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The Most Influential Action Movies Ever Made

When The Action Work Is Done Properly, You Will Find That There Is Nothing More Entertaining And Better Than An Action Movie.

Action Movies, this genre is a complete definition of cinema; This style allows the audience to turn off the gray elements of their brain, sit back and enjoy a few hours of punches, shootings, car chases, explosions, and a delicious borderless hero.

Action movies may not have great art in terms of content, but surely when the final credits start, a smile of satisfaction will sit on your lips.

Unfortunately, the golden age of action movies seems to be over, as the $ 200 million best-selling CGI comic book movies are dominating theaters, with studios focusing their multi-billion-dollar bets on them.

Therefore, these days, the actions that used to be the bread and butter of this genre are no longer seen. Of course, over the years, blockbusters like “John Wick,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” and “The Raid” can still delight viewers over and over again.

But there is no longer a man with a gun named John McClellan, who often has a bad day with evil gangs. We now want to introduce you to the most influential action movies ever made that have influenced the film industry.

Enter The Dragon

Nearly 45 years after his death, Bruce Lee is still the most famous martial artist in cinema history and the man who introduced kung fu films to the world in the early 1970s. If you were asked to choose one of Bruce Lee’s most popular films, “Dragon Enters” would most likely come to mind immediately. Breaking barriers as the first joint production between American and Hong Kong companies, the film quickly became the most iconic and successful kung fu film of all time, grossing $ 90 million at the box office with a budget of $ 850,000. The influence of entering the Dragon is felt in the martial arts genre and the film industry in general for the rest of the decade.

Apart from commercial success, the film introduced action stars such as Jackie Chan, who entered the field of action with a small role in this work, and today many consider him the second-best martial artist after Bruce Lee. In fact, the dragon enters was directly responsible for many people who practiced martial arts. On the other hand, it contributed to the popularity of Oriental cinema in the United States. It sparked the craze for kung fu films of the 1970s, which led to countless spectacular works that have been imitated and appreciated over the years.

From Russia With Love

The second James Bond appearance on the big screen is one of the best works in the entire 50-year history of this franchise and the most important and influential one. Based on a pattern created by its predecessor, it lovingly introduced 007 from Russia as one of the greatest symbols of cinema and several key elements in the formula of the gang and the widespread espionage genre. The beginning of the film with a sequence before the screening is now a prerequisite for band films; This approach emerged from the play “From Russia With Love” by James Bond. Interestingly, many other action genre films have taken this approach to attract this product’s audience immediately.

The presence of a prominent supporting actor who physically supports the film’s hero also became a basic element in action works. The use of this agent has become so prevalent in action movies over the decades that it is now referred to as a cliché. On the other hand, unrealistic tools, which have become one of the most widely used symbols in the espionage genre, have been started and modeled on this film. Thus, with love from Russia, it both strengthened the franchise’s best-selling position and cast a great shadow over the competition for espionage works, inspiring countless similar films such as “Licensed To Kill,” “A Man from UNCLA.” “I Spy,” “The Epicrese Case,” the “Kingsman” movie series, and many more.

Bullitt

Hollywood saw a change in its filmmaking in the late 1960s. The old Hollywood conservative approach replaced the young filmmakers who told more dangerous and bitter stories. While this has been seen in many different genres, it was defined in action movies with a bullet.

Redefining the concept of car chases in the cinematic medium, Bullet’s most iconic scene is still recognized and admired as one of the greatest car action sequences, dating back almost 50 years. This index sequence shows ten relentless minutes of wet rubber and burning them, along with the effect of stunts and the work of the camera with unparalleled editing. In fact, this chase scene captures the real sense of an exciting tour that has never been seen before in a movie. Although that moment may be decisive, Bolt is much more than just a film made around a car chase.

Peter Yates, for example, uses the principle of the coolness of tone and atmosphere found in many works of cinema in the 1960s to make the most of San Francisco’s urban space, preferring to shoot in real-time and use real-world locations. Introduce the title of a character to the viewer. Therefore, the details incorporated in the action and story elements increase the sense of realism within this work. On the other hand, the role of Steve McQueen in the context of a “police against the system” has become almost a genre archetype today, thanks to the star power of this actor.

Bolt was a very inspiring element for the vibrant and star-studded anti-hero action movies of the 1970s, such as “Dirty Harry,” “French Connection,” and “Death Wish.” On the other hand, this work is the main model of machine action sequences such as “Gone in 60 Seconds” and even a fast and furious movie series. Also, the impact of this film on the action genre is still strong today through the likes of Bourne and Baby Driver and even John Wick.

The General

Undoubtedly, it is the first best-selling action film in more than 90 years that the studios continue to follow the pattern created by Buster Keaton in “The General.” According to many cinema experts, this film is the spiritual mother of all action films. Famous actors who want to risk their lives today and do stunts to entertain the audience can also be credited to Keaton and his contemporaries. This tradition continues today through people like Jackie Chan and Tom Cruise.

People often do not look at silent films as an exciting action game, but these early films showed some of the best physical stunts of all time without talking about their stories. Buster Keaton was generally considered one of the greats of this genre, and his film General is a true masterpiece. “The General” is reportedly the most expensive film in the history of silent cinema and is one of the first to spend large sums of money on a bizarre stunt at the height of its third screen. Even today, what Keaton has been able to do is still very exciting to look at. He showed the wonderful entertainment that action sequences can bring, and watching an incredible trick is best done by everyone, Keaton himself.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

If you browse the list of modern Hollywood blockbusters today, you will no doubt come across countless sequels with a full CGI budget of $ 100 million, from which you can easily choose one to watch. This is normal in such days, but when cinema had not yet fully become a commercial model, “Terminator 2” was the first film of its kind to hit theaters in July 1991.

The most expensive production in history at the time, it became the most popular sequel ever made, creating an absolute change in every sense of the word blockbuster. On the other hand, “Terminator 2” pulled the doors of the CGI revolution right out of the hinge and showed how a visual masterpiece stands out. The film also became the third best-selling film in history, selling $ 519.8 million at the box office.

Sequences with much more budget than previous versions, rising costs of summer blockbusters, and rapidly evolving visual effects can find in James Cameron classics such as The Exterminator 2. At the director’s insistence on pushing the boundaries and ten months of work to create less than five minutes of fully digital film, however, one of the lessons that many of today’s most popular studio projects that prefer profit over style and form have not yet learned from Terminator 2 That is, under the huge cost and advanced technical magic, there is still a brilliant film beneath the glamorous core of that work.

Lethal Weapon

Many may say that Walter Hill’s “48 Hours” in 1982 sparked the comedy police action movies, but “Deadly Weapon” completed the formula five years later. Shane Black’s first screenplay was about two disorganized cops and an unwilling comrade who initially had a major disagreement. After engaging in a murder case, gradually came to mutual respect and became an inseparable friend. Were.

After the success of his idea in “Deadly Weapon,” Shane Black continued the rest of his career, following in the footsteps of the same work, which resulted in comradely action films including “The Last Scout Boy” to The Nice Guys and, of course, “Goodnight Long Kiss” and It has become “kiss bang bang.” He even overturns the idea in the action-fantasy film “The Last Action Hero,” directed by John McTiernan and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. In general, the pattern created with “Deadly Weapon” will soon become the main format of police comedy films, and it remains.

“Hot Red,” “Tango and Cash,” “Bad Boys,” “Crowded Hour,” “Shanghai Noon,” “Die Hard With A Vengeance,” “Men in Black,” “The Rundown” starring Dwayne Johnson, ” “Ride Along” and most recently “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” are just a few of the films that have followed the “Deadly Weapon” formula. Even works like “The Other Guys” and “Hot Fuzz” have willingly embraced the clichés of deadly guns for their action-comedy effects, showing that it has 30 years of formulaic power.

The Killer

The famous Hong Kong director John Wu produced and released one of the defining works under the genre of ” heroic bloodshed ” in The Killer; With this cool, heavy action classic, Wu completed his style and signature of unbridled violence, opera-like rhythm, and deliberate use of slow motion. In fact, the director with this work impressed filmmakers around the world with his ability. It is interesting to note that Quentin Tarantino has often spoken of the influence of John Woo’s work on his work; He makes some interesting references to John Woo in Jackie Brown, but basically two of Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” get clearer signs of John Woo’s filmography.

Such a movie like “The Killer” is more impressive than some people think. In fact, more than any American film, John Woo’s auction in Hong Kong is responsible for the influx of great action films of the 1990s. Tarantino’s close friend Robert Rodriguez has repeatedly admitted that both his well-known action films, “Almariacci” and “Desperado,” were made in honor of John Woo’s “Killer.” At the same time, the similarities between “Nikita” and ” Leon »Luke Besson is found to be certainly not accidental. In general, many best-selling action movies have the heavy impact of “heroic bleeding.”

The Matrix

Before the beginning of the 21st century, The Matrix was the last influential action movie in Hollywood. This is somewhat ironic; Because this work bore no resemblance to the classics of the action genre. In fact, The Matrix was the opposite of a genre that everyone knew. Instead, the Wachowskis, inspired by the science fiction genres, anime, cyberpunk, Hong Kong action cinema, religion, philosophy, and mythology, sought to experience a truly unique play at the time. The Matrix was a work that perfected the “Wire fu” style in Hollywood. The term is an element or style of Hong Kong action cinema used in combat scenes. In fact, the name is a combination of two terms: “wire work” and “kung fu.”

After the success of The Matrix movie style, many actors such as X-Men, Charlie’s Angels, Daredevil, and countless others used wire-fu in their action sequences. Even Equilibrium was almost as bold in using this style of the matrix. It should also note that Zack Snyder’s “Sucker Punch” and Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” also bore some resemblance to The Matrix. Also, the well-known Russian director Timur Bekmambetov has borrowed the visual elements of his two famous films “Night Watch” and “Wanted” directly from the Wachowski Matrix.

With all these interpretations, it became easy to forget the importance of the Matrix in the action genre in just a few years, as all its pioneering elements became very familiar with the repetition after being introduced to filmmakers. However, the aesthetics of the film’s action sequences dominated the genre for many years.

The Hard

It seems logical that one of the greatest action films ever made is also one of the most influential films of this genre. In addition to moving away from the invincible muscle heroes that emerged in the 1980s, Die Hard moved on to more comparable characters that audiences could relate to. This move inadvertently a new sub-path for the works. It also created action.

“Hardcore” introduced a formula to action cinema that many filmmakers are still pursuing and influenced. For example, hard films on the plane include: Air Force One, Passenger 57, Administrative Decision; The movie Hard on the Bus includes “Speed” starring Keanu Reeves; Hard Ship Movies include: Under Siege and Speed ​​2; Hard Alcatraz films include: The Rock starring Nicholas Cage and Half Past Dead; Hardcore in the Mountains includes: Cliffhanger starring Sylvester Stallone; Hard Rain movie includes: Hard Rain movie; Hardcore films in the White House include: Olympus Has Fallen, and White House Down; Hardcore in Space movie includes: Lockout starring Guy Pierce, as well as Hardcore itself in the second part with the formula of the first movie.

While some of these films alone have become classics of the genre, none of them can hide their hard-working imitation. This testifies to Die Hard’s continued popularity and influence, with new projects repeating its formula almost 30 years after its production.

Seven Samurai

Prominent Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa is known as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, and his films have inspired other artists of different generations. His incredible adventure film Seven Samurai is a prime example of his involvement in the business.

Akira Kurosawa’s 207-minute epic is one of the most influential films ever made, introducing storytelling and visual techniques common in all genres of cinema. It has also been a regular source of inspiration and direct source for many well-known filmmakers over the past 65 years. In general, the seven samurai initiated action films with the theme of “Young Men on a Mission,” a relatively simple plot in which a reluctant hero gathers a diverse group of people to fight a common threat. This storyline has long since become one of the most well-covered story areas in the film industry.

Before the seven action samurai were portrayed in movies with a simple mindset, Kurosawa’s use of multi-camera settings, fast editing, and slow-motion to turn-key pieces into a vital part of the story set a new pattern for Created filmmakers. In fact, this style of Akira Kurosawa in the seven samurai quickly became the standard of the action genre in the film industry.

It is interesting to know that in addition to the direct Hollywood remake of the seven samurai called “The Seven Heroes,” a large number of directors has admitted to borrowing visual or narrative signs from the seven samurai for their work is astonishing. For example, people like Steven Spielberg in The Rescue of Soldier Ryan, George Lucas, Quentin Tarantino, Sam Peckinpah, Steven Soderbergh, Zack Snyder, Peter Jackson, John Lester, George Miller, and many others have all somehow influenced Kurosawa’s classics.

The most influential superhero action movie: Spider-Man 2

It is impossible to talk about the action movie genre without knowing how superhero movies have influenced it. While there have been many films before, Sam Remy’s “Spider-Man 2” has proven that these films can not only make hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office but can be better than most people imagine.

“Spider-Man 2” managed to tell an emotionally satisfying story with charming characters and a lot of humor while also showing the audience the amazing action sequences that can do in these stories bigger than normal life. Undoubtedly, the MCU movie world and basically the superhero movies after that owe a lot to the moments of this movie.