Top 10 Greatest Action Films of All Time

George Miller's 2015 post-apocalyptic masterwork earned $375M worldwide and won 6 Academy Awards including Best Film Editing. Shot largely in Namibia with practical effects, its 97% Rotten Tomatoes score makes it the highest-rated action film ever made.

Gareth Evans' 2011 Indonesian action film earned $9.1M on a $1.1M budget and revolutionised fight choreography worldwide. Iko Uwais' pencak silat martial art was unknown outside Indonesia before this film made it globally famous.

James Cameron's 1991 sequel grossed $520M worldwide and won 4 Academy Awards. At a cost of $94M it was the first film to spend over $100M on visual effects, pioneering liquid-metal CGI that permanently changed cinema.

Michael Mann's 1995 crime epic starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro grossed $187M worldwide. The downtown LA bank heist shootout remains the most realistic gunfight in film history, and the diner scene was the first time Pacino and De Niro shared the screen.

Chad Stahelski's 2014 film earned $88M on a $20M budget and spawned three sequels plus the Ballerina spin-off. Keanu Reeves' gun-fu style defined a decade of action cinema and the Continental mythology created one of the richest action universes in film.

James Cameron's 1986 sequel grossed $131M on an $18M budget and won 2 Academy Awards. Sigourney Weaver's Ripley became cinema's defining female action hero, earning a rare Best Actress Oscar nomination for an action performance.

Christopher Nolan's 2008 superhero action film grossed $1.005 billion worldwide, becoming the first comic-book film to cross $1B. Heath Ledger posthumously won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his iconic portrayal of the Joker.

Ang Lee's 2000 wuxia epic earned $213M worldwide on a $17M budget and won 4 Academy Awards including Best Foreign Language Film. It introduced Western audiences to wire-fu choreography by Yuen Woo-ping, influencing The Matrix and dozens of subsequent films.

Ridley Scott's 2000 Roman epic grossed $460M worldwide and won 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe. The colosseum action sequences set a new standard for large-scale battle choreography in the digital age.

George Miller's 2015 post-apocalyptic masterwork earned $375M worldwide and won 6 Academy Awards including Best Film Editing. Shot largely in Namibia with practical effects, its 97% Rotten Tomatoes score makes it the highest-rated action film ever made.

Gareth Evans' 2011 Indonesian action film earned $9.1M on a $1.1M budget and revolutionised fight choreography worldwide. Iko Uwais' pencak silat martial art was unknown outside Indonesia before this film made it globally famous.

James Cameron's 1991 sequel grossed $520M worldwide and won 4 Academy Awards. At a cost of $94M it was the first film to spend over $100M on visual effects, pioneering liquid-metal CGI that permanently changed cinema.

Michael Mann's 1995 crime epic starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro grossed $187M worldwide. The downtown LA bank heist shootout remains the most realistic gunfight in film history, and the diner scene was the first time Pacino and De Niro shared the screen.

Chad Stahelski's 2014 film earned $88M on a $20M budget and spawned three sequels plus the Ballerina spin-off. Keanu Reeves' gun-fu style defined a decade of action cinema and the Continental mythology created one of the richest action universes in film.

James Cameron's 1986 sequel grossed $131M on an $18M budget and won 2 Academy Awards. Sigourney Weaver's Ripley became cinema's defining female action hero, earning a rare Best Actress Oscar nomination for an action performance.

Christopher Nolan's 2008 superhero action film grossed $1.005 billion worldwide, becoming the first comic-book film to cross $1B. Heath Ledger posthumously won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his iconic portrayal of the Joker.

Ang Lee's 2000 wuxia epic earned $213M worldwide on a $17M budget and won 4 Academy Awards including Best Foreign Language Film. It introduced Western audiences to wire-fu choreography by Yuen Woo-ping, influencing The Matrix and dozens of subsequent films.

Ridley Scott's 2000 Roman epic grossed $460M worldwide and won 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe. The colosseum action sequences set a new standard for large-scale battle choreography in the digital age.