Five of the Best Action Movies

Everyone’s got their favourite action flick, and there are loads to choose from, depending on your type of action. Car chases, shoot ‘em ups, alien invasions, and a bus that can’t slow down; the action category includes a broad range of sub genres like:

• Epics – classics, often set in historical times where the persistent hero goes to any length to achieve their goal e.g. Ben Hur, Gladiator.
• Spy – secret missions, unseen enemies and gadgets galore e.g. any of the Bond films.
• Sci-Fi – while they may be set in galaxies far, far away, space is a great place for action e.g. Star Wars, Alien.
• Catastrophe – there’s nothing like a good disaster to stir up some action e.g. The Perfect Storm, The Day After Tomorrow.
• Thrillers – including crime, mystery and horror, this sub-genre often revolves around a race against time e.g. Lethal Weapon, The Fugitive.
• And let’s not forget superheros, martial arts, westerns and video game-inspired movies.

So. Much. Action.

In no particular order, here’s five of the best action movies that became genre-defining and are sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Director: James Cameron

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong

Famous quote: “Hasta la vista, baby.”

Arnie’s back as The Terminator, this time playing for the goodies. His mission, to travel back in time and protect John Connor from the shape-shifting liquid metal T-1000 Terminator, in turn putting a stop to the future robot uprising. Debate rages about the best scene (as there are plenty), but who can forget Sarah, John and T-800 being pursued by the relentless T-1000 after escaping from the hospital. A scene so good it was parodied by The Simpsons, in ‘Homer Loves Flanders’.

Director: George Miller

Cast: Charlize Theron, Tom Hardy, Nicholas Holt

Famous quote: “Oh, what a day... what a lovely day!”

The desolate, post-apocalyptic Aussie wasteland so familiar in the Mad Max franchise was welcome back with open arms on the big screen last year. Winning a swag of industry awards, including six Oscars, this a film that takes the idea of a road journey to hair-raising, V8-roaring, guitar-shredding new heights.

In a change of pace from the predecessors, Max (Tom Hardy) plays somewhat of a second fiddle to Furiosa (Charlize Theron) whose enigmatic presence adds a real depth to the film, with the reluctant team taking the weird world head-on. Simply unmissable.

Director: John McTiernan

Cast: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia

Famous quote: “Welcome to the party, pal!”

The perfect movie for the festive season. It’s Christmas Eve, and NYPD’s John McClane (Bruce Willis) heads to the company Chrissy party of his estranged wife. Shock horror, a group of terrorists have stormed the building and taken the party goers hostage. It’s over to McClane, to make the most of the building’s 39 floors, lift shaft, air ducting, and his own wit to save the day.

Director: Jan de Bont

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper

Famous quote: “Guts'll get you so far, then they'll get you killed.”

LAPD cops Jack Traven and Harry Temple rescue a group of executives trapped in a sabotaged elevator, destroying bomb-extortionist Howard Payne's ransom demands. Payne seeks revenge in a challenge for Traven: a bomb on a city bus which when the bus reaches 50 mph becomes armed. If the bus drops below 50, or if any of the passengers try to escape, it will explode. Hectic.

Director: Steven Spielberg

Cast: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman

Famous quote: “Snakes. Why'd it have to be snakes?”

Archaeologist and ruggedly good-looking Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is hired by the US Government to beat the Nazis in the race to find the legendary Ark of the Covenant. This is old school action at its finest – Nazis, snakes, romance, fisticuffs, and one of the most iconic openings in movie history – the boulder chase.

There are plenty of action films out there, waiting for you to stream them. With Optus SubHub, you can bring your streaming subscriptions to one place and save. The more you have, the more you save. And with Paramount Plus and Netflix soon to join Prime Video, you’ll get access to more movies than you can shake a never-ending clip of ammo at.

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