Best Action Scenes in Movies and TV

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Action Scenes We Love

fight-scenes — Clay Enos/Warner Bros.; Andrew Cooper/Miramax; Warner Bros.; Everett Collection; Helen Sloan/HBO

From cinematic classics like Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest to current favorites like Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman and HBO's epic fantasy series, Game of Thrones, here are 27 action scenes that get our blood pumping.

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Crop Duster Scene (North by Northwest, 1959)

NORTH BY NORTHWEST, Cary Grant, 1959 — Everett Collection

The setting: a remote Indiana crossroads. The time: the middle of the day. The build-up: endlessly tense. Nevermind that it makes little sense narratively, when Cary Grant steps off a bus for a mysterious rural rendezvous and is terrorized by a menacing, low-flying crop duster strafing bullets in Alfred Hitchcock’s wrong-man classic, it’s pure cat-and-mouse escapism. It’s a rare moment when a Grant character looked shaken and stirred. – Chris Nashawaty

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Chariot Race (Ben-Hur, 1959)

BEN-HUR, Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, 1959 — Everett Collection

Director William Wyler replicated ancient Jerusalem at Cinecitta in Rome, sand was shipped in from Mexico, horses brought from Yugoslavia. The result: pure Hollywood — and arguably the most kinetic cinematic spectacle of the 20th century. The Ben-Hur chariot race isn’t just nine minutes of whip-cracking, shoot-the-works adrenalin, it’s the moment the modern action scene was born. – Chris Nashawaty

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Car Chase (Bullitt, 1968)

BULLITT, Steve McQueen, 1968 — Everett Collection

Before The French Connection, there was Bullitt — further proof that any cool action scene could be made infinitely cooler with the addition of Steve McQueen in a turtleneck. In this iconic car chase through the hilly streets of San Francisco, director Peter Yates puts you behind the wheel of McQueen’s Mustang GT. With every high-speed jump and hubcap that goes flying off, you feel weightless. – Chris Nashawaty

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Car Chase (The French Connection, 1971)

THE FRENCH CONNECTION, Gene Hackman, 1971, in the famous car chase scene. TM & Copyright (c) 20th Ce — 20th Century Fox/Everett Collection

The engine-roaring, tire-squealing, car chase under the elevated train tracks in William Friedkin’s 1971 Best Picture winner has become shorthand for pedestrians-be-damned hot pursuit. Shot in New York City (partly on uncleared streets), it’s five minutes of white-knuckle mayhem that feels terrifyingly real. Gene Hackman’s facial expressions (and a mother with a baby carriage) sell the danger. – Chris Nashawaty

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Rescue of Princess Leia (Star Wars: A New Hope, 1977)

From stormtroopers who can’t hit the broadside of a barn to witty banter (both Han and Leia have their sarcasm turned up to maximum levels), the shoot-out and subsequent dive into the trash compactor capture the essence of what makes the Star Wars films thrilling and fun. When Leia tells Han, “Into the garbage shoot, flyboy,” we see a princess bucking the trope of the “damsel-in-distress.” With this moment, a singular action heroine (and inspiration to generations of women) is born. Who doesn’t want to be Leia taking over her own rescue mission and trading barbs with the roguish Han Solo? – Maureen Lenker

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Truck Chase (Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981)

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg conceived of the Indiana Jones films as an homage to 1940s serial adventures they loved as kids (and the film itself features numerous classic action set pieces, including the opening boulder sequence). But this truck chase is pure classic Western with Indy giving chase on horseback. The combination of the John Williams score and old-fashioned Hollywood stunt work makes for a thrilling sequence where we get to watch our hero punch Nazis out of cars and use his trusty bullwhip to hold on for dear life. – Maureen Lenker

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John McClane Jumps Off Nakatomi Tower (Die Hard, 1988)

DIE HARD, Bruce Willis, 1988, TM & Copyright (c) 20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved." — Everett Collection

After fighting terrorists, navigating an elevator shaft and air duct, and walking through broken glass, John McClane (Bruce Willis) has to do the impossible – jump off the top of Nakatomi Tower (and survive) before it explodes. With much swearing and the promise that he’ll “never even think about going up in a tall building again,” McClane ties himself to a fire hose and makes a leap of faith. The moment doesn’t necessarily get as much reference as the oft-quoted “Yippee-ki-yay-mother-f---er,” but it’s memorable for its chutzpah and outlandishness. – Maureen Lenker

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Vault Heist (Mission: Impossible, 1996)

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, Tom Cruise, 1996. (c) Paramount Pictures/ Courtesy: Everett Collection. — Tom Cruise in 'Mission: Impossible'. Everett Collection

There’s been no shortage of movie characters breaking into a vault, but none have sweated it out quite like Ethan Hunt. For the Mission: Impossible franchise, Tom Cruise has performed his death-defying stunts, and yet, hanging closer to the ground than he’s use to is still the franchise’s tensest moment. – Derek Lawrence

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Slo-Mo Bullet Dodge (The Matrix, 1999)

Matrix (1999)Keanu Reeves — Keanu Reeves' Neo in the famous bullet time sequence from 'The Matrix'. Warner Bros.

Possessing what would become perhaps the most iconic visual of the series is Keanu Reeves’ bent-over-backward bullet-dodge AND Trinity’s best line in the whole series: “Dodge this.” - Alex Heigl

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Buffy vs. Faith (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 1999)

Faith’s season-long turn to the dark side culminates in her poisoning Angel, and the only cure is the blood of a Slayer, leaving Buffy no choice but to stage a super Slayer showdown (and wear hot red leather pants). The knockdown, drag-ut fight tears through Faith’s apartment and onto the rooftop where a desperate Buffy ends up giving Faith her knife back—in the gut. Too bad Faith escapes on a passing truck, leaving Buffy no closer to curing her true love—and leaving viewers with one hell of a cliffhanger. – Aaron Morales

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Battle of Helm’s Deep (Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 2001)

Lord of The Rings: Two Towers — Pierre Vinet/New Line

Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy is packed with epic action moments — think Eowyn stabbing the Witch-King, Boromir’s death, Legolas taking down that Oliphaunt — but the Battle of Helm’s Deep is not only one of the most memorable moments in the entire series, but one of most epic battle scenes ever filmed. From the initial Uruk-hai charge to the triumphant arrival of Gandalf, it’s a masterpiece of levity, tragedy, and, ultimately, victory. Plus, there’s that totally gnarly scene of Legolas shield surfing. Sick, bro. – Devan Coggan

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Treetop Fight (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, 2000)

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)Zhang Ziyi (L) and Chow Yun-Fat — Chan Kam Chuen/Sony Pictures Classics

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon pulled the rare one-two of making a blockbuster from a mostly-niche genre (Chinese wuxia) and investing every far-fetched visual (like Chow Yun-Fat serenely floating around a bamboo forest) with balletic grace and emotional resonance. – Alex Heigl

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The Bride vs. Crazy 88 (Kill Bill, 2003)

Kill Bill: Vol. 1Uma Thurman — Andrew Cooper/Miramax

Quentin Tarantino’s love of cartoonish, pulpy violence reaches its apex in this orgiastic brawl so bloody it was originally shown in black-and-white. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, they say – and neither does an entire room of suited assassins, apparently. – Christian Holub

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News Team Brawl (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, 2004)

Shot over the course of one sweltering L.A. day, Anchorman’s delirious, cameo-packed homage to The Warriors, Gangs of New York and The Blackboard Jungle clearly has as much reverence for the tropes it utilizes as it does fun with them. All together now: “That escalated quickly." – Alex Heigl

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Construction Yard Chase (Casino Royale, 2006)

James Bond movies have always been exotic, but this elaborate chase sequence through a Madagascar construction yard and onto the Nambutu embassy takes it up several notches. In his first go-round as 007, Daniel Craig pursues his target by tractor, beam and crane before an utterly explosive ending. – Dan Heching

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Naked Bathhouse Fight (Eastern Promises, 2007)

When Viggo Mortensen has to fight off two would-be assassins while naked in a bathhouse, the result is a battle stripped of all coordination, fancy weaponry, and even clothes – all that’s left is pure animal violence, and the certainty that you’ll never go into a bathhouse without looking both ways again. – Christian Holub

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Prison Transfer (The Dark Knight, 2008)

DA Harvey Dent is being transported to prison after falsely coming out as the Batman, and the Joker and his crew are trying to capture him while en route. Batman, opting for his slimmer Batorcycle, essentially trip the Joker's semi-truck with his grappling hooks, causing it to flip straight into the air and land with a thud. Using zero CGI, the never-been-done-before stunt was the perfect way to end a battle that was mainly bazooka explosions and gunfire. – Eric King

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Zero-G Hallway Fight (Inception, 2010)

Here's that Nolan again. Given the director's distaste for CGI (seen just prior, with The Dark Knight action sequence), poor Joseph Gordon-Levitt had to know he was in for something when he saw the words “zero-gravity fight” in his character’s script pages. He spent two weeks training for the scene, which was filmed in — of course — an actual giant centrifuge. It’s as dizzying and mind-bending as anything else in the film, and that’s saying something. – Alex Heigl

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Rio Heist (Fast Five, 2011)

Fast Five — the franchise’s consensus best film — marked the Fast & Furious crew’s official transition from street racers to superheroes. And while subsequent films have literally taken the action to new heights, there’s nothing like your first crazy stunt, especially when it involves dragging a safe through the streets of Rio. – Derek Lawrence

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Elevator Fight Scene (Captian America: Winter Soldier, 2014)

fb_comicon_s_t_gr17_wt12_080613.090263 — Marvel

Where the Avengers spend their time fighting off robot armies, Captain America’s solo concerns are more immediate – as embodied in this claustrophobic fight scene where the hero takes down an entire elevator of his former friends with visceral in-your-face attacks. As he himself puts it to Frank Grillo’s traitorous Crossbones – it feels personal. – Christian Holub

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Church Shootout (Kingsman: The Secret Service, 2014)

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)(l-r) Colin Firth — 20th Century FOX

There is a lot of violence in Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman, but no scene can come close to the brutal, bloody church sequence in which Colin Firth’s brainwashed Harry takes out an entire congregation of hateful, intolerant worshippers. As Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” blares in the background, Firth embarks on a hyper-violent, impeccably choreographed massacre, all shot with a single camera. You’ll never look at Mr. Darcy the same way again. – Devan Coggan

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Quicksilver Slo-Mo Scene (X-Men: Days of Future Past, 2014)

BL5U3950.CR2 — Alan Markfield/20th Century Fox

To the mellow tune of Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle,” this super-powered scene deftly captures the elasticity of time and errant playfulness of Quicksilver (a.k.a. Magneto’s son), as he casually zips around, rearranging bullets and stealing hats for one of the best — and quickest — jailbreak scenes ever. – Dan Heching

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Nightclub Fight (John Wick, 2014)

It’s funny that in the sea of John Wick’s over-the-top stylization of everything from lighting to subtitles, the unfussiest thing about it is the fight choreography. No wire, no overt CGI — just a man who’s very good at killing people, doing precisely that, as efficiently as possible. – Alex Heigl

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Sandstorm Car Chase (Mad Max: Fury Road, 2015)

George Miller's Oscar-winning film is basically one very long, very awesome action sequence. But the sandstorm car chase, which happens after Furiosa (Charlize Theron) escapes with Immortan Joe's enslaved wives, is incredible, visceral, and the best evidence that Miller is perhaps Hollywood's preeminent action director, even in his 70s. -- Christopher Rosen

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Deadpool Opening (Deadpool, 2016)

Every aspect of Deadpool’s masterfully chaotic opening scene — including the placeholder credits like “God’s perfect idiot,” which was eventually just left in — announced that the film had little respect for, well, anything, except its own seriously kick-ass set pieces. – Alex Heigl

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Battle of the Bastards (Game of Thones, 2016)

GOT609_092515_HS_DSC_8689[1 — Helen Sloan/HBO

The biggest episode of Game of Thrones ever, and quite literally. It took 600 crew members, 70 horses, 25 stunt persons, and 25 days to produce last season's standout episode, a long-awaited face-off between Jon Snow and Ramsay Bolton. -- Christopher Rosen

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Wonder Woman walking across No Man’s Land (Wonder Woman, 2017)

We all knew how badass Wonder Woman was, but her crossing of No Man’s Land is when Steve Trevor and the Germans realized it. From the shedding of her “blend-in” look to her casually smacking bullets away, it was the perfect way to introduce the world to the demigoddess. – Derek Lawrence