The best action sequences of all time

Man this topic just jumpstarted my brain. How about the Fighting tournament in Ong Bak. Tony Jaa kicks ass. Or the trying to get to the top of the building in the Protector. Hell yeah Tony Jaa

Just a note, because it seems like that you are a new troper: If you made a post and want to add something new to your post, you can edit it, instead of multiple-posting.

That said, yes, Tony Jaa kicks ass (at times literally).

I'm a (socialist) professional writer serializing a WWII alternate history webnovel.

All time favourite, never to be topped:

With cannon shot and gun blast smash the alien. With laser beam and searing plasma scatter the alien to the stars.

Youtube is blocked here, so I have no idea what you are all linking to. :P

Personally, my choice would be from no later than the 90s, because after that, the camera moves around too much and cuts from shot to shot so fast I cant's tell what's going on easily. :)

Anyway, the best? Not sure, but the bank raid from Heat has to be up there somewhere, surely? I might've thrown in the climactic shootout in the Miami Vice movie, but that was too dark to see.

Children of Men, the bit near the end it seems.

That's like three votes for Children of Men, sounds like it'd be a winner if this were a contest.

Of course, don't you know anything about ALCHEMY?!- Twin clones of Ivan the Great

The "Candyland Massacre" (Django Unchained)

Top three:

First two:

• The final duels - Hunt for Red October.
• Anakin vs Obi-Wan - Revenge of the Sith. Yes, the prequels are shit. This sequence is not.

And winning:

• The dam attacks in The Dam Busters.

Two honourable mentions from TV:

• Battle of Bloody Gulch - Band of Brothers.
• Raid scene - True Detective.

Schild und Schwert der Partei

I offer the space battle in Guardians of the Galaxy...the first time ever a space battle didn't bore me at all.

My favourite one I already mentioned but as a second choice I will go for the big heist scene in Heat.

You want to know how to do a fast magazine change on a conventional layout AR-15 carbine or rifle, properly? Watch Val Kilmer doing it on slow motion a few times. He's really good at it.

Another of my favourites. The purely orchestral soundtrack gives it an awesomely eerie atmosphere.

With cannon shot and gun blast smash the alien. With laser beam and searing plasma scatter the alien to the stars.

Not exactly the best, but still very awesome:

I'm a (socialist) professional writer serializing a WWII alternate history webnovel.

Ong Bak II: Fighting on top of an elephant

In terms of getting maximum impact out of a minimum amount of action, this is probably the best there is:

edited 8th Sep '14 9:27:43 PM by RavenWilder

Is that right, aye?

Schild und Schwert der Partei

The entirety of Matrix Revolutions.

Seriously, that movie blows me away even today.

The problem I have with that movie is that except for the highway scene, none of the action scenes have any tension. They keep putting Neo front-and-center, and we already know he's indestructible, so none of his three fight scenes have any real weight or suspense. The highway chase works because Morpheus and Trinity are NOT superhuman Christ figures and CAN be killed, and they're up against an army of cops, two Agents who are at least as skilled as they are, and the Twins, who are ghosts and therefore indestructible. Oh, and Niobe and Ghost are in there now for some reason, too. And there they go.

Of course, don't you know anything about ALCHEMY?!- Twin clones of Ivan the Great

That was Matrix Reloaded.

Looking for some stories?

Oh. Well, there's still problems with that movie's action. Namely that it almost never involves anyone we care about. Seriously, I think the Kid and Locke get more screentime than anyone from the Neb crew.

Of course, don't you know anything about ALCHEMY?!- Twin clones of Ivan the Great

All the fights from Kung Fu Hustle are pretty great, but the one with the harpists always stood out to me.

JACKIE CHAN SET HIMSELF ON FIRE FOR THIS. COME ON.

Legend of Drunken Master, final fight scene. The guy Jackie's fighting was actually his personal bodyguard!

Include the shopping mall fight sequence from A Police Story while you're at it.

Thought we should go a little old-school.

Of course, don't you know anything about ALCHEMY?!- Twin clones of Ivan the Great

I might be biased on this one, but The Raid 2: Berandal had some of the best (and wince inducing) action scenes I've seen.

edited 22nd Sep '14 9:04:58 PM by Bleedingbreath

Seconded, that is incredible. Adore that film. The first film has the fight against the Machete Gang which is two and a half minutes of pure awesome.

Others:

• Leon: The fight from which the memetic "Bring me everyone" line comes, where one guy massacres half a city police force.
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: The Battle of Hogwarts in Part 2. It's awesome. Deal with it.
• Golden Eye: The tank chase through St Petersburg. If you haven't seen it, it's exactly as amazing as the words "tank chase" imply.
• Taken: The auction through to the boat, which is one big sequence at the end. Proved that Liam Neeson actually can be a big action hero.
• Olympus Has Fallen: The entire sequence where the terrorists take the White House.

My name is Addy. Please call me that instead of my username.