As obvious as it might be to say, action movies live or die based on whether they can successfully deliver one thing: action scenes. It can be disappointing to sit down to watch an action movie, only to come away from it feeling like it didn't deliver enough satisfying action. Whether it's through car chases, big explosions, sword fights, shootouts, or martial arts combat - or some/all of the above - action movie fans will want to have their fill of it, and arguably, everything else is secondary.
For those seeking movies with high-quality action in large quantities, the following titles are all worth watching. Each of them is well-paced and frequently exciting, providing action that either is non-stop or feels non-stop to the point where the downtime may well be non-existent. In all honesty, action junkies probably can't ask for much more than that.
1 'Hardcore Henry' (2015)
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Few movies have as consistent a feeling of watching someone play a live-action video game as Hardcore Henry. It's honestly the best way to describe it, given that there are very few moments in the film that aren't part of some big action set piece, and also given the fact that it's all shot from the title character's point of view, much like a first-person shooter.
The plot also harkens back to the well-worn premise found all the way back in the original Super Mario Bros: the hero needing to rescue a loved one from an unambiguously evil antagonist. Along the way, viewers are treated to ludicrous action scene after ludicrous action scene, which may even prove exhausting to those not ready for something so relentless.
2 'John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum' (2019)
Good action movie sequels know how to benefit from hitting the ground running. The hero, the world, the tone, and other supporting characters have all been established, so a sequel can deliver thrills right from the start, given all the narrative heavy lifting has already been done. This is something that John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum does excellently.
Thanks to having a cliffhanger at the end of the second film in the series, the third John Wick starts crazy and just builds and builds. There's more action in the opening 20 minutes than many action movies have full-stop, and the pace hardly lets up after these early scenes, making John Wick 3 one of the best (and most over-the-top) action movies of the 2010s.
3 'Five Shaolin Masters' (1974)
Exploring the world of classic martial arts cinema is something every action movie fan owes it to themselves to do. And no studio's ever put out as many great martial arts movies as the Hong Kong-based Shaw Brothers Studio did, with 1974's Five Shaolin Masters being one of their best and most consistently action-packed titles.
It takes place immediately after a deadly attack on the famed Shaolin Temple leaves few survivors. Five young pupils who did make it out with their lives are on the run from enemy forces, eventually regrouping and leading a revolutionary counter-assault against those who wish them dead. That are enough action scenes in this 105-minute film to fill at least three to four slightly less insane action movies, making Five Shaolin Masters a thrilling and non-stop martial arts movie.
4 'Avengers: Infinity War' (2018)
10 years of MCU movies built up to Avengers: Infinity War in 2018, which saw the various heroes introduced over the past decade face their most difficult foe yet. His name was Thanos, and he was a giant purple alien who wanted to solve the universe's overpopulation problem by eradicating half of all lifeforms in an instant.
Thanks to having had so many movies worth of build-up, Infinity War was able to be all action nearly constantly, and with little downtime. Just about every character gets a chance to shine and flex their skills in combat, making for an explosive and exciting superhero movie that feels like a rollercoaster ride... maybe like the kind you'd find at a theme park, but like, a really, really good theme park.
5 'Planet Terror' (2007)
A throwback to the crazy exploitation cinema of the 1970s, Planet Terror is relentless, gory, intentionally trashy fun from start to finish. It's about a town that's hit with a highly infectious virus that essentially turns people into zombies, with those who don't immediately succumb having to fight their way to survival, escaping the hordes of infected at all costs.
It was directed by Robert Rodriguez and formed one part of the double feature known as Grindhouse, with the other film being Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof. Interestingly, that one also serves as an exploitation movie homage, but features far less action and more of a focus on dialogue (the climactic car chase is insanely impressive, though).
6 'Mad Max: Fury Road' (2015)
The Mad Max series began in 1979 with a film that wasn't quite an action movie. It was more of a revenge thriller in a post-apocalyptic setting, and only contained a small amount of action near its climax. Its sequel in 1981 bumped things up considerably in the action department, and from there, the series hasn't looked back.
It continued to build until 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road, the fourth installment in the series, the most action-packed of the bunch, and also the best Mad Max movie by a decent margin. Much of the movie is one extended chase sequence, filled with crazy stunts and huge explosions, all of it beautifully filmed and consistently visceral. There's indeed a strong argument to be made that it's one of the finest action films of all time.
7 'Godzilla: Final Wars' (2004)
Plenty of Godzilla movies are entertaining because of how crazy they get, but none are as gleefully crazy as 2004's Godzilla: Final Wars. Even if Godzilla himself wasn't in it, it would still be a wild sci-fi/action movie, with a plot about alien invaders that feels like a strange mash-up of Star Wars, X-Men, and The Matrix.
However, this was made to commemorate 50 years since the original Godzilla film, and so of course it delivers when it comes to the monster side of things. The titular kaiju gets to have a rematch with almost all the foes he faced in previous movies, leading to one crazy monster battle after another. It's exhausting stuff, but in the best way possible.
8 'Kill Bill Vol. 1' (2003)
Kill Bill might be intended to be one movie (and it does tell a single story), though it was divided into two volumes when released, with the first coming out in 2003 and the second in 2004. This ends up making each half feel linked when it comes to narrative, but wildly different in terms of genre, with Vol. 1 serving as a martial arts/samurai movie homage, and Vol. 2 feeling more like a modern Western.
It also ensures that the bulk of the action takes place in Vol. 1. The quest for revenge may continue in Vol. 2, but The Bride does most of her fighting in Vol. 1, with a great deal of violent bloodshed and spectacularly over-the-top action playing out throughout much of Kill Bill Vol. 1's fast-paced 111-minute runtime.
9 'Shogun Assassin' (1980)
There are six movies in the original Japanese Lone Wolf and Cub series, with all providing excellent (and very bloody) samurai action. It's a series that follows a samurai whose wife is murdered and his life ruined by those he used to serve, so he goes rogue seeking revenge on the people who wronged him, taking his infant son along with him.
The first two movies in the Lone Wolf and Cub series were edited down into Shogun Assassin, with scenes given an English dub as well. While most viewers would be better off just watching the two original movies, Shogun Assassin is a decent re-edit, and given it ends up condensing two movies' worth of action scenes into one 85-minute movie, it ends up having almost non-stop fight sequences.
10 'The Raid' (2011)
Pure action movies done well are a wonderful thing, and action cinema doesn't get much purer or more straightforward than 2011's The Raid. It follows a squad of elite police officers who find themselves trapped in an apartment complex run by a crime lord. When the crime lord offers a large reward in exchange for the officers' lives, they need to fight their way out of the building to avoid certain death.
Once the action starts, it doesn't stop until the movie's over. It's filled with bloody, brutal, and impeccably choreographed hand-to-hand combat, and while some scenes may make even hardened action fans wince, it's worth it to see the remarkable martial arts on display.