Who are the best action directors in film history? This is your chance to decide. Making good action movies is a difficult task. For starters, it requires a strong script, so that the action has a solid story surrounding it. Next, as all the top action directors know, you have to possess a vision for how the action sequences will work. Without that, you end up with a jumbled mess. Finally, after getting all the necessary footage, a director needs to work closely with an editor to make sure the sequences have the tight pacing they need. Accomplishing all of this is a difficult task, at best.
Some famous action directors work solely within this genre. Michael Bay is a good example. Others, like William Friedkin and Ridley Scott, work in all kinds of genres, with action just being one. Directors such as John Woo have very distinct styles that are easily identifiable across their filmographies. At the opposite end of the spectrum are people like Kathryn Bigelow, who adjust their style to the material. Regardless of the approach, all of them have displayed a firm grasp on how to excite audiences.
Vote for the action directors you think are the best in film history from the list below. Don't see your favorite? Add them to the list, then check back later to see how other users rank it.
1
The Terminator (1984)
Aliens (1986)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1992)
True Lies (1994)
Avatar (2009)
2
Predator (1987)
Die Hard (1988)
Last Action Hero (1993)
Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)
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2111A Better Tomorrow (1986)
The Killer (1989)
Hard Target (1993)
Broken Arrow (1996)
Face/Off (1997)
Mission: Impossble II (2000
4
Mad Max (1979)
The Road Warrior (1981)
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
5
Escape from New York (1991)
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
They Live (1988)
Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)
6
179Renny Harlin
Die Hard 2 (1990)
Cliffhanger (1993)
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
Deep Blue Sea (1999)
12 Rounds (2009)
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Robocop (1987)
Total Recall (1990)
Starship Troopers (1997)
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El Mariachi (1992)
Desperado (1995)
Spy Kids (2001)
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)
Sin City (2005)
Machete (2010)
Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
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Blue Steel (1990)
Point Break (1991)
The Hurt Locker (2008)
Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
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127Black Rain (1989)
Gladiator (2000)
Black Hawk Down (2001)
Robin Hood (2010)
12
94Richard Donner
Superman (1978)
Lethal Weapon (1987)
Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)
Assassins (1995)
Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)
16 Blocks (2006)
13
Running Scared (1986)
The Presidio (1988)
Timecop (1994)
Sudden Death (1995)
End of Days (1999)
14
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Straw Dogs (1971)
The Getaway (1972)
15
Lock, Stock, and Twi Smoking Barrels (1998)
Revolver (2005)
Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)
16
The French Connection (1974)
Sorcerer (1977)
To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)
Rampage (1987)
17
108District B13 (2004)
Taken (2008)
From Paris with Love (2010)
Peppermint (2018)
18
GoldenEye (1995)
The Mask of Zorro (1998)
Casino Royale (2006)
Green Lantern (2011)
The Foreigner (2017
19
Dirty Harry (1971)
Telefon (1977)
Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
20
Seconds (1966)
French Connection II (1975)
Black Sunday (1977)
Ronin (1998)
Reindeer Games (2000)
21
The Warriors (1979)
48 Hrs (1982)
Red Heat (1988)
Trespass (1992)
Bullet to the Head (2012)
22
The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Green Zone (2010)
Captain Phillips (2013)
Jason Bourne (2016)
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The Rundown (2003)
Battleship (2012)
Lone Survivor (2013)
Patriots Day (2016)
Mile 22 (2018)
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Transporter 3 (2008)
Columbiana (2011)
Taken 2 (2012)
Taken 3 (2014)
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