Every genre has classics: movies that sit at the vertex because they have all the necessary ingredients that fans always look forward to. In the action movie category, several examples, such as Die Hard and Predator, have exceeded expectations. Although many action movies have recently begun assimilating elements of other genres, they often remain faithful to what the fans want.

Thanks to their high quality, such films transcend eras and trends, hence they have remained as entertaining as they were during their premiere years. These classic action movies not only featured the biggest names of the time in starring roles but also had great storylines that kept viewers entertained, even when characters weren’t engaging in fisticuffs and shootouts.

Updated on March 19, 2024, by Ajay Aravind: The action movie genre is as old as cinema itself, arguably beginning with 1903's The Great Train Robbery. With the sheer surplus of action features being produced in the 21st century, however, modern audiences might have forgotten the classics that helped lay the foundations for the genre. As such, we've updated this list with some more relevant information.

10 Bullitt Started the Iconic Cop-In-Cool-Car Trope

From The Sand Pebbles to The Great Escape, Steve McQueen has enough films that qualify for a place among the best classic action movies, but it’s Bullitt that’s the most deserving. Several things about it are praise-worthy, but it’s the extended chase scene from San Francisco to Brisbane that will forever be iconic. Lt. Frank Bullitt basically created the cop-in-cool-car template that is often used nowadays.

With his Dodge Charger, Lt. Frank Bullitt maneuvers the tarmac with expertise while evading two mob hitmen. He literally makes his car his sidekick too, showing up with it in many other places and striking a few poses with it. On top of that, Bullitt’s persistence and unwavering nature have been adopted by many tough action movie cops like Riggs from Lethal Weapon. That said, Bullitt doesn't have the explosive action required to be beat out other classic action films.

9 Air Force One Puts POTUS in the Line of Fire

In most action movies, the heroes come from specific professions. They are lawmen, in-ring fighters, martial arts experts, special forces members, or spies, among others. Then there is James Marshall, a friendly president who has high popularity ratings and happens to be a loving family man. The Air Force One protagonist finds himself in trouble after the terrorist Ego Korushnov attacks his plane.

What follows is the trope where the baddies overpower everyone else, creating room for the hero to shine. With all the responsibility left to him, President Marshall outdoes himself. Air Force One offers more than just hand-to-hand duels. It delivers an alternative to the cockpit and cabin mayhem, a couple of incredible aerial dogfights, and even features MiG-29s and MC-130E.

8 The General Is One of Buster Keaton's Greatest Accomplishments

Buster Keaton’s filmography mostly comprises comedies, but The General features the actor pushing himself to the limits to serve something different. Adapted from William Pittenger’s 1989 book, The Great Locomotive Chase, the movie follows the frantic and courageous train engineer, Johnnie Gray, as he pursues Union soldiers who have taken his lover.

Action fans would be hard-pressed to find another hero who's as resolute as Johnnie since he tries everything, from riding a velocipede to a car, to ensure he gets to his lover. Along the way, he has to defend himself, resulting in some amazing fight sequences in which the hopeless romantic maintains a deadpan facial expression. The General is currently considered one of the greatest movies in cinematic history.

7 Face/Off Is a Masterful Blend of Remarkable Direction and Casting

In Face/Off, John Woo’s penchant for violence fits well with John Travolta’s aggression and Nicholas Cage’s corniness. Additionally, the writers do their best to make the flick feel smarter than many of the popular 90s action movies. For example, the names of the criminal brothers, Castor and Pollux, are from Greek mythology, where Zeus transformed Castor and Pollux into the constellation now known as Gemini.

The plot — where FBI agent Sean Archer and criminal Castor Troy take up each other’s identities — also feels reinvigorating to this day. The two easily fit into each other’s lives, creating all forms of trouble. On top of that, there are dozens of iconic moments, notably the church scene where Troy orchestrates a choir. Face/Off was even nominated for Best Sound Editing at the Academy Awards.

6 The French Connection Is a Rare Action Movie With a Best Picture Oscar

Rarely do action movies win Best Picture at the Oscars, but The French Connection scooped the accolade plus others such as Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film Editing. Fans might know director William Friedkin for his work on The Exorcist, which became the first horror movie to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. In The French Connection, Gene Hackman shines as the NYPD’s Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, who does everything in his power to apprehend a French drug lord.

From the brilliant shots of the Copacabana to those of the New York underbelly, there’s a lot for the eyes to feast on in terms of cinematography. Still, the best part of The French Connection is the train chase scene, where Doyle exhibits arrogance and impunity by knocking everything over in the streets with his car as he pursues his target and tries to make sure the criminal doesn’t disappear.

5 First Blood Spawned a Massive Franchise That Remains Ongoing

First Blood serves the important purpose of raising awareness of the plight of war veterans. It also proves why Sylvester Stallone deserves to be one of the most adored action stars. Most importantly, it’s much better than David Morell’s book. First, the iconic knife isn’t in the novel. Second, the protagonist has proper motivations in the movie.

The exclusive torture scene, which triggers Rambo’s PTSD, is what inspires him to escape from the police station and head to the forest. Even better is the fact that he has a no-kill rule in the film as opposed to his murderous nature in the novel. He simply injures the rogue cops instead of killing them. First Blood's popularity soon gave way to the Rambo franchise, but mere box office success is still not enough to help it beat out its peers.

4 Dirty Harry Gives Clint Eastwood The Role of a Lifetime

Clint Eastwood earned global fame for playing the hero in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, widely considered to be one of the greatest movies ever made. However, the actor later made a smooth transition from Westerns to action flicks in Dirty Harry where he plays the SFPD cop, Harry Callahan. The character is an officer who would find it hard to survive in modern times, given his brutality, but his end-justified-means approach made sense to 1970s audiences.

Harry Callahan is pitted against the Scorpio Killer, who finds glee in murdering and issuing threats. For that reason, rules have to be broken while trying to stop him. Dirty Harry also has one of the best quotes in the genre, where Harry points his 44 Magnum at a bank robber and says “'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do you, punk?" Despite Dirty Harry's enduring popularity, the movie remains somewhat controversial today.

3 Police Story Is Stuffed With Mesmerizing Action Sequences

The Hong Kong action-comedy genre began with Jackie Chan in Drunken Muster, ushering in a new age for cinema. Similarly, Police Story is so stuffed with amazing set pieces that singling out only one of them as the best one would be an injustice. From Sergeant Chan Ka-Kui hanging on the outside of a bus to him jumping all over a mall as he takes on Chu Tao’s enforcers, there’s no shortage of awesome scenes.

With the knowledge that Jackie Chan performed most of the stunts, viewers can't help but appreciate the spectacle that is on display. In addition to that, the slapstick comedy featured in Police Story doesn’t feel overdone as is always the case in the actor’s other projects. Police Story would later spawn three sequels, two of which starred Chan.

2 Die Hard Is Arguably the Most Iconic Christmas Action Movie

A villain with a sluggish baritone voice, coupled with a protagonist who appears to be having the time of his life, helps make Die Hard an action masterpiece. Bruce Willis is magnificent as the daring Lt. John McClane while Alan Rickman also impresses as the terrorist Hans Gruber, who is attempting to steal bearer bonds worth $640 million.

The events take place at the Nakatomi Plaza, hence the movie never seems all over the place. Apart from the action, the dialogue is rich, so much so that the line “Yippe Kiyay” has become a major part of pop culture. Besides that, the “failed marriage” subplot involving McClane and his estranged wife is very relatable. Besides kicking off a franchise, Die Hard is universally considered to be the best Christmas action movie in history.

1 Enter The Dragon Launched a Whole New Genre

Enter the Dragon partially covers themes such as gambling, prostitution, and drug addiction, while fully focusing on the animosity between Lee and the antagonist Han. The camera remains trained on the hero more than any other character, but that never comes off as a problem. The fight scenes are rich in technique and sound. All the appropriate shrieks are let out whenever bones get broken, whereas the movements are very calculated.

The final fight scene is especially more memorable since it not only takes place in a hall of mirrors, but Lee’s face almost gets sliced by the villain’s prosthetic hand. Thanks to its magnificence, Enter the Dragon launched a whole new genre: Bruceploitaiton. All these factors helped Enter the Dragon cement itself as the best classic action movie of all time.