Tom Jane as my favourite cinematic version of The Punisher
Mad Max: Fury Road - the recent reigning king of all action movies... yeah, part sci-fi, part road movie, but pure unadulterated action with a capital A. The 80's Mad Max flicks were hot actioners, too, in varying degrees.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day - until Fury Road came along, this was my undisputed #1 of all time. So, so close. Sci-fi backdrop and elements abound, yet fast-pace, all-out classic action scenes all over the place. The original Terminator was more a horror story, the killing machine hunting down its prey in mostly dark settings. The sequels were, I suppose, action in some way, though the sci-fi was always a key component.
Aliens - the original Alien was outright horror, essentially a slow-burn haunted house-type picture with the monster stalking its prey. This sequel amps up the pacing, and the number of creatures and action sequences. Classic stuff that spawned all the tropes for copycats to follow.
Batman: The Movie was termed an adventure back in '66, but it was designed with comic book action in mind, so I feel like if this was released today, it would fall neatly into the action genre. And as for the 80's and 90's Batman film series, yes, that's all definitely action-oriented. How about The Dark Knight Trilogy of the 2000's? I'm not as familiar with them, but they'd likely qualify, right?
Enter the Dragon? well, it's martial arts, but maybe this one inspired, influenced, and established the tropes that so many action movies to come would embrace. Right? The earlier Bruce Lee films were more "pure" martial arts. Am I a bit wishy-washy on this one?
The International - definitely! It's very James Bond-ish (in fact, I've long maintained that Clive Owen should have been the next Bond when Craig came on board that franchise). Anyway, a fun spy-action thriller.
James Bond... all of the official films (the Eon Productions) plus one non-Eon, Never Say Never Again. Bond was a man of action... a spy (sometimes), but always an agent/operative in the field, shooting, punching, kicking, you name it. I'd say between Bond and Bruce Lee, those two pioneered and defined early on what an action movie should be.
Kick-Ass - no question that this is among my favourite "superhero"-type movies in modern history. This was so unlike all the rest of them, and was perhaps the very first of its kind, inspiring other films about regular Joe's with no superpowers who throw on a mask, train to fight, and patrol the very "real" city streets. The sequel was nearly as good.
Kingsman: The Secret Service - this and its sequel are pure action in all its over-the-top gory glory. Subsequent viewings were less satisfying, but hey, these still fit the bill.
The Matrix - I couldn't convince some friends with this one, just because of all the sci-fi story points. Well, I can see their side, but I also feel like no action movie list would be complete without it. I mean, when I think of The Matrix, I picture that famous gun battle with Keanu and Trinity running up lobby walls, shooting down and kung-fu-ing that troop of soldiers.
Predator and its sequels, spin-offs, and reboots - The original was the best, with Arnold in his prime, but they all fall into the sci-fi action category. Definitely action.
The Punisher - again based on comic books, this is more straightforward with its extreme gun and hand-to-hand action violence. I've got the 80's Dolph Lundgren version, the 2004 update with Tom Jane, and its sequel, War Zone, this time with Ray Stevenson wearing the skull shirt.
Yup, that's it! I was never much a fan of Die Hard, Bourne, or even Indiana Jones flicks, so those simply never figured into my growing home video collection. And even though I find Rambo and Lethal Weapon movies entertaining when I'm in the mood, I don't like them enough to buy them... a streaming rental will do.
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