epic action movies ever made have some of the best action stars to have ever fought on screen. Good Hollywood action movies tend to be the ones where we get a little substance to go along with the shooting; a little banter along with the battles. This list has some of the most awesome action films of all time, and it's now up to Ranker users to vote on which of these are truly the top action movies of all time. If you're looking for some of the greatest action movies of all time that are streaming on Netflix or Amazon, check out The Best Action Movies on Netflix and The Best Action Movies On Amazon Prime.
The list of popular action movies ever has famous action films with a mix of one man renegades (Die Hard), supernatural thrills (Alien), and science fiction dreams brought to reality on the big screen (Terminator, Jurassic Park). You'll even find some great comedic performances among the gun fights, smack talking, and explosions. Heck, you could probably fill a New Jersey size dump with all the stuff that gets blown up in these action films. The list covers a broad time range as well with nearly as many classic action movies making the list as newer, big budget CGI action-fest. Other good action movies to watch include The Matrix Trilogy, the John Wick movies, and The Bourne Series.
This is a fan ranked list and that means you can rerank this list so everyone can know that the biggest action movie of all time was actually...(this is where you fill in what you think the coolest action movie ever is). Make your voice heard and don't forget, these are action films so you're gonna have to be loud. And, if you love action movies, you might want to check out this list of the best action shows.
Ranked by
- 1Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef
- Released: 1967
- Directed by: Sergio Leone
In the Southwest during the Civil War, a mysterious stranger, Joe (Clint Eastwood), and a Mexican outlaw, Tuco (Eli Wallach), form an uneasy partnership -- Joe turns in the bandit for the reward ...more - 2Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong
- Released: 1991
- Directed by: James Cameron
In this sequel set eleven years after "The Terminator," young John Connor (Edward Furlong), the key to civilization's victory over a future robot uprising, is the target of the shape-shifting T-1000 ...more - NEW
- Released: 2022
- Directed by: Dan Trachtenberg
In 1719 a skilled Comanche warrior protects her tribe from a highly evolved alien predator that hunts humans for sport. - 3Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Michael Biehn
- Released: 1993
- Directed by: George P. Cosmatos
Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) and his brothers, Morgan (Bill Paxton) and Virgil (Sam Elliott), have left their gunslinger ways behind them to settle down and start a business in the town of Tombstone, ...more - 4Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen
- Released: 2000
- Directed by: Ridley Scott
Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) takes power and strips rank from Maximus (Russell Crowe), one of the favored generals of his predecessor and father, Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the great stoical philosopher. ...more - 5Liam Neeson, Tom Bateman, Tom Jackson
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: Hans Petter Moland
Nels Coxman's quiet life as a snowplow driver comes crashing down when his beloved son dies under mysterious circumstances. His search for the truth soon becomes a quest for revenge against a ...more - 6Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Brian Dennehy
- Released: 1982
- Directed by: Ted Kotcheff
Vietnam veteran and drifter John J. Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) wanders into a small Washington town in search of an old friend, but is met with intolerance and brutality by the local sheriff, Will ...more - 7Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Sela Ward
- Released: 1993
- Directed by: Andrew Davis
Wrongfully accused of murdering his wife, Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) escapes from the law in an attempt to find her killer and clear his name. Pursuing him is a team of U.S. marshals led by ...more - 8Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore
- Released: 1998
- Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) takes his men behind enemy lines to find Private James Ryan, whose three brothers have been killed in combat. Surrounded by the brutal realties of war, while searching ...more - 9Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan
- Released: 1995
- Directed by: Mel Gibson
Tells the story of the legendary thirteenth century Scottish hero named William Wallace (Mel Gibson). Wallace rallies the Scottish against the English monarch and Edward I (Peter Hanly) after he ...more - 10Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris
- Released: 1996
- Directed by: Michael Bay
FBI chemical warfare expert Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage) is sent on an urgent mission with a former British spy, John Patrick Mason (Sean Connery), to stop Gen. Francis X. Hummel (Ed Harris) from ...more - 11Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart
- Released: 2008
- Directed by: Christopher Nolan
With the help of allies Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman (Christian Bale) has been able to keep a tight lid on crime in Gotham City. But when a vile young ...more - 12Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey
- Released: 1991
- Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow
After a string of bizarre bank robberies in Southern California, with the crooks donning masks of various former presidents, a federal agent, Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves), infiltrates the suspected ...more - 13Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
- Released: 1980
- Directed by: Irvin Kershner
The adventure continues in this "Star Wars" sequel. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) face attack by the Imperial ...more - 14Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore
- Released: 2001
- Directed by: Ridley Scott
The film takes place in 1993 when the U.S. sent special forces into Somalia to destabilize the government and bring food and humanitarian aid to the starving population. Using Black Hawk helicopters ...more - 15Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Denholm Elliott
- Released: 1989
- Directed by: Steven Spielberg
An art collector appeals to Jones to embark on a search for the Holy Grail. He learns that another archaeologist has disappeared while searching for the precious goblet, and the missing man is his ...more - 16Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone
- Released: 1990
- Directed by: Paul Verhoeven
Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a bored construction worker in the year 2084 who dreams of visiting the colonized Mars. He visits "Rekall," a company that plants false memories into people's ...more - 17Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames
- Released: 2018
- Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie
Ethan Hunt and the IMF team join forces with CIA assassin August Walker to prevent a disaster of epic proportions. Arms dealer John Lark and a group of terrorists known as the Apostles plan to use ...more - 18Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly
- Released: 1973
- Directed by: Robert Clouse
Bruce Lee plays a martial-arts expert determined to help capture the narcotics dealer whose gang was responsible for the death of his sister. Lee enters a kung fu competition in an attempt to fight ...more - 19Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen
- Released: 2014
- Directed by: Chad Stahelski
Legendary assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) retired from his violent career after marrying the love of his life. Her sudden death leaves John in deep mourning. When sadistic mobster Iosef Tarasov ...more - 20Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen
- Released: 2008
- Directed by: Pierre Morel
Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson), a former government operative, is trying to reconnect with his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace). Then his worst fears become real when sex slavers abduct Kim and her friend ...more - 21Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein
- Released: 2016
- Directed by: Tim Miller
Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is a former Special Forces operative who now works as a mercenary. His world comes crashing down when evil scientist Ajax (Ed Skrein) tortures, disfigures and transforms ...more - 22Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Anthony Edwards
- Released: 1986
- Directed by: Tony Scott
The Top Gun Naval Fighter Weapons School is where the best of the best train to refine their elite flying skills. When hotshot fighter pilot Maverick (Tom Cruise) is sent to the school, his reckless ...more - 23Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, David Wenham
- Released: 2006
- Directed by: Zack Snyder
In 480 B.C. a state of war exists between Persia, led by King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), and Greece. At the Battle of Thermopylae, Leonidas (Gerard Butler), king of the Greek city state of Sparta, ...more - 24Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rae Dawn Chong, Dan Hedaya
- Released: 1985
- Directed by: Mark L. Lester
Retired Special Forces soldier John Matrix (Arnold Schwarzenegger) lives with daughter Jenny (Alyssa Milano) in isolation, but his privacy is disturbed by former commander Franklin Kirby (James ...more - 25Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold
- Released: 1994
- Directed by: James Cameron
Secretly a spy but thought by his family to be a dull salesman, Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is tracking down nuclear missiles in the possession of Islamic jihadist Aziz (Art Malik). Harry's ...more
