10 Essential Action Movies Everyone Should See At Least Once

It’s hard to argue that movies go through trends. Westerns have risen and fallen in popularity, and the superhero craze is currently beginning to wane. However, there are some movie genres that just don’t go out of style, and sitting at the top of those elite genres is the king of movies itself: action. The action genre is timeless and abundant, with unlimited possibilities, and classics such as the John Wick franchise are even being made today.

However, because there are so many phenomenal action movies, including Speed and The Raid, deciding which ones are essential and which ones aren’t becomes a difficult task. An essential action movie must either be critically acclaimed, revolutionary, genre-defining/re-defining or deliver some of the most intense action fans have ever seen. With that being said, these ten action movies prove to be the best in those categories, making them all a must-watch.

10 ‘Enter the Dragon’ (1973)

Directed by Robert Clouse

This wouldn’t be a proper essential action movie list without a Bruce Lee movie, and while this is his only film present, it doesn’t diminish his immense legacy. There isn’t a single Lee movie better than Enter the Dragon, a classic martial arts movie about Lee getting revenge for his sister’s death. The film starts out as a sports movie, with Lee and friends entering a tournament that quickly becomes a fight to the death.

Enter the Dragon was Lee’s last movie, airing around a month after his death. This added a greater feeling of enjoyment and melancholy to the film. The movie itself is some of the most entertaining martial arts fans will ever see, adding colorful fights and extreme tension, making the film an easy watch. Enter the Dragon is one of the highest-earning movies, with an estimated $2 billion considering inflation, helping it inspire every medium, from other action movies to anime.

9 ‘Kill Bill: Vol. 1’ (2003)

Directed by Quentin Tarantino

If there were a list of essential movie directors, Quentin Tarantino would be on there, and likewise, many of his movies are also essential in their respective genres. Kill Bill: Vol.1 follows that trend by being an essential action movie. The film follows the Bride after her four-year coma at the hands of her vindictive ex-husband. Hell-bent on revenge, the Bride goes on a revenge rampage, murdering her former co-workers to try and find Bill.

It’s clear that other movies on this list helped serve as inspiration for Kill Bill. However, the film took that inspiration and created a modern take, mixing it with over-the-top gore and action. The simple revenge plot lets loose masterful storytelling in the characters, with Uma Thurman putting on her best performance, displaying a profound rage that was groundbreaking for other female action stars.

8 ‘Aliens’ (1986)

Directed by James Cameron

Seven years after the instant classic that was Alien, James Cameron followed it up with the even bigger and just as revolutionary film Aliens. The film follows Ellen Ripley as she returns to the site of the original infestation, this time with a team of marines. When the crew arrives, they only find a girl named Newt and hundreds of aliens, which Ripley and her team must fend off in an epic, intense, action-packed film.

While Thurman in Kill Bill was revolutionary, Sigourney Weaver in Aliens set the standard for female action stars, being the first and most iconic. What makes it even better is that she broke the mold at the Oscars, earning a nomination for her performance in an action movie, which rarely happens. The film itself also earned multiple Oscar nominations. Aliens is one of the most iconic sci-fi action movies with intense and unrelenting action mixed with classic horror themes and stellar visual effects.

7 ‘Hard Boiled’ (1992)

Directed by John Woo

After many criticisms of John Woo‘s movies glorifying gangsters, he sought to deliver a film glamorizing the police in Hard Boiled. After the death of his partner, a cop decides to team up with an undercover cop in a smuggling ring. As he learns the complex world of undercover life, the two cops ruthlessly fight their way to expose the triad in Woo’s final film before transitioning to Hollywood and, ultimately, his best.

There isn’t an action movie fan who hasn’t heard of Woo, the legendary director known for his classic Hong Kong movies. While the director certainly has a lot, Hard Boiled is definitely his best, with the film helping popularize gun-fu and establish many other epic Hong Kong action tropes. The film is a definitive Hong Kong action movie, painting an incredible legacy with impressive acting and legendary fights.

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6 ‘The Matrix’ (1999)

Directed by Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski

Whether fans take the blue or red pill, The Matrix would end up on this list regardless because of its visual and storytelling innovations. With most of the world living a lie, the expert hacker Thomas Anderson is sucked into the terrifying real world where machines control everything. With a group of rebels, Anderson must learn to control his powers in order to fight and conquer the evil machines and free humanity.

While many fans know The Matrix is a mind-bending visual masterpiece, it also pushed the boundaries of technical innovation in filmmaking, resulting in impressive and revolutionary techniques. Outside of the amazing action sequences, the film is also known for its perspective-altering story, which started the internet craze and questioned reality with its impactful plot. From bullet-time technology to revolutionary CGI, impressive fight choreography, and a complex story, The Matrix is one of the most essential action films.

5 ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ (1991)

Directed by James Cameron

Just like with Alien and Aliens, Cameron follows up the classic horror movie The Terminator with a groundbreaking, action-packed sequel in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. After Skynet’s failed attempts in the first film, the second film follows James Connor and a reprogrammed Terminator fighting for survival against Skynet’s second attempt at killing the future rebellion leader, a shapeshifting T-1000.

Cameron is known for pushing the technical boundaries of films, with Terminator 2 being the most expensive film at the time and the first blockbuster to have a CGI main character. This technical innovation helped start the change from practical to digital effects, opening up many new avenues to make action movies even better. With a twisting story, heartwarming dynamics, and epic big-budget action, Terminator 2 is one of the best films of its time.

4 ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ (2000)

Directed by Ang Lee

Set during the 19th-Century Qing Dynasty in China, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon stars Michelle Yeoh as Yu Shu Lien, who must track down her lover’s stolen sword. However, she isn’t the only person looking for it, as she must face off against many other enemies looking to wield the legendary sword, taking her on a grand journey across the country full of martial arts, romance, and drama.

From its impressive fight choreography, gorgeous cinematography, and beautiful story, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon deserved all the Oscars it won and then some. With ten Oscar nominations, the film earned the most of any non-English movie at that time, creating history for foreign films and defining the Wuxia genre. The film works on so many levels, making this expansive adventure a perfect martial arts movie and a must-watch for any action fan.

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3 ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ (2015)

Directed by George Miller

Decades after the classic franchise ran its course, Mad Max: Fury Road returned with a vengeance, making itself a staple of action movies and dominating the 2010s. Set in a twisted post-apocalyptic Australia years after its fall, Furiosa leads an escape, reducing the wives from the tyrannical Immortan Joe. Along the way, she forms an uneasy alliance with Max as the two engage in an epic battle for survival.

While fans don’t need to watch the originals to enjoy Fury Road, they should still do themselves a favor to see how the franchise started. Right from the start of the film, Fury Road takes fans on an exhilarating ride of mass proportions, including some of the most impressive stunt work in cinema history. With a simple story, the movie could focus solely on delivering a bombastic feature of epic action and world-class stunts, earning countless Oscar nominations and a spot as an absolutely essential action film.

2 ‘Seven Samurai’ (1954)

Directed by Akira Kurosawa

Created by the legendary director Akira Kurosawa, Seven Samurai is an intense samurai film set in 1586, during the Sengoku period in Japan. When hard times fall upon a small village, a samurai heads their call, enlisting six other warriors to help train the villagers to protect them from the inevitable swarm of bandits. With a long buildup and an incredible story, Seven Samurai is a tension-fueled, beautiful masterpiece.

As the oldest film on this list, Seven Samurai is also the most influential and groundbreaking. From inspiring countless individual legendary stories, including Star Wars, to defining the action genre itself, this movie needs to be watched by every movie fan. It may not have been the first action movie, but it is a definitive one with its iconic editing, cinematography, and atmosphere, capturing the essence of the film and ultimately revolutionizing movies.

1 ‘Die Hard’ (1988)

Directed by John McTiernan

Whether fans can decide whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie or not, they can all agree that it is a legendary action film. When policeman John McClane visits his ex-wife for Christmas Eve at her workplace’s exclusive party, a group of German terrorists take over the entire building. With no one else to help, McClane jumps into action, taking on the group himself with ingenuity, epic moments, and pure willpower.

While many 1980s movies followed the same formula of a jacked-invincible juggernaut, Die Hard wrote a new and even better recipe that would change action movies in Hollywood forever. McClane is just an ordinary guy fighting against insurmountable odds, showing vulnerability while displaying and analyzing themes of masculinity, vengeance, and gender roles. It kicked off a new era of action movies with relatable themes, enclosed environment, and enjoyable side characters. While the sequels would later become part of the problem, the first Die Hard is one of the greatest action movies of all time and an essential must-watch for everyone, even if it is just once.