James Cameron is a filmmaker who will go down in history as the writer and director of some of the greatest films of all time. He's made so many hit movies it’s almost hard to count, but he thinks the list should be even longer, as Cameron recently claimed credit for writing the surfer crime movie Point Break.

In a recent interview, Cameron claimed credit for the film, saying that he “got stiffed” by the Writers’ Guild when it came to credit on the movie. The actual credit went to screenwriter W. Peter Iliff, but speaking with EW, you won’t hear him complaining. Iliff confirms that Cameron did work on the film and says he has nothing but respect for the Avatar director. The screenwriter said…

Iliff details the story of Point Break, which he wrote based on an idea from filmmaker Rick King, with Ridley Scott originally attached to direct. The movie would then jump around studios, and lose Scott to Black Rain, before it ended up at 20th Century Fox with Kathryn Bigelow directing.

Bigelow was married to James Cameron at the time, who was on the same lot making The Abyss. Iliff is honest that Cameron and Bigelow wrote the “production draft” of the script based on his original screenplay. One moment that Cameron specifically added was apparently the famous scene of Keanu Reeves' Johnny Utah jumping out of a plane after Patrick Swayze’s Brodie without a parachute.

As far as who gets the credit, the Writers’ Guild of America determines credit by having a jury of other writers review multiple drafts of the script, in order to determine who contributed what and decide how many of the authors should receive credit for the final product. W. Peter Illiff received sole screenplay credit, with Illiff and King receiving Story credit.

I’m not sure anybody would blame Illiff for being frustrated by Cameron’s recent comments that he deserves credit for writing the film. However, that doesn’t appear to be happening. Illiff, who says he hasn’t seen James Cameron in years, doesn’t appear to be bothered by the issue. He continued…

Illiff would go on to write the Harrison Ford-led Patriot Games and Varsity Blues, both the film and the follow-up TV series. James Cameron would go on to direct three of the top five highest grossing movies ever made. It seems everything turned out fine for all involved.

Keanu Reeves has so many badass performances in his career that can easily make audiences watch them on repeat. After all, he’s made us laugh time traveling with his best bud in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, being a vengeful gunslinger in the John Wick movies, and dodging slo-mo bullets in The Matrix films. As for whether the actor will watch his own movies, he hilariously said there are only three he’d see, and they’re interesting picks.

It’s completely normal for celebrities not to want to watch their own movies. Keira Knightley said she’ll only watch her films once, and Leonardo DiCaprio “rarely” revisits his works unless it’s The Aviator. As for Keanu Reeves, he said during a discussion at The New Yorker Festival (via People) if he’d be able to watch any of his best classic movie performances, and he gave a funny take on his only three picks:

I definitely see what Keanu Reeves means. He may not seek out one of his movies, but he’ll watch a favorite while channel surfing. Considering the Constantine actor has done four John Wick movies and its spinoff Ballerina, I was surprised he didn’t mention the franchise landing on his channel surfing radar.

At the same time, his top three movie picks make a lot of sense. The action movie Point Break (which is streaming on your Peacock subscription) changed everything for the Canadian actor. One behind-the-scenes fact about the Keanu Reeves movie was that director Kathryn Bigelow had to fight for the talented star to lead her movie since he only had a reputation for doing comedies back then. Thankfully, Point Break helped cement his status as a leading man in the action genre.

And, of course, no one, including Reeves, apparently, can pass off The Matrix movies. On its 25th anniversary last year, the award-winning actor expressed that the sci-fi flicks “changed my life” not only by being a part of pop culture history, but also for the positive impact they’ve had on audiences. To further change lives with The Wachowskis' films, the Parenthood actor even donated a huge chunk of his Matrix money for cancer research. You have to commend Reeves for using his fame to pay it forward in the best way possible.

Keanu Reeves may only watch three films from his filmography (what, no love for The Matrix Revolutions?), but you can’t blame the man, considering what a kickass performance he gives in each. As those roles helped him make a big name for himself in Hollywood, it makes sense for Point Break and The Matrix films to get the rewatch treatment.

Make sure to watch Keanu Reeves’ 2025 movie release Good Fortune, playing in theaters now. And if you’re in the New York area, you can find the action star reunite with his Bill and Ted co-star Alex Winter in the stage production of Waiting For Godot, playing at the Hudson Theatre now.

There are few actors who pulled off looking cool as effortlessly as the late Patrick Swayze. Appearing in some of the best ‘80s movies (and even some great ‘90s flicks), the actor/dancer/badass played so many iconic ass-kickers that are still held up high all these years later. James Dalton, Bodhi, Johnny Castle, and countless other iconic Swayze roles were just so dang cool. But I’ve long wondered, would any of those guys wear underwear, like, willingly?

To answer the question I’m sure so many are asking (or at least wondering why I’m thinking about this), I don’t think the main characters from Road House, Point Break, Dirty Dancing, and others would find a need for underwear. Let me explain.

Johnny Castle (Dirty Dancing)

Johnny Castle spends his days and nights dancing, lives in a shack, and looks like the distant cousin of Darry Curtis from The Outsiders, so there’s no way the hearthrob from Dirty Dancing subscribes to the idea of underwear. They just don’t suit him or seem like something he’d care about (or care to wash). Plus, he’s the very definition of cool in this movie that spawned one of the most memorable music moments of the ‘80s.

James Dalton (Road House)

Another Swayze role where the main character is still the hottest man in town despite living in a shack, James Dalton in Road House is probably the late actor’s most badass role. I don’t know about you, but Dalton just doesn’t give off those “I wear underwear like a normal guy” vibes. As a matter of fact, I don’t think anyone (including Terry Funk) is wearing briefs or boxers in this one.

Bodhi (Point Break)

Considering Bodhi “Bodhisattva” spends most of Point Break surfing and robbing banks, there’s no way in hell this radical dude is subscribing to the concept of underwear. You can’t take part in some of the best beach scenes or pull off an all-time great heist when you’re stressing out about whether or not you put the briefs in the wash the night before.

Truman Gates (Next Of Kin)

There’s probably a good chance you’ve either never heard of or seen Next of Kin, an underrated and overlooked 1989 action thriller starring Swayze and Liam Neeson. In this one, Swayze plays Truman Gates, a former US Army Airborne Ranger who left his roots in Appalachia to become a Chicago cop. That combo leads me to believe that Truman wouldn’t actively choose to wear underwear. Sure, he probably had a pair, but they weren’t worn willingly. This is even more true for Neeson’s Briar Gates.

Darry Curtis (The Outsiders)

Having to spend every day taking care of his troublesome younger brothers, Ponyboy and Sodapop, I don’t see Darry Curtis having time for underwear in The Outsiders. Sure, he definitely needs them in his line of work (and extracurricular activities), but greasers don’t really play by the rules of society.

Jed Eckert (Red Dawn)

One of the most patriotic American movies ever made (I mean, John Milius directed it), Red Dawn is loaded top to bottom with some real ass-kicker characters. At the top of that list is Jed Eckert, the young patriot who would led the Wolverines as they utilized guerilla warfare against Soviet-led forces. I’m not saying patriots don’t wear boxers, but there’s not much time when you’re hiding in the mountains and planning an attack to save your community (and country).

Pecos Bill (Tall Tale)

Remember the 1995 fantasy film Tall Tale? In this oft-forgotten ‘90s kids movie, Swayze plays American folk hero Pecos Bill as he and other tall tale icons help a young boy save his town. Bill, being a fictional cowboy instrumental in Western expansion and all, just doesn’t give off boxer or brief vibes. Maybe a union suit with some flaps, but I’m not so sure.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed this random, rather unnecessary, and utterly ridiculous breakdown of fictional characters who may or may not wear underwear.

Just as some great movies have bad scenes some bad movies have some really great scenes. Even movies as bad as Jurassic Park III and the Coen Brothers misfire The Ladykillers have scenes that bring some joy to movies that we'd otherwise never watch again. Here is our list of great scenes in bad movies.

"Just When I Thought I Was Out..." - The Godfather Part III

There is a lot to be disappointed about in The Godfather Part III. It would have been almost impossible for Francis Ford Coppola to match the first two in the series, but sadly he didn't even come close with the third installment. However, it does have the now-legendary scene when Michael (Al Pacino) declares "Just when I thought I was out...they pull me back in."

The Wingsuit Flight - Point Break

Almost everything about the ill-conceived 2015 remake of Point Break was a bad idea. It's not just a bad retread of a classic, if campy, '90s movie, it's just not a good movie in the slightest. Save for one scene. When the bank-robbing crew goes out of a little wingsuit flying, the movie perks up for a few minutes in a very cool scene with some of the best stunts of the decade.

Pteranodon - Jurassic Park III

Jurassic Park III was such a letdown from the first two movies in the franchise. The lone scene that stands out from the rest is the incredible moments inside the Pteranodon aviary. It'll come as no surprise to learn that the scene was actually lifted from the original book by Michael Crichton that was left out of the first movie in the series. It's a gripping scene in the book made terrifying in the movie.

The Opening Steady Cam Shot - Bonfire Of The Vanities

Brian de Palma's Bonfire Of The Vanities was a misfire in almost every way. It completely lacked the charm and wit of the book it was based on by Tom Wolfe and it was rightfully panned by most critics. One scene that critics did like is the opening steady cam/tracking shot that opens the movie that rivals even Scorsese's famous tracking shot in Goodfellas.

The Illegal Chop Shop - Beverly Hills Cop III

The Beverly Hills Cop franchise redeemed itself a little in 2024 with the release of Axel F, but it had a long way to go after the third installment of the series basically tanked it for decades. Beverly Hills Cop III feels phoned in and for the most part, wasn't very funny at all. The lone exception was the scene when Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) bangs on the door of the chop shop and asks if it is, indeed, an illegal chop shop in a way only Murphy can pull off at his best.

The Thunderdome - Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome

Even the most hardcore fans of the Mad Max franchise can admit that the third installment Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome isn't all that great. Even the great Tina Turner can't save it. One scene that almost saves it is the actually fight in the titular Thunderdome. It's not quite enough, but it is pretty freakin' cool.

Left My Wallet In El Segundo - The Ladykillers

The Coen Brothers have a pretty amazing track record of making great movies. Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski, Fargo, No Country For Old Men... the list goes on and on. One glaring example of miss is their remake of The Ladykillers starring Tom Hanks. It's hard to pinpoint why the movie doesn't have the same charm as the rest of their movies, but it's not hard to recognize that the opening scene with Marva Munson (Irma P. Hall) complaining about the "hippity hop" music is delightful.

Dream Scene - The Exorcist III

If we're honest, The Exorcist III is kind of a mess. It's just a confusing, mess of a movie but it does have that super trippy and terrifying dream sequence that makes it worth the price of entry.

The Light Saber Battle - Star Wars: Episode 1- The Phantom Menace

Now, no one, not even the most ardent Star Wars fans usually try to defend Star Wars: Episode 1- The Phantom Menace. Not only did it introduce Midi-chlorins and Jar-Jar Binks, but it also tried to ruin a lot of the original trilogy for us too. Thankfully it does have some redeeming qualities, like the epic lightsaber battle at the end with Darth Maul. It's possibly the best such battle in the entire franchise.

Stopping Bullets - The Matrix Reloaded

How do you top a scene stopping bullets like in the original Matrix? Stop a whole bunch of bullets in The Matrix Reloaded. There is also that great chase scene, but most of us were asleep by then.

The Invisible Jet - Wonder Woman 1984

On the heels of the fantastic Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman 1984 was just such a letdown. Not only did it trade in annoying Gen X nostalgia, but it just wasn't a very well-conceived movie. It did, however, finally give something we've always wanted, a live-action version of Wonder Woman's invisible plane, and for that, the wait was worth it.

The Convenience Store - Hard To Kill

It's hard to argue that any Steven Seagal movie is good, except the great Under Siege. But some of those movies in the late 80s and early 90s were at least decent. Hard to Kill fits in that category. It's not an epic film by any means, but it's got some great fight scenes, most notably the one in the beginning when Seagal takes on a would-be robber in a convenience store. It's Seagel at his best.

"I Just Stopped Caring" - The Fan

Robert de Niro and Wesley Snipes are both great in The Fan which is an otherwise completely underwhelming movie. It makes sense that the one really good scene in the whole movie is the one they are in together as de Niro pitches to Snipes and they talk about life and baseball before Snipes really makes de Niro mad.

The Japanese Attack - Pearl Harbor

The late critic Roger Ebert penned one of his best reviews for Pearl Harbor, calling it, "a two-hour movie squeezed into three hours, about how on Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese staged a surprise attack on an American love triangle." Truer words have never been spoken as the movie and the silly love triangle it invents ruin what would otherwise be an incredible movie if they had just stuck to the actual attack. The attack scene is phenomenal.

The Roof Chase During The Horse Race - Quantum Of Solace

Quantum of Solace is generally thought of as one of the worst James Bond movies. Still, it has its moments like any Bond film. The best scene, by far, is the chase across the rooftops of Siena, Italy as the town's famous horserace, the Palio di Siena, takes place below. It's a fantastic action sequence in every way.

The Elevator Scene - Suicide Squad

Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn is the only thing that saves Suicide Squad from being the worst superhero movie of all time. In fact, the only truly great scene in the movie is her fight in the glass elevator before she reunites with The Joker when the movie falls apart again.

Jane Slaps Thor - Thor: The Dark World

When ranking the MCU movies, Thor: The Dark World is usually at or near the bottom of all the films, and with good reason. Still, there is a completely charming moment when Jane (Natalie Portman) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) reunite. It doesn't make up for the rest of the movie, but it is a nice scene,

Stealing The Car Back - Navy SEALs

Even by 1990s action movie standards, Navy SEALs is a terrible movie. Still, there is one scene that is super fun to rewatch and that is Charlie Sheen's character stealing his Mustang back from the repo man from atop the tow truck. But that's it and it certainly doesn't make the rest of the movie worth watching.

Wolverine's War Experiences - X-Men Origins: Wolverine

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a polarizing movie. Most hate it, though some love it. Whether you love it or hate it, you can't deny that the scene in the beginning with Wolverine and his brother Sabertooth fighting it out in a montage across all the major wars in U.S. history is a pretty awesome way to start a movie.

The Pod Race - Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace

This might be a controversial entry on the list, but the pod racing in The Phantom Menace is pretty freakin' cool. Maybe it's just because of the great video game that was born from it, but either way, the scene holds up in an otherwise pretty brutal movie.

The Rhino - Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls

Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls doesn't even come close to matching the charm of the original Ace Ventura movie. There are few redeeming scenes in the whole movie, and even the best scene, when Ace is "birthed" from a fake rhino, fits right in with the over-the-top gross-out humor the movie relies on. Still, it's pretty darn funny.

Coach D'Amato's Speech - Any Given Sunday

Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday is a pretty bad movie that clocks the audience over the head with its morality like a frying pan. Still, the speech that Coach D'Amato (Al Pacino) makes about "clawing for every inch" is pretty epic and inspiring.

The Final Battle - The Patriot

There is really very little good to say about The Patriot, so we'll keep this short. Despite all the poor history and dubious plot points, the final battle is a fantastically well-put-together action sequence.

Racing In A Chicken Suit - Stroker Ace

Despite being one of the best movies about auto racing, Stroker Ace isn't really a good movie. Burt Reynolds even admitted as much. Still, it's pretty hilarious to watch the great Burt Reynolds racing around a NASCAR track dressed in a chicken suit.

The President's Speech - Independence Day

Another entry that may cause some controversy is Independence Day. While many love it, do you really think it's a great movie (it's okay to like bad movies)? Still, whether you think it's the best movie ever made or silly Hollywood schlock, the speech that Bill Pullman made as the President will always be remembered for its greatness.

You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself outshined by the villain. That’s how it goes, right? Or something like that. All jokes aside, there have been countless times over the years where villains have resonated so well with audiences we have forgotten about the heroes who’ve tried to vanquish them. But it’s hard to compete with the likes of the “Crown Prince of Crime,” a certain ice-cold assassin with a fondness for coins and bad haircuts, and vindictive and psychotic nurses.

From the best Marvel movies to a handful of Best Picture winners and so many others, here are 32 times the villain stole the show in a movie.

Hans Gruber (Die Hard)

Alan Rickman crushed his first major movie role as Hans Gruber in 1988’s Die Hard. Nothing against Bruce Willis’ John McClane, but there’s no denying the fact that Gruber immediately became one of those unforgettable villains we love to hate. The saying “It isn’t Christmas until Hans Gruber falls from Nataktomi Plaza” says it all.

Darth Vader (Star Wars)

Luke Skywalker is an iconic hero, Han Solo is the coolest scoundrel in the galaxy, and Princess Leia is divine, but we all know that Darth Vader sucks all the air out of the room whenever he’s on-screen in Star Wars. The presence, the physicality, and the powerful voice of the late James Earl Jones, all make Lord Vader one of the best villains of all time.

Erik Killmonger (Black Panther)

Michael B. Jordan’s Erik Killmonger is hands down one of the best Marvel villains, with only a couple of other foes topping him in the ranking. The intensity, emotion, and wow factor all go up whenever this long-lost son of Wakanda shows up in Black Panther. 

Colonel Hans Landa (Inglorious Basterds)

Quentin Tarantino pulled off the impossible when he gave the world Colonel Hans Landa, a maniacal yet charming Nazi played by Christoph Waltz in Inglorious Basterds. Seriously, the movie could have been two hours of Landa talking to people (which it pretty much was) and we still would have gone crazy for it. Almost feel bad liking the guy this much.

Thanos (Avengers: Infinity War)

Avengers: Infinity War, for all intents and purposes, is Thanos’ movie and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are just living in it. Rarely do movies allow the villain to take center stage like this, and the 2018 crossover event is better because of it.

Anton Chigurh (No Country For Old Men)

Anton Chigurh, Javier Bardem’s ice-cold killer from No Country for Old Men, is one of those movie villains we’ll be studying for years, if not decades, to come. Every time this assassin with a bad haircut and a unique set of skills comes on screen, you can feel a chill run down your spine.

Annie Wilkes (Misery)

One of the meanest ‘90s movie villains, Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) from Misery steals the scene whenever she’s on screen in Rob Reiner’s 1990 Stephen King adaptation. A force of pure evil, this obsessive book fan will forever live in our hearts, even if she fills us with fear.

Terence Fletcher (Whiplash)

J.K. Simmons has played some great villains over the years (Oz fans know what we’re talking about), but even the neo-Nazi Vernon Schillinger couldn’t hold a candle to Terence Fletcher in Whiplash. The angry, petty, vindictive, and obsessive Julliard professor is a force to be reckoned with in this 2014 drama.

The Joker (The Dark Knight)

From the first time Heath Ledger’s Joker appears on screen in The Dark Knight, you know he’s going to be a villain to remember. The anarchy, the carnage, the changing stories about how he got his scars, all of it makes him someone we’ll never forget. 

The Terminator (The Terminator)

James Cameron gave the world one of the best sci-fi movies and all-time great villains when he unleashed The Terminator upon the world in 1984. And while Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) are heroes worth rooting for, we all know we want nothing more than to see Arnold Schwarzenegger’s titular cyborg show up with his one-liners and knack for killing folks.

Hannibal Lecter (The Silence Of The Lambs)

Hannibal Lecter, the role that won Anthony Hopkins an Academy Award, was only on screen in The Silence of the Lambs for 16 years, and he still stole the show. The cannibalistic prison inmate who helps Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling in the most unorthodox and unsettling ways is still the most talked about part of the movie despite his limited screen time.

Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest)

Few nurses or medical professionals have instilled as much fear in the hearts of audiences as Nurse Ratched, Louise Fletcher’s manipulative and sadistic character from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Sure, we all love Jack Nicholson’s R.P. McMurphy, but Ratched stole the show.

Clarence Boddicker (Robocop)

Long before he was the wise-cracking Red Foreman on That ‘70s Show, Kurtwood Smith played the sensationally violent Clarence Boddicker in Robocop. The man who turned Peter Weller’s Alex Murphy into a crime-fighting cyborg had some wild moments throughout the movie, most of which we can’t really describe here.

Nino Brown (New Jack City)

Already on the rise thanks to Major League, Wesley Snipes became a massive star thanks to his portrayal of Nino Brown, the powerful drug lord in New Jack City. Nothing against Ice-T’s Scotty Appleton (who takes things personally), but Nino is in in a league of his own in this sprawling crime epic.

Bodhi (Point Break)

Though he could be considered an antihero we hate to love, Bodhi, Patrick Swayze’s surfing, skydiving, and bank-robbing character from Point Break is also an incredibly interesting villain. Both physical and spiritual, this three-dimensional adrenaline junkie is just so dang cool.

Regina George (Mean Girls)

Villains don’t have to be angry nurses or criminals with a high body count, and Regina George (Rachel McAdams) proved that in Mean Girls. The leader of the Plastics, a group she ran with an iron and pink fist, Regina was for sure one of the most vindictive antagonists of the 2000s and one we still love to hate.

Clubber Lang (Rocky III)

For the most part, the Rocky movies featured iconic and unique villains like Apollo Creed (before he turned good) and Ivan Drago, but Clubber Lang from Rocky III is in a league of his own. Mr. T’s formidable foe in the 1982 movie stole every scene and his presence could be felt even when he wasn’t on screen.

Catherine Tramell (Basic Instinct)

Being bad never looked as good as it did for Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone) in the 1992 erotic thriller, Basic Instinct. The crimes, the head games, the seduction, and the attitude make this femme fatale one of the best villains of all time.

Gordon Gekko (Wall Street)

Though there are some who still miss the message of Gordon Gekko’s “Greed is Good” speech from Wall Street, Michael Douglas’ powerful character is very much the villain in Oliver Stone’s 1987 drama. Poor Charlie Sheen didn’t stand a chance next to this guy.

The Wicked Witch Of The West (The Wizard Of Oz)

Margaret Hamilton’s portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz is one of those villainous performances that we’ll never forget. The way she could say things like “I’ll get you my pretty,” throw fireballs, and call on an army of flying monkeys is still frightening all these years later.

Norman Bates (Psycho)

One of the best slasher horror movies of all time, Psycho also features one of the genre’s great villains in Norman Bates. After his facade of a seemingly harmless albeit off-putting man with mommy issues fades away, we’re left with an unforgettable creep.

Cyrus The Virus (Con Air)

Nothing against Nicolas Cage, but Con Air is Cyrus the Virus’ movie. The way John Malkovich looks on screen with that shaved head and goatee makes him look like a cleanup hitter for the Houston Astros who went crazy and killed a bunch of folks after getting busted for steroids adds such a great dynamic to this iconic ‘90s action movie.

Luther (The Warriors)

Though he’s only in a handful of scenes, Luther, with his “Warriors, come out to play,” delivery, steals the show in this ‘70s classic. Would The Warriors be a good movie without him? Probably. But the leader of the Rogues makes it an all-timer.

Scar (The Lion King)

When it comes to Disney villains from the ‘90s, there are few that come close to the rightful king that is Scar. Voiced by Academy Award-winning actor Jeremy Irons, the brother of King Mufasa (James Earl Jones) takes villainy to a whole new level in The Lion King. Sure, he destroys the natural order of things, brings famine and drought to the Pride Lands, and gives his nephew one major guilt trip after killing his father, but that’s what makes him so iconic, right?

HAL 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey)

You don’t have to be a human or even a living thing to make a good villain, and HAL 9000 proved that in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Voiced by Douglas Rain, this cold and calculated computer goes out of his way to make life miserable for the astronauts aboard the Discovery One spacecraft. What makes him even more menacing is that HAL is mostly depicted as a camera lens with a red dot in the middle.

Howard Payne (Speed)

Though Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock became massive stars following the 1994 release of Speed, it was impossible to be captivated by the maniacal and over-the-top performance of Dennis Hopper as Howard Payne. The cop-turned-bomber has a way about him that’s just so perfect in this landmark action flick. And if it weren’t for the iconic bus jump sequence, he’d probably be what we talk about the most.

Max Cady (Cape Fear)

Whenever we talk about the best Robert De Niro movies, it doesn’t take long for Martin Scorsese's 1991 remake of Cape Fear to enter the conversation. Max Caddy, one of the all-time great movie villains, steals every single scene in this tense revenge thriller, even when the ex-con with a bone to pick with his former defense attorney isn’t on screen. And the way he says “Counselor” when toying with Nick Nolte’s Sam Bowden is just perfect.

Count Orlok (Nosferatu)

Few movie characters have an impact on the viewer like Count Orlok, Max Schreck's vampire from the 1922 silent horror film, Nosferatu. The off-putting appearance, the eerie movements, and the unrelenting nature of the monster are all frightening more than a century after the controversial film was first released.

Joan Crawford (Mommie Dearest)

Frank Perry’s Mommie Dearest is one of the wildest and most terrifying biographical dramas ever made, and the based-on-a-true-story aspect of it makes Faye Dunaway’s portrayal of Joan Crawford even more terrifying. There’s a good chance more people know the “No wire hangers!” line than the movie itself, which says it all.

Agent Smith (The Matrix)

The way Hugo Weaving’s Agent Smith says “Mr. Anderson,” whenever he encounters Neo (Keanu Reeves) in The Matrix is so bone-chilling, so iconic, and so perfect, we just can’t get enough of it. One of the best sci-fi villains of all time, it’s hard to look away from this increasingly powerful computer program.

John Doe (Seven)

Though we don’t meet Kevin Spacey’s John Doe until the final act of Seven, his presence can be felt throughout David Fincher’s 1995 thriller. The nature of his crimes, especially during the movie’s twisted ending, tells us everything we need to know about the bitter, dangerous, and self-righteous killer.

Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare On Elm Street)

When it comes to the best horror movie icons, Freddy Krueger is in a league of his own. Robert Englund’s knife-handed killer from A Nightmare on Elm Street is equal parts terrifying and hilarious, so much so that we don’t really care who plays his victims (except for maybe Johnny Depp).

From the wild thrills of Die Hard to the beautiful chaos of John Wick, a notable number of the best action movies of all time either launched franchises or are sequels to excellent originals, but just because a film never inspired a follow-up story doesn’t mean it’s bad. In fact, cinema history is filled with excellent action blockbusters that exist independently of series.

In an effort to prove that point, we’ve put together this feature highlighting 32 special movies – all of them great and none of them to date producing a sequel.

Attack The Block

To be fair, there were reports in 2021 that writer/director Joe Cornish was reuniting with John Boyega for an Attack The Block 2… but it’s been more than three years without an update, and so we’re including this excellent 2011 thriller featuring a teenage street gang battling against freaky alien invaders.

Commando

How is it possible that the world was never graced with another performance from Arnold Schwarzenegger as John Matrix – the elite special forces colonel who can lift logs five times his weight and easily turn the tables on elite mercenaries who are both out for revenge and executing a coup in South America? The lack of a Commando 2 is proof that the movie gods don’t always play fair.

Con Air

It would be difficult to assemble a cast of supporting actors quite as amazing as the one featured in 1997’s Con Air (and most of the characters die in the mile-high prison break movie), which makes it understandable that we’ve never seen a sequel get made, but it does feel like a shame that we’ve never seen Nicolas Cage let his hair waft in the breeze as Cameron Poe again.

Danger: Diabolik

There was a European Diabolik animated TV series and a 2021 Diabolik film based on the same source material as Mario Bava’s Danger: Diabolik – but the 1968 movie stands alone in its own canon, and it’s a shame because the film is outrageously cool. If you aren’t familiar with this adventure centered on a daring master thief (John Phillip Law) evading a detective (Michel Piccoli) with a dangerous gangster (Adolfo Celi) under this thumb, you are missing out on a stylish classic of the action genre.

District 9

There was a lot of talk for a long time about writer/director Neill Blomkamp returning to the world of his directorial debut… but until he does, we can independently enjoy the excellence that is District 9: a film that pairs impressive political commentary with some thrilling action and some freaky body horror.

Face/Off

Paramount Pictures has previously announced plans for a Face/Off sequel, the most recent developments happening in 2021 with Adam Wingard attached to direct – but for now, there is only one movie in cinematic history where Nicolas Cage and John Travolta undergo radical surgery and swap faces.

The Fifth Element

Bruce Willis played John McClane five times on the big screen during his career, but we sadly only got one adventure with him as the unexpectedly heroic flying taxi driver Korben Dallas. It’s a shame, because The Fifth Element establishes an outrageously stylistic world with incredible potential for original stories.

In The Line Of Fire

Frank Horrigan is one of the most memorable characters in Clint Eastwood’s career, but it was a cinematic one-off. In The Line Of Fire has a strong legacy as one of the best secret service-centric movies too, with John Malkovich’s Mitch Leary/James Carney/Booth attempting to execute an insidious and scary assassination plot with his homemade composite zip gun.

The Last Dragon

While The Last Dragon never produced a sequel, its true legacy is the awesome cult audience that it has grown since its release in the mid-1980s. Taimak’s Leroy Green, a.k.a. Bruce Leeroy, is an undisputed legend among sects of the action movie fanbase, Julius Carry’s turn as Sho'nuff, The Shogun of Harlem, is unforgettable.

Last Action Hero

Director John McTiernan’s Last Action Hero taps an amazing satire vein taking aim at the tropes of action blockbusters, but we sadly only got one adventure with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Jack Slater. It was arguably a movie before its time, but Schwarzenegger has called it the most underrated of his career, and it’s a shame that we never got a Last Action Hero 2.

The Long Kiss Good Night

In a cinematic age when a lot of different actors are getting their so-called “John Wick moment” – be it Bob Odenkirk in Nobody or Mary Elizabeth Winstead in Kate – there should be a lot more retroactive appreciation for Renny Harlin’s fantastic The Long Kiss Goodnight – in which Beetlejuice and A League Of Their Own star Geena Davis transforms into a killer of the highest caliber.

The Last Boy Scout

The Last Boy Scout teases the audience with the idea of Joe Hannenbeck (Bruce Willis) and Jimmy Dix (Damon Wayans) teaming up as a partners in the private investigators game… but the story of their next adventure together never got told. It’s a shame, as I would have been delighted to these two characters crack wise and kick butt in a dozen movies together.

Pineapple Express

We’re obviously not counting the gag in This Is The End here. That being said, the characters and the world in Pineapple Express are terrific, and it would be wonderful to see Seth Rogen’s Dale Denton and Danny McBride’s unkillable Red on a new strange adventure together.

The Rocketeer

As a kid, I could never comprehend how a big screen sequel to The Rocketeer didn’t exist. The Joe Johnston-directed film has incredible style and energy, bringing the style of 1940s comics to life with a phenomenal cast including Billy Campbell, Alan Arkin, Jennifer Connelly, Paul Sorvino, Terry O’Quinn, Ed Lauter, Jon Polito, Margo Martindale and Timothy Dalton.

Rumble In The Bronx

From Police Story to Project A to Drunken Master to Rush Hour, there are many Jackie Chan-centric franchises, but there is only one Rumble In The Bronx. The Stanley Tong film features some of Chan’s most incredible stunt and fight work, and it’s dazzling no matter how many times you watch it.

Heat

It’s true that a sequel to Heat exists in book form, and there has been talk about Heat 2 being adapted as a movie… but until that film actually comes together, we’re keeping Heat on this list, because it most certainly qualifies within this feature’s parameters. Cinematic heists don’t get more epic than Michael Mann’s star-studded masterpiece, which delivers the ultimate showdown between Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.

The Other Guys

It’s a shame for many reasons that Adam McKay and Will Ferrell are no longer collaborating on projects, but one is that it likely means that we’ll never see the return of Ferrell’s Allen Gamble and Mark Wahlberg’s Terry Hoitz in an Other Guys sequel. The 2010 comedy was sold as a parody of big cop movies, but it actually features a number of impressive, large scale set pieces and unfurls a compelling financial scheme in the plotting.

Inception

Outside of The Dark Knight Trilogy, writer/director Christopher Nolan has never been big on sequels – but if he were to ever return to one of the worlds he has created, Inception would be an exciting choice. The mind-bending experience of traveling through dreams is brilliantly illustrated in the 2010 action movie, and it would be exciting to see what other stories could be told with the special technology that’s introduced.

Team America: World Police

It would have arguably been a touch hypocritical for Trey Parker and Matt Stone to develop a Team America: World Police 2 given how the film satirizes blockbuster moviemaking… but it’s also not a movie that needs a sequel. It exists perfectly as a one-of-a-kind entity: a major studio-produced feature starring a collection of obscene puppets blowing up major landmarks around the world.

The Running Man

If there is an award for Movie With The Best Arnold Schwarzenegger One-Liners, The Running Man would be a strong contender if not the hands-down winner. It’s a movie that stretches its Stephen King source material to some extreme limits (changing just about everything about the book it’s based on), but it spins a wild, stylish and prescient adventure that sees Schwarzenegger’s Ben Richards topple a totalitarian TV network.

Dredd

Not to be confused with the 1995 film Judge Dredd starring Sylvester Stallone, 2012’s Dredd starring Karl Urban is an exceptionally cool action movie experience that plays like a video game as a pair of cops work their way up through a high-rise in an effort to take down a powerful drug lord pushing a drug called Slo-mo. It’s a perfect adaptation of John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra's comic and has found an audience since its initial release… but it was unfortunately a box office disappoint during its big screen run.

Edge Of Tomorrow

Emily Blunt has thrown cold water on the idea of an Edge Of Tomorrow 2 in recent years, but fans aren’t totally ready to give up. After all, the first movie is a stellar execution of a time loop plot, and Tom Cruise and Blunt make a terrific big screen pair (with the former doing a wonderful job at the start of the film playing a true jerk).

True Lies

James Cameron is best known for making some of the best sci-fi movies of all time and his deep love of the ocean, but one of his underappreciated works doesn’t fit into either of those categories. Cameron’s last film before Titanic and launching the Avatar franchise, True Lies is both a wonderful action romp and a fun caper, with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis making a fantastic pair in the silly, epic plot.

Hard Boiled

Chow Yun-fat made some awesome movies with John Woo, but arguably the pinnacle of their collaboration is the story of a renegade cop who goes after the gun smugglers responsible for the murder of his partner. Hard Boiled is crazy, extremely violent, and landmark action cinema.

Big Trouble In Little China

John Carpenter’s legacy is as a Master of Horror, but not to be forgotten are his great contributions to action cinema. Escape From New York doesn’t qualify for this feature due to the existence of Escape From L.A., but Kurt Russell’s one-time adventure as truck driver Jack Burton through a fantastical world that exists in San Francisco’s Chinatown most definitely does. It was a box office bomb when it came out, but Big Trouble In Little China has been delighting movie fans since 1986 and found the audience it deserves.

Coffy

Coffy is one of the great films of the blaxpoitation genre, and while Foxy Brown is technically a reworked version of the script that was going to be a sequel, there isn’t a canon connection between the movies, so we’re counting it. The feature is a classic revenge tale led by the great Pam Grier – who plays a character who has properly become recognized as an iconic female protagonist.

The Warriors

If one were to watch director Walter Hill’s The Warriors without knowing anything about it, you might actually think that it was the middle chapter of a franchise – but that really just speaks to the immersiveness of the world it establishes full of warring gangs on the streets of New York. Hill or another filmmaker might try to expand the story someday in the future with a legacyquel or some such project, but for now, there is only one The Warriors.

Point Break

I can imagine that some of you reading this list are doing so just to check and make sure that I included Kathryn Bigelow’s Point Break. There was that forgettable remake of the film that was released in 2015, but the crime/action adventure starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze is otherwise and in many ways singular.

Bullitt

Directed by Peter Yates, Bullitt is one of the all-time great car movies, led by Steve McQueen in one of his most iconic roles, but it’s notably the only time that the actor got to play Lieutenant Frank Bullitt – despite there being obvious franchise potential.

Enter The Dragon

Enter The Dragon is one of the best martial arts movies ever made and arguably the best film in Bruce Lee’s all too short career. Not only does it feature some stellar action sequences that put Lee’s incredible skills on display, it’s also an exciting crime thriller that sees Lee become an undercover agent in a martial arts school run by a drug kingpin.

Six-String Samurai

Director Lance Mungia’s Six-String Samurai is such a strange film, it’s not exactly surprising that it never inspired a sequel. That being said, it is a terrific post-apocalyptic vision full of big ideas that sees a character modeled after Buddy Holly making his way across the wasteland left in the wake of the Soviet Union nuking America.

The Way Of The Dragon

The Way Of The Dragon is part of a classic cinematic tradition that sees an outsider who becomes a hero to desperate strangers, but what ultimately makes it special is the endlessly impressive skills of Bruce Lee. Also, it’s the only title in his filmography where you get to see him show off his martial arts abilities against Chuck Norris at the Colosseum in Rome.

While we consider ourselves firm believers in the phrase, “a hero is only as good as their villain,” there are some villains whom we actually prefer over their heroes. While everybody loves a good and earnest antagonist who invokes genuine fear, those characters are not quite as memorable as the exuberant, and, in many cases, just plain ridiculous psychopaths who may not win in the end, but do manage to steal the show. We took a look back at some of the best action movies of all time and found some of our favorite examples of scenery-chewing, over-the-top villains.

Howard Payne (Speed)

The late Dennis Hopper has many an over-the-top villain in his versatile resume, but he gives one of his most absorbing and truly convincing performances of the like as Howard Payne in Speed. Established early on as "crazy, not stupid" in Jan de Bont's 1994 directorial debut, the mad bomber would prefer to be called "eccentric." Regardless, his idea of putting a speed-controlled explosive device on a bus is certainly not stupid, but very much qualifies as crazy.

Clarence Boddicker (RoboCop)

You can tell that Kurtwood Smith was destined to play the absurdly strict sitcom dad Red Forman in the That '70s Show cast from his performance as Clarence Boddicker in Paul Verhoeven's 1987, RoboCop. His almost hilariously sadistic approach to crime — from physically and verbally abusing his henchpeople over nothing and spouting beautiful one-liners to accompany his cruel acts — makes him one of the best movie villains of the 1980s.

Simon Phoenix (Demolition Man)

Demolition Man is an essential example of an over-the-top action movie for many reasons and among them — in addition to the weird three seashells bit — is Wesley Snipes' performance as a terrorist out of time, Simon Phoenix. Never has the actor played a role with such free-wheeling whimsey, which lends beautifully to the 1993 futuristic thriller's intentionally absurdist tone.

Immortan Joe (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Out of the many bizarre antagonists from the Mad Max movies, Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) from 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road might be the maddest of them all by aesthetic alone. The Wasteland warlord's heavily decorated, transparent body plate and oxygen mask bearing a toothy grin are certainly intimidating, but we would never be able to fault anyone for snickering at the peculiar ensemble either.

Norman Stansfield (The Professional)

We are always so excited to see Gary Oldman play a bad guy because it is those types of roles that tend to garner the best results from the Academy Award winner's chameleonic talents. Case in point: morally and psychologically corrupt DEA agent Norman Stansfield, who forever changed the way we perceive the word "everyone" in Luc Besson’s 1994 classic, The Professional.

The Joker (The Dark Knight)

Heath Ledger might not have won his post-humous Academy Award for his now iconic portrayal of The Joker in 2008’s The Dark Knight if he had ever taken a single moment to dial himself down from 11. While the performance naturally borders on comical, it also keeps us on the edge of our seats and reminds us why the Clown Prince of Crime is not the kind of clown you want to laugh at.

Bodhi (Point Break)

In 1991’s Point Break, even after after he discovers that his new friend, Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) is actually a federal agent, Ex-Presidents leader Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) has no interest in dismantling his group's operation. Why? Because to him, robbing banks is never about the money, but about feeling the ultimate rush that even surfing the biggest and most dangerous tidal wave imaginable would not provide.

William Strannix (Under Siege)

You would have to be careful using the word "insane" around William Strannix (Tommy Lee Jones) in 1992’s Steven Seagal-led favorite, Under Siege. However, the disgraced former CIA operative is kind of asking for it by seizing control of a U.S. battleship, his '80s hair band-esque fashion sense, and his general manner of being, really.

Agent Smith (The Matrix)

As Agent Smith in the Matrix movies, Hugo Weaving accomplishes a rare balancing act for antagonistic portrayal. While maintaining a straight, nearly emotionless face for most of his performance, he still manages to express an unsettling, voracious rage brewing from within in each and every mannerism.

Castor Troy (Face/Off)

The only villain on our list who is portrayed in the same movie by two different actors — and with mind-blowing results from both — is Castor Troy in John Woo's already over-the-top, 1997 classic, Face/Off. Nicolas Cage initially plays the demented terrorist in one of his most definitively unplugged roles before a face-swapping procedure with FBI agent Sean Archer allows John Travolta to go wild.

Ernst Stavro Blofeld (You Only Live Twice)

Donald Pleasance's scenery-chewing performance as the scarred, cat-petting Spectre leader Blofeld in You Only Live Twice would come to define common traits of most James Bond movie villains. The fact that Mike Myers did not divert too far from his appearance and overall demeanor when playing Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers movies really says a lot about how wonderfully weird this portrayal was.

The Sheriff Of Nottingham (Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves)

Alan Rickman's most memorable villainous role is easily Hans Gruber from Die Hard, who is an action movie antagonist we would never quite call "over-the-top." That is why we also have a soft spot for his portrayal of the Sheriff of Nottingham in 1991’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, which sees him as his most irresistibly animated and deliciously dastardly.

Edward "The Riddler" Nygma (Batman Forever)

In one of Jim Carrey's most memorable quotes from 1995’s Batman Forever, he asks if he is too "over-the-top,” after bellowing about being a “god” while wearing a sequined jumpsuit. Indeed, his now iconic performance as Edward Nygma (a.k.a., The Riddler) is one of most extreme and cartoonish of all of the live-action Batman movies.

Cyrus Grisson (Con Air)

It is rare to see Nicolas Cage get out-Caged by one of his co-stars, but John Malkovich absolutely runs away with the show in 1997’s Con Air. As Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom, he takes a stuffed rabbit hostage, uses his own name as a deadly pun ("Cy!" "-onara!"), and other memorably riotous moments while leading a prison plane revolt. 

Zorg (The Fifth Element)

Where shall we start with Gary Oldman's Zorg, Gary Oldman from 1997's The Fifth Element — the Southern accent, the haircut complete with a transparent dome covering his bald half, or his flamboyant wardrobe? If not for that scary black goo emitting from his forehead for whatever reason, we might not be able to take him seriously at all.

Richmond Valentine (Kingsman: The Secret Service)

The fact that Richmond Valentine is a character played none other than Samuel L. Jackson with a lisp is enough to put him in the over-the-top category. However, the main antagonist of 2015's Kingsman: The Secret Service has plenty more ammunition than that — such as his choice to serve dinner guests McDonald's and an apparent self-awareness of being a spy movie villain.

Mr. Joshua (Lethal Weapon)

Academy Award nominee Gary Busey has played a number of memorable antagonistic roles, but none match the intensity of Mr. Joshua in 1987’s Lethal Weapon. The moment he shows his undying loyalty to General Peter McAllister by letting him burn his hand with a Zippo is equal parts disturbing and uproarious.

Jaws (The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker)

Played by Richard Kiel, the towering James Bond henchperson known as "Jaws" gets his name from his set of metal chompers. While not the primary antagonist of 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me, his almost absurdly unique appearance made him memorable enough to return for Moonraker two years later.

Captain Bennett (Commando)

Out of all of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s best movies, 1985’s Commando boasts one of the most intelligent and truly fearsome antagonists in Bennett. Still, he earns a spot on this list for the way Australian actor Vernon Wells plays the sadistic military captain like a giddy schoolboy at times.

Lord Humungus (The Road Warrior)

When George Miller first steered the Mad Max franchise right into its post-apocalyptic era with 1981’s The Road Warrior, he introduced an appropriately mad villain in the form of Lord Humungus (Kjell Nilsson). Like fellow Wasteland warlord Immortan Joe, the hulking leader of the Marauders earns his over-the-top reputation by his attire alone, which resembles a medieval Jason Voorhees of sorts. 

Sho'Nuff (The Last Dragon)

Actor Julius Carry certainly lives up to his name by the way he “carries” 1985’s The Last Dragon as Sho’Nuff. From his boisterous swagger to his wicked hairstyle and attire, the self-described “Shogun of Harlem” makes this cheesy martial arts flick an essential selection of B-movie cinema.

Luther (The Warriors)

Rival gang leader Luther causes the titular gang from The Warriors a whole lot of trouble in Walter Hill's 1979 favorite. However, actor David Patrick Kelly made the character an icon in one classic improvised moment in which he entices his rivals to "come out to play" while clinking three glass bottles together with his fingers.

Harvey "Two-Face" Dent (Batman Forever)

It is ironic to learn that, according to Jim Carrey, Tommy Lee Jones told his Batman Forever co-star that he could not “sanction [his] buffoonery.” Anybody who has seen Joel Schumacher’s debut DC film would probably agree that the Oscar winner surprisingly out-crazies Carrey’s Riddler with his performance as Two-Face.

Oddjob (Goldfinger)

As far as James Bond movie henchpeople go, Oddjob (Harold Sakata) from 1964’s Goldfinger, might be the most recognizable. Yet, how could you forget a character who preys on his victims with a razor-sharp bowler hat?

Wez (The Road Warrior)

While Lord Humungus may be the central antagonist of The Road Warrior — George Miller's first follow-up to Mad Max — the, arguably, more iconic villain is his right-hand man, Wez (Vernon Wells). Like Humungus, the maniacal motorhead already makes an impression with his one-of-a-kind look — from his red-tinged mohawk to his football and leather chaps — but his hot temper makes him a real force to be reckoned with in the Wasteland.

Dr. Victor "Mr. Freeze" Fries (Batman & Robin)

If there is any reason to be a fan of 1997’s Batman & Robin, it has to be Arnold Schwarzenegger’s explosively hammy performance as Mr. Freeze. His increasingly infantile ice puns — such as “What killed the dinosaurs? The Ice Age!” and “Let’s kick some ice!” — lend to some of the funniest Batman movie moments and make the otherwise widely reviled DC flick a laugh riot worth revisiting.

Ming The Merciless (Flash Gordon)

The great Max von Sydow disappears into the role of galactic emperor, Ming the Merciless, in the 1980 adaptation of of Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon comic strip. His performance as the Earthling-hating monarch — and those eyebrows especially — are key to the space opera’s irresistibly campy tone.

Ma-Ma (Dredd)

There is nothing particularly absurd or even remotely funny about Lena Headey's performance as Madeline "Ma-Ma" Madrigal in 2012's underrated comic book flick, Dredd. However, her use of excessive violence is what really pushes her over the top.

Ramon Cota (Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection)

Billy Drago shared the screen with Chuck Norris in multiple titles, but their finest dance was in Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection. The 1990 sequel saw the actor at his most frightening, but also uproarious at times, as the ruthless, sniveling Ramon Cota. 

Major Chip Hazard (Small Soldiers)

In director Joe Dante’s somewhat family-friendly, underrated ‘90s flick, Small Soldiers, a line of military action figures become equipped with an A.I. that leads them to start a legitimately dangerous conflict. The war-mongering Commando Elite are led by Major Chip Hazard — a combination of every laughable war movie cliche rolled into one character, who could have only been voiced by Tommy Lee Jones.

Max Zorin (A View To Kill)

Academy Award winner Christopher Walken is one of Hollywood’s most skilled masters in the art of over-the-top acting and an essential example of this comes from 1985’s A View to Kill. Facing off against Roger Moore’s James Bond, Walken dons a bleach-blonde hairdo and an unrecognizable accent as the dastardly Max Zorin.

Pamela "Poison Ivy" Isley (Batman & Robin)

Even before passionate botanist Dr. Pamela Isley undergoes a physical and psychological transformation into the seductive Poison Ivy, she already seems pretty unbalanced. Of course, it when Uma Thurman channels the old-fashioned femme fatale persona and turns the heat up to the highest degree is when she really makes a case for Batman & Robin being a “one-woman show.”

We would watch a whole team-up movie with these villains together.

Not everyone wants to root for the squeaky-clean hero. People like flaws and misguided motivations. There are villains we love to hate, like Hans Gruber and Regina George, and there are antiheroes we hate to love. This is our list of all those flawed characters that we cheer for. 

Mad Max (Mad Max Franchise)

No one could have predicted that a small-budget Australian movie like The Road Warrior would launch a franchise, but it has. Mel Gibson's Mad Max, a former cop turned vigilante in a post-apocalyptic world. Max is violent and ruthless, but he's driven by grief, so we love him for it. 

Jack Sparrow (Pirates Of The Caribbean)

There aren't a lot of chances in life to root for a pirate, but there aren't a lot of pirates quite like Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. He cheats, lies, and steals and we love him for it. He's one of the greatest antiheroes of all time. 

Catwoman (Batman)

Though Catwoman may have started as a villain in the Batman comics, in most of her appearances in movies, she's been a clear antiheroine. She's been portrayed on the big screen most recently by Zoë Kravitz in The Batman, and in the past by Anne Hathaway, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Halle Berry, and each time, she walks that line between enemy and friend to Batman. 

Patrick Bateman (American Psycho)

One of the worst characters on this list has to be Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) from American Psycho. The title tells the whole story, right? Yet somehow, he's one of the most quotable characters in film history, Whether it's about how Huey Lewis is great or getting reservations at Dorsia we love to quote the serial killer and that means we are rooting for him, in a way. 

Arthur Fleck (The Joker)

Everyone knows where the Joker ends up, as the Clown Prince of Crime and one of the worst villains in Gotham. Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) in The joker is easy to root for, at least at first. He's a guy that just can't catch a break and he's pushed to his limit, so we can all empathize with his plight, even when it leads to crime. We just don't take it as far as Fleck does, hopefully. 

Han Solo (Star Wars)

You might be surprised to see Han Solo (Harrison Ford) on this list, but you have to remember, before he became a hero, he was a bad boy smuggler; the one who shot first in his meeting with Greedo; just a stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder who few people trusted. He didn't want to get involved in the fight for freedom and fought joining the rebellion for years.  

Vito Corleone

Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) in The Godfather rose from the most modest of circumstances in Sicily to the height of power in New York City. Unfortunately, he made that rise through brutality and murder. Still, he's loyal and honest to his family and his organization, and he's just...well... cool. Plus he loves cats. 

Snake Plissken (Escape From New York)

Snake Plissken is maybe the coolest guy on this list. Sure, he's a heartless criminal who only looks out for himself, but can you blame him? Look at the mess of a world he's living in. He's who everyone would want to be if they were stuck in a bombed-out shell that was once New York City. 

Deadpool (Deadpool)

The Merc with the Mouth, Deadpool, is a now-legendary antihero from Marvel. He's foul-mouthed and murderous. Everything most Marvel heroes eschew, Deadpool embraces and we love him for it. Somehow, despite being everything a hero isn't supposed to be, makes him a better hero than many. He's just a bad guy who gets paid to mess up worse guys. 

Jules Winnfield (Pulp Fiction)

In Pulp Fiction, Samuel L. Jackson's Jules Winnfield is trying to walk a different path. He's had enough of being a hitman, and we should admire him for it, but let's be honest, it's his coolness in being a hitman that makes us love him. The bible-quoting, swearing, no-nonsense criminal is just fun to root for, despite all the murdering. 

Lisbeth Salander (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo)

No one can ever question the motivations of Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. The abuse she suffered would not be wished on anyone's worst enemies. What it turns her into is something terrifying, and yet endearing, making her the ultimate antiheroine. 

John Wick (John Wick)

Yes, John Wick is avenging the murder of a dog when he is sucked back into his old life, and that is something we can all stand behind, but let's not forget he is a cold-blooded assassin. He lives and operates in a terrifying underworld that is not making the world a better place. So while his immediate actions might be somewhat justified, he's no hero. 

R.P. McMurphy (One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest)

Randle Patrick McMurphy is one of the greatest antiheroes of modern literature and cinema. Played brilliantly by Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest RP McMurphy is the best kind of troublemaker. A career criminal trying to take down the real bad guys, "the system", or in this specific case, Nurse Ratched and the institution he finds himself in. 

Léon (Léon: The Professional)

Jean Reno's performance as the protagonist in Léon: The Professional is phenomenal. His dedication to Mathilda (Natalie Portman) is heartfelt and honest and that's what endears him to audiences. The hitman with a heart of gold, so to speak. 

Veronica (Heathers)

One of the darkest (and best) comedies of the 1980s was Heathers and at its heart is Veronica (Winona Ryder), who becomes part of a murderous duo with her boyfriend J.D. (Christian Slater). It plays for laughs, sure, and every teenager can relate, but, yikes, she's terrible! 

Alex DeLarge (A Clockwork Orange)

There may be no worse person on this list than Alex DeLarge in A Clockwork Orange. His penchant for "ultra-violence" is beyond disturbing, but she sure does have style! The white suit and black bowler hat is an iconic look so that alone makes him cool enough to root for. It's really what happens to him at the hands of the doctors to cure him that gets us rooting for him though, as messed up as that is. 

Wolverine (X-Men)

Comic books, and the movies based on them, are filled with great antiheroes, and Wolverine is among the very best. Hugh Jackman's version of Wolverine in all of the various X-Men movies makes us love the character even more. 

Tyler Durden

Tyler Durden in Fight Club has almost become an actual hero to many these days, but it shouldn't be. Sure, he shows the Narrator (Edward Norton) a different way to live, with more confidence and moxie, but he's a terrible role model, ultimately. Brad Pitt plays the role with so much charisma though, he's hard not to love.  

Harley Quinn (Suicide Squad)

Harley Quinn, played brilliantly by Margot Robbie in various DC films, including Suicide Squad among others, is one of the most likable antiheroines on this list. She's as violent as a character can be, but she sure does it with style! 

Severus Snape (Harry Potter)

Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) in the Harry Potter franchise walks the line between antihero and hero more than anyone on this list. His motivations seem to be to get back at Harry for his unrequited love for Harry's mother, but he ultimately proves his loyalty several times in Harry's fight with Voldemort. 

Michael Corleone (The Godfather Saga)

While Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) may claim that that he's trying to go legit, his actions at every turn throughout the The Godfather series say otherwise. Pretty much everything he says is immediately discarded in favor of his lust for power. He turns on almost everyone around him, yet somehow audiences always see the more human side of him and root for him. 

Beatrix Kiddo (Kill Bill)

Leave it to Quentin Tarantino to create one of the most stylish antiheroines in film history. Beatrix Kiddo (Uma Thurman) is dead-set on revenge for past actions against her, and boy oh boy does she get it. Don't get in her way.

Loki (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

Loki causes more grief and mischief than almost any other character in the MCU, save for Thanos. Still, Tom Hiddleston's various performances are among the best in the franchise, and how can you not love him, even when he's at his worst? Truly one of the best villains in film history.  

Gordon Gekko (Wall Street)

It's unlikely that Wall Street Director Oliver Stone meant for Gordon Gekko to become a cultural hero of any kind, but Michael Douglas' Oscar-winning performance has turned him into a very popular antihero. While the character represents everything that is wrong with Wall Street in the 1980s and even today, Douglas is so good, you walk away liking the character, instead of despising him. 

Tony Montana (Scarface)

There is nothing we should like about Tony Montana (Al Pacino) in Scarface. Sure, he got rich after getting thrown out of Cuba and landing in Miami with nothing, but how he got there is just awful. He's mean and nasty to everyone he comes in contact with, even his closest friends. Somehow still, audiences love him and his little friend. 

Bodhi (Point Break)

Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) is a bank-robbing criminal with little regard for anyone but himself and his desires. He's also a surfer and skydiver who is searching for "100% pure adrenaline). It's that second part that audiences fall in love with. He's a guy searching for the ultimate natural high, no matter what it takes. 

The Punisher (Marvel)

There may be no greater example of a pure antihero than The Punisher. Former cop Frank Castle has understandable motives, avenging the murder of his family, but his means are brutal. The character has been played by Thomas Jane, Ray Stevenson, and Dolph Lundgren on the big screen, and more recently by Jon Bernthal in the MCU, but the story is always the same and it's always violent, yet relatable, in a weird way.  

William Foster (Falling Down)

Michael Douglas' character in Falling Down is a man on the edge when the film begins. Soon, he's in a rage, followed by a violent rampage against everything that irks him. It's an irrational response to common feelings all humans deal with. It makes the character relatable, but not righteous. 

Conan (Conan the Barbarian)

Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger) in Conan the Barbarian is another antihero who is driven by his desire to avenge his family's murder. To do so, he is ruthless and violent. His methods are everything we should hate, but we understand what has driven him to this point. 

Harry Callahan (Dirty Harry)

Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) isn't a dirty cop, in that he's not taking bribes and treating the innocent badly. He's not a good cop either and his means to the end are terrifying. He's a one-man judge, jury, and executioner throughout the entire Dirty Harry series, but he's got some amazing lines, so we love him. 

Daniel Plainview (There Will Be Blood)

Daniel Day-Lewis can make almost any character he plays likable, no matter how awful they are. Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood is the perfect example of this, as he is mean, greedy, and vengeful. Still, the performance is so amazing, and his love for his son is genuine, so we excuse it, to a point. 

Hannibal Lector (The Silence Of The Lambs)

Anthony Hopkins performance as Hannibal Lector in The Silence Of The Lambs is one of the most chilling and scariest in film history. The serial killer-turned-FBI-consultant is awful in every way except for his treatment of Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster). It's exactly why we're rooting for him at the end of the movie to get his revenge on Dr. Chilton (Anthony Heald). 

Antiheroes have been a part of storytelling forever and though we know we're supposed to hate them, this list shows why we can't help but love them. 

Don’t let the fact that it’s free fool you, there are a ton of great movies on Pluto TV. From some of the best 2000s movies to highly decorated documentaries with fresh ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, to an assortment of Best Picture winners, it has it all. If you want to check out classics and hidden gems on one of the best streaming services, all you need to do is use Pluto TV, which is honestly easier than it sounds.

Below is a beefy list of some of the best movies on Pluto TV, but this is just barely scratching the surface of what the streaming platform has to offer. That being said, let’s check out a couple dozen of the best options the service has for you.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

The Director: Frank Darabont

The Cast: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Clancy Brown

What It’s About: A prison inmate spends years of his life planning a seemingly impossible escape from a heavily fortified prison, making remarkable friendships along the way.

What To Expect: Shawshank Redemption is considered one of the best Stephen King adaptations, and rightfully so. This iconic 1994 movie, with its tremendous performances, empowering story, and unforgettable scenes has been a fan-favorite for 30 years.

• Stream The Shawshank Redemption on Pluto TV.

Interstellar (2014)

The Director: Christopher Nolan

The Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway

What It’s About: With humanity on the brink of extinction due to blight, a farmer leads a daring mission to space in hopes of finding a new place to call home. But that’s just the beginning (or the end, depending on how you look at the timeline).

What To Expect: One of Christopher Nolan’s best movies, Interstellar is a wonderful sci-fi movie, but deeper than that, it’s an unforgettable saga about the unbreakable bond between father and daughter.

• Stream Interstellar on Pluto TV.

The Fugitive (1993)

The Director: Andrew Davis

The Cast: Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Joe Pantoliano

What It’s About: A decorated surgeon, wrongfully convicted of brutally murdering his wife, goes on the run and attempts to clear his name before it’s too late.

What To Expect: One of the best movies based on forgotten TV shows, The Fugitive features some of Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones’ work (the latter received an Oscar for his performance). This thrilling cat-and-mouse chase through Chicago never gets old.

• Stream The Fugitive on Pluto TV.

The Raid Movies (2012, 2014)

The Director: Gareth Evans

The Cast: Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian

What They’re About: A young cop’s journey plays out from his time as a member of an elite SWAT team to that as an undercover agent attempting to bring down a ruthless crime syndicate.

What To Expect: Gareth Evans The Raid movies are two of the most impressive and influential action movies of the 21st century. With incredible fight scenes, a gripping story of revenge and redemption, and unforgettable characters, there’s a lot to take in.

• Stream The Raid on Pluto TV.
• Stream The Raid 2 on Pluto TV.

Seven (1995)

The Director: David Fincher

The Cast: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow

What It’s About: Two detectives – one a hotshot rookie, the other on the eve of retirement – spend a week trying to track down a sadistic killer whose crimes are inspired by the seven deadly sins.

What To Expect: One of the tightest, and most frightening, psychological thrillers of all time, David Fincher’s Seven is full of grisly crime scenes, interesting characters, and one of the most talked about endings of all time.

• Stream Seven on Pluto TV.

The Godfather Trilogy (1972 - 1990)

The Director: Francis Ford Coppola

The Cast: Michael Keaton, Marlon Brando. Robert De Niro

What It’s About: A sprawling epic tracing the Corleone crime family over the course of nearly a century and multiple generations.

What To Expect: Some of the best gangster films of all time, The Godfather trilogy goes deeper than mobsters trying to make a living. With a focus on family, the impact of decisions on a person’s conscience, and attempts to build and maintain an empire, there’s a lot to explore.

• Stream The Godfather on Pluto TV.
• Stream The Godfather Part II on Pluto TV.
• Stream Mario Puzo’s The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone on Pluto TV.

Pulp Fiction (1994)

The Director: Quentin Tarantino

The Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, John Travolta

What It’s About: Four interconnected stories of hitmen, gangsters, boxers, and other unforgettable characters play out over the course of two days.

What To Expect: With its non-linear structure, intertwined stories filled with unforgettable characters, and a general vibe that feels both retro and modern, this is something you have to see.

• Stream Pulp Fiction on Pluto TV.

Catch Me If You Can (2002)

The Director: Steven Spielberg

The Cast: Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christopher Walken

What It’s About: A young yet prolific con-man travels across the world pulling off one scheme after another, but he meets his match when a dedicated FBI agent gets on the pursuit.

What To Expect: With one of the best performances of Leonardo DiCaprio’s career up to that point, a great dynamic between the young star and Tom Hanks, and some wild hijinks, this 2002 biographical drama is all killer, no filler.

• Stream Catch Me If You Can on Pluto TV.

Top Gun (1986)

The Director: Tony Scott

The Cast: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards

What It’s About: A talented and cocky fighter pilot is forced to compete with the best and brightest his country has to offer upon being invited to the Top Gun training school.

What To Expect: Tony Scott’s 1986 action movie staple is one of the most intense, exhilarating, and unforgettable cinematic experiences of all time with its daring dogfights, an absurdly stacked cast, an iconic soundtrack, and what is probably the most unforgettable volleyball scene ever put to film.

• Stream Top Gun on Pluto TV.

Clue (1985) 

The Director: Jonathan Lynn

The Cast: Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd

What It’s About: A group of strangers are invited to dinner at a remote mansion by the man who’s blackmailing each of them. When their host mysteriously dies, they are forced to work together to find the killer.

What To Expect: Based on the popular board game of the same name, this 1985 cult classic is full of twists, turns, revelations, and oh so many endings.

• Stream Clue on Pluto TV.

Tommy Boy (1995)

The Director: Peter Segal

The Cast: Chris Farley, David Spade, Rob Lowe

What It’s About: The unlikely heir to an automobile parts company goes on a road trip with his late father’s sarcastic assistant to save the family business.

What To Expect: On top of having one hilarious quote after another, this 1995 comedy has so much heart, which is one of the reasons it’s so beloved nearly 30 years after its release.

• Stream Tommy Boy on Pluto TV.

Heat (1995)

The Director: Michael Mann

The Cast: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer

What It’s About: A seasoned LAPD detective tries to nab a prolific and elusive bank robber before he can pull off the biggest heist of the century.

What To Expect: Quite possibly the best heist movie of all time, Michael Mann’s Heat created the blueprint for the modern crime thriller back in 1995. This crime epic blurs the lines between good and evil and right and wrong to create an unforgettable and game-changing experience.

• Stream Heat on Pluto TV.

The Master (2012)

The Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

The Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams

What It’s About: A WWII vet struggles to find a place in society until he falls into the orbit of a charismatic cult leader.

What to expect: One of Paul Thomas Anderson’s best movies, The Master, for lack of a better term, is a masterclass in filmmaking, storytelling, and acting (thanks to Joaquin Phoenix and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman). Incredible shots, incredible acting, and a powerful story like no other make this a modern classic.

• Stream The Master on Pluto TV.

Blue Velvet (1985)

The Director: David Lynch

The Cast: Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper, Isabella Rossellini

What It’s About: A college student returns home to visit his ailing father, finds a severed ear, and finds himself wrapped up in the criminal underworld (with all its seedy players).

What To Expect: One of David Lynch’s best movies, Blue Velvet combines elements of film noir and psychological thrillers to creat a unique and unforgettable experience.

• Stream Blue Velvet on Pluto TV.

Mr. Mom (1983)

The Director: Stan Dragoti

The Cast: Michael Keaton, Teri Garr, Martin Mull

What It’s About: Trading in the workplace for suburbia, Michael Keaton’s Jack Butler takes over the homestead while his wife, Caroline (Teri Garr), finally gets back into the corporate world.

What To Expect: Hilarity, hijinks, and life lessons are aplenty in this fantastic movie about a husband learning just how easy he had it in the workforce.

• Stream Mr. Mom on Pluto TV.

Platoon (1986)

The Director: Oliver Stone

The Cast: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe

What It’s About: Told through the eyes of a young soldier named Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen), Oliver Stone’s Vietnam War movie, Platoon, explores how the horrors and stresses of combat can turn someone’s brain inside out and leave them not knowing who is a friend and who is a foe on the battlefield.

What To Expect: One of the most realistic war movies ever made, this Academy Award-winning drama is intense, to say the least. It also features the best use of Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings.”

• Stream Platoon on Pluto TV.

Heathers (1988)

The Director: Michael Lehmann

The Cast: Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Kim Walker

What It’s About: A high school student and her boyfriend accidentally kill the most popular girl in school, kicking off a series of unfortunate and unsettling events.

What To Expect: This 1988 dark comedy may center around high school students, but this doesn’t mean it doesn’t have any bite. Ruthlessly violent, darkly funny, and consequential, this is one of the best movies of the ‘80s.

• Stream Heathers on Pluto TV.

Memento (2001)

The Director: Christopher Nolan

The Cast: Guy Pearce, Joe Pantoliano, Carrie-Anne Moss

What It’s About: A man with a rare and untreatable form of amnesia attempts to track down the man who viciously assaulted and murdered his wife.

What To Expect: One of Christopher Nolan’s best movies, Memento is the one that put him on the map and led to later successes like the Dark Knight trilogy and Oppenheimer. Though hard to follow at times due to its unique narrative structure, this crime thriller is unlike anything else.

• Stream Memento on Pluto TV.

Grizzly Man (2005)

The Director: Werner Herzog

The Cast: Timothy Treadwell, Werner Herzog

What It’s About: This intimate portrait of Timothy Treadwell, a man who spent many years of his life living with bears in Alaska, ends in an unspeakable tragedy, but everything that leads to that fateful moment is beautiful, innocent, and pure.

What To Expect: Though you don’t see or hear the recording of Treadwell’s final agonizing moments, there’s a scene in Grizzly Man where Herzog listens to the fatal attack that is utterly gutting.

• Stream Grizzly Man on Pluto TV.

Nosferatu (1922)

The Director: F.W. Murnau

The Cast: Max Schreck, Gustav von Wangenheim, Greta Schroeder)

What It’s About: One of the greatest horror films of all time, as well as one of the most controversial, Nosferatu is an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula that some would argue is more terrifying than the source material.

What To Expect: The visual of Count Orlock’s (Max Schreck) shadow creeping up the stairs to claim his next victim, or really any image of the grotesque vampire, is pure nightmare fuel. As is the rest of this 1922 silent film.

• Stream Nosferatu on Pluto TV.

12 Angry Men (1957)

The Director: Sidney Lumet

The Cast: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley

What It’s About: Tasked with deciding the fate of a teenager charged with murder, a group of jurors begins to question everything about the case and their own lives after one of them casts doubt on the whole situation.

What To Expect: When it comes to legal dramas, it doesn’t get much better than Sidney Lumet’s 12 Angry Men. This tense legal drama dives into arguments about morals, ethics, and redemption.

• Stream 12 Angry Men on Pluto TV.

This is just a small sampling from the vast library of great films available on Pluto TV. If you’re looking for even more titles to watch, check out our rundown of the best free movies online.

Before the best movies from the 2000s were allowed to run, the cinematic classics from the 1990s had to walk. (Well, except for Forrest Gump.) The 20th century closed out with a decade of cinematic spectacles as Hollywood embraced bigger budgets, the early days of CGI, and a new breed of superstars like Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon and Keanu Reeves.

From great ‘90s sci-fi movies like Jurassic Park to beloved ‘90s family films like Toy Story to chilling thrillers and hilarious comedies, just about any genre fan can feel represented by the era's best. Can the same be said for music, TV and literature? (I'll be too busy watching Speed again to research that.) So grab your long-dead Tamagotchis and scented markers and join us in celebrating the best of the best that the ‘90s had to offer.

• This list was compiled by the bulk of CinemaBlend's editors and writers, who gave 0-5 scores to an overall list of around 300 movies, with all of the final scores averaged out to determine the final ranking of 100.

How We Put This List Together

• Around 300 entries from a vast variety of 1990s films , which fit the bill of being culturally relevant and critically respected, were gathered using a combination of staff recommendations, movie guides and further research. The entries were tracked in a spreadsheet, where the majority of our staff then went through a multi-level voting process, with scores assigned based on personal opinions. A base number of viewers was also required for entries to make the cut, and lowest scores were then eliminated, in the style of scoring figure skating. The movies were then ordered from 1-100 based on the final average scores, with a variety of staff members writing the movie-celebrating entries. 

100. The Fifth Element (1997)

Luc Besson's The Fifth Element is a seriously wild movie. The sci-fi adventure has become a bona fide genre classic. Even though parts of the film were frustrating to make, those efforts clearly paid off, leaving us with one of the most fun space rides to date with an A-level cast including Milla Jovovich, Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Chris Tucker in arguably his spaciest performance. Anyone who may have forgotten how fun and bonkers it is should grab a multi-pass and return immediately. 

99. Dumb and Dumber (1994)

Jim Carrey may have enjoyed the most successful year for any comedian in 1994, and Dumb and Dumber is a major part of that unprecedented run. After the wildly successful Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and The Mask, the Saturday Night Live reject gave an iconic performance as Lloyd Christmas in the Farrelly Brothers’ breakout comedy alongside Jeff Daniels’ Harry Dunne. Everything about the movie simply works in spite of itself. The chemistry between its stars, the balance of over-the-top humor and more subtle jokes, and the most annoying sound in the world work together to create an unparalleled and game-changing experience. 

98. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

The Blair Witch Project may not have been the first to bring a cinéma vérité approach to the horror genre, but through extremely savvy marketing and lore-building, the no-budget flick became one of the most profitable films of all time, spawning a franchise of film sequels, comics, a video game, and beyond. And all without an actual “witch” to tease in the trailers. One of the ‘90s most polarizing efforts, BWP’s “something from nothing” approach makes it as influential as anything else from the decade.

97. Mulan (1998)

What can be said about Mulan that has yet to be talked about? Released at the tail end of the famed Disney Renaissance through the ‘90s, Mulan was the animated film that defined a generation of young women, inspiring many to always fight for their honor and never back down, even when everyone in the world says otherwise. The music is excellent as the voice-acting takes you to another world, and the animation easily pulls viewers in, but it’s the themes that stay with audiences forever.

96. The Wedding Singer (1998)

More than just a wonderful romantic comedy, The Wedding Singer is a standout title in Adam Sandler’s early career. In the 1990s, Sandler was known for his goofy characters on Saturday Night Live and in goofy movies like Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, and Airheads, but The Wedding Singer was an opportunity for him to show he could do work with a bit more gravity. There’s an argument to be made it paved the way for him excelling in films like Punch Drunk Love and Uncut Gems. And the power of Sandler + Drew Barrymore can never be denied.

95. Death Becomes Her (1992)

There’s a scene in Death Becomes Her that pretty much sums up the Robert Zemeckis film’s greatness – as Goldie Hawn’s Helen sits and leans back, the handle of a shovel slips perfectly through the hole in her torso. Meanwhile, Meryl Streep’s Madeline gracefully takes a seat while clutching her hair atop her head, in order to keep it from flopping forward against her broken neck. It’s dark, it’s twisted, it’s hilarious, and for 1992, the special effects are impressive. Bruce Willis’ Ernest being dragged along for the ride caps off the excellent trio of characters, in this eternally underrated comedy.

94. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

Four years after already penning one of the all-time great romantic comedies (Rob Reiner’s When Harry Met Sally), the late Nora Ephron directed a landmark rom-com of her own with Sleepless in Seattle. The second of three movies co-starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, this genre staple features an incredible story about a woman who goes to great lengths to be with the man she loves, a man whom she’s never met and only knows from a call-in radio show. It’s charming, witty, earnest, and the best kind of enchanted realism. 

93. Jackie Brown (1997)

Quentin Tarantino’s third directorial effort, Jackie Brown kicks off with Pam Grier’s money-smuggling flight attendant trekking to work to the tune of Bobby Womack’s “Across 110th Street,” helping it stand apart from the testosterone-enhanced violence of his first two features. And while the star-studded flick does dip into the filmmaker’s favored crime genre tropes, Jackie Brown hinges more on character study than sheer plot machination, and provides career-high performances from Bridget Fonda, Robert Forster, and Grier herself. And in that way, it’s arguably the most empathy-worthy project from Tarantino’s career.

92. Happy Gilmore (1996)

Depending on who you talk to, Adam Sandler’s '90s comedies are either near the peak of the genre or near the pits of low-brow comedy. We know where Shooter McGavin's opinions would lie, but we lean toward raising our clubs and pucks to Sandler’s story about a failed hockey player taking the world of professional golf by storm, all for his grandma. I’ll always laugh at Happy Gilmore’s titular hero going toe-to-toe with the late game show host Bob Barker, and the wild story of how he got involved is as great as the on-screen fisticuffs.

91. Casino (1995)

It’s hard to pick a favorite when talking about the best mob characters that Robert De Niro has played, though I’d argue Sam "Ace" Rothstein is as good as it gets. Unlike many other gangster movies tethered to dark alleys, Casino zeroes in on the mafia’s stranglehold of the glitzy and glamorous Las Vegas in the 1970s. It’s further bolstered by excellent directing from master craftsman Martin Scorsese and a supporting cast with legends like Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci. A fantastic movie that doesn't shy away from deeply upsetting moments. 

90. Forrest Gump (1994)

Despite all the cringey and parody-fueling moments in Robert Zemeckis' Forrest Gump --- never forget the Weird Al classic "Gump" --- Tom Hanks' history-making and country-crossing simpleton remains one of the 1990s most enduring movie heroes. With a stacked cast of pros, from Sally Field to Gary Sinise, Forrest Gump's popularity was evident from both its boffo box office, its huge success at the Oscars and beyond, and just how many quotes from this movie have permanently nestled themselves into pop culture. 

89. A Few Good Men (1992)

Courtrooms are a natural fit for high drama, and A Few Good Men has some of the best courtroom scenes in cinema history. Aaron Sorkin’s first screenplay, based on his own stage play, is missing many of the elements that would later define his writing, but that’s not a bad thing here. The battle between Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson has become iconic, but even outside of that near-perfect scene, A Few Good Men is full of incredible characters, smart dialogue, and memorable moments. It’s perhaps one of Cruise’s most criminally overlooked performances.

88. Pretty Woman (1990)

Pretty Woman is definitely one of Julia Roberts's best movies in a wildly impressive career, but it's also one of the best ‘90s rom-coms. The film's sleazy-on-paper tale, which follows a rich businessman hiring a Hollywood escort to be his date to several social events, is a charmer thanks to its stellar leads. The film vaulted Roberts into an even bigger star, while making romantics everywhere swoon at the idea of a wealthy millionaire like Richard Gere coming out of nowhere to sweep them off their feet – if only, amirite?

87. As Good As It Gets (1997)

I miss Jack Nicholson. I miss James L. Brooks. I miss emotional, character-driven comedies that excelled thanks to outstanding performances from A-list talent. Nicholson, Helen Hunt, and Greg Kinnear weave magic in this sweet story about strangers forming friendships over low-stakes but relatable dramas. Studios craving IP don’t back movies like this anymore. But when they did, and when actors could sink their teeth into the material, this one was as good as they got. 

86. The Sandlot (1993)

There are ‘90s sports movies that are kid-pleasers, and then there is The Sandlot, the 1993 coming-of-age story about a ragtag group of kids living what could be the best summer of their lives. There's so much to love about this small-stakes baseball tale, from its timelessness to its life lessons to incredible characters like Scotty Smalls, Benny Rodriguez, Ham Porter, and so many others, there’s just so much to love about this classic sports film. To quote the Great Bambino, “Heroes get remembered, but legends never die.” In this case, we're calling our shot: The Sandlot is one of those legends. 

85. Can't Hardly Wait (1998)

Can’t Hardly Wait combines an "everybody's recognizable" ensemble cast with the classic house party setting and a killer soundtrack to give us one of the most epic teen movies of all time. The plot centers around Ethan Embry’s Preston, who needs to profess his love for Amanda (Jennifer Love Hewitt) at the graduation party, now that she is finally single after being dumped by Mike (Peter Facinelli). But plots are for dorks, and the 1998 comedy epitomizes the teen angst of the late 20th century in an honest and hilarious way.

84. You've Got Mail (1998)

You’ve Got Mail arrived in 1998 when just about everybody would have recognized the title as the AOL greeting message. This was the third movie to pair Tom Hanks with Meg Ryan, with writer/director Nora Ephron bringing her magic romantic comedy touch to the story of two business rivals who unwittingly fall in love via online chat. Hanks and Ryan channel the same chemistry that was a hit years earlier with Sleepless in Seattle, and it doesn't require having lived through the AOL era to appreciate the level of classic rom-com energy that makes this a winner. 

83. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

In a decade filled with all-time great Robin Williams movies, there’s something particularly tender and very much unforgettable about Chris Columbus’ Ms. Doubtfire. Underpinned by the heartbreak of having less time than ever with his three kids as his divorce looms, voiceover actor Daniel Hillard hatches a plan to form a new character in an elderly housekeeper named Mrs. Doubtfire to get more time with them. Not only does his new secret identity make for some hilarious moments that very much play to Williams’ strengths as a comedy actor, Mrs. Doubtfire is also a touching film that takes a grounded approach to parent separation. 

82. Edward Scissorhands (1990)

The most Tim Burton movie ever to Tim Burton, Edward Scissorhands is, on one bladed hand, a weirdly heartwarming horror movie, but on the other bladed hand, an endlessly frightening family film. The suburban Frankenstein homage is bolstered by stellar performances from Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder and Dianne Weist, with each bringing grounded authenticity to this wildly fantastical fable. (Yes, even the pity-provoking Depp.) The cherries on top of this macabre cake are Vincent Price, in his final major film role, and Burton-familiar composer Danny Elfman. And the eye-popping hedge art and ice sculptures don’t hurt.

81. American History X (1998)

Long before debates about The Snyder Cut, star Edward Norton, director Tony Kaye, and New Line Cinema engaged in a very loud and sometimes public squabble over American History X. The final cut we got, which Kaye publicly disavowed, is a brutal, almost two-hour look at modern white supremacy that’s shot partially in black and white. It netted Norton an Oscar nomination and has individual moments as strong as anything on this list, but it also occasionally loses pace and has always left fans wanting to see Kaye’s original 95-minute cut, which remains unreleased following the film’s disastrous production

80. Aladdin (1992)

It’s easy to look at Aladdin and celebrate the work of the great Robin Williams, and justifiably so. Only animation could truly uncork the man’s absolutely manic comedy style. But focusing only on Williams overlooks the work of amazing animators who created the Genie and everything else, since it's a testament to their skill that the animation is able to keep up with Williams and the high-flying scenes. Musical sequences like “A Friend Like Me” and “A Whole New World” show another form of animated beauty and have become just as iconic on their own as the Genie himself.

79. That Thing You Do! (1996)

By the time he wrote, directed, and co-starred in 1996’s That Thing You Do, Tom Hanks was already an acting powerhouse. So it was a bit of a surprise to see the Academy Award-winning actor delivering a tale about the wild ride that so many one-hit wonders of the ‘60s endured. Initially, the story of The Wonders (Johnathon Schaech, Ethan Embry, Steve Zahn, and Tom Everett Scott) and their roller-coaster journey wasn’t a smash success, but decades later, That Thing You Do is a well-regarded mini-cult classic that can still leave audiences with songs in their hearts.

78. Trainspotting (1996)

While it wasn’t his directorial debut, Danny Boyle’s adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting was the flick that put the man on the map. Following the lives of a group of Scottish drug addicts and friends, a cast including Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle, and Kelly MacDonald landed their start as the stars of tomorrow. Through a narrative that’s both darkly comic and frightfully serious, Trainspotting ushers its heroin addicts through life's struggles in grounded and trippy ways. Establishing Boyle’s skills in telling a conventional story through unconventional means, it’s a powerful statement for its director and the message he’s trying to convey.

77. Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)

The Die Hard formula survived the transition to the “buddy cop” genre (at least initially) with Bruce Willis’ iconic John McClane being forced to team up with a good samaritan (Samuel L. Jackson) and solve a bunch of riddles around Manhattan to prevent bombs from going off. Many consider With a Vengeance to be the best in the Die Hard series, though it’s blasphemy to put ANY of them ahead of John McTiernan’s original. Still, this one moves like a freight train, Willis and Jackson have remarkable chemistry, and Jeremy Irons is a sinister villain with a satisfying twist of a motivation to take McClane down. 

76. Titanic (1997)

Titanic was an event in itself when it arrived in theaters, with James Cameron’s film ambitiously bringing to screen the story of the ill-fated ship, depicting the journey across the Atlantic with incredible visuals that give us a sense of what it might have been like aboard the ship during that terrible night. At the center of it all is the love story of Rose (Kate Winslet) and Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio), who manage to find each other, despite their differing social classes, and never let go. Considering how many millions of dollars it earned from repeat audience viewings, its "classic" status is unsinkable.

75. Men in Black (1997)

One of the biggest sci-fi hits of the decade, Men In Black holds a special place in the hearts and minds of both space and comedy nerds. Even though it initially took some convincing to land Will Smith for the role of Agent J., Steven Spielberg (as producer) managed to re-catch lightning in a bottle with the actor coming off of Independence Day. And as unpredictable as it seemed at the time Smith and Tommy Lee Jones made for an extremely fun and combative pairing in the rest of the Men in Black film franchise.

74. The Fugitive (1993)

When it comes to movies based on old TV shows, it doesn’t get much better than The Fugitive. There’s no way around it, this 1993-defining film straight-up rocks and is still just as great more than 30 years after its release. Watching one of Harrison Ford’s most iconic characters go to great lengths to clear his name after being wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife never gets hold, and the same can be said about Tommy Lee Jones’ Academy Award-winning performance as the U.S. Marshal tasked with capturing the elusive fugitive.

73. Run Lola Run (1998)

Outside of sci-fi adventures, time loops aren’t often used as storytelling devices, and 1998’s thriller Run Lola Run absolutely proves why this is a shame. While the story isn’t explicitly a looping band of time, we do get three different versions of writer/director Tom Twyver’s story. Centered around lovers Lola (Franke Potente) and Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu), each variation has one thing in common: they have 20 minutes to score 100,000 Deutschmarks, or Manni is dead. New twists and pitfalls arrive, keeping that premise fresh each time, right up until the end. 

72. Swingers (1996)

Long before he directed major projects like Iron Man and The Mandalorian, Jon Favreau wrote and starred in the Doug Liman-directed Swingers. This comedy follows Favreau’s Mike Peters, a comedian who’s getting over a bad breakup and moves to Hollywood to find success in the midst of the ‘90s swing revival. The witty back-and-forth dialogue between Favreau and his co-stars, including Vince Vaughn and Heather Graham, and the simple, yet effective story of moving on to better horizons make Swingers one of the most underrated comedies of this decade. It's just so money, baby. 

71. Malcolm X (1992)

For his 1992 “Spike Lee Joint,” the legendary Do The Right Thing filmmaker made his dream come true to make a biopic about one American Civil Rights Movement figure, Malcolm X. It not only remains among the best works of Lee’s incredible filmography, but it’s flat-out one of the best biography movies ever made. That’s all without mentioning a particularly powerful performance by Denzel Washington, who disappears into the figure and brings great intrigue and nuisance to Malcolm X across decades of his life. Spike Lee’s biopic stands tall as an enduring portrait of an important man in a pivotal moment in U.S. history.

70. Friday (1995)

Franchise lead and rap legend Ice Cube teamed up with Chris Tucker to create one of the best "sit back and kick it" movies in movie history. Spawning a line of sequels, the O.G. Friday boasts an awesome cast that also includes the late John Witherspoon, and understandably caught on with a certain kind of stoner comedy-loving crowd, but has become an all-encompassing cult classic. Even beyond its on-screen greatness, Friday also turned "Bye, Felicia" into everyday jargon. 

69. Miller's Crossing (1990)

Joel and Ethan Coen didn’t waste time demonstrating their eclecticism in their careers, breaking out with the phenomenal neo-noir Blood Simple in 1984 ahead of a 180-degree tonal pivot with 1987's gonzo comedy Raising Arizona. Then they kicked off the 1990s with one of the great modern gangster movies in Miller's Crossing. Gabriel Byrne’s Tom Reagan leading John Turturro’s Bernie Bernbaum into the woods to be murdered is the movie’s iconic moment, but it’s the brilliant chaos that spins out from Tom’s decision at the end of the sequence that cements this tense slice of art's place on this list.

68. Rushmore (1998)

Rushmore is often referenced for a lot of things. It was the first Wes Anderson movie to find more mainstream success. The critical acclaim Bill Murray received for his performance helped push him toward the more independent, critically acclaimed movies that defined his later career. It was the debut of Jason Schwartzman. All of those are reasons to celebrate the movie, but none are reasons why it’s on this list. It’s here because it’s an endlessly watchable slice of weirdness that holds up decades later. It’s some of the best career work of everyone referenced, and in its own offbeat way, it’s downright hysterical. 

67. South Park: Bigger, Longer, And Uncut (1999)

In 1999, with South Park at the height of its cultural powers, Matt Stone and Trey Parker took one of the biggest gambles anyone could have ever imagined. Producing the R-rated, animated musical that was South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, the pair doubled down on their uniquely dirty humor. Everything from parenting culture to Les Miserables got sent up, thanks to songs that were catchy but also not safe for work. Not every TV show survives a feature-length expansion, but South Park thrived in theaters, especially when it called the very parental uproar its release would inspire to a tee.

66. Misery (1990)

What does a creative owe to their fans? It’s a complex question that author Stephen King horrifyingly examined with his remarkable 1987 novel Misery, and three years later, director Rob Reiner adapted the work into a remarkable and unsettling film. The Oscars don’t typically support the horror genre, but Kathy Bates’ turn as Annie Wilkes was unignorable – as she remains one of the meanest villains of the ‘90s.. Though in Bates’ shadow, James Caan delivers an equally excellent turn as captive author Paul Sheldon, and the weaving of tension as he keeps his mind on options for escape is perfection.

65. Clerks (1994)

Kevin Smith famously maxed out credit cards and stretched a production budget of just $27,000 to make his first movie, 1994’s Clerks. Sure, the acting is hit or miss, and the editing isn’t perfect, but that only adds to the charm of the movie. It’s also really, really funny. It’s got some of the most quotable lines of any movie from the era, and they all shine through, despite the limitations of the budget. Clerks has become the stuff of legend in Hollywood, sparking dreams of would-be filmmakers everywhere and with good reason. 

64. Galaxy Quest (1999)

What if you found out that the fantastic adventures in your favorite sci-fi TV weren't so fake after all, such as in Galaxy Quest? Tim Allen plays a washed-up actor who, along with his former co-stars (played by Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, and more), experience their cancelled, cult favorite series for real, thanks to an alien race that believes their televised adventures are "historical documents" and are desperate for their help. The concept makes for a clever, hilarious commentary on Trekkie culture, but also manages to be just as exciting as any Star Trek episode or movie spin-off could ever be.

63. Thelma and Louise (1991)

Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis have made dozens of memorable movies, but even if they had just made Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise, they’d have a space carved out for them in cinema history. It’s regarded as a keystone title in the history of feminism in film, and it makes you fall in love with the titular leads as they go on the run from the law. And it should go without saying that the final moments will forever be remembered as an indomitable moment of 1990s pop culture.

62. Primal Fear (1996)

Courtroom dramas were big in the ‘90s, and Primal Fear in 1996 is a prime example of why. Richard Gere plays the pompous attorney Martin Vail, who volunteers to represent a young Aaron Stampler (Edward Norton in his first screen role) after he is accused of brutally murdering a beloved archbishop. The movie takes an unexpected turn when Aaron is discovered to have a split personality named Roy, and the dark twist that comes to light after an explosive courtroom scene remains one of the wildest movie endings ever.

61. Home Alone (1990)

I'm pretty sure Home Alone has hit classic Christmas movie territory because you always know it's the holiday season when this movie is causing a clatter on your TV screen. Following a child accidentally left home alone during Christmas and who has to defend his home from burglars, Home Alone captures the happiness of the season while adding a bit of chaos – especially with all those serious injuries that probably would have killed Marv and Harry in the real world. It'd be a fun time even without Catherine O'Hara and John Candy's SCTV reunion, but is all the better for it.

60. Leon (The Professional) (1994)

Luc Besson seems to be motivated by big sci-fi ideas in films such as The Fifth Element, Lucy, and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. On the flip side of Besson’s coin, though, are these stripped-down crime thrillers (Nikita, The Family), and none were more effective than Leon. The film heralded the arrival of young Natalie Portman, who proved she could appear convincingly as basically anything on screen. But also, Gary Oldman walks away with the picture, playing an unhinged and drug-addicted DEA agent looking to kill Portman’s character, much to the chagrin of professional hitman Jean Reno.  

59. Office Space (1999)

There’s a scene in Office Space where all the workers are assembled for an all-hands meeting. Above the boss’ head, there’s a banner printed that says Is This Good for the COMPANY? The question is underlined and COMPANY is in weird light blue font for unclear reasons. It’s somehow both utterly ridiculous and one of the most relatable things I’ve ever seen. In a way, it’s a perfect explanation for why some people, myself included, love Office Space so much. It’s one long series of hysterical if-you-know-you-know-moments, and watching other people live through and comment on that same misery feels so cathartic. 

58. Reservoir Dogs (1992)

There are few filmmakers in cinematic history who made as an audacious splash with their first feature as Quentin Tarantino, who was immediately recognized as a tremendous upstart talent following the premiere of Reservoir Dogs at the 1992 Sundance Film Festival. With its spellbinding non-linear storytelling, sharp-as-knives dialogue, and violent shocks, it is recognized as a perfect archetype of Tarantino’s strengths as a writer/director, and it is remembered for inspiring a whole generation of filmmakers and its lasting impact on genre cinema.

57. Apollo 13 (1995)

Apollo 13 may be best remembered in pop culture for the iconic line “Houston, we have a problem," but the 1995 film accumulated nine Academy Award nominations for a reason. Boasting a stacked cast that includes Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, and Kathleen Quinlan, the movie dramatizes the true story of the failed 1970 lunar mission, and the ending sequence is no less suspenseful nearly thirty years later than it was in the ‘90s. The effects mostly stand up to this day; but even where they don’t, the performances sell the story entirely.

56. The American President (1995) 

Before Aaron Sorkin created The West Wing, he wrote The American President, which saw one of the most respected movie presidents, Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas), fall for feisty environmental lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening). Could a widowed president ever court a girlfriend in an election year? Sorkin’s snappy dialogue shows why it wouldn’t be easy, as the two become tabloid fodder, and even bigger trouble awaits when their political agendas don’t align. Both lead actors give absolutely charming performances in this 1995 political rom-com directed by Rob Reiner.

55. True Romance (1993) 

The first screenplay Quentin Tarantino ever sold in Hollywood was 1993’s True Romance, and it became an offbeat cult classic when combined with Tony Scott’s slick direction. Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette are perfect as the flawed lovers and the rest of the cast, which includes Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, Michael Rappaport, Val Kilmer, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Sizemore, James Gandolfini, just to name a few, are all brilliant. It’s one scene, however, between Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken, that steals the whole show and deserves its own placement in cinema history.

54. Unforgiven (1992)

This might be the quintessential Clint Eastwood Western – which says a lot when you realize that the man helped to define the genre, dating all the way back to his days on television (in Gunsmoke). With Unforgiven, an older Eastwood figured out how to comment on the evolution of the Western, and reflect on the moral quandaries several cowboys faced over the course of their lawless lives. This marked the beginning of a contemplative stage of Eastwood’s career, and redefined the boundaries of the Western for storytellers that followed. 

53. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Not only is The Nightmare Before Christmas one of the best stop-motion movies of all time, but it was also a game-changer within the animation industry. The movie -- following the story of Jack Skellington turning Halloween Town into Christmas Town and trying to take over the role of Santa Claus -- has become a cultural icon. Not only is the movie celebrated during the Halloween season, but it's also become one of the best animated Christmas movies and has a wildly popular fan base – go to Disney World during Halloween and Christmas and see how popular this movie is. 

52. Natural Born Killers (1994)

Few movies in the last decade of the 20th century caused a stir quite like the big screen adventure of Mickey and Mallory Knox in Oliver Stone’s demented crime saga Natural Born Killers. Fans of the TV show Cheers got to witness a whole new side to Woody Harrelson, and he makes for one-half of an absolutely ferocious on-screen pair partnered with Juliette Lewis. Though it was only released in 1994, it is a title to point to when aiming to epitomize a certain spirit in 1990s pop culture.

51. The Rock (1994)

It is still totally bonkers to think that the mid-’90s gave us a Michael Bay action movie in which Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage got to mesh their wildly different talents. A movie that helped pencil in the blueprint for what we know as modern Bayhem, The Rock is a solid cocktail of action, comedy, and drama tied together with a surprisingly poignant message. None of that gets lost in the shuffle, either, even as the shuffle keeps viewers glued to their seats until the very last scene. You can bet this quotable, adrenaline-charged classic is still friendly with the prom queen.

50. Boyz n the Hood (1991)

Relatively few directors made great movies on their first try, and the late John Singleton did just that with 1991’s Boyz n the Hood. Set in South Central Los Angeles, the film centers on three young men, whose paths begin to diverge as they steadily approach adulthood. Singleton, who also wrote the Oscar-nominated drama, provided a nuanced look at life in a low-income neighborhood. 

In doing so, he shed light on gang violence, systemic racism, and other elements that still negatively impact many communities today. For better or worse, this well-acted and directed film is as timeless and relevant as they come.

49. The Sixth Sense (1999)

While the ending twist may have helped put the film and its director, M. Night Shyamalan, on the map near the close of the decade, The Sixth Sense is so much more than those final, incredible moments where all of the pieces fall into place (in a scene that comes after we think the story has been mostly resolved). 

What elevates The Sixth Sense to ‘90s movie greatness is the combined efforts of the stellar performances of Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette, and Olivia Williams; of the music combined with the fantastic shots; of the use of the Philadelphia backdrop. Every scene taps into something dark, scary, heartbreaking or humorous, and the best go for a little bit of all of those things at once. 

48. Get Shorty (1995)

What is the best Elmore Leonard adaptation? There are many candidates that qualify for consideration, including Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown, Steven Soderbergh’s Out Of Sight and the TV series Justified, but Barry Sonnenfeld’s Get Shorty is my uncontested contender for the title. 

It’s a dark, cynical, and hilarious take on the film industry where a shylock finds himself right at home in Los Angeles, and it brims with exceptional characters – from John Travolta’s Chili Palmer to Gene Hackman's skeezy producer Harry Zimm, to James Gandolfini's stuntman-turned-heavy Bear. The sequel that came out a decade later, 2005’s Be Cool, is dreadful, but that has thankfully not tainted its predecessor’s stellar legacy as one of the great “Hollywood on Hollywood” movies. 

47. The Rocketeer (1991) 

Believe it or not, The Rocketeer is a comic book movie. In the wake of the blockbuster success that was Batman, studios scrambled to get their own piece of that four-paneled pie; leading a pre-Marvel Disney to adapt Dave Stevens’ pulpy ‘30s throwback. Hoping this movie would be the studio’s answer to Bat-mania, director Joe Johnston’s picture suffered in the obscenely crowded summer of 1991. 

Over time, fate has been kinder to the Billy Campbell and Jennifer Connolly adventure, as it developed into a cult classic much like the original Tron. Even if audiences didn’t flock to it at first, the message was never lost, because the quality was always there. Best experienced with a heart full of nostalgia and courage, The Rocketeer's mere existence is worth celebrating. 

46. Audition (1999)

Few movies start off as unassuming as the psycho-horror Audition, whose first half sits among the legendarily prolific Takashi Miike’s most restrained directorial efforts. The story begins with Ryo Ishibashi’s widower Shigeharu Aoyama re-entering the dating world in the least natural way possible: via auditions with women who believe they’re vying for an acting role. 

Things progress in an almost mundane manner as Shigeharu becomes more attracted to the quiet and seemingly reserved Asami (Eihi Shiina), but with enough peeks into her home life to send red flags waving. What makes Audition a unique ‘90s treasure is when the wheels fall off for its dread-flooded final act, in which Asami teaches Shigeharu a torturous lesson in stringing women along. Don't try this at home.

45. Point Break (1991)

Comically manly, but in the best ways possible, Point Break is the 1990s encapsulated. Clean-cut FBI agent Johnny Utah (tremendous character name) loses himself undercover when he tries to infiltrate a gang of surfers (tremendous plot twist) who may be posing as former presidents of the United States and robbing banks. What an awesome plot. And what an awesome movie. 

Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze are the Yin and the Yang of Southern California cool, tapping directly into the “Brah” of it all while also delivering unforgettable action set pieces – notably, a skydiving chase without parachutes. Credit most of this to director Kathyrn Bigelow, who eventually won her Best Director Oscar for 2010’s The Hurt Locker. 

44. Clueless (1995)

We’ve seen movies put a new spin on old classics before, but rarely has the result been as entertaining as Clueless, Amy Heckerling’s take on Jane Austen’s Emma. Alicia Silverstone stars as Cher, a beautiful and rich Beverly Hills high school fashionista who decides she wants to use her popularity for the betterment of humanity. 

The 1995 coming-of-age comedy — which also stars Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy, Paul Rudd and more — still stands up today with its iconic looks and quotable dialogue (not to mention Cher’s inspiring speech comparing refugees to guests at her father’s garden party). And has there ever been a movie takedown more savage than Tai calling Cher “a virgin who can’t drive”? As if! 

43. L.A. Confidential (1997)

Once upon a time, the noir detective story was a staple of film, but fewer and fewer examples have emerged with each decade that passes. So when a movie like Curtis Hanson's L.A. Confidential comes around, you really begin to wonder why we don’t see more of these. 

It’s an absolutely incredible film that likely would probably be better remembered if it hadn’t come out the same year as Titanic. On top of everything else, the film introduced Russell Crowe and Guy Pierce to U.S. film audiences, and for that alone, it should be recognized, but it also won Kim Basinger an Oscar for a reason.

42. The Hunt for Red October (1990)

While The Hunt for Red October was a huge success when it hit theaters in 1990, it took years for people to see it as a classic. It’s not a flawless movie. Sean Connery, as amazing as he is, plays what appears to be a Scottish Russian, not changing his accent at all. The underwater scenes of the special effects submarines, while praised at the time, have not aged well, either. Accents aside, the actors are all superb here. 

Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan, Tim Curry, Sam Neill, Scott Glenn, James Earl Jones, Stellan Skarsgård, Fred Thompson, Courtney B. Vance, and everyone else are all amazing, and John McTiernan’s direction is snappy and perfectly paced. This is THE submarine movie. 

41. The Green Mile (1999)

Considered one of the best Stephen King adaptations of all time, The Green Mile is a fantasy drama directed by Frank Darabont, telling the story of a wrongly convicted man and his time at a prison in the 1930s and the strange supernatural events that follow his arrival. 

I feel like The Green Mile is just one movie everyone should watch at least once. It's a classic for a reason, featuring all-time career performances from Tom Hanks, Sam Rockwell, and Michael Clarke Duncan. The Green Mile will capture your heart and crush it into a million pieces by the end – and might just make one admire the horror-driven Stephen King all the more for writing such an emotional story. If you're not ugly sobbing by the end of this, you may not be watching it right. 

40. The Truman Show (1998)

Easily considered one of Jim Carrey’s best movies, The Truman Show – which is about a man who realizes his reality isn’t real – uses its star’s signature over-the-top sense of humor and physicality to make you laugh. Then his dramatic skills come to the forefront as you take this journey with Truman, and you feel all the emotions as it becomes clear that this comedy is more of a searing satire.

Overall, this film is about Truman coming to terms with the fact that the world’s been watching him live in a simulated reality, and it gives us all an example of how exploitative social media can be. That’s why The Truman Show is not only one of the best movies of the ‘90s, but it’s also one of the more relevant films when it comes to the present. 

39. Waiting for Guffman (1996)

Waiting for Guffman is mockumentary gold. Christopher Guest and his group of comedic geniuses — Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Parker Posey, etc. — bring the sleepy berg of Blane, Missouri to life, with the audience watching as a motley crew of community theater actors put on a musical about their town. 

The stakes get higher when Guest's Corky St. Clair tells everyone a Broadway production house is coming, and "we may be going to Broadway." The songs are insane, the cast is unhinged, and this movie is heaven; even more so for those who are personally familiar with the madcap process of staging plays. 

38. Dazed and Confused (1993)

It’s really hard to make a comedy that stands the test of time, yet as we get older, Dazed and Confused stays the same age, er, quality. Director Richard Linklater’s love letter to his teen years in Texas transcends generations and keeps fans coming back again and again. Sure, it’s the 1970s, but teenagers (and adults) of any generation can relate. 

Of course, it also helps that so many huge stars got their first big break in the movie, including Matthew McConaughey in his first role. Ben Affleck, Parker Posey, Cole Hauser, Anthony Rapp, Rory Cochrane, Nicky Katt, and the rest of the cast are amazing. Everyone can point to one character and say “I knew someone just like that in high school!”

37. The Matrix (1999)

It’s hard to put into words just how mindblowing The Matrix was when it first came out. Of course, the successive sequels somewhat diminished the franchise’s legacy as a whole, though make no mistake, the first movie is just as much of a thrill in the modern era as it was back in 1999. 

Keanu Reeves is the ultimate leading entity in the Wachowskis' game-changing mega-blockbuster, making every move look as cool as can be. Because of the filmmakers' work on this neo-classic (no pun), people will forever be cursed with the idea that everything we’re doing in life is a simulation, and that we’re all slowly and secretly being harvested in pods for energy by robotic overlords. Great movie, though.

36. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

Two years after Jim Henson’s death, son Brian Henson directed arguably the only truly great Muppets release of the entire 1990s: The Muppet Christmas Carol. (Excluding the final two years of Muppet Babies.) Based on the Charles Dickens novel that has spawned countless numbers of adaptations, the holiday film is anchored on the human side by Michael Caine’s Ebenezer Scrooge, and on the felt-covered side by Kermit and Miss Piggy’s Bob and Emily Cratchit, with Gonzo as Dickens himself. 

Though it doesn’t offer any huge adjustments to the source material, the Muppets make everything twenty-fold more charming, and Statler and Waldorf’s ghostly jam “Marley and Marley” is among the best of any original Muppet tunes. Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without this movie.

35. City Slickers (1991)

There are plenty of laughs to be had in Ron Underwood’s Western comedy City Slickers, and while that’s a safe bet for any of Billy Crystal’s best movies, what sets this one apart is its enormous heart. 

Crystal’s Mitch Robbins, along with pals Phil and Ed (Daniel Stern and Bruno Kirby, respectively) are all suffering midlife crises of sorts when they embark on a cattle drive across the Southwest. It was refreshing to see the men open up to each other about their childhoods, relationships, and what matters most in life. Jack Palance gives an Oscar-winning performance as Curly, and the $124 million it earned at the domestic box office made it one of the top 5 movies of 1991.

34. The Birdcage (1996)

Robin Williams was a brilliant comedian, a supernova of personality that could command our attention with his hysterical stream-of-conscious thoughts. But Williams, to me, truly shined bright when he downplayed his natural comedic energy to either try serious drama (Good Will Hunting, Dead Poets Society), or to support an equally brilliant comedic performance – as he did with Nathan Lane in The Birdcage.

While broad and flamboyant at times, The Birdcage captures the heart of a family rallying behind their beautiful son (Dan Futterman) who is getting engaged to a Conservative girl (Calista Flockhart). Williams and Lane, as an on-screen couple, are tender, touching, funny, sweet, and perfectly paired in this special gem of a film.

33. Princess Mononoke (1997)

As someone who has watched every single Hayao Miyazaki movie, there's something about Prince Mononoke that speaks deeply to my soul. While I possibly think Spirited Away is Miyazaki's best film, and I have a love for Howl's Moving Castle, this is a movie that has changed the way I view the world. 

Princess Mononoke follows the story of a young prince who discovers that the gods of the forest are upset at the humans for consuming their precious resources. While the anime film itself has breathtaking animation and a story that pulls you in; both are equally sating while leaving a desire for more. Truthfully, this is the one movie that speaks on human consumption in simple ways that everyone should be required to watch.  

32. Groundhog Day (1993)

By all accounts, the creative process behind Groundhog Day was not easy. The film was originally conceived as a darker, more philosophical movie with independent sensibilities. That’s what Bill Murray liked. Director Harold Ramis saw it as more of a good-natured and broad comedy. So they fought about it, plaguing the shoot with delays, rewrites and enough acrimony to sever their friendship for decades. 

Amidst that disharmony, or perhaps even because of that disharmony, the two comedy masters compromised and created a perfect blend of the two: a broad and funny romantic comedy that’s weird enough and dark enough to feel totally original. 

31. Scream (1996)

With A Nightmare on Elm Street and its two best sequels already under his belt (among many other frightfests), Wes Craven made horror franchise lightning strike twice with the post-modern whodunit slasher Scream, and it kept striking across two eras of sequels. Led by one of the ‘90s greatest scream queens in Neve Campbell, the 1996 classic became such a blueprint for Hollywood horror that the inciting film doesn’t feel anywhere near as novel as it did when audiences first sat down thinking they were about to watch “a Drew Barrymore movie.” 

But that opening remains chilling AF, David Arquette’s Deputy Dewey remains a loveable dork alongside Courteney Cox’s hardcore bitch Gail Weathers, and Ghostface’s pop culture-tinged massacre has only become more relevant in an ever-connected world.

30. Cape Fear (1991)

I was way too young when I watched Cape Fear for the first time. I was experienced with plenty of slasher or jump scare style horror movies and figured I’d be fine. Wrong. Cape Fear is an entirely different type of scary than what I was used to. 

With a prime Martin Scorsese at the helm and a fantastic all-in performance from Robert De Niro, it’s a relentlessly creepy and unnerving take on slow-burn vengeance. It haunted my sleep for weeks as a kid, and during an adult rewatch decades later, its themes of religion, underage sexuality, criminal justice and moral relativism were every bit as disturbing. 

29. Being John Malkovich (1999)

Being John Malkovich may not be the very best ‘90s movie, but it may very well be the strangest that still qualifies as a great time. The premise itself — that a door exists allowing others to enter the mind of another person — is odd enough, but for the person whose brain is invaded to be celebrated actor John Malkovich? 

That brilliant choice somehow gives the otherwise impossible story a slight jolt of realism, and it all comprises a cinematic experience that should not be missed. It’s also a movie full of incredible performances, as Malkovich plays a fantastic version of himself, while John Cusack and Cameron Diaz play against type about as much as possible.

28. Dave (1993)

Probably the funniest movie that uses the presidential line of succession as a plot device, Ivan Reitman’s Dave is a hilarious, charming, and oddly sentimental exploration of politics in the early 1990s. There’s just something about Kevin Kline’s portrayal of Dave Kovic that makes this movie about a presidential impersonator becoming the Commander-in-Chief so innocent and pure, especially when compared to the political climate we live in 30-plus years later. 

Whenever I revisit Dave every couple of years, it feels like opening a time capsule to the final decade of the 20th century with its optimism and promise of a better future. 

27. A League of Their Own (1992)

A League Of Their Own is too busy with meaningful character development and telling an awesome baseball story to go for jokes all the time, but on a per-attempt basis, I would put it up against almost any comedy ever made. Director Penny Marshall has a wonderful tonal sense of when her actors should play it straight, when they should add in a little humor, and when they should drunkenly pee for thirty seconds. 

The result is one of the best sports movies of all time, one that delivers all those laughs but also plays it straight enough to give viewers fantastic and relatable plots about friendship, sisterhood, and what it means to thrive and find your own space.

26. The Iron Giant (1999)

The Iron Giant is Brad Bird's heartstrings-pulling story about a young boy who befriends a massive alien robot in 1957, and it proves that a movie bombing at the box office doesn’t mean it can’t still become a cinematic classic. Though its theatrical run didn’t even make back the initial budget, thanks to its home video rollout and stellar word-of-mouth buzz, it’s now considered one of the best animated movies of all time. Rightly so, because this is one of those movies that remains timeless no matter when it’s being viewed. 

Watching Hogarth teach the Giant about life on Earth and urge him to overcome his original purpose of being a weapon never gets old. The Iron Giant remains arguably Vin Diesel’s best movie from before the Fast & Furious franchise's launch, and co-stars like Eli Marienthal, Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr., and Christopher McDonald also shine.

25. Toy Story 2 (1999)

I remember that Toy Story 2 was the first film that made me uncontrollably sob – like fat tears rolling down my face and having a stuffy nose for hours afterward, and I'm sure I'm not alone there. A sequel to Toy Story, which took the world by anthropomorphic storm with its industry-revolutionizing animation, the follow-up adventure was released in 1999, and follows Woody after he is accidentally sold to a toy collector. There, he meets companions from a former TV show that he had no idea about – a show all about him. (And Joan Cusack's Jessie, of course.)

The Toy Story 2 voice cast is stellar, and the animation was a huge step forward in CGI films, but the heart-wrenching story of love, friendship, and so much more is what made Toy Story 2 one of the best Pixar films out there – and yes, I still cry during, "When Somebody Loved Me."

24. Election (1999)

How did Reese Witherspoon not win an Oscar for her performance as Type-A goodie two-shoes Tracy Flick, the textbook overachiever who bites off more than she can chew by running for student government president? It’s possible that we have come to realize that Witherspoon might just BE Tracy Flick in real life. 

But at the time, she was a tornado of talent matching Matthew Broderick beat for beat, bringing to life the sharp school-set satire in director Alexander Payne’s screenplay. Election has as much to say about the greed and immaturity powering politics many years after its release – at every level – as it did back in 1999, which is yet another reason why it remains special.

23. Magnolia (1999)

While not the highest-ranked Paul Thomas Anderson film on this list, Magnolia is a film to be marveled at for its phenomenal ambition. The Los Angeles-based epic juggles the stories of nearly a dozen protagonists who are not only dealing with a wide variety of personal conflicts and demons but are all linked to one another in the stunning cinematic tapestry. 

As the hyper-misogynist motivational speaker Frank T.J. Mackey, Tom Cruise delivers one of his most brilliant turns, and Julianne Moore’s pharmacy monologue is flooring, but the reality is that every member of the ensemble – including Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, and many more – deliver some of the best work of their respective careers. Further considering the frogs and the stunning performance of Aimee Mann’s “Wise Up,” it’s indelible cinema.

22. Tombstone (1993)

I don’t think you could ask for a more star-studded cast for any genre of film, much less a Western. 1993’s Tombstone is blessed by a top-notch cast including Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, the late Bill Paxton, Michael Biehn, Stephen Lang, the late Powers Boothe, Thomas Haden Church, Michael Rooker, Charlton Heston, and many more, making it an instant classic in the Western genre. 

The story behind how this film came to be, along with many behind-the-scenes facts, is bizarre enough, but the struggles resulted in one of the best cowboy films of all time. And one that has stood the test of time against a similar movie released around the same time, Kevin Costner's Wyatt Earp.  

21. Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Beauty and the Beast was the first animated film to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, and decades later, it’s still clear that was the right call. The movie is beautiful, with early computer animation enhancing some of the most visually stunning hand-drawn shots in the medium’s history. It also has one of the best soundtracks of any Disney musical, if not any musical, full stop. This is Howard Ashman’s greatest achievement as a songwriter. 

But beyond even that, the two title characters are about as three-dimensional as any animated characters ever were. It may be a tale as old as time, but Beauty and the Beast is one the audience gets wrapped up in from the first notes to the last. It’s the definition of Disney magic.

20. The Usual Suspects (1995)

No one saw the twist ending coming. Trust me. No one. It caught audiences off guard completely, exactly the way it crashed down like a ton of bricks on Chazz Palminteri's cop. He finally understood who Keyser Soze was, and we all rushed right back into theaters to watch the puzzle snap into place all over again. 

But The Usual Suspects is more than just its “dropped shoe,” miraculous as that reveal is. The cast of colorful criminals assembled by director Bryan Singer played off of each other wonderfully, with many of them defaulting to the natural leader in Gabriel Byrne, but still finding ways to steal the spotlight every now and then. (Benicio Del Toro mumbling under his breath in the jail lineup belongs in the conversation of funniest five-minute performances, ever). As twisty crime thrillers go, few are tighter and more entertaining than this.

19. Boogie Nights (1997)

Introductions can make or break anything in this world. Careers, reputations, even the flow of a movie can be bungled if you don’t know how to open. Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson must have known that when he made Boogie Nights, because when he introduced that picture to the world, he gave himself one hell of a calling card. 

Following young Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg) in his journey through the underground of porn films, we see a man still growing up in an industry that feels as young as he is. An ensemble drama boasting the likes of Don Cheadle, Julianne Moore, Heather Graham, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Boogie Nights is a cautionary tale with style and tension to burn. Good luck ever listening to “Sister Christian” without having flashbacks to this big, bright, shining star that still manages to break hearts and crack jokes with everyone it meets.

18. Good Will Hunting (1997)

Good Will Hunting is one of those films that changes you forever once you watch it. Starring Matt Damon and Robin Williams, the drama follows a young janitor at MIT who's discovered to be a secret math genius. The premise itself isn't as catchy as some of the other big-time blockbusters of the 1990s, without aliens, robots or crazy action fights, but Good Will Hunting is a film that leaves its message imprinted on audiences long after the credits roll. 

A story of perseverance, hope, and so much more, this movie gave movie fans one of Robin Williams's best roles and catapulted the careers of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. (You gotta like them apples.) This kind of film teaches you that sometimes, the people you meet turn you into your best self, so we just have to be fearless enough to go out there and find them. 

17. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Anthony Hopkins is fantastic in The Silence Of The Lambs, and every positive thing you’ve ever heard about his performance is deserved and probably an understatement. He’s that engrossing, but with all due respect, The Silence Of The Lambs isn’t his movie. It’s Jodie Foster’s movie, hingeing on her career-best performance here as Clarice Starling, which just gets better with every rewatch. 

Foster finds the perfect balance between uncertain and determined. She lets her FBI trainee lead character feel the weight of every obstacle, whether it be sexism, personal loss or physical danger, and then she pushes forward. With relentless determination, she just keeps going and that one step at a time, careful momentum gives the film its narrative structure and allows director Ted Demme to create one of the 90s best and most memorable movies.

16. Fargo (1996)

Joel and Ethan Coen have crafted films both stoically grounded and ludicrously fantastical in their long and storied careers, with Fargo possibly the one straddling both of those lines with the greatest of ease. The faux-kidnapping-gone-wrong and the ensuing investigation are smart story beats, and were enough to win the Coens the Best Original Screenplay Oscar, if fairly rote for the genre in general. But it’s the cast, the Minnesota location, and the singular nature of being a snow-white noir that make Fargo one of the greatest films of the decade. 

The always affable William H. Macy is aces as a man being eaten alive by guilt, opposite the gosh-darn excellent police skills of Frances McDormand’s Marge Gunderson, with Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare as the pair of amoral criminals making everyone’s lives (and deaths) worse. Fargo is a chilling masterpiece, and it’s got nothing to do with the weather. 

15. My Cousin Vinny (1992)

Even though one of my colleagues claims her testimony was incorrect in the film, I will still stand before the court and argue that Marisa Tomei, Joe Pesci, and their cast of supporting characters make My Cousin Vinny guilty as hell of being one of the best comedies of all time.

The film is widely used in an educational capacity to showcase one of the few times that a court case is mostly portrayed accurately through a film, and to be honest, the wordplay coupled with the main character/judge dynamic is something to write home about.

14. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

For years, veterans would be the first to say that cinema's depiction of combat — especially that of World War II — is a cakewalk compared to the real thing. Because few films offered a truly accurate portrayal of the hellish, soul-crushing conditions soldiers faced, at least before the release of Saving Private Ryan.

This story of a U.S. military captain (played by Tom Hanks) tasked with leading his crew on a mission to bring a family's last living son home is easily one of Steven Spielberg’s best movies (the second to earn him a Best Director Oscar) and is widely considered to have been unjustly robbed of the Best Picture honor (which went to Shakespeare in Love that year). From the landmark D-Day sequence to the heartbreaking final act and every unforgettable moment in between, it is one of the harshest films you could ever experience, but the passion and craftsmanship put into makes for a grand reward. 

13. The Big Lebowski (1998)

I’m a Lebowski, you’re a Lebowski, we’re all Lebowskis who love the Coen brothers’ The Big Lebowski, even if its massive fandom wasn’t automatic. It was only a moderate success in the spring of 1998 when it sauntered into theaters on the heels of the Coen’s winning their first writing Oscar for Fargo a year earlier. Reviews at the time were middling, as was the audience reaction. 

Then, over the next couple of years, The Big Lebowski turned into a bonafide cult craze. Pages have been written about its status as such, but too often overlooked is what makes the movie so lovable. It’s quotable, it’s silly, and the plot is the ultimate shaggy dog story with a ridiculous McGuffin — the Dude’s rug — but as it goes for the Dude’s living room, the whole movie ties together just brilliantly. It’s world-class storytelling and the performances from Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, and the rest of the cast are perfect.  

12. Schindler's List (1993)

Sometimes what makes a movie from a particular era great is how it represents its time, but some movies would be considered an important work of art in any decade. Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List is one of those that transcends eras. The film is great in all the traditional ways: Liam Neeson gives a career-making performance as Oskar Schindler, an Industrialist who saved the lives of hundreds of Jews during World War II. The supporting performances are equally strong. It’s beautifully filmed. 

But beyond that, Schindler’s List is an important movie, offering audiences a sobering look at the tragic events of World War II through a character based on a real-life survivor that many were not even aware of before the movie's release. Schindler’s List is one of those movies that you don’t forget after having seen it, and it may be Steven Spielberg’s greatest achievement.

11. Toy Story (1995)

More than 25 years after moviegoers were first introduced to Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Bo Peep, and the rest of Andy’s collection, it can be easy to forget just how big the impact John Lasseter’s Toy Story had when it hit theaters in 1995. It’s the film that put Pixar on the map, and while it sadly helped kickstart the downfall of hand-drawn animation in lieu of CGI, it also paved the way for three of the greatest Hollywood sequels to ever be produced. Tom Hanks’ Woody and Tim Allen’s Buzz are an all-time great animated duo, sharing hallowed space with Bugs & Daffy and Tom & Jerry, though obviously with a lot more heart than what short-form characters are allowed.

The Toy Story franchise hinges a lot on childhood memories, nostalgia, and maintaining a sense of fun in life as one gets older, and this first film delivers the most distilled take on that idea, with Andy still attached in some way to his inner child. Life, as it were, gets way more depressing for the toys as he gets older, which perhaps is why Toy Story rewatches are all the more enjoyable in comparison.

10. Philadelphia (1993)

 Philadelphia is not only a well-made movie, but is first and foremost an important movie. LQBTQ+ rights were non-existent at the time, as the movie highlights and one cannot discount the role this movie, directed by Jonathan Demme, had in awakening the general public not only to the plight gay people faced at the time but the discrimination people with HIV/AIDS faced as well when it was released in 1993. Tom Hanks’ portrayal of a gay man with AIDS who is fired from his job won the actor his first Oscar and for good reason, he’s amazing. Equally amazing is Denzel Washington, who plays Hanks’ character’s (Andrew Beckett) lawyer, Joe Miller. 

Miller, like most people in 1993 when Philadelphia was released, is scared of Beckett and AIDS, because he, like many, didn’t understand it. It’s Miller’s reaction that resonates with audiences. After watching Beckett get asked to move to a “private room” at a library, Miller realizes the discrimination is similar to that faced by African-Americans in the United States, and by the end of the film, he touches Beckett’s lesion-covered face, after learning the truth about AIDS. It’s a powerful moment that still reverberates today. 

9. Fight Club (1999)

So many “futuristic” sci-fi movies from years past have failed to successfully depict modern society and behavior, but David Fincher’s Fight Club now feels it was adapted from some of Nostradamus’ naughtier quatrains, instead of Chuck Palahniuk’s 1996 novel. Seemingly both a love letter to, and a cautionary tale about, nihilistic anti-consumerism and anarchy, Fight Club features one of cinema’s most convoluted love triangles in Edward Norton’s spine-lacking unnamed narrator, Brad Pitt’s ultra-male Tyler Durden, and Helena Bonham Carter’s impulsively erratic Marla Singer. A demented character study in part, the movie oozes testosterone both before and after the titular underground brawls come together, and maybe even oozes a bit of estrogen when Meat Loaf’s Bob is around. 

For all of the smart and discussion-worthy topics that are tackled with face-pounding glee, Fight Club is, unfortunately, the kind of movie whose natural sheen has been somewhat tarnished by a fanbase who lost the point of the satire, but still holds so many visual and verbal treasures for those outside such bubbles. Especially for any new viewers who manage to go into it without knowing what kicks off the final act. It’s hard to think of a ‘90s movie with a more story-heightening ending, and The Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?” remains an inarguably perfect needle drop.  

8. Pulp Fiction (1994)

Pulp Fiction changed the rules of Hollywood moviemaking. That’s no exaggeration. Before Quentin Tarantino fired a shotgun blast through the screen with his nonlinear gangster picture, there was a chasm separating big-budgeted studio films and independent cinema that usually thrived on the film festival circuit before making its way to art house theaters. In the years following Pulp Fiction, studios, actors and audiences chased talent and inspiration, wherever it could be found. 

The irony of Pulp Fiction blazing so many trails is that the movie itself is a pastiche of well-worn genres that Tarantino pored over while working the counter of a video shop. He’s paying homage to countless, gratuitous stories that had come before it. Only, Pulp Fiction built on the buzz created with Reservoir Dogs to attract a constellation of stars: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Christopher Walken, Ving Rhames, and Bruce Willis. Pulp Fiction remains one of the best scripts you will ever read, crisscrossing itself at various intersections and packing repeated surprises (usually of the violent nature). But it was Tarantino’s powerful voice, and his use of soundtrack, that had clones copying his style for decades… and still, to this day.  

7. Jurassic Park (1993)

Anticipation for Jurassic Park began years before its release in the summer of 1993. Michael Crighton sold the rights to the film before he finished the book and because Steven Spielberg was the director who acquired it, the hype started early. Then, in June 1993, it finally hit theaters and was an absolute cultural sensation. Critics loved it, praising the unbelievable special effects and realism of the dinosaurs. Speilberg and the team at ILM broke so much new ground in creating the creatures that it changed how movies were made. Audiences loved it even more and showed up at theaters in hordes. Jurassic Park broke every box record there was to break. It had the biggest opening day, the biggest opening weekend, and finally, it became the highest-grossing movie of all time.

Jurassic Park also earned a slew of awards, mostly for its technical achievements, but that doesn’t mean the acting performances were bad, they were fantastic. Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Sir Richard Attenborough are all perfect in their roles. Finally, there’s the score by John Williams, which remains one of the most iconic of all time. 

6. Se7en (1995)

The film that rescued David Fincher’s career from the stench of Alien 3, and proved that the versatile music director could apply his grungy, moody, techno-acid style to a feature-length nightmare. It’s easy to say now that Fincher was destined to be a contemporary, visionary genius of a filmmaker. But prior to The Social Network, Zodiac, and Fight Club, we needed to see some evidence. Consider this disturbing plunge into the moral sewers to be Exhibit A in the case for Fincher’s mastery. 

Se7en is routine in many ways. It’s set in a rainy and nondescript city, which feels like San Francisco but could be anywhere. It follows odd-couple cops (Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt) tracking a mysterious serial killer who cunningly stays one step ahead of them. But the performances are remarkable, including Gwyneth Paltrow as Pitt’s loving and innocent newlywed, plucked and moved to the grimy city so her husband can do his job. The film’s riveting conclusion – which benefits from the icy calm delivery of Kevin Spacey as John Doe – elevated Se7en above most others in the genre. Now, when someone asks, “What’s in the box?” you don’t have to say, “Gwyneth’s head.” Just tell them the box contains an unforgettable masterpiece. 

5. Heat (1995)

Look at just about every list breaking down the best heist films ever made and the movie you’re probably going to see the most is Michael Mann’s 1995 crime epic, Heat. With some of the most iconic (and loudest) robbery and shoot-out sequences, the first on-screen pairing of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro (both were in The Godfather Part II but appeared in different timelines), and an incredible cat-and-mouse story that uses Los Angeles as a backdrop better than any other film, there’s so much to love about this legendary film.

On top of all of that, Heat has become one of the most influential films of all time in the nearly 30 years since its theatrical release. Watch movies like The Town, Widows, and even The Dark Knight, and you’ll see how Mann’s thriller was so influential. Hell, even the Grand Theft Auto franchise has taken aspects of the movie to create some of the most action-packed video game moments of all time.  

4. The Lion King (1994)

1994’s The Lion King is perhaps the most effective entry in the Disney Renaissance era when it comes to combining gorgeous animation, original songs, and a story that continues to pack a punch decades later. As the coming-of-age story for cub-turned-king Simba, the film delivers arguably the most famous Disney death with the demise of Mufasa, and Scar’s villain song is both incredibly catchy and incredibly chilling. Aladdin lyricist Tim Rice joined forces with Elton John for the songs, while Hans Zimmer composed the score, earning The Lion King an Academy Award for Best Original Score, while “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” won for Best Original Song.

The Lion King was a massive commercial hit, becoming the highest-grossing traditionally animated film and holding that record to this day. The original movie also has a legacy that has extended to two TV shows, two direct-to-video sequels, and the 2019 CGI remake that was massively successful for Disney, although divisive among fans of the original animated version. Plus, there’s a generation of adults who learned about coups and succession crises thanks to Mufasa, Scar, and Simba back in the ‘90s. What’s not to roar with love about? 

3. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Taking what he learned from making The Terminator and the two movies that followed (Aliens and The Abyss), James Cameron gave audiences not just a sequel in July 1991, but a game-changer of a film that completely rewrote the summer blockbuster and the action genre as we know it. While The Terminator was a small-scale sci-fi thriller about a futuristic cyborg sent back in time to kill a waitress before she could give birth to humanity’s last hope against extinction, T2 was a massive epic with numerous iconic action sequences and CGI that still holds up decades later.

The movie also gave us one of the best on-screen heroes with Arnold Schwarnegger’s T-800, a reprogrammed Terminator sent back not to kill John Connor but to protect him from the more advanced and more lethal T-1000, a character that remains an all-time villain. It is hard to imagine a timeline where Terminator 2: Judgment Day doesn’t exist, but luckily that’s a reality we don’t have to experience. 

2. Goodfellas (1990)

Of everything that Goodfellas is in part — a mobster saga, a crime drama, an ensemble biopic, etc. — it can’t properly be boxed into such a limited description, though it’s certainly safer to use fewer words when the Gambino crime family’s around, lest Joe Pesci’s Tommy DeVito lose his temper. Based on reporter (and eventual co-screenwriter) Nicholas Pileggi’s 1985 Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family, the film rides on the back of Ray Liotta’s Henry Hill, whose idea of the American Dream is to be living it up as a made man, but realizes over and over again how hard such a goal is to attain when everyone else around is just as hungry and ruthless. 

In many ways, it’s a perfect counterbalance to The Godfather saga, sharing similarities such as memorable food scenes and a stacked cast (with some mutual actors like Robert De Niro and Frank Sivero). But unlike Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpieces, Goodfellas was far less successful at the Oscars, with only Pesci taking home the gold, despite plenty of accolades earned elsewhere. Like much of Scorsese’s work, it’s only become more appreciated with time, and easily stands out as one of the best movies not just of the ‘90s, but of any era. 

1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

“Get busy living, or get busy dying” may be the better remembered quote from Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption, but it’s the line that Red (Morgan Freeman) says in the final moments of the film that sums up the heart and soul of this story. Not only is The Shawshank Redemption our #1 pick for the best ‘90s movies, but it’s also easily one of the best adaptations of a Stephen King story – in this case, the novella, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.

The movie follows Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), a banker who’s wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and her lover, and sent to prison. For a movie that doesn’t shy away from the brutality this character experiences throughout his years behind bars – both at the hands of some of his fellow inmates, and the warden and guards – The Shawshank Redemption never loses sight of that ultimate message of hope – the thing that Andy clings to every step of the way. It’s there in the friendships he makes, and in the moments of happiness Andy manages to find. And it’s there in the final words Red says in the closing narration: “I hope.” 

Having long been part of the Hollywood ecosystem, the action genre truly took off with blockbuster verve during the 1980s, leading to many of the best movies in the 1990s serving as timeless action-packed romps. It was the decade when Keanu Reeves and Nicolas Cage became bona fide mega-stars, when Jackie Chan’s stunt work became internationally renowned, and when the world met Robert Patrick’s T-1000. Truly a golden age of badassery. (Those interested in more modern flicks can check out CinemaBlend’s take on 2023’s best action movies, as well as the best examples from 2022.)

While laying out such definitive lists is never easy, here are arguably the best of the best action movies that came out during the 1990s, with all the harrowing car chases, pulse-pounding heists, and deadly shootouts that audiences could hope for. And yes, a whole lot of Michael Bay, explosions, and Will Smith one-liners. 

Goldeneye

The James Bond franchise’s current level of prestige can make it easy to forget how buoyed optimism was for Pierce Brosnan’s debut as the secret agent for 1995’s GoldenEye, but Martin Campbell’s action-packed spy caper was just what Bond fans were looking for after years without a new film. Starting with that jaw-dropping bungee jump in the opening sequence, GoldenEye delivers one thrill on top of the next, from close-up fisticuffs between Brosnan and Famke Janssen’s Xenia Onatopp to the large-scale wreckage of the tank scene. Really, it just took the words “tank scene” to sell me, but “boss fight inside a giant satellite dish” didn’t hurt.

Blade

A decade before the MCU’s arrival, Wesley Snipes and director Stephen Norrington delivered what remains one of Marvel’s darkest live-action tales with Blade, one of the most action-packed vampire movies of any decade. The 1998 hit remains beloved amongst fans in part due to the A+ fight scenes that cemented Wesley Snipes’ legacy as genre fave, from the blood-soaked battle in the night club to Blade’s final act battle with Stephen Dorff’s Deacon Frost. 

Heat

Regardless of what happens with Michael Mann’s plans for Heat 2, his 1995 opus’ reputation can never be tarnished. While technically more of a crime drama, Heat is long enough that a tight action movie could feasibly be crafted through clever editing. With a stellar cast headed up with Godfather panache by Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, Heat keeps the high-stakes intensity going from beginning to end, and Val Kilmer delivers another one of his many too-cool performances.

Point Break

Kathryn Bigelow’s fourth feature, 1991’s Point Break, was crafted around an unmistakably 1990s action movie formula: an undercover cop experiences Stockholm syndrome for a zen criminal guru leading a group of skydiving bank-robbers, with Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze starring as the respective cop and robber. The Hot Fuzz-inspiring Point Break is full of cool shoot-outs, hectic robberies, chases and more, but the skydiving scenes and POTUS masks take it to the next level. Did I mention Reeves’ character name is Johnny Utah? 

The Rock

Michael Bay’s 1996 romp The Rock is the epitome of the “Michael Bay 1996 movie” concept, centering on a team headed up by Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage that has to break into the infamous island prison Alcatraz in order to stop a terrorist plot. It really serves as a greatest hits reel for the director, with tons of gorgeously shot set pieces that keep the tension and manic energy flowing throughout, and without ever tipping over into complete farce. 

Speed

Jan de Bont’s directorial debut Speed is an action movie so inspirational with its high-concept formula that movies years afterward were sold as “Speed on a ___.” Watching Keanu Reeves’ Jack Traven attempt to get one step ahead of Dennis Hopper’s bomber antagonist would be a joy even without the rest of the ensemble featuring Sandra Bullock, Jeff Daniels and Alan Ruck, but they help keep the stakes palpable. From the elevator to the bus to the subway, Speed zips from one giant sequence to the next, and the fact that Speed 2: Cruise Control was so bad helps prove how special this one is.

Mission: Impossible

With more than a half-dozen entries, the Mission: Impossible franchise is currently quite distanced from Tom Cruise’s 1996 debut as Ethan Hunt. But that doesn’t stop Brian de Palma’s spy flick from standing out as one of the best action movies of the decade, as it serves up mystery thrills on top of its pulse-pounding stunts, while helping to set the groundwork for its star’’s persona as a risk-embracing star. And part of what makes M:I’s action great is the fact that Cruise wasn’t yet in polished superhero mode, adding to the stakes. 

Hard Boiled

Despite being released in 1992, Hard Boiled remains a genre classic whose action sequences remain as impressive as ever, both within director John Woo’s filmography and among cinema as a whole. His final Hong Kong film ahead of Woo’s transition to Hollywood, Hard Boiled stars Chow Yun-Fat as a cop whose solution to getting bogged down in a gang war is basically to fuck up everyone else’s shit. From the tea house carnage to the hospital shootout to the one-shot warehouse stunt-show, the critical darling paved the way for Woo’s Face/Off. 

Starship Troopers

Even if Paul Verhoeven possibly went a bit overboard with the satirical propaganda at the heart of 1997’s Starship Troopers, causing some critics and audiences to completely misunderstand its messaging, his adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein’s 1959 novel is every bit as destructive and intense as one could expect from a Verhoeven alien invasion movie. Though the huge budget meant it was considered a bit of a financial bust at the time, so much money going into the CGI of the Arachnid aliens means the visuals hold up way better than some other sci-fi films of the time. 

Face/Off

A movie that at times feels like a stuffed-to-the-gills trailer stretched out to nearly 140 minutes, Face/Off is a roller coaster ride on a track made entirely out of John Travolta and Nicolas Cage’s performance energy. (And the strength of the villain moniker Castor Troy.) Based on the bonkers-proof concept of a cat-and-mouse chase involving a federal agent and criminal swapping faces, Face/Off boasts director John Woo, whose excellence went a long way in keeping the 1997 flick from becoming an instant punchline. 

Last Action Hero

While viewed as a disappointment upon its 1993 release, John McTiernan’s genre-aping comedy Last Action Hero has gained a more proper following over the years, even if it still remains underappreciated amidst star Arnold Schwarzenegger and screenwriter Shane Black’s respective filmographies. As much an ode to the movies as an action-adventure itself, Last Action Hero makes fictional detective Jack Slater’s universe as familiar as real-world franchises, and I’m still mad we never got any sequels. 

Con Air

Con Air is one of those movies where there’s no half-assing one’s fandom of it, in that you either don’t like Con Air, or you know with all your mind and body it’s a goddamned treasure. Nicolas Cage and John Malkovich are in perfect form as the respective hero and villain Cameron Poe and Cyrus “The Virus” Grissom, with an all-star cast backing the Jerry Bruckheimer production. To pinpoint Con Air’s best moments is to take time away from enjoying the entirety of the thing. Beware the Marietta Mangler.

Independence Day

Roland Emmerich’s 1996 smash hit Independence Day falls more clearly into the action genre than his other disaster-laden films, while still adhering to his signature over-the-top mayhem. Featuring some of the ‘90s best on-screen explosions in any capacity, the alien invasion epic helped solidify Will Smith as a blockbuster action star in the wake of Bad Boys, while also bringing the laughs with Jeff Goldblum and Judd Hirsch among others. 

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Widely considered to be one of cinema’s biggest and best sequels of all time, Terminator 2: Judgment Day also holds the distinction of being one of the best action films of any era. Director James Cameron set the film’s nuclear stakes from the jump, and introduced an impressively frightening (and oft-parodied) villain in Robert Patrick’s liquid metal T-1000. Add in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s protagonist turn as T-800, the endless badassery of Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor, and the further nightmares of Skynet, and T2 remains a daunting genre entry.  

True Lies

The Matrix

It’s hard to think of any ‘90s movie that inspired the whole of culture (not just pop culture) the way that The Matrix did, from the fashion choices to the slow-mo bullet time to the electronica soundtrack and beyond. And amidst all the “red pill or blue pill?” debates and conversations about perspectives on reality, the Wachowskis weaved together a masterful action movie that broke new ground for martial arts combat and gunplay. In Neo we trust, but give me Trinity any day. 

The Long Kiss Goodnight

Lethal Weapon screenwriter Shane Black spent the ‘90s penning a trio of underrated genre faves, including 1996’s The Long Kiss Goodnight, which paired superstars Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson as an amnesiac schoolteacher and a struggling P.I., respectively, who stumble into a deadly conspiracy. With plenty of laughs and eye-popping explosions to go around, The Long Kiss Goodnight’s action is made all the more enjoyable with co-stars such as Brian Cox and David Morse. 

The Mummy

Rather than aiming for the creeping and dread-tinged horror of the Universal Monsters’ heyday, Stephen Sommers’ The Mummy is a rollicking big-budget action-adventure headed up by the always affable and fun to watch Brendan Fraser. The first film of the spinoff-sparking franchise seemingly came out of nowhere in 1999, despite a lengthy development process, and took over the box office with its s goofy one-liners, big battles and video game logic. There isn’t a mummy army out there that I wouldn’t watch watch Rick O’Connell fight off.

The Legend Of Drunken Master

1994’s The Legend of Drunken Master, a sequel to 1978’s Drunken Master, remains as endlessly impressive as much of star and martial arts master Jackie Chan’s fight-tastic career. So many different fighting styles and techniques were utilized throughout the film, as well as a variety of different weapons and physical props, but it’s the Drunken Fist maneuvers that truly make this stand out among the bulk of ‘90s action romps, and the consistent sense of humor only helps. 

Total Recall

Arnold Schwarzenegger kicked off the ‘90s with one of the decade’s wildest and twistiest sci-fi thrillers, teaming up with Paul Verhoeven for the effects-filled mindbender Total Recall. Even when most of the action is happening squarely on the hulking lead’s face (which is only barely hyperbole), this is an action fan’s quease-inducing dreamscape. From Sharon Stone kicking ass in pink spandex to Schwarzenegger blowing baddies away with ease, Total Recall is a relic whose magic can't be replicated through any kind of modern remakes.

Die Hard With A Vengeance

So many ‘80s and ‘90s hits spawned instantly forgettable sequels, but Die Hard with a Vengeance is one of the rarities, with much of that credit going to returning Die Hard director John McTiernan, as well as the additions of Samuel L. Jackson and Jeremy Irons. This third outing for Bruce Willis’ terrorist-dropping John McClane is arguably the last must-see within the franchise, as it’s a total blast to see him and Jackson’s Zeus following a wave of destruction throughout New York City. 

Bad Boys

Boasting one of the genre’s best partnerships in Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, 1995’s franchise-sparking Bad Boys is partly unhinged Michael Bay at his best, and is the rare action movie that’s as hilarious as it is exciting. It perfectly set the stage for the madness to come in 2003’s Bad Boys 2, and it’s all the more ridiculous to reflect on Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz being two of the original actors pitched. For my money, the shootout-turned-chase alone would make Bad Boys worthy of inclusion here.

Check out everything coming to theaters soon to see if any upcoming 2024 movie releases will stand tall against all the excellence listed above!

We all watch action movies for the... well, action. But we also watch actions for the memorable lines that they produce. The lines that we trade back and forth with friends for a laugh, or to make a point. Great lines in action movies can even be more quotable than those in comedies. So here are our choices for some of the best quotes from action movies that never get old. 

"I feel the need... the need for speed!" - Top Gun

Maverick (Tom Cruise) and Goose (Anthony Edwards) in Top Gun are a classic action movie duo. As best friends and work buddies, they do everything together and nothing sums up their friendship better than this line, as the adrenaline courses through their bodies after a flight in their F-14 Tomcats and they do the cool double high five thing. 

"100% pure adrenalin" - Point Break

The Kathryn Bigalow-directed cult classic Point Break wasn't the easiest film to get made, but it's turned into a stone-cold classic. It has some of the most quotable lines from any movie of its era and the line Bohdi (Patrick Swayze) delivers to Johnny (Keanu Reeves) tops the list. 

"Get to da choppah!" - Predator

You know a quote has made the big time when it becomes one of the biggest memes around, and "Get to da choppah!" from Predator has certainly achieved that. The Arnold Schwarzenegger quote is so meme-able, in fact, that it has surpassed the movie that it comes from in popularity and gets tacked on to lots of different Schwarzenegger faces across the internet. 

"When you pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud too." - The Equalizer

Robert McCall, the protagonist in The Equalizer franchise is as thoughtful as he is dangerous. When you've got an actor like Denzel Washington delivering the lines, you know they will be cool and quotable, just like this gem from the first movie. 

"The name is Bond, James Bond." - James Bond Series

James Bond has given us some of the most iconic lines in action movie history. "Shaken, not stirred," and all his quips after baddies get their comeuppance are classics. Nothing is more iconic though, than the way he introduces himself. It may be the most legendary line in all of cinema.  

"I'll be back." - The Terminator

Arnold Schwarzenegger has used the line "I'll be back" in at least eight of his films, but it all started with that confrontation at the police station in The Terminator (1984).  It has also been used in multiple movies in the Terminator franchise, said by other characters. It's incredible that the line almost didn't happen that way when Schwarzenegger suggested "I will be back," instead. Thankfully director James Cameron didn't let him change the script and movie history was born. 

"You've never seen me very upset." - Mission: Impossible

This is one of those lines you feel like anyone could use in everyday life. The Mission: Impossible series has grown into one of the most successful franchises of all time, but it's way back in the very first one that provided the series' most iconic line. 

"Warriors, come out and play." - The Warriors

One of the biggest cult classics of all time is undoubtedly The Warriors (1979). While it's filled with quotable lines, none are more so than this one, which comes towards the end, as the titular gang makes it back to their home turf at Coney Island only to find Luther (David Patrick Kelly) and his rival gang, The Rogues, waiting for them. Clink, clink, clink...

"You've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?" - Dirty Harry

Clint Eastwood's character "Dirty" Harry Callahan is one bad man. He carries a lot of firepower and he's not afraid to use it. He proves that in the very beginning of the first film in the series, Dirty Harry asks a would-be bank robber how lucky he feels. 

"Welcome to the party, pal." - Die Hard

Everyone's favorite Christmas action movie is Die Hard. In a lot of ways, it defines the modern breed of action movie, and a big part of that is all of John McClane's (Bruce Willis) quips, like the one he utters after shooting up Powell's (Reginald VelJohnson) car.

"Yeah, I guess I'm back." - John Wick

All John Wick (Keanu Reeves) wanted to do was live his life in peace after leaving the underworld. Unfortunately, his plans didn't work out. When asked if he was getting back into the game, he reluctantly replied with this now-iconic line.

"They drew first blood" - First Blood

It's the line that basically launched a franchise. When cornered in a cave, John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) tells his former commanding officer Col. Trautman (Richard Crenna) why he's doing what he's doing. We get our first glimpse into what drives the now-iconic character. 

"I have a bad feeling about this." - Star Wars

The most iconic franchise of all time deserves one of the most iconic catchphrases of all time and Star Wars has it. "I've got a bad feeling about this" is said in every Star Wars film and is part of most of the canon outside of film as well. Naturally, it was first uttered by the biggest character in the series, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in the very first movie as they first approach the Death Star. 

"I would like to have seen Montana." - The Hunt For Red October

The Hunt For Red October is one of Sean Connery's best movies, but it's Sam Neill's character Vasily who has the best line. After explaining early in the movie that he wants to settle in Montana after the crew arrives in America, it's what's on his mind when he meets his demise. 

"Say hello to my little friend!" - Scarface

In the decades since Tony Montana (Al Pacino) first yelled this line at the police bringing him down, it's become one of the most quoted lines from any action movie ever. It works for so many occasions, not just police raids. 

"Hasta la Vista, Baby." - Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Arnold Schwarzenegger is always good for a great catchphrase and in Terminator 2: Judgment Day that line is something he learns from young John Connor. It's a way Connor hopes will make him more laid back. It doesn't make the terminator more relaxed, but it does work to make him sound pretty cool. 

"Game over, man. Game over." - Aliens

The great Bill Paxton was taken from us way too young, but not before he delivered this no iconic line from Aliens. When everything seems to be lost, and the alien is closing in on the remaining people left, Paxton's character Hudson delivers this line with a level of fear that everyone watching feels. 

"Khaaaaan!" - Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan

It's the line that has launched a million memes. Who doesn't know this iconic line from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan? The answer is nobody. William Shatner's James T. Kirk will live well into the far future, and this one line will always be a part of that legacy. 

"Go ahead, make my day." - Sudden Impact

In the fourth Dirty Harry movie, Sudden Impact, Clint Eastwood, as Dirty Harry Callahan, utters one of the most famous, and quoted, lines in movie history. The line was written by John Milius, a well known script doctor who also wrote some of the most famous lines in Jaws and The Hunt For Red October. 

"Welcome to the Rock" - The Rock

Sean Connery is responsible for an endless amount of great lines. Even in movies that aren't among his best reviewed, like The Rock, he still delivers. After he and Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage) land on Alcatraz Island, Connery's Mason welcomes him to the island Mason called home for a time. 

"Never change the deal." - The Transporter

Frank (Jason Statham) is the best getaway driver in the world in The Transporter and as a driver-for-hire, he has three rules. No names, never look in the package, but #1 and most importantly, "Never change the deal." The man is not only a great driver, but he's true to his word and if you hire him, you better be too. 

"I'm dropping the hammer!" - Days Of Thunder

Director Tony Scott teamed up again with Tom Cruise after Top Gun for Days of Thunder, which was pretty much Top Gun in a race car. The action sequences are amazing, and the dialog produced one true classic when Cruise's Cole Trickle decides to go for it on a practice lap. 

"I expect and demand your very best. Anything less, you should have joined the Air Force." - Crimson Tide

Crimson Tide has a lot of great dialogue between submarine captain, Frank Ramsey (Gene Hackman) and his XO, Lieutenant Commander Ron Hunter (Denzel Washington), but it's a line very early in the movie that sums up how the naval captain feels about serving on a submarine. He wants and expects only the best. 

"I hate snakes." - Indiana Jones and The Raiders Of The Lost Ark

There isn't much that stresses the great Indiana Jones out in Raiders of the Lost Ark, except one thing. Little does he know that later in his adventure he will face hundreds of snakes when he jumps in the prop plane at the beginning and finds one harmless snake in his seat, and lets the pilot know how he feels about the reptiles. 

"Put... the bunny... back... in the box." - Con Air 

In Con Air Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage) is a paroled prisoner on his final flight back home after serving an 8-year-sentence. He's bringing home a present for his daughter, a stuffed bunny. It's the most important thing to him on the "con air" flight and everyone knows it when he explains where the stuffed animal needs to go. 

"I Live My Life a Quarter Mile at a Time." - The Fast And The Furious

It can't be argued that the Fast and Furious franchise isn't one of the biggest of all time. It also can't be argued that it hasn't produced some iconic lines, none of which are more famous than when Dominic Toretto explains to Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) how he lives his life. It's not day to day or hour to hour; it's a quarter mile at a time. 

"That Woman Deserves Her Revenge." - Kill Bill

There is one thing on Beatrix's (Uma Thurman) mind in Kill Bill: revenge. Bill (David Carradine) wants to stop her, but another member of their former crew, Budd (Michael Madsen) has other thoughts. He thinks she's justified in her anger. It sums up the whole movie in one sentence.

"You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes." - The Matrix

What if I told you that the line most people think is the most famous line from The Matrix isn't actually in The Matrix? That's right, Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne) never says the line that has been made famous in memes. He does, however, utter the famous line about what the red pill can do for someone.

"The action is the juice." - Heat

When Heat first came out in 1995, it was the epitome of cool. Tom Sizemore's character, Michael Cheritto, was part of the very cool crew led by Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro). When Neil asks Michael if he's up for the bank robbery, Michael says yes, and tells him why: it's what he lives for. 

"You know you drive almost slow enough to drive Miss Daisy." - Bad Boys

We've all been there. There is nothing worse than getting impatient with a slow driver and in 1995's Bad Boys, Michael (Will Smith) lets his new partner Marcus (Martin Lawrence) have it when he gets fed up with what he thinks is slow driving. It's a line that would have been way out of place if the original casting ideas hadn't changed.  

"What a lovely day." - Mad Max: Fury Road

Mad Max: Fury Road was an instant classic and while there isn't a whole lot of dialogue (who needs it?), there is one very famous line yelled by Nux (Nicholas Hoult) as the army or cars scream across the desert in one of the coolest car chase sequences ever filmed. 

"You're the disease, and I'm the cure." - Cobra

In the mid-'80s, Sly Stallone made a lot of cool movies, with a lot of cool lines. One of the most under-appreciated movies is Cobra, which he wrote based on the original script for Beverly Hills Cop, believe it or not. The best line in that script explains the main character's entire ethos. 

You can't have a great action movie without great dialogue and this list proves it. 

Are you ready for Barbieheimer? It feels as though ever since the release dates for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer were set, cinephiles have been having an absolute blast at the idea of the two movies coming out on the exact same day. There have been so many memes, and same-day double feature ticket sales are real, making this weekend quite an eventful one to be in movie theaters. But did you know iconic pairings such as Barbieheimer have occurred before in movie history? 

What same-day movie release pairings would the internet have absolutely geeked about in retrospect? From The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia having neighboring theatrical openings in 2008, to ‘80s classic movies Ghostbusters and Gremlins sharing the same summer date, let’s talk about ten times big and beloved movies premiered on the same day and how things shook out in theaters. 

Poltergeist Vs. Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan 

On June 4, 1982, moviegoers could buy a ticket to both the Steven Spielberg horror classic Poltergeist and arguably the most beloved of all the Star Trek movies ever made, Wrath of Khan. Both movies shared some major (and quite comparable) success in this case. Poltergeist was the highest-grossing horror movie of 1982, at No. 8 in overall movies that year along with some really positive buzz from critics and audiences alike. The Star Trek sequel won the match up overall, though, when it had the biggest opening weekend in history at the time. It later became the sixth highest grossing movie of the year. The Trekkies showed up big time, but both of their successes showed there were big audiences for both.  

Blade Runner Vs. The Thing

Just three weeks later, another iconic matchup happened in theaters in the year 1982 as well! On June 25th, Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and John Carpenter’s The Thing landed in theaters on the same day. Funny enough, the massive successes of both Poltergeist and Star Trek II (along with E.T. and Conan the Barbarian) somewhat hurt the commercial successes of both these movies in the summer of ‘82. Both rather misunderstood, garnering mixed reactions from its audiences at the time, and having OK, but not great box office returns. 

Ghostbusters Vs. Gremlins

Jumping over to 1984, two more massive genre films, Ghostbusters and Gremlins, both came out on June 8. Ivan Reitman’s supernatural comedy starring Bill Murray and such won the weekend, with Gremlins swiftly behind and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in its third week of release and still very much making bank. Both Ghostbusters and Gremlins were warmly received in theaters and were among the highest-grossing movies of 1984, with Ghostbusters at No. 2 behind Beverly Hills Cop and Gremlins at No. 4.  

Die Hard Vs. A Fish Called Wanda 

Another great summer ‘80s release day occurred on July 15, 1988, when both Die Hard and A Fish Called Wanda hit theaters on the exact same day. Neither film earned the distinction of No. 1 at the box office, as the Eddie Murphy-led comedy Coming To America continued to dominate ticket sales a few weeks into its release. Die Hard didn’t necessarily sell critics, but audiences carried the movie to its iconic status and Bruce Willis to a solid breakout movie role. 

A Fish Called Wanda was named one of the best movies of the year, led to Kevin Kline winning an Oscar and earned No. 1 at the box office six weeks into its theatrical run before becoming the most rented movie in the U.S. the following year. Both of these made a massive mark on audiences in 1988, but technically Die Hard was the bigger blockbuster. 

Batman Vs. Honey, I Shrunk The Kids 

Here’s one more massive ‘80s versus scenario: Tim Burton’s Batman and Disney classic, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Both summer movies hit theaters on June 23, 1989, and they were top hits of 1989. However, Batman absolutely takes the win here, as it went on to become the highest-grossing movie of that year, and a seminal movie release that directly affects the superhero blockbuster era were in today. In 11 days, Batman became the fastest film to earn $100 million and earned over $400 million worldwide total. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids still had a solid release, with it becoming the sixth highest-grossing movie of 1989!

Boyz N The Hood Vs. Point Break 

Well, aren’t these two a solid double feature? On July 12, 1991 moviegoers could experience both Boyz in the Hood and Point Break in theaters for the first time on the same day. Neither movies cracked the top 20 of highest-grossing movies of 1991, with films like Beauty and the Beast, Terminator 2, Silence of the Lambs and Hook being among the biggest blockbusters. Still, their cultural impact and continued following is unquestionable. Overall, Boyz n the Hood edged out Point Break between its higher cash flow and critical praise. 

Heat Vs. Jumanji 

Another solid matchup of all-time beloved films happened during the holiday season of 1995: Michael Mann’s Heat and Joe Johnston’s Jumanji. These two were very much counter-programing for each other, with one being a violent crime film and the other a family comedy. Considering the holiday weekend, Robin Williams’ charm won over Al Pacino and Robert De Niro’s team-up, hitting No. 1 in its first weekend, beating out Toy Story reign for weeks. Jumanji also became the seventh highest-grossing movie of 1995, whereas Heat was No. 25. Since then, both are well loved and have certainly made their mark on modern cinema in their own distinct ways. 

10 Things I Hate About You Vs. The Matrix 

When we talk about beloved ‘90s movies these days, 10 Things I Hate About You and The Matrix are certainly big favorites that are mentioned high up. Both films premiered on March 31, 1999 too. The Wachowskis' science fiction action movie not only opened at No. 1, it earned one of the best openings for the Spring season ever of the time along with earning praise right off the bat. 10 Things I Hate About You opened at No. 2 at the box office. Obviously we’re talking about two vastly different kinds of movies, but yes, The Matrix was the winner here. 

The Dark Knight Vs. Mamma Mia!

15 years before Barbieheimer, there was a comparable matchup on July 18, 2008, when Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia! hit theaters. In this instance, The Dark Knight would go on to become the highest-grossing movie of 2008, with an over $1 billion of earnings at the box office, but Mamma Mia! was a big hit too, becoming the No. 5 movie of the year. The Dark Knight has always been well-loved from the get go, but Mamma Mia’s popularity has only but soared since it initially came out.   

A Star Is Born Vs. Venom

Anyone else remember the A Star Is Born/Venom memes of 2018? A lot of that had to do with the Oscar-winning drama and superhero flick premiering on the same day: October 5, 2018. It’s hard to choose a winner here, all things considered, but commercially Venom became the most successful of the two with its $856 million worldwide haul, which was the seventh highest-grossing movie of 2018. A Star Is Born was No. 21, but it also received a ton of award buzz and was one of the most popular movies of the year. 

It sure is fun to think about all these double features in retrospect. Did you turn out twice in the movie theaters for any of these and which did you choose first? The next massive cinematic showdown comes this weekend, July 21 when both Barbie and Oppenheimer hits theaters. 

Often considered one of the best action movies of all time, Kathryn Bigelow’s Point Break helped usher in a new chapter of Keanu Reeves’ career, one that set the actor up to become one of the greatest Hollywood stars of his time. With outstanding bank robbery scenes, some incredible surfing and skydiving, and a tremendous turn by the late Patrick Swayze, there are plenty of reasons why the movie is still so beloved 30 years after its release.

In honor of our partnership with Plex, where Point Break is streaming for free, we’ve put together a list of ten behind-the-scenes facts you might not know about the 1991 action thriller. With information on the movie’s conception, how its ending came to be, and so much more, there’s a lot to unpack here…

Rick King Came Up With The Premise Of Point Break While Taking Surfing Lessons

Years before Point Break opened on the big screen, it started out as an idea by writer Rick King, who came up with the basic premise in the most appropriate way: during surf lessons. When speaking with Hidden-Films in 2013, King revealed that he was sitting on the beach in Malibu when several of the movie’s key elements came to him at once. Before he knew it, King was thinking about bank robberies, an athletic FBI agent going undercover, and “Surfers who rob banks,” which would become key to the final movie. 

Essentially, King thought of the premise as “Tom Cruise joins the FBI.”

Ridley Scott Attempted To Get The Project Off The Ground Years Before Kathryn Bigelow Took It Over

Later in the same interview with Hidden-Films, Rick King opened up about how Point Break languished as an unrealized project for a number of years before Ridley Scott stepped in and tried to make it happen. But after an undisclosed amount of time developing the project in pre-production, the Blade Runner director ended up stepping away from the project, which opened the door for eventual director Kathryn Bigelow to take things over.

Scott would end up having a big 1991 movie of his own, with the now iconic Thelma & Louise starring Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis.

Kathryn Bigelow Had To Fight For Keanu Reeves To Be Cast In The Lead Role

Keanu Reeves has since gone on to become one of the greatest action stars of all time thanks to appearances in Speed,The Matrix, and most recently, the John Wick movies. But that wasn’t always the case. In fact, as James Cameron once told Premiere magazine (via BirthMoviesDeath), Kathryn Bigelow had to fight for Reeves to be cast as Johnny Utah in Point Break: 

Though Reeves would ultimately blossom into an all-time great before the decade was finished, it’s easy to see where Fox executives were coming from, as he had mostly been in comedies and dramas at the time. 

James Cameron Made A Key Change To Way The Bank Robbers Looked

There are few scenes in Point Break, or any early '90s action movie, more iconic than the "Ex-Presidents" storming in and robbing a bank while dressed up in suits and masks depicting Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, and Lyndon B. Johnson. And if it wasn't for James Cameron's retooling of the script, those sequences could have looked a lot different.

During a 2021 appearance on the Script Apart podcast, screenwriter W. Peter Iliff revealed that he originally intended for the thieves to be wearing masks of the presidents on the various forms of U.S. currency. However, Cameron thought having Bodhi and his gang wear George Washington and Abe Lincoln masks wouldn’t be as cool as Richard Nixon or Ronald Reagan, whose presidencies were more recent. 

Michael Biehn Was Considered For The Role Of Bodhi

It is hard to imagine anyone but Patrick Swayze playing Bodhi in Point Break, but another actor, one with a lot of experience with James Cameron (Kathryn Bigelow’s then-husband), was also considered for the movie’s surfer-turned-robber character. When speaking with Den of Geek in 2011, Michael Biehn, who famously appeared in The Terminator, Aliens, and The Abyss, revealed that “there was a call that was made” to him about the role that ultimately went to Swayze. 

Patrick Swayze’s Love Of Jumping Out Of Airplanes Earned Him A Cease And Desist By The Production Team

Point Break features some of the most ridiculous sky-diving scenes of all time, and so it’s not that hard to believe that Patrick Swayze spent a lot of time preparing for the multiple jumps. But as Keanu Reeves revealed to E! News when talking about his co-star following Swayze’s September 2009 death, the Ghost actor liked it a little too much for the production team:

As Reeves put it, Swayze was “jumping out of airplanes all the time,” before the powers that be stepped in to put an end to it. The action star also described the late actor as a “beautiful person, an artist.”

Gary Busey Has Talked About Keanu Reeves’ Interest In Learning On Set

Gary Busey, who plays FBI Agent Angelo Pappas in Point Break, has said that Keanu Reeves, much like his Johnny Utah character, was eager and willing to learn anything he had to do in order to put on the best performance. In fact, when speaking with The Hollywood Reporter years after the movie’s release, Busey had great things to say about his co-star:

Though Busey was only joking about the whole “invisible arm” situation, it’s easy to tell that he still thinks a great deal about Reeves.

The Core Cast Had To Undergo Months Of Surf Training, Which Was Described As A ‘Big Surf Party’

With Point Break being about a group of bank robbers who pull off daring heists to fund their surfing adventures, it would only make sense for the actors playing those characters to know their way around a surfboard. Following the film’s release, Dennis Jarvis, the self-proclaimed “surf doctor of Hollywood,” told EW about how he taught Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, and Lori Petty to pull of their characters:

And it paid off, as Reeves commissioned a custom-made surfboard after the lessons so that he could continue to surf after the wrap of production.

Future UCLA Head Coach Rick Neuheisel Taught Reeves How To Throw A Football And Even Directed An Iconic Scene

Long before Top Gun: Maverick gave the world an incredible beach football scene, Point Break showed the world how it was done. And the reason the nighttime scrimmage looks so good? Well, that’s because it was directed by future UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel, who was also tasked with teaching Keanu Reeves how to throw a football prior to the shoot.

During a December 2022 appearance on SiriusXM ESPNU Radio, Neuheisel recalled a conversation he had with late college football coach Mike Leach about Point Break, a chat in which he revealed that Patrick Swayze was begging for an interception, and Gary Busey wanting to be in the scene.

The Point Break Ending Had To Be Reshot And Retooled Months After Production Wrapped

Unlike most of the movie, the Point Break ending isn’t all that action-packed, and it was originally going to be even more toned-down than the finished product. When appearing on the Script Apart podcast (the one mentioned earlier), screenwriter W. Peter Iliff revealed that the whole beach brawl between Johnny Utah and Bodhi was added after the fact:

And one thing that gives the scene away and shows that it was filmed later is Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze’s hair, as Iliff pointed out:

This “wonderful movie accident” ended up saying a lot about the transformations the characters went through after their encounter in the desert, which is really cool.

Hopefully these behind-the-scenes facts from the making of Point Break make you want to revisit the iconic 1991 action movie. If you want to check it out for the first time in years, or the first time entirely, you can do so as Point Break is streaming for free on Plex. 

On March 3, 2023, the world lost actor Tom Sizemore at the age of 61, after he was found unconscious due to a brain aneurysm and soon rushed to a Los Angeles hospital. Fans and former colleagues would show an outpouring of support on social media for the Golden Globe nominee after it was reported that his condition was not expected to improve. 

In his last few years, the talented character actor’s career was heavily overshadowed by his struggles with substance abuse and other legal troubles, but I think I speak for many when I say that I had hoped we would see the star of Saving Private Ryan, Heat, and other classic ‘90s movies make a comeback at some point. Instead, all we can do now is honor his memory, and we are doing so here by revisiting the best Tom Sizemore movies now available on streaming, as a digital rental, or for purchase on physical media. 

Passenger 57 (1992)

An undercover airport security operative (Wesley Snipes) becomes the only hope for the crew and passengers on a commercial jet hijacked by a notorious terrorist group.

Why it is one of the best Tom Sizemore movies: Sizemore plays Sly Develcchio — an old friend of the hero, John Cutter, whom he offers a position in his antiterrorist outfit — in one of Snipes’ best movies, the ‘90s action favorite, Passenger 57, which has often been referred to as “Die Hard on a plane.”

Rent/buy Passenger 57 digitally on Amazon.
Buy Passenger 57 on Blu-ray on Amazon.

True Romance (1993)

After falling in love and getting married on a whim in Detroit, a lonely Elvis Presley fan (Christian Slater) and an amateur sex worker (Academy Award winner Patricia Arquette) become targeted by mobsters after accidentally intercepting a drug shipment that they then try to sell off in Hollywood.

Why it is one of the best Tom Sizemore movies: Sizemore gives one of his most memorable performances as Detective Cody Nicholson — a cop trying to track down the cocaine that the romantic leads are attempting to steal — in True Romance, which is one of the late director Tony Scott’s best films and comes from a screenplay by Quentin Tarantino.

Stream True Romance on Pluto TV.
Rent/buy True Romance digitally on Amazon.
Buy True Romance on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Natural Born Killers (1994)

An emotionally traumatized man (Academy Award nominee Woody Harrelson) and woman (Academy Award nominee Juliette Lewis) find love with each other and fame from the bloody trail they leave behind them as traveling serial murderers.

Why it is one of the best Tom Sizemore movies: Another film that came from the mind of Tarantino, director Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers — also one of Harrelson’s best movies — is a boldly brutal and surreal jab at America’s violent obsessions, in which Sizemore goes completely unplugged as another cop, Detective Jack Scagnetti, who's trying to track down the film’s deadly romantic leads.

Rent/buy Natural Born Killers digitally on Amazon.
Buy Natural Born Killers on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Heat (1995)

An expert-level thief (Academy Award winner Robert De Niro) and his crew feel their successful criminal empire is beginning to collapse right from underneath them after a clue accidentally left at the scene of their most recent job puts a veteran police lieutenant (Academy Award winner Al Pacino) hot on their trail.

Why it is one of the best Tom Sizemore movies: Speaking of going unplugged, Sizemore is dynamite as Michael Cheritto — a criminal addicted to the violent nature of his chosen career — in one of the most ingenious and exciting heist movie classics (that was once called the best by a real-life thief), writer and director Michael Mann’s Heat.

Stream Heat on Hulu.
Rent/buy Heat digitally on Amazon.
Buy Heat on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Wyatt Earp (1994)

The story of how a tragedy-ridden gunfighter (Yellowstone cast member Kevin Costner) became one of the most iconic figures in the history of the Old West.

Why it is one of the best Tom Sizemore movies: One of two movies from early ‘90s inspired by the infamous events at the O.K. Corral (see 1993’s Tombstone), co-writer and director Lawrence Kasdan’s epic historical western, Wyatt Earp, also stars Sizemore as Bartholomew “Bat” Masterson, who is hired by Earp, along with his brother, Ed (Bill Pullman), to hunt buffalo.

Rent/buy Wyatt Earp digitally on Amazon.
Buy Wyatt Earp on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

An American military captain (Academy Award winner Tom Hanks) and his modestly-sized crew risk their lives by stepping into enemy territory in order to find a young soldier whose brother recently died in action, so they can send him home.

Why it is one of the best Tom Sizemore movies: Sizemore gives one of his finest performances as Captain Miller’s second-in-command, Sgt. Michael Horvath, in the Saving Private Ryan cast for one of Steven Spielberg’s best movies and the one that earned the filmmaker his second Best Director Oscar.

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Buy Saving Private Ryan on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Black Hawk Down (2002)

An American military staff sergeant (Josh Hartnett) and his crew risk their lives to rescue 160 Army Rangers who are left stranded in Somalia after a devastating dual-helicopter crash.

Why it is one of the best Tom Sizemore movies: Another highly realistic war movie starring Sizemore (this time as Lt. Col. Danny McKnight) is Black Hawk Down — an immersive, shocking account of a real incident from 1993, from director Ridley Scott.

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Buy Black Hawk Down on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Strange Days (1995)

In a future Los Angeles ravaged by a violent race war, a former cop (Ralph Fiennes) who now sells illegal recordings of other people’s memories uncovers a bizarre and shocking conspiracy.

Why it is one of the best Tom Sizemore movies: In his second collaboration with Natural Born Killers’ Juliette Lewis, Sizemore goes bad once again as private investigator Max Peltier, the main antagonist of Strange Days — an underrated dystopian crime thriller from director Kathryn Bigelow which was co-written by James Cameron.

Stream Strange Days on HBO Max.
Buy Strange Days on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Devil In A Blue Dress (1994)

In post World War II-era Los Angeles, a Black war veteran (Academy Award winner Denzel Washington) becomes embroiled in a deadly political conspiracy while investigating the disappearance of a wealthy mayoral candidate’s mistress (Jennifer Beals).

Why it is one of the best Tom Sizemore movies: Based on the novel by Walter Mosley, which also marked the debut appearance of his detective hero Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins, Devil in a Blue Dress is a stirring slice of film noir in which Sizemore stars as Dewitt Albright — the man who hires Easy for the case.

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The Relic (1997)

An evolutionary biologist (Penelope Ann Miller) and a police lieutenant (Sizemore) discover that a series of strange, brutal murders are linked to a horrific creature unearthed from a tribal artifact on display in a Chicago museum.

Why it is one of the best Tom Sizemore movies: The actor would appear in many horror films over the last few years of his career, but his best is probably The Relic — a fun, underrated creature feature from director Peter Hyams that's based on the novel by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.

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Buy The Relic on DVD on Amazon.

Bringing Out The Dead (1999)

A veteran paramedic (Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage) begins to reach the end of his rope while suffering from visions of the people he could not save over the course of three increasingly erratic nights on the job.

Why it is one of the best Tom Sizemore movies: In some ways, you could count director Martin Scorsese and writer Paul Schrader’s adaptation of Joe Connelly’s novel, Bringing Out the Dead — in which Sizemore plays Tom Wolls, one of the paramedics partnered with Cage’s unhinged central character, Frank Pierce — as a horror movie for its bizarre aesthetic and “ghostly” themes.

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Buy Bringing Out The Dead on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down The White House (2017)

Using the code name “Deep Throat,” the Associate Director for the FBI (Academy Award nominee Liam Neeson) assists two Washington Post reporters in their investigation of the Watergate scandal.

Why it is one of the best Tom Sizemore movies: An account of the events surrounding one of the United States’ most infamous political scandals from the perspective of its mysterious whistle blower, Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House stars Sizemore as Bill Sullivan — an FBI agent with whom Felt shares a rivalrous rapport.

Rent/buy Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down The White House digitally on Amazon.
Buy Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down The White House on DVD on Amazon.

BONUS: Point Break And Enemy Of The State

One of Sizemore’s first collaborations with Strange Days director Kathryn Bigelow was in 1991’s Point Break and, also, he later reunited with True Romance helmer Tony Scott for 1998’s Enemy of the State.

Why they are some of the best Tom Sizemore movies: While Sizemore’s roles as undercover DEA agent Deets in Point Break and as mob boss Paulie Pintero in Enemy of the State are relatively small (the latter leaving him uncredited), his larger-than-life performances were memorable highlights from each movie and from his career overall.

Rent/buy Point Break digitally on Amazon.
Buy Point Break on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Stream Enemy Of The State on Hulu.
Rent/buy Enemy Of The State digitally on Amazon.
Buy Enemy Of The State on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Check out these great Tom Sizemore movies to keep the memory of the actor’s talent alive.

Keanu Reeves has played a number of iconic roles in his career, but before he was John Wick or Neo he was Johnny Utah. While maybe not his greatest movie, Point Break is something of a cult classic that has a lot of fans. Reeves appeared alongside the late Patrick Swayze in that one, and during a recent AMA Reeves called out Swayze saying that working with him was the highlight of the film.

A fan on Reddit recently asked Keanu Reeves what his favorite part of making Point Break was. Rather than pointing out a particularly memorable scene or revealing a hilarious outtake, Reeves said that what he remembers most about the film was working with Swayze and the example that he apparently set. The actor stated… 

In 1991 when Point Break was released, Patrick Swayze was the undeniable star of the film. While Keanu Reeves certainly wasn’t new to the industry by any means, he was years away from the massive popularity he would eventually achieve. Swayze was at the height of his popularity, having just come off Ghost with Demi Moore prior to the release of Point Break.

When Keanu Reeves calls Patrick Swayze an inspiration, he may not be speaking simply in a generally positive sense. There are a lot of people who probably use the words “gentleman,” “pro,” and “movie star” to describe Keanu Reeves today, he seems to be one of the more generally well-regarded actors in Hollywood today, not simply a good actor but a pretty good guy as well. It’s possible that Reeves learned a thing or two from Swayze during this production. 

Patrick Swayze passed away in 2009 from pancreatic cancer. His death was certainly a shock to a lot of fans and friends. At 57 years of age Swayze certainly had potentially decades more of work in front of him and plenty of fans who wanted to see that. While we’ll never see Patrick Swayze again, we are seeing an example of just how much of an impact his work had on Hollywood. Jake Gyllenhaal is currently at work on a remake of Road House and a sequel to Dirty Dancing is also in development. There has also been talk of a remake of Ghost in recent days.

Whether either of these films will make reference to Swayze or his characters remains to be seen, though that seems all but assured for the Dirty Dancing sequel, part of what will draw fans to these new movies is the memory of what came before. It sounds like Keanu Reeves himself will probably be checking them out. He was as big a fan of Patrick Swayze as anybody. 

Here is a little tidbit of information that is going to come as a surprise to just about no one, but some of the best action movies of all time have been directed by trailblazing female filmmakers who have proven that the genre isn’t reserved solely for their male counterparts. Over the years, Academy Award winners like Kathryn Bigelow have come in and released a few of the most transformative action flicks, like Point Break, that we’re still talking about 30-plus years later. But, she’s not alone…

In the past, we’ve talked about all the great horror movies from female directors, as well as pointed out some of the best superhero movies told from the female perspective, and so now feels like a great time to point out a dozen badass action movies by female directors and what makes each so great.

Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow)

Although Kathryn Bigelow’s 1991 action thriller, Point Break, starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze wasn’t the biggest hit with audiences or critics upon its release (it opened just one week after her then-husband James Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day came out), it has since earned a reputation as being one of the best action movies of the early 1990s, and perhaps of all time. 

The film centers around Reeves’ FBI Agent Johnny Utah, as he goes undercover to bring down Bodhi (Swayze), the leader of a group of surfers who fund their lifestyles by committing over-the-top bank heists while dressed up like former U.S. presidents. With thrilling heist scenes, daring skydiving sequences, and one of the all-time great movie villains, there’s a lot to love with this cult classic.

Wonder Woman (Patty Jenkins)

A few years after leaving the production of Thor: The Dark World, Patty Jenkins took her talents to the DCEU with the 2017 smash hit, Wonder Woman, a movie that not only made the Monster director one of the most sought after names in Hollywood, but helped take the growing cinematic universe to the next level.

Wonder Woman is nothing short of a comic book movie masterpiece, with exquisite action set pieces (especially the epic “No Man’s Land” sequence), a rich and detailed story, and an outstanding performance by Gal Gadot, who first took on the role of Diana Prince one year earlier in Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice.

The Old Guard (Gina Prince-Bythewood)

Director Gina Prince-Bythewood and her 2020 Netflix original, The Old Guard, made great strides in Hollywood, specifically when it came to the representation of the LGBTQ+ community in an action movie. This, combined with Prince-Bythewood’s unique take on the genre and the source material, created a hellacious and thrilling action spectacle that did a lot while never feeling overstuffed or unnecessary.

In case you aren’t familiar, The Old Guard centers on a group of centuries-old warriors who all have amazing regenerative healing abilities that allow them to essentially come back from the dead over and over again. After fighting together for nearly a millennium, the group finds themselves the target of a mysterious party, while at the same time taking in a new member to the family.

The Matrix (The Wachowskis)

The landscape of action movies was forever changed in 1999 when The Wachowskis released the groundbreaking and mind-bending box office smash hit, The Matrix. With the movie, and the directors’, blend of heavy philosophical questions about truth, freedom, and identity, it’s easy to see why it’s still held in such high regard more than 20 years after its release.

On the surface, The Matrix is about one man — Neo (Keanu Reeves) — saving humanity from being enslaved by machines and used as a power source, but the more you peel back at that onion’s layers you find all kinds of statements and questions that turn it into anything but a straight-forward, run-of-the-mill action flick.

Birds of Prey (Cathy Yan)

It is easy to feel bad for Cathy Yan’s female-centric comic book movie, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), considering the global theater market came crashing down just a few weeks following its February 2020 release, but don’t let this take anything away from the criminally outrageous and fun action movie it is. Plain and simple, this movie rocks!

In the aftermath of Harley Quinn’s (Margot Robbie) breakup with the Joker, the Suicide Squad member finds herself with a big old target on her head, as just about every big bad (and just about anyone she hurt over the years) comes looking for revenge, including Black Mask (Ewan McGregor). But, don’t count her out, as Harley has some friends of her own; some very badass friends with equally great backstories.

Tank Girl (Rachel Talalay)

If you are a fan of the Mad Max movies, the punk rock mentality, and a heavy dose of feminist themes, then Rachel Talalay’s 1995 sci-fi cult classic, Tank Girl, is worth checking out. This movie is absolutely and undeniably bonkers, but this is a good thing, a very good thing. Set in 2033 where most of the planet’s fresh water is controlled by an evil corporation, Rebecca Buck, a.k.a. Tank Girl (Lori Petty), rises to the occasion to save her friends and humanity in whole fell swoop.

There’s just so much to love here, including Petty’s take on the underdog comic book character, the insane action sequences, outstanding soundtrack, and those human-kangaroo hybrids (your eyes aren’t deceiving you). But overall, it’s a fun, silly movie that isn’t afraid to tackle some big topics.

Punisher: War Zone (Lexi Alexander)

Not to be confused with the Thomas Jane-led The Punisher that came out a few years earlier, Lexi Alexander’s 2008 bonkers and very R-rated comic book movie, Punisher: War Zone, is an absurdly fun and ridiculous movie. Is a great movie? No, not really. Is it a blast? You bet!

The movie centers on Frank Castle (Ray Stevenson) as he tries to fight off the legions of criminals, goons, and psychopaths hired by Jigsaw (Dominic West) to take down the Punisher after he left the crime boss hideously disfigured. But, don’t worry about the story, because the action sells the movie, especially the parkour scene where the Punisher makes a guy explode mid-flip.

Blue Steel (Kathryn Bigelow)

A little more than a year before Kathryn Bigelow released Point Break, the future Oscar winner came out with an equally as impressive crime action thriller called Blue Steel, which happens to be one of the best Jamie Lee Curtis movies. The drama in this one picks up after rookie cop Megan Turner (Curtis) puts an end to one criminal, but inadvertently kicks off another reign of terror when a psychopath (Ron Silver) picks up the dead man’s gun.

Though more toned down (in scope, not in violence) than the movie that would come out a year later, Blue Steel isn’t for the faint of heart. The great cat-and-mouse game between cop and criminal is brilliant throughout the movie and adds a great deal of tension.

Speed Racer (The Wachowskis)

Despite being a box office bomb and not being well received by critics, The Wachowskis’ 2008 adaptation of the classic Japanese manga and anime series, Speed Racer, is a dazzling display of cinematic greatness. Sure, an appreciation (or obsession) with the intellectual property helps in this regard, but it’s never too late to give it a second chance.

The movie looks and feels just like the old animated series and features multiple aspects, including those outrageously treacherous races with danger around every corner, the identity of Racer X (Matthew Fox), and so much corporate greed, that make you think you’re watching an HBO drama.

The Peacemaker (Mimi Leder)

Mimi Leder’s 1997 political action thriller, The Peacemaker (no, not the 2022 HBO Max show starring John Cena), is one of those movies that isn’t necessarily the best the genre has to offer, but is fun and engaging enough that you’ll be glad you watched it. When a train containing nuclear weapons vanishes after a wreck in Russia, nuclear specialist Dr. Julia Kelly (Nicole Kidman) and U.S. Army Ranger Thomas Devoe (George Clooney) attempt to find the missing weapons, which is easier said than done.

The pairing of Kidman and Clooney works really well throughout The Peacemaker and adds another level of drama and contention as the two characters, who are polar opposites, learn to work together. Bickering, banter, and plenty of explosions are found throughout.

Eternals (Chloé Zhao) 

Chloé Zhao became the second female filmmaker (the first being Kathryn Bigelow) to take home an Academy Award for Best Director with her 2020 sensation, Nomadland, and immediately followed it up with one of the most ambitious entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe yet. That movie, Eternals, introduced audiences to some of the MCU’s most interesting and powerful heroes thus far.

Although not everyone’s favorite Marvel movie, there’s a case for Eternals being the most beautiful entry in the saga over the years, and that’s mostly because of Zhao’s eye for great shots and insistence on shooting on location whenever possible. When Zhao said she was from the "Terrence Malick school of filmmaking," she really meant it with this one.

Aeon Flux (Karyn Kusama)

A little more than a decade-and-a-half before she directed the pilot episode of the popular drama series, Yellowjackets, Karyn Kusama helmed the 2005 live-action adaptation of the MTV animated series, Aeon Flux, with Charlize Theron taking on the role of the titular heroine. Set 400 years after a deadly pathogen wiped out most of life on Earth, the movie features some flashy action and multiple plot twists before Aeon Flux can fulfill her mission.

Aeon Flux didn’t fare all too well at the box office, with critics, or fans of the original series, but Theron’s take on the iconic ‘90s character is fun enough to make it a fun cinematic experience.

Hopefully this all sheds light on some of the more forgotten movies on this list as well as the female directors who brought the stories to the big screen. And, with so many female filmmakers at the helm of some of the upcoming 2022 movies, expect this list to get longer in time.

Explosions, one-liners, and unbelievable stunts are all a few characteristics found in the best action movies, and help turn great buddy cop movies, high-octane thrill-rides, and the martial arts films into all-time greats. But, what are the best action movies and where can you find them streaming, available for online rentals and purchases, and on physical media like DVD, Blu-ray, and the increasingly popular 4K UHD Blu-ray format?

Funny you should ask, as you can currently watch a couple dozen of the cinema’s most explosive action flicks in more ways than Arnold Schwarzenegger can look badass on a motorcycle, Keanu Reeves can reinvent himself, and Michael Bay can continue to pull off his signature 360-degree camera trick. There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s break down the best action movies of all time and how to watch them.

Wanted (2008)

After being recruited by a mysterious league of assassins, Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) learns he is in possession of an incredible, and incredibly lethal, set of skills passed down by his father, a legendary gunman who was recently murdered under rather peculiar circumstances in Wanted.

Stream Wanted on Max.
Rent/Buy Wanted on Amazon.
Buy Wanted on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Hanna (2011)

Upon being sent out on a mission that has her make her way across Europe, a young assassin named Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) finds herself being hunted by the ruthless Marissa (Cate Blanchett), who will stop at nothing to find and capture the teenager.

Stream Hanna on Starz.
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Buy Hanna on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Predator (1987)

Sent off on a mission to the heart of the jungle to rescue a group of politicians, an elite squad of soldiers finds themselves standing face-to-face with a hidden killer from another world. When the group begins to be picked off one by one, Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is left alone with the alien predator and attempts to turn the tables before it’s too late.

Stream Predator on Hulu.
Stream Predator on Tubi.
Rent/Buy Predator on Amazon.
Buy Predator on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Seven Samurai (1954)

One of the best samurai movies, Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 epic Seven Samurai follows a small group of ronin who take an oath to protect a small village from the looming threat of violence by a large clan of bandits who have set their sights on the townsfolk. Despite their lack of experience or skills behind the sword, the hearty band of heroes push forward to protect the innocent from a cruel death.

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Stream Seven Samurai on The Criterion Channel.
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Buy Seven Samurai on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

Set several years after the episode in Hope, Washington, John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is given the opportunity to clear his name and start a new life, but only if he travels to Vietnam and free a group of American POWs. But when the mission turns personal and the Vietnamese and Russian combatants kill the only person he cares about, Rambo snaps and sets out for revenge.

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Buy Rambo: First Blood Part II on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Under Siege (1992)

Casey Ryback (Steven Seagal) is a decorated former Navy SEAL working as a chef on the USS Missouri as it sets off on one final mission before being decommissioned at Pearl Harbor. But Ryback is able to put his skills to good use when a group of terrorists led by William Stranix (Tommy Lee Jones) hijacks the ship and threatens to use its nuclear payload in Under Siege, one of the best '90s movies.

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Buy Under Siege on DVD on Amazon.

Smokin' Aces (2006)

Just before Buddy “Aces” Israel (Jeremy Piven) can testify against crime lord Primo Sparazza (Joseph Ruskin), he orders a hit on the Las Vegas magician, resulting in several highly-trained and over-the-top killers to descend upon his Lake Tahoe hideout in Smokin’ Aces.

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Die Hard (1988)

In 1988, director John McTiernan took a ‘70s action thriller novel, renamed it Die Hard, cast Bruce Willis as NYPD detective John McClane, and gave the world perhaps the most badass yet polarizing Christmas movie of all time. And, remember, it’s not Christmas until Hans Gruber gets thrown off Nakatomi Plaza.

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Buy Die Hard on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

James Cameron essentially redefined the summer blockbuster with Terminator 2: Judgment Day in 1991, forever changing how we picture big-budget action movies in the process. The sequel to 1984’s The Terminator, this sci-fi action epic sees Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800 take on the role of the good guy to go up against Robert Patrick's T-1000 to save Edward Furlong’s John Connor, in a spectacle of the Terminator movies which still holds up 30 years later.

Stream Terminator 2: Judgment Day on Paramount+.
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Buy Terminator 2: Judgment Day on 4K UHD on Amazon.

John Wick (2014)

Keanu Reeves has managed to remain on top for 30-plus years now, and one of the reasons for his latest reign as the champion of action movies is the John Wick franchise. Directed by Chad Stahelski, the 2014 first chapter saw the retired titular assassin as he is drawn back into the criminal underbelly of New York City, after previously leaving that world behind for a new shot at life. If only they wouldn’t have killed his dog…

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Buy John Wick on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

George Miller’s Mad Max franchise seemed like it was dead and gone before the series’ fourth installment, Mad Max: Fury Road, completely destroyed the competition at the box office in the summer of 2015. Starring Tom Hardy as the titular hero and Charlize Theron as the fearless Imperator Furiosa, this tour de force takes audiences on a journey through the heart of the wasteland in search of a better and less-violent life.

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Buy Mad Max: Fury Road on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Edge Of Tomorrow (2014)

The 2014 sci-fi adventure Edge of Tomorrow follows Lt. Col. Bill Cage (Tom Cruise) as he finds himself living the same day over and over again, dying violently in a battle against an invading alien force, until he uses the time loop in his favor. Emily Blunt and Bill Paxton co-star in Doug Liman’s insanely fun and action-packed thrill ride.

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Buy Edge of Tomorrow on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Hard Boiled (1992)

John Woo’s 1992 Hong Kong action epic Hard Boiled centers on Tequila Yuen (Chow Yun-fat), a renegade cop who goes to extraordinary lengths in order to bring down the gang of gun smugglers who violently murdered his partner. With excessive violence, a gripping story, and that classic John Woo flash, there are plenty of reasons Hard Boiled is considered one of the best of all time.

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Buy Hard Boiled on DVD on Amazon.

Con Air (1997)

The late 1990s brought us an action movie in which classically trained actor John Malkovich got the opportunity to play the vicious serial killer in Cyrus “The Virus” Grissom, in Simon West’s movie about a group of prisoners who take over a prison transport plane. Even though Con Air is a very silly movie with several questionable moments, it remains one of the best thanks to Nicolas Cage and his portrayal of Cameron Poe, a convict who just wants to get home to meet his daughter.

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Buy Con Air on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Raid (2012)

There are few movies that compare to The Raid, which is also known by the title The Raid: Redemption. Gareth Evans’ 2012 bone-shattering action flick centering on an elite police force working their way to the top of an apartment tower in order to apprehend a notorious crime lord. With floor after floor of armed guards and deadly fighters, this tower of terror never lets off the gas the entire runtime.

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Buy The Raid DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Escape From New York (1981)

John Carpenter’s 1981 dystopian thriller Escape From New York is not only one of the best Kurt Russell Movies but it’s also one of the best action movies of all time. When Snake Plissken (Russell) is sent into a heavy fortified New York City (which has been transformed into a prison colony) to save the President of the United States, he has to survive the mean streets of the Big Apple if he wants to rescue to the Commander in Chief and get back in time to avoid a premature death.

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The Rock (1996)

Nicolas Cage plays Stanley Goodspeed, an FBI chemical warfare expert who, along with Sean Connery’s John Patrick Mason (totally not James Bond), leads a counterstrike to prevent a group of disgruntled American soldiers from launching a chemical weapon on Alcatraz Island in Michael Bay’s The Rock.

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Bad Boys II (2003)

Although some would argue Bad Boys II isn’t better than the original, the 2003 buddy cop movie with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence returning as Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett, respectively, is still a hell of a lot of fun. This time, however, the Miami detectives find themselves in over their head when their investigation into the world of the drug ecstasy comes a little too close to home.

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Buy Bad Boys II on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Speed (1994)

Keanu Reeves was already a big name in the action world by the time he was cast as Jack Traven in Jan de Bont’s 1994 action thriller Speed, but the movie, and its logic-defying bus jump, helped take him to the next level. Everything from the concept (the bus will explode if its speed drops below 50 mph) and the chemistry shared by Reeves and Sandra Bullock works far better than it should.

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Buy Speed on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Taken (2008)

At one point in his career, Liam Neeson was receiving Oscar nominations and critical acclaim for movies like Schindler’s List, but in 2008 he tried on a different hat when he took on the lead role in Taken. With his gravelly voice, iconic speech (you know the one), and tireless effort to find his kidnapped daughter, Neeson became an all-out action star and started the next chapter of his career.

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Buy Taken 3-Movie Collection on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Matrix (1999)

Every now and again a movie like The Matrix comes along and completely changes what we know as the action genre. Released in March 1999, the Wachowskis took the genre and flipped it on its head, creating a genre-defying spectacle that’s actually about more than a group of humans who break out of a machine-controlled simulation and search for truth and freedom in a dystopian world.

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Buy The Matrix on DVD on Amazon.

Face/Off (1997)

John Woo’s 1997 action thriller Face/Off follows John Travolta’s FBI agent, Sean Archer, as he goes deep undercover to bring down a terrorist organization by switching faces with group’s leader, Castor Troy, played by Nicolas Cage. Things become more complicated, however, when Troy awakens from a coma and undergoes the same surgery.

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Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)

When three of humanity’s holy sites become targeted for destruction by a mysterious terrorist organization, it is up to Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and the IMF team to locate three plutonium cores and prevent them from being used as weapons. Like previous installments in the franchise, Mission: Impossible — Fallout features insane stunts and even more mind-boggling twists and turns.

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Stream Mission: Impossible - Fallout on FXNow.
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Buy Mission: Impossible - Fallout on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

Air Force One (1997)

At the center of the crossroad of political dramas and action flicks is Wolfgang Petersen’s Air Force One, which centers on the hijacking of the world’s most famous aircraft, with the President of the United States (Harrison Ford), the First Family, and White House staff being held hostage by a terrorist group in hopes of freeing a political prisoner. This movie has everything from iconic one-liners, traitors, and an entire subplot dedicated to the 25th Amendment.

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The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

The conclusion (not really, but it was at the time) to the Jason Bourne story, 2007’s The Bourne Ultimatum didn’t hold anything back as Matt Damon’s former CIA assassin finally gets to the bottom of his previous life while also trying to survive an endless wave of elite killers sent to wipe him out before he can uncover the truth.

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Buy The Bourne Ultimatum on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Skyfall (2012)

Arguably one of the best James Bond movies in recent memory (and of all time) Sam Mendes 2012 epic Skyfall showed the world a side of 007 (Daniel Craig) that we had never gotten to see before. When ghosts of M’s (Judi Dench) past come back to do more than haunt the MI6 leader, only the world’s most famous spy can save her, and the world, from the monster who has been let out of his cage.

Stream Skyfall on Prime Video.
Rent/Buy Skyfall on Amazon.
Buy Skyfall on Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Mummy (1999)

Say what you will about The Mummy, but the 1999 action comedy starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz is a ton of fun. With elements of horror, suspense, action, romance, and comedy, the story follows a group of explorers who inadvertently awaken a vengeful and heartbroken mummy in ancient Egypt. Mr. Fraser wants another entry in the franchise, and we can't help but agree.

Stream The Mummy on Peacock.
Rent/Buy The Mummy on Amazon.
Buy The Mummy Trilogy on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Point Break (1991)

Kathryn Bigelow’s Point Break, the 1991 action movie about an FBI agent (Keanu Reeves) going undercover to bring down a group of bank-robbing surfers with a charismatic leader (Patrick Swayze), remains one of the most iconic films of its era. The bank-robbing scenes, car chases, police raids, skydiving without a parachute, all the surfing, and the inclusion of Gary Busey, are just a few reasons why.

Stream Point Break on Tubi.
Stream Point Break on Plex.
Stream Point Break on Paramount+.
Stream Point Break on Shout TV.
Rent/Buy Point Break on Amazon.
Buy Point Break on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Extraction (2020)

Extraction follows a mercenary (Chris Hemsworth) who is hired to track down the kidnapped son of an international crime lord. This seems like a difficult task in itself, but things quickly get out of hand, resulting in even more danger and perilous situations in one of the best Netflix movies of 2020.

Stream Extraction on Netflix.

Aliens (1986)

Despite the first movie in the Alien franchise being a moody and terrifying sci-fi horror story, its 1986 sequel, Aliens, took a completely different path and it paid off handsomely. James Cameron’s iconic action flick, which saw the return of Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley, as well as the debut of a few of cinema’s most quotable soldiers, remains one of the most fun and unique sequels while also keeping some of the horror elements of its predecessor.

Stream Aliens on Max.
Rent/Buy Aliens on Amazon.
Buy Aliens on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Fast Five (2011)

Directed by Justin Lin , Fast Five completely changed the trajectory of the Fast and Furious franchise in 2011 with an action-packed story revolving around Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) as they put together a new team to pull off one of the most remarkable heists in cinematic history. Oh, and the movie sees the debut of Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs.

Stream Fast Five on Peacock.
Stream Fast Five on USA.
Rent/Buy Fast Five on Amazon.
Buy Fast Five on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Atomic Blonde (2017)

Over the past decade or so, Charlize Theron has become one of the leading action stars of her time. That case was made even stronger in 2017 with the arrival of Atomic Blonde, a fun and brutal action thriller centering on an elite spy (Theron) who isn’t afraid to put her life in danger or get her hands a little dirty in order to pull off a job. This eye-catching and action-packed lesson in brutality is a must-watch.

Rent/Buy Atomic Blonde on Amazon.
Buy Atomic Blonde on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

These are just a couple dozen of the best movies on Amazon, Max, Netflix, and other streaming platforms that fall in the action genre. And who knows, maybe we’ll see some of the 2024 new movie releases show up on this list in the future.

In October 2021, Matthias Schweighöfer took us back into the world of Army of the Dead, but instead of offering another zombie thriller, like Zack Snyder did earlier in the year, the director-actor gave Netflix subscribers a story that didn’t have nearly as many ghouls as its counterpart, but more than made up for it with a series of great heists and a thrilling origin story for fan favorite Ludwig Dieter. 

If you like what you saw and want to know about more movies like Army of Thieves, you have come to the right place, because we have a nice and varied list of the best heist movies that share some similarities with the Army of the Dead prequel. From classics like Heat to modern gems like Baby Driver, there’s a lot to choose from here…

Army Of The Dead (2021)

Years after a zombie outbreak has consumed Las Vegas, an elite squad of mercenaries (and an obsessive safecracker) are sent into the walled-off Sin City to pull off an improbable heist at a casino in the middle of ground zero.

Why it’s worth checking out: After watching Army of Thieves, I immediately wanted to go back and watch Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead for a few reasons, with the biggest being Matthias Schweighöfer’s Ludwig Dieter. Now that you know the character’s backstory and why he’s so obsessed with the vault at the center of the heist, it makes his journey into the quarantine zone all the more meaningful and enjoyable to watch. Also, there’s no such thing as too much Ludwig Dieter and his high-pitched screams whenever he’s in danger or just overly excited.

Stream Army of the Dead on Netflix.

• Check some of the other best movies on Netflix.

Ocean’s Eleven (2001)

As soon as Danny Ocean (George Clooney) is released from prison, the career criminal decides to put together a crack team to pull off what could very well be the biggest heist in the history of Las Vegas, but also one that could land him back behind bars, or worse…

Why it’s worth checking out: Steven Soderbergh’s 2001 heist comedy, Ocean’s Eleven (a remake of the Rat Pack classic of the same name), not only features one of the most impressive robberies in modern movie history, it is also filled with more than a dozen interesting characters with their own goals, motivations, and fears. And, like Army of Thieves, this star-studded crime caper is full of moments in which it looks like they'll be caught and everyone is going back to prison.

Stream Ocean’s Eleven on HBO Max.
Rent/Buy Ocean’s Eleven on Amazon.
Buy Ocean’s Eleven on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Italian Job (2003)

When his friend and partner in crime betrays him and his tight-knit group of international thieves, Charlie Croker (Mark Wahlberg) makes it his mission in life to get back at Steve Frazelli (Edward Norton) the only way he knows how: an elaborate heist with revenge and riches up for the taking.

Why it’s worth checking out: Much like Army of Thieves, the 2003 remake of The Italian Job features a story built around a thief finding his way, taking his skills to major cities around the world, and trying to rebound after being double-crossed by one of his partners. What it lacks in the sophistication and grace of the 1969 film of the same name, starring Michael Caine, this F. Gary Gray heist thriller makes up for with loads of great action.

Stream The Italian Job on Cinemax.
Rent/Buy The Italian Job on Amazon.
Buy The Italian Job on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Baby Driver (2017)

Following a series of successful bank robberies, but also a few too many close calls, Baby (Ansel Elgort), a music-obsessed getaway driver, plans to pull off a final job before driving into the sunset with Debora (Lily James), a waitress offering him a shot at redemption. However, Baby’s employer and partners in crime won’t make that an easy task.

Why it’s worth checking out: Edgar Wright’s 2017 crime thriller Baby Driver, like Army of Thieves, centers on a likable protagonist, who, despite being a part of a crime syndicate, never feels like he truly belongs with him and is destined for something greater than a life that bounces from one illegal job to the next. 

Rent/Buy Baby Driver on Amazon.
Buy Baby Driver on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Thief (1981)

A no-nonsense and highly skilled jewel thief named Frank (James Caan) takes on what he thinks will be a series of simple heists when he’s offered a gig with Chicago crime boss Leo (Robert Prosky). But, after a series of successful heists, and favors from his new employer, Frank becomes trapped in the cutthroat mobster’s web, setting in motion a deadly showdown. 

Why it’s worth checking out: One of the best things about Michael Mann’s Thief, besides James Caan’s commanding presence, is the way in which it defies conventional heist movie wisdom, in that Frank, a career perfectionist, never messes up during any of the jobs, and things only go awry because of someone else’s jealousy and betrayal, much like with Ludwig Dieter in Army of Thieves.

Stream Thief on The Criterion Channel.
Buy Thief on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Point Break (1991)

Rookie FBI Agent (and former Ohio State quarterback) Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) goes undercover and infiltrates a group of surfers who bankroll their lifestyle by carrying out a series of bank robberies in the Los Angeles area. While investigating the “Ex-Presidents,” Utah finds himself becoming transfixed by the group’s charismatic leader, Bodhi (Patrick Swayze).  

Why it’s worth checking out: There’s a scene in Army of Thieves in which Alexis Broschini (Stuart Martin) dons a Richard Nixon mask and robs a bank as a distraction for the real heist. This mask, and the brazen bank robbery, have references to Point Break, the “Ex-Presidents,” and their style of intense tactics.

Rent/Buy Point Break on Amazon.
Buy Point Break on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

• Take a look at the best movies on Amazon.

Fast Five (2011)

On the run from multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Diplomatic Security Service and its agent, Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) put together a top-notch team of criminals, thieves, and drivers to pull off a remarkable bank heist in Brazil.

Why it’s worth checking out: Justin Lin’s Fast Five took the Fast and Furious franchise in a new direction upon its release in April 2011 when he turned the series’ focus away from street racing to international heists. With a great balance of story, action, and a tight-knit group of outcasts, it also happens to be one of the best heist films of the past 10 years.

Stream Fast Five on Peacock.
Rent/Buy Fast Five on Amazon.
Buy Fast Five on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Heat (1995)

Following a life of over-the-top, yet successful, bank heists, career criminal Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) plans one final job in downtown Los Angeles that could set him up for the rest of his days. There to prevent him from completing his dream heist is Detective Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino), who does everything he can to track him down and end the robbery before it even begins.

Why it’s worth checking out: If you are a fan of the cat-and-mouse game that plays out during Army of Thieves, you will love the pairing of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in Michael Mann’s 1995 epic crime drama, Heat. Like the history shared by Gwendoline Starr (Nathalie Emmanuel) and Delacroix (Jonathan Cohen) in the new Netflix movie, the two figures at the center of this story have a connection that becomes more and more personal at every step.

Stream Heat on Starz.
Rent/Buy Heat on Amazon.
Buy Heat on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Logan Lucky (2017)

Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum), his one-armed brother Clyde (Adam Driver), sister Mellie (Riley Keough), and convict Joe Bang (Daniel Craig) pool together resources, skills, and creativity to pull off an impossible heist at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the middle of the Coca-Cola 600, one of the biggest Nascar races of the year.

Why it’s worth checking out: Steven Soderbergh’s highly-inventive crime comedy, Logan Lucky, like Army of Thieves, perfectly blends together great heists, hilarious encounters, and an extra topping of zaniness that makes it a treat worth revisiting time and time again. And, despite being one of the funniest movies of 2017 it also features some real nail-biters.

Stream Logan Lucky on Hulu.
Rent/Buy Logan Lucky on Amazon.
Buy Logan Lucky on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), and a group of outcasts set off an a suicide mission to steal the plans for the Death Star, so that the Rebel Alliance can find a way to destroy the Galactic Empire’s new super weapon before it’s too late.

Why it’s worth checking out: Okay, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story probably isn’t the first movie that comes to mind when you think of a heist film, but at the center of the prequel is a riveting story about a ragtag group of rebel fighters breaking into a heavily-fortified base to steal plans that could forever change the future of the galaxy.

Stream Rogue One: A Star Wars Story on Disney+.
Rent/Buy Rogue One: A Star Wars Story on Amazon.
Buy Rogue One: A Star Wars Story on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Hopefully, each of these movies do the trick when you’re looking for something to check out after watching Army of Thieves.

Literally everything in pop culture is made into a Funko Pop these days. Seriously, everything. From a decapitated Ned Stark, to Black Mirror, to Coming to America, it seems like if you’re a fan of something, Funko has a little toy for it. I mean, that is their catchphrase, after all: “Everyone is a fan of something.” That said, some movies have somehow escaped from being Funko-ized, which really has us scratching our heads.

Now sometimes, the movie itself might have characters that have been made into Funko Pops, but certain key characters have been excluded. And other times, a movie won’t even have any toys whatsoever made for it. But whatever the reason, here are 10 movie Funko Pops that we can’t believe haven’t been made into toys yet. Brace yourself. Some of these exclusions are pretty crazy.

Snake Plissken - Escape From New York

How is Jack Burton from John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China a Funko Pop, but Snake Plissken from Escape From New York isn’t? Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE Big Trouble in Little China. It’s my favorite movie. And yeah, while I know Big Trouble has its ardent fans, I would definitely say that Escape From New York is a lot more well-known and less niche than Big Trouble in Little China. Hell, Solid Snake from the video game series, Metal Gear Solid, is named after Snake Plissken, and who doesn’t love Metal Gear Solid?

If Funko ever does make a Snake Plissken Pop, I hope it has Snake's trademark eyepatch, tank top, and the long hair that he’s known for. And if they do make that, then they might as well also make the surfboard riding Snake from Escape From L.A., because… well, why the hell not?

Allie Hamilton and Noah Calhoun - The Notebook

Did you know that Jack and Rose from Titanic have their own Funko Pops, both separate and together, but Allie and Noah from The Notebook don’t have any at all? I mean, I’m not talking about Dear, John, or A Walk to Remember here. I’m talking about, “I wrote you 365 letters,” The Notebook. Yes, the movie that has been making women openly weep, and men secretly weep since 2004 has zero Funko Pops. And my question is this: How?

If a Funko Pop were created of the duo, I would, of course, expect one of both young Allie and Noah, and also old Allie and Noah. Possibly holding each other’s faces in a rapturous kiss like on the movie poster, or with old Noah sitting beside old Allie while she’s lying in bed.

Keung - Rumble in the Bronx

What kind of world are we living in when the legend—the icon—Jackie Chan doesn’t have a single Funko Pop? Bruce Lee has a few. And even Chuck Norris has one. But are you going to tell me that when I search up “Jackie Chan” on the Funko website, they send me to a Pop of Jackie Kennedy instead? Am I dreaming? Is this real life?

When (not even if, but when) they make a Jackie Chan Funko Pop, I mainly want one for Rumble in the Bronx when Jackie Chan kicked everyone's ass as Keung and then told them that they were all garbage. There should be a Pop where he’s wearing the black A-shirt, and also one of him wearing his jacket. Bonus points if they also make a Funko Pop of Angelo showing his ass.

Deloris Van Cartier – Sister Act

Is Sister Act a cult film? I don’t think so. I mean, they made a Broadway show about it. But I find it insanely amusing that Whoopi Goldberg is an EGOT winner, but she doesn’t even have her own Funko Pop. I hope you like Bill Goldberg, though, because they have one of him.

If they make a Deloris Van Cartier Funko Pop, I want one of her in the habit, but also one of her in her lounge act outfit. Honestly, I just can’t get enough of Whoopi. Can we get a Ghost one, too?

Divine - Pink Flamingos

Divine is all woman, and I want her to be all Funko Pop, too. Her breakout role was in John Waters’ Pink Flamingos, but I’ll take Divine in Hairspray, too. They have RuPaul, which is great and all. Don’t get me wrong. But can’t Divine get any love, too? I’m not really all surprised, though. They don’t even have John Waters, and John Waters is a national treasure.

If they ever made one of her, she would obviously have to be in her famous red dress pointing a gun at anybody who wants to mess with her. And while I know that this would NEVER happen, a nice prop to have alongside her would be of dog poop. And if you’ve ever seen the movie, Pink Flamingos, you’ll know exactly why.

A Dutch and Dillon Handshake Funko Set - Predator

There are actually a few Funko variations of the actual Predator and that’s cool. I love me some Predator. But it boggles my mind that there hasn’t been a Funko multi-pack of the greatest handshake in cinematic history, which was performed by Dutch and Dillon in the first Predator movie. I mean, seriously, what’s the matter with them? Are they pushing too many pencils over there at the Funko HQ?

Ideally, a multi-pack would have both of them with their arms already locked, with Dutch obviously winning and Dillon’s face slightly struggling. Like pretty much every Funko Pop on this list, I would buy this one in a heartbeat. But obviously, it’s not for everyone. Just sexual Tyrannosauruses. Like me.

Johnny Utah and Bodhi - Point Break

The Keanussance Kontinues! There are Matrix Funko Pops. There is John Wick. So where the heck are my Point Break Funko Pops? I need my 100% pure adrenaline in Funko Pop form already.

This could be another multi-pack, with Bodhi wearing his skydiving suit, and Johnny Utah just holding his gun. Or better yet, how about a multi-pack with all the ex-Presidents? Do you now see why I’m more than just a little upset that this hasn’t already happened yet?

Toxie - The Toxic Avenger

If you type in The Toxic Avenger in the Funko website, you will find 10 different results for Rick and Morty, and not a single result for The Toxic Avenger. And seriously, what an insult. Don’t they know that Toxie is New Jersey’s first superhero?

If Toxie finally gets his day in the sun, I’m hoping he comes with his trademark mop and bucket. And while they’re at it, Funko should really make a whole Troma line of Pops. Because there is never enough love for Sgt. Kabukiman. Never ever.

Marsellus Wallace – Pulp Fiction

There is actually a whole section of Pulp Fiction Pops on the Funko website. They have Vincent Vega, Jules Winnifield, Mia Wallace. Hell, they even have Quentin Tarantino in a bathrobe. But do you know who they don’t have? Marsellus Wallace. And the only reason I can think of is because they think he looks like a bitch.

But he’s not a bitch. In fact, when he doesn’t have a ball gag in his mouth he actually looks pretty intimidating. That said, ideally, I would want two Pops of Marsellus Wallace, one with the aforementioned ball gag, and the other with his big, beautiful bald head with the Band-Aid on the back. Ah. I can already hear “Let’s Stay Together” now.

Commander Francesca “Franky” Cook - Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

There are some very weird and very rare Funko Pops out there, so I’m really not sure why Angelina Jolie’s Commander Cook from the oft-overlooked Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow has zip zero Funko Pops, but The Mortal Engines has five.

That’s not to say that Sky Captain is more worthy to have Funko Pops than The Mortal Engines, but Sky Captain has somewhat of a cult following, plus, it would be kind of cool to have a Funko Pop of Angelina Jolie with an eyepatch. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know we’ll surely get one of Jolie for Marvel’s The Eternals, but I don’t see why we can’t have one for Sky Captain as well. It would be pretty badass.

So, that’s the list. I’m sure there are other Funko Pops you’ve probably been looking for that you haven’t seen on the shelves. What are some of your picks? Sound off in the comments section below.

Not that you needed to be reminded, but the Keanussance is still alive and well in 2020. This might be because Keanu Reeves is a badass, has always been a badass, and will always be a badass. His movies have always been a testament to his badassery, as well as the characters he's embodied. But even when he’s chugging a Coke in a commercial or playing a tiny toy on a motorcycle, he still finds a way to be a badass. How does he do it?

I don’t know, but he does. Time and time again. And each time, he manages to be most excellent. This list, however, is of his best characters, ranked by their bad-assery. Every last one of them will make you go (wait for it) “Whoa.” Keanu is just that cool of a dude. And without further ado.

10. Ted "Theodore" Logan: Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey

Strengths/Skills: Excellent on the air guitar, has access to a time machine

I know what you’re already thinking. “Hold the phone. You’re putting Ted on this list?” And I’m glad that you’re thinking about phones, since if Ted didn’t step inside that phone booth all those many years ago with his most righteous buddy, Bill, then I don’t know where our world would even be right now. But he did, and the world is all the better for it.

Let’s see. How many badass things has Ted done? Well, he survived Napoleon Bonaparte, cheated at Poker with Billy the Kid, battled an evil robot version of himself, and even faced off against the Grim Reaper, just to name a few. In fact, It’s hard to imagine how much more badass Ted “Theodore” Logan could possibly be, but I'm sure he will stun us yet again when he returns in Bill and Ted Face the Music. And you thought Ted was a joke pick. I told you he was badass.

9. The Neon Demon: Hank

Strengths/Skills: Running a Hotel full of minors, getting rid of mountain lions

In the dark, psychological thriller, The Neon Demon, Keanu Reeves, who we all know and love, plays a creep named Hank who runs a hotel. Remember how lovable Keanu was in Bill and Ted? Well, Hank is the complete opposite of that. Well aware that he has young women staying in his rooms, he even jokingly tries to direct somebody to one of the underage girls since he knows that the person is into some “real Lolita shit.” Just super skeevy.

But he's also super badass. How badass is he? Well, he’s so badass that he can look a mountain lion right in the eyes and not go running for the Hollywood hills. Now that’s tough.

8. Johnny Mnemonic: Johnny Mnemonic

Strengths/Skills: Storing Information in his head, fugitive stuff

In the year 2021 (Wow! That's just next year!) Keanu Reeves, as Johnny Mnemonic, will be the mnemonic currier to end all mnemonic curriers. What’s this mean? Well, it means that he will be able to store all the memes and gifs in his head that the internet could ever provide if he wanted to, and it could all be seen in super 90s virtual reality.

But seriously, could you imagine having unlimited knowledge in your head? I’m sure plenty of people would be after that kind of power. But Keanu takes it all in stride, looking cool as cool can be in this badass role. That is, of course, until he flips out and screams about how he wants “ROOM SERVICE!” and the “cold magic of beer.” Only Keanu Reeves could make those lines sound both hilarious and powerful at the same time. We’ll probably never get that virtual reality TV series, New Angeles, that Keanu was supposed to do with Roland Emmerich, but at least we’ll always have this 90s gem.

7. The Gift: Donnie Barksdale

Strengths/Skills: Threatening people, being a convincing MacGuffin

Keanu Reeves is a breathtaking gift to us all, but in The Gift (The 2000 one. Not the 2015 movie), Keanu Reeves plays yet another creep, but this time, he’s super scary. Keanu does not seem like the kind of guy who would threaten a woman and her kids. He also doesn’t seem like the kind of man who would make for an abusive husband. But in The Gift, you get a sense that Keanu has a deep-rooted anger lurking inside of him that’s just waiting to explode.

Now abuse is not badass, no matter how you try to spin it. But Keanu is such a badass, that even though this is a supernatural thriller, Keanu Reeves is still the scariest part about this movie. Just watch him flip from calm to furious in that courtroom scene. It's terrifying!

6. 47 Ronin: Kai

Strengths/Skills: Dueling to the death, magic

Though I’m pretty sure I'm the only person who actually saw 47 Ronin when it came out on Christmas day in 2013, I think it’s pretty obvious that anybody who does watch this movie will clearly see what makes Keanu such a badass. First off, Keanu has a sword in this movie, and he wields it against some massive villains.

And secondly, he can use magic. This couldn't be clearer than when he’s fighting that snake-looking dude in a cave and straight up turns into a whirlwind when he’s reaching for his sword. We already knew that Keanu Reeves was magic. But to see it play out on the big screen? Well, that’s the stuff that dreams are made of.

5. Constantine: John Constantine

Strengths/Skills: Can communicate with angels and demons, exorcisms

Could you imagine if John Constantine faced off against Al Pacino’s Satan in The Devil’s Advocate? Okay, fan fiction aside, while we’ll probably never get another Constantine movie (even though, Keanu says he would love to make another one) this occult detective movie bears the distinction of being the only film that I can think of where Keanu Reeves actually goes straight directly to Hell.

Keanu also makes exorcism look cool. Instead of all that lame sprinkling of holy water and brandishing the Bible, Constantine employs a mirror and a rope, and actually pulls the demon right out of a woman. Come on now. If badass was a word in the dictionary, I’m pretty sure a picture of Keanu Reeve pulling a demon out of some woman with a rope would likely be the word's accompanying picture.

4. Point Break: Johnny Utah

Strengths/Skills: Fighting with a surfboard, skydiving without a parachute

Before there was Jack Traven in Speed (I’ll get to him. Don’t worry), there was Johnny Utah in Point Break. Keanu Reeves’s first real break out role, in Point Break, Reeves plays a former football player turned FBI agent who goes undercover. That’s pretty badass already, and for any other actor, that would be enough.

But this is Keanu Reeves we’re talking about here. Johnny Utah fights beach bums with a surfboard, chases people on foot despite a bum knee, and even jumps out of an airplane… without a parachute. I know Keanu Reeves is just an actor acting in a movie, but I have to believe that the real Keanu Reeves could jump out of a plane without a parachute and survive if he wanted to. It’s pretty hard to imagine him not being able to do that.

3. Speed: Jack Traven

Strengths/Skills: Police training, quick thinking

Pop quiz, hot shot! Do you know the third most badass role Keanu Reeves has ever played? It’s Jack Traven from Speed, of course. Another question: Did you know that Keanu Reeves was put into “movie jail” after turning down that Godawful Speed 2: Cruise Control sequel? Well, apparently, it’s true. But as badass as Keanu Reeves is, it’s hard to imagine even him saving that turkey of a movie. That said, the original Speed is 100% pure octane madness, and it still holds up today. This is likely because a Keanu Reeves' performance never gets old. And if there’s any badass Keanu Reeves character who will live throughout the ages, it’s Jack Traven.

Coaching Sandra Bullock to keep a bus moving above 50 mph at all times is a feat in of itself, but jumping from a car to a moving bus, fighting Dennis Hopper in an elevator shaft, and wrestling on top of a moving train just could not be any more badass if you wanted it to be. Speed is, and always will be, the real deal.

2: The Matrix 1,2, and 3: Thomas Anderson, AKA, Neo

Strengths/Skills: Bullet time, learning kung-fu in seconds

To many, Neo is the defining role of Keanu Reeves. You can have your Jack Travens, your Ted “Theodore” Logans and your Johnny Utahs, but for many who grew up in the 80s and 90s, Neo is the most badass Keanu Reeves has ever been.

And is there any wonder why? Neo knows kung-fu, Neo knows how to fly, Neo can dodge bullets. In fact, what can’t Neo do? Neo may be the most simple anagram of all time (since he’s the “One”. Duh), but could there be any more fitting anagram for the “one” and only Keanu Reeves? Didn’t think so.

1: John Wick 1, 2, and 3: John Wick

Strengths/Skills: Killing every last person in the room, horse riding

It’s hard to admit this, but for a time, it seemed like Keanu Reeves might disappear off the face of the earth. It’s true. Following the massive success of The Matrix trilogy, Keanu Reeves hit a wall where he did a lot of low budget pictures that nobody wanted to see. And then came John Wick. John Wick may be the most badass character Keanu Reeves has ever played since it single-handedly brought his career back from the dead. There wouldn’t even be a Keanussance if there wasn’t a John Wick.

John Wick’s badassness is too numerous to name. The part in John Wick 3 where he’s throwing the knives is probably my favorite action scene of the past decade. And the scene where he’s shooting at Common in John Wick 2 with the silencer is probably my second. But the thing about John Wick that I think we have all fallen in love with is that he has such a sensitive side, just like how we all imagine Keanu Reeves is in real life. In case you don't remember, this whole murder spree began because people killed John Wick's dog. And if seeking vengeance for your canine companion is not the most badass thing any character has ever done, then I don’t know what is.

Keanu Reeves doesn’t seem to be stopping with the badass train anytime soon, and we’ll soon see him face off against his greatest foe of all when John Wick 4 and The Matrix 4 come out on the same day…himself. We’ll definitely be along for the ride when that day comes.

Through the ever-popular John Wick franchise, Keanu Reeves continues to be one of the most respected action stars working in Hollywood. Whether it's Speed or The Matrix series prior to the A-list star's popular gun fu-loving title character, Reeves has a lot of respect, dedication and loving admiration for the action films of yore, notably including some of his greatest hits. That's certainly made evident throughout the John Wick movies, which carry no shortage of nods, winks and homages to several classic action movies, including The Matrix trilogy (and soon-to-be quadrilogy!).

John Wick is an action-loving franchise that was built of the action movies of the past, while constantly upping-the-ante in a way that hopefully allows the genre to grow in exciting and engaging new ways. With the latest installment in the franchise, John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum, being released in May, and plans for a fourth movie underway, we should expect to see John Wick kicking butt and taking names on the big screen again quite soon. For now, though, let's take a look back at the nods and tributes to past action movies seen in the first three installments.

John Wick Saying "Guns. Lots Of Guns," Referencing The Matrix

In the latest John Wick film, there is a moment near the much-anticipated Continental Hotel free-for-all shootout/material arts extravaganza, as the film is building to its extended third-act action set piece. John Wick is building up his reservoir of guns and ammo needed in his fight against anyone and everyone who is going to try to take him down that hectic night in the one-time safe ground of this assassin hotel. It's a calm before the storm moment, where John, aided by Winston (Ian McShane) and Charon (Lance Reddick), prepares for the coming battle. Before this moment comes to pass, though, Winston turns to John Wick and asks him what he'll need from the Continental.

It's at this point that John Wick utters the line, "Guns. Lots of guns," which should be instantly familiar to anyone who knows Keanu Reeves' career — as well as one of the most pivotal action blockbusters of the 20th century. That's right, it's a direct reference to The Matrix, as that's a line Reeves made famous with his deadpan delivery in the first movie. This line was uttered during a similar moment, when Neo (Reeves) gets ready for the third-act shootout sequence with Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), and he's presented with The Stockroom, which contains an arsenal of guns. (And, naturally, lots of them.)

This moment in John Wick: Chapter 3 is not the subtlest movie nod, certainly. But, hey, it doesn't need to be subtle! It's a fun tip of the cap to The Matrix, the eventual franchise-spanning film that initially brought Reeves and director/former stuntman Chad Stahelski together two decades prior.

John Wick Loading An Old Revolver, Referencing The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

Early in John Wick: Chapter 3, there's a moment where John Wick needs to fashion an old-fashioned custom pistol in order to defeat the lurking villains who want him dead in order to collect the large bounty over the tortured assassin's head. This scene is fairly identical to one of the most well-known action westerns in history, Sergio Leone's The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, where an opening sequence has the character of Tuco, i.e. "the Ugly," making a custom pistol out of several different parts in a gun shop. While this is certainly not a Keanu Reeves film, it's a very loving nod to film history.

The John Wick franchise has always been good about making sure it pays its due to the action movies of the past, and this sequence is certainly no exception. When it comes time to take down some baddies, you know that John Wick will find a way to forge a weapon — whatever it might be —in a moment's notice. This is, naturally, a nice tip of the hat to one of the most famous movies in cinematic history, and a loving and respecting tribute.

The Bowery King Receives Two Red and Blue Containers, Referencing The Matrix

One of the most direct connections between The Matrix films and the John Wick sequels is the inclusion of both Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne. The actors previously played Neo and Morpheus opposite one another, and in the John Wick sequels, Reeves' John Wick is often getting help from The Bowery King, who is played in very lively fashion by the great Fishburne. In the third John Wick movie, there appears to be a subtle nod to one of the most famous iconographies of the original Matrix film.

Midway through John Wick: Chapter 3, The Bowery King is shown in a montage where he is getting dressed. In that moment, he reaches for two different containers. One is notably the color blue, while the other is red. For The Matrix fans, they'll know that this is in reference to one of the biggest elements from the first film, where Morpheus presents Neo with both a blue and red pill, allowing him the chance to either forget everything he just learned about his dystopian world, or continue moving forward into the world he was just presented. It's another clear, but fun nod to the hit movie.

A Video Game Mentions A Character Named Point Break, Referencing Point Break (Obviously)

Before Speed, The Matrix and now John Wick solidified Keanu Reeves' status as an action star extraordinaire, there was Point Break. The surf-friendly flick was an early success for Keanu, and it's one that the actor has repeatedly paid his respects to throughout his career. Case-in-point, in the original John Wick, there is a moment where henchmen are seen playing a game on a console. On the television, one of the characters has a very familiar name.

That's right, one character on the game is simply named "Point Break." It's certainly not a particularly subtle or nuanced nod, but it gets the point across, and it allows fans of Keanu Reeves' past work to know that the actor still likes to pay his respects to the films that paved the way to his series.

There are several scattered references to movies — action and otherwise — seen throughout the John Wick franchise. As we noted earlier, these are just a few of the examples seen throughout the series, thus far, particularly in Chapter 3. But if you have some other favorites, feel free to list them below! John Wick: Chapter 4 will arrive in theaters on May 21, 2021.

Keanu Reeves was Gary Busey’s "very vulnerable" little brother while making Point Break. The two actors starred together in the 1991 Kathryn Bigelow film as FBI agents trying to stop a string of bank robberies, Keanu Reeves the wide-eyed rookie Johnny Utah and Gary Busey the surly veteran showing him the ropes. Gary Busey recalled what it was like working with 2019’s favorite person on Point Break, saying:

It sounds like Gary Busey tried to take the younger actor under his wing a bit during the making of the action classic and be someone Keanu Reeves could turn to when needed. And it seems there was some need because, according to Gary Busey, Keanu Reeves was very vulnerable at that time. Gary Busey doesn’t elaborate on that, but Keanu Reeves was young when making Point Break, still coming up in the industry and apparently emotionally vulnerable in some way.

So Gary Busey tried to be there for him in any way he could. Although he jokes about Keanu constantly needing his big brother, by remembering Keanu Reeves as his little brother on Point Break, Gary Busey gives the impression that he had a great deal of fondness for him.

Although Keanu Reeves was vulnerable during the making of Point Break, he was also quite engaged, it seems, active and conscious of what was going on. Gary Busey told The Hollywood Reporter that his young co-star was soaking up the entire experience like a sponge, learning everything he could and not just from the other actors and director Kathryn Bigelow, but from the crew as well.

We’ve often heard that Keanu Reeves treats everyone the same and with respect and his desire to learn from everyone on Point Break, regardless of position, really reflects that. He was young and eager to learn and Point Break was both a job and a learning opportunity and one that was just a step in his journey to become the action icon he is today.

Gary Busey also paints an incredible image here of the standout memory he has from working with Keanu Reeves. A young Keanu Reeves riding a cheap motorcycle to set, sounds exactly right for the motorcycle enthusiast who now owns his own motorcycle company, Arch Motorcycles.

Gary Busey will next star this fall in an off-Brodway musical called Only Human, where he will basically play God in a corporate version of heaven. As for his Point Break little brother, well Keanu Reeves is having an outstanding 2019 and it was recently announced that in 2020, he will be filming The Matrix 4, reprising his iconic role as Neo.

Check out our 2019 release schedule to keep track of what’s headed to theaters this year and stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest movie news.

Is a remake still a remake when you've never heard of the original? Most people opening up Netflix probably haven't seen the 2010 French crime thriller Point Blank, but the app will probably recommend the new American version starring Anthony Mackie and Frank Grillo if only because it's a Netflix original film. Anybody who takes the algorithm up on its offer probably won't feel they've wasted the last 90 minutes of their life when its over, but if you skip over it, you also haven't missed much.

Paul (Anthony Mackie) is an emergency room nurse getting ready for the birth of his first child in a matter of weeks. However, Paul unfortunately gets assigned a room with a John Doe which is going to make his life a bit more difficult. Abe (Frank Grillo) was hit by a car while escaping from the home of the District Attorney, who was found dead. The cops have Abe under guard, but when Abe's brother kidnaps Paul's pregnant wife, he forces the nurse to get his brother out of the hospital, setting off a manhunt.

It's a simple enough premise and we've seen variations of this theme before. The fact that things aren't entirely as they seem at the outset isn't simply obvious if you've seen a film in this genre before. I doubt anybody but the youngest viewers (who shouldn't be watching such a violent and vulgar movie in the first place) won't see the twists coming.

Point Blank is death by a thousand cuts. There's no single great flaw in the story or the characters, just a bunch of little things that add up to frustration. Yes, the plot is predictable, but that only matters because you find yourself thinking about where the movie is going rather than where it is. I try not to be too critical of characters in films who make decisions that don't seem to make sense. Normal people make idiotic decisions every day. But when a character choice makes so little sense that it knocks you completely out of the story, that's a problem, and that happens several times in Point Blank.

And that's too bad, because the movie Pont Blank seems to want to be (for most of its runtime anyway) is a suspenseful thriller, and that requires audience investment to work. You have to worry about what is going to happen to the characters that you like. Every time the story makes a questionable turn for no clear reason beyond the fact that the script requires it, you lose what investment you have in the heroes.

This becomes a bigger problem when you get to the third act and the movie makes a distinct shift in tone. What has tried to be a gritty and dramatic thriller veers into action-comedy territory for no discernible reason. A brand new character (played by Markice Moore, because apparently Kevin Hart was too expensive) is introduced who is the first dose of comic relief the movie has seen from the outset. He feels entirely out of place for what the movie has been to that point, but he essentially sets the tone for the rest of the story.

It's an odd decision to add comedy at a point where the tension should be at its highest. Maybe if that had been the entire movie it would have worked, but as it is, it just feels like last minute studio notes or test audience screenings led to an entirely reworked finale.

While there's a lot that doesn't work in Point Blank, the saving grace is that the two leads work pretty well. Anthony Mackie has proven before that he's more than just the MCU's Falcon (and presumptive new Captain America), but as the audience POV character, he does whatever he can with everything available to him. He's just as capable as being the guy in over his head as the superhero capable of anything. Frank Grillo has made a career out of being gruff and gritty. He's at home here, and it shows.

What works between them isn't exactly their chemistry, but rather their lack of it. Paul and Abe are two guys from very different worlds who have been forced together by circumstance. They work best with they are trying to work together while hating each other's guts. Point Blank has all the trappings of a "buddy movie," but it's actually whatever the opposite of a buddy movie is. A "nemesis movie"? Whatever you call it, it's the one fresh angle the movie has.

Point Blank isn't the Falcon and Crossbones team-up you've been waiting for, but it's a useful enough diversion. It's the sort of movie that only exists because you're already paying for Netflix, but since you are, why not, right?

While Avengers: Endgame has officially handed Anthony Mackie the mantle of a lifetime, his work outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe isn’t over by a long shot. And it’s about to get more interesting with Netflix’s latest original, Point Blank, as Mackie is about to team up with former MCU foe Frank Grillo to take on some dirty cops during one long day of action.

Take a look for yourself below, as the first trailer for the film has dropped:

It never felt like teaming Crossbones and The Falcon in an action spectacular would ever happen, but thankfully director Joe Lynch and producer Joe Carnahan have now given the world the gift of seeing such a pairing come alive on the screen. The result is Point Blank, an American remake of the 2010 French film with that very same name.

The story’s a pretty accurate translation too, as Anthony Mackie’s Paul, a nurse with no combat experience whatsoever, is drafted by some mysterious figures to release Frank Grillo’s Abe. A murder suspect that may not be the culprit the cops are looking for, Paul will have to do whatever it takes to survive, as those mysterious figures turn out to be dirty cops who have his pregnant wife held for ransom.

Perhaps the best part about the trailer to the U.S. remake of Point Blank is the fact that while it’s taken the same story as that of writers Fred Cavayé and Guillaume Lemans’ French original, it has a whole different tone at work. While the 2011 film was a deadly serious action film, the Netflix version has a dark comedy about it.

Set to Ice Cube’s “Good Cop, Bad Cop,” Point Blank’s sizzling reel of action-comedy shows so many asses getting kicked by both Anthony Mackie and Frank Grillo. Though it’s mostly Grillo that steals that part of the show, because again, Mackie’s character isn’t as experienced with the action part of things just yet. Which isn’t a bad thing, because it’s Paul that’s going to provide the gags that set up some moments of relief when Abe’s done taking names.

The movie is part of Joe Carnahan’s original Netflix output through his War Party production company, which previously saw him team up with Frank Grillo on the original film Wheelman.And Point Blank is as on brand for a Carnahan/Lynch team-up as you could get. Especially when recalling how Lynch has a bit of an action background of his own, courtesy of the Salma Hayek vehicle Everly, as well as 2017’s Mayhem.

Put it all together, and you’ve got what looks like a totally badassed time in Point Blank. Which is exactly the type of movie the collective world of the box office could use at a time like this, what with sequels and reboots in recent weeks failing to capture the world.

It is exactly in times like this that we need someone to kick some ass, crash some cars, and give the world a bit of a jolt; and Point Blank looks like it’s ready to do that job, and do it well. We’ll see if that turns out to be the reality when the film drops on Netflix on July 12th.

Competition continues to heat up in the streaming world, as Netflix is driving the conversation around its platform yet again with a new slew of material debuting on the streaming service in July. With the usual mix of older movies and new additions headed to the streaming catalog, there are some long-awaited TV programs that are returning. In one particular case, fans will be saying goodbye to a long running Netflix Original as it takes its final bow.

If you're curious about June's slate of releases, you can head over to that lineup to see what's been added throughout this past month. But if you're ready for the future of Netflix's continued campaign of entertainment, then follow us into July's brand new offerings...

Week of July 1

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore - 7/1/19

Astro Boy - 7/1/19

Caddyshack - 7/1/19

Caddyshack 2 - 7/1/19

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) - 7/1/19

Cheech & Chong's Up in Smoke - 7/1/19

Cloverfield - 7/1/19

Designated Survivor: 60 days - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 7/1/19

Disney's Race to Witch Mountain - 7/1/19

Frozen River - 7/1/19

Inkheart - 7/1/19

Katherine Ryan: Glitter Room - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 7/1/19

Kill the Irishman - 7/1/19

Lady in the Water - 7/1/19

Little Monsters - 7/1/19

Mean Dreams - 7/1/19

Mean Streets - 7/1/19

Megamind - 7/1/19

Nights in Rodanthe - 7/1/19

Paul Blart: Mall Cop - 7/1/19

Philadelphia - 7/1/19

Rain Man - 7/1/19

Road House - 7/1/19

Room on the Broom - 7/1/19

Scream 3 - 7/1/19

Starsky & Hutch - 7/1/19

Swiped - 7/1/19

Swordfish - 7/1/19

Taxi Driver - 7/1/19

The Accountant of Auschwitz - 7/1/19

The American - 7/1/19

The Book of Eli - 7/1/19

The Brothers Grimm - 7/1/19

The Hangover - 7/1/19

The Pink Panther - 7/1/19

The Pink Panther 2 - 7/1/19

War Against Women - 7/1/19

Who's That Knocking at My Door? - 7/1/19

Bangkok Love Stories: Objects of Affection - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 7/2/19

Bangkok Love Stories: Plead - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 7/2/19

Good Witch: Season 4 - 7/2/19

The Last Czars - NETFLIX ORIGINAL -7/3/19

Yummy Mummies: Season 2 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 7/3/19

Kakegurui: Season 2 - 7/4/19

Stranger Things 3 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 7/4/19

In The Dark: Season 1 - 7/5/19

Free Rein: Season 3 - NETFLIX FAMILY - 7/6/19

The Iron Lady - 7/6/19

Sicilian Ghost Story - 7/6/19

Week of July 7

Disney's Mary Poppins Returns - 7/9/19

Kinky - 7/9/19

Family Reunion - NETFLIX FAMILY - 7/10/19

Grand Designs: Season 10 - 7/10/19

Grand Designs: Season 15 - 7/10/19

Parchís: El documental - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 7/10/19

Cities of Last Things - NETFLIX FILM - 7/11/19

3Below: Tales of Arcadia: Part 2 - NETFLIX FAMILY - 7/12/19

4 latas - NETFLIX FILM - 7/12/19

Blown Away - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 7/12/19

Bonus Family: Season 3 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 7/12/19

Extreme Engagement - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 7/12/19

Kidnapping Stella - NETFLIX FILM - 7/12/19

Luis Miguel - The Series: Season 1 - 7/12/19

Point Blank - NETFLIX FILM - 7/12/19

Smart People - 7/12/19

Taco Chronicles - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 7/12/19

True Tunes: Songs - NETFLIX FAMILY - 7/12/19

Sorry Angel - 7/13/19

Week of July 14

The Break-Up - 7/16/19

Disney's The Princess and the Frog - 7/16/19

Frankenstein’s Monster’s Monster, Frankenstein - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 7/16/19

Wynonna Earp: Season 3 - 7/16/19

Pinky Malinky: Part 3 - NETFLIX FAMILY - 7/17/19

Secret Obsession - NETFLIX FILM - 7/18/19

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee: New 2019: Freshly Brewed - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 7/19/19

The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants: Season 3 - NETFLIX FAMILY - 7/19/19

La casa de papel: Part 3 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 7/19/19

Last Chance U: INDY: Part 2 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 7/19/19

Queer Eye: Season 4 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 7/19/19

SAINT SEIYA: Knights of the Zodiac - NETFLIX ANIME - 7/19/19

Typewriter - NETFLIX ORIGINAL - 7/19/19

Week of July 21

Inglourious Basterds - 7/22/19

The Great Hack - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 7/24/19

Another Life - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 7/25/19

Workin' Moms: Season 2 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 7/25/19

Boi - NETFLIX FILM – 7/26/19

The Exception – 7/26/19

Girls With Balls - NETFLIX FILM – 7/26/19

My First First Love: Season 2 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 7/26/19

Orange Is the New Black: Season 7 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 7/26/19

The Son - NETFLIX FILM – 7/26/19

Sugar Rush: Season 2 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 7/26/19

The Worst Witch: Season 3 - NETFLIX FAMILY – 7/26/19

Week of July 28

The Croods – 7/29/19

Whitney Cummings: Can I Touch It? - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 7/30/19

Kengan Ashura: Part l - NETFLIX ANIME – 7/31/19

The Letdown: Season 2 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL – 7/31/19

The Red Sea Diving Resort - NETFLIX FILM – 7/31/19

Wentworth: Season 7 – 7/31/19

If you're looking for some good movie based entertainment on Netflix, you'll be pleased to know there's plenty to pull from in the coming month. The classic golf comedy Caddyshack is one such option, as Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, and Rodney Dangerfield lead a rambunctious cast in this time-tested laugh riot depicting life on, and off of, a snooty golf course. Should monsters be more your speed, Cloverfield is headed back to Netflix, making a marathon of the entire series that much easier to accomplish.

However, action fans will have something to sink their teeth into on the Netflix Original side of things, as Netflix's American remake of Point Blank sees Marvel Cinematic Universe vets Anthony Mackie and Frank Grillo teaming up to fight their way through a twisted mystery that'll pit them against everything this particular case has to throw at them. Based on the French action thriller of the same name, it promises to be a bone-crunching, bullet-blazing good time; so perhaps you'll want to have some friends over to enjoy the fun in a group.

If you've been waiting for Stranger Things 3 to rear its head on your Netflix streaming queue, you won't have to wait much longer as July's TV offerings bring that to the forefront toward the beginning of the month. With the Starcourt Mall opening in Hawkins, Indiana, and the summer of 1985 heating up, there seems to be trouble on the horizon yet again. This time, not everyone in the core gang of Hawkins residents is guaranteed to make it out alive. On a similarly anticipated, though more somber note, Orange Is The New Black will be debuting its final season next month, with Season 7 marking the last chapter in the story Piper Chapman and her former fellow inmates of Litchfield Correctional.

Lightening the mood is the debut of two of Netflix's breezier programs, starting with Season 4 of Queer Eye, which will undoubtedly see the Fab Five turning new leaves and new looks for those in desperate need of some massive makeovers. If you're one of those folks who believes that Netflix is a joke, then you'll love the fact that Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee has a new season headed your way. During this round, Jerry Seinfeld talks with notables such as Sebastian Maniscalco, Seth Rogen, and Eddie Murphy.

Now keep in mind, all of these incoming Netflix titles are subject to change. So if you see something disappear from the lineup, or debut a little later than intended, there was probably a slight tweak. In any case, if there are updates to this lineup, you can usually find that information noted here after the fact. So stream wisely! Other than that, enjoy your July's worth of Netflix content, and we'll see you back here in a month to see what August brings our way.

Edgar Wright is not just a great filmmaker, but clearly wears his love of movies on his sleeve. While each of his projects are unique, they are also crafted speaking a specific cinematic language designed by decades of legendary directors. His latest, Baby Driver, is most definitely no exception, and the man himself recently identified to me the five key titles that inspired his work. Check it out!

The concept behind Baby Driver first came to Edgar Wright 20 years ago - imagining a heist entirely synchronized to music -- and through its development the project found particular influences from some brilliant movies released in the latter half of the 20th century. I asked Wright about the titles when I got to sit down with him during the Los Angeles press day for Baby Driver earlier this month, and he provided an excellent breakdown.

Edgar Wright led off by highlighting Walter Hill's brilliant 1978 thriller The Driver, because it truly is the king of all getaway driver movies. In the tightly-woven narrative, Ryan O'Neal plays a genius behind the wheel who finds his heels being nipped at by a dogged detective (Bruce Dern), who is willing to sacrifice everything in his life to put the protagonist behind bars. Like The Driver, Baby Driver also keeps names to a real minimum, but it's also key to note that both films have the stylish capacity to raise your heartbeat to dangerous levels and make you feel like you've been strapped to the grill of a speeding car.

Quentin Tarantino is another filmmaker who speaks that specialized cinema language and infuses it into all of his movies, which makes it somewhat meta that Edgar Wright found influence in Tarantino's 1992 debut for Baby Driver. Like some of the other titles on this list, Reservoir Dogs is a modern heist classic, and there were key elements that Wright found particularly inspiration. The approach of treating the criminal enterprise like a business was one that the director latched on to (he likens Ansel Elgort's Baby in Baby Driver to an intern in that metaphor), but also implemented the idea of assembling different teams to take care of different jobs.

Discussing Katheryn Bigelow's Point Break, Edgar Wright acknowledged that there isn't much of a comparison story-wise to Baby Driver, but definitely wasn't shy about his appreciation for the film's brilliant action sequences. As featured in our video in side-by-side mode, chases both behind the wheel and on foot are photographed in similar dynamic fashions - plus it's hard to ignore the association of rubber Halloween masks. Another way that Baby Driver is similar is also that it has an equally and incredibly talented supporting cast, including Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Lily James, and Jon Hamm.

Wrapping up what Edgar Wright refers to as the "Trinity of 90s Heist Movies," is Michael Mann's Heat - which arrived later than Reservoir Dogs and Point Break but effectively changed everything that audiences expect out of robbery sequences. Wright also expressed how impressed he is by the scope of the 1995 hit, which was essentially a remake of a TV movie Mann had developed six years earlier. It's a film that the Baby Driver director clearly holds in very high esteem, referring to it as the grandaddy of heist movies.

Jon Landis' The Blues Brothers is another prime example of a film featuring a number of incredibly ballsy action sequences, but it also has two other key elements that wound up being smart inspiration for Edgar Wright's Baby Driver: the comedy and the music. As serious as things get, Wright's new movie is often laugh-out-loud funny, and thanks to its protagonist's excentricities it's always bouncing to a different beat. Or as Wright puts it, it's all about "big tunes and massive car chases."

What you get when you mash up The Driver, Reservoir Dogs, Point Break, Heat and The Blues Brothers is legitimately one of the best films of the year so far, and it will be heading your way incredibly soon. Baby Driver arrives in theaters this Wednesday, June 28th, and be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for a lot more from my interviews with the writer/director and the cast!

When it comes to action, some performers know how to pull it off, while others most certainly do not. Keanu Reeves is the former. The 52-year-old actor has proven time and time again that he is one of the best physical actors working in Hollywood, and the upcoming release of John Wick: Chapter 2 will seemingly continue that long tradition. The film has thus far garnered strong buzz, so all eyes are on it to keep Reeves' action streak running hot when it finally debuts on February 10.

On that note, we think the upcoming release of John Wick: Chapter 2 is a perfect opportunity to celebrate the long and fruitful career of this action icon. To help make sense of Keanu Reeves' many coolest silver screen moments, we have compiled a list of the ten times he proved that he was a complete and utter Hollywood badass. Check out our list, and let us know your favorite badass Keanu Reeves moment in the comments section below. Without further ado, let's kick this list off with one of Reeves' most (literally) fast-paced roles.

The Foot Chase - Point Break

There's a strong case that Point Break is one of the most testosterone-driven movies ever made. It's a master class in gritty action filmmaking, and it's a complete encapsulation of gloriously over the top masculinity and athleticism. No scene epitomizes that idea better than the foot chase in Venice Beach, California -- which sees Reeves' Johnny Utah running after Patrick Swayze's Bodhi following a bank heist. Kathryn Bigelow's ability to keep the hectic sequence coherent remains unparalleled to this day, and Reeves (as well as Swayze) sells his physicality in every frame. Of course, it there's one specific moment that fans will always remember (thanks to Hot Fuzz), it has to be Johnny Utah furiously emptying his gun after he can't bring himself to shoot Bodhi.

Boarding The Bus - Speed

Keanu Reeves' was no stranger to big action films when Speed debuted in 1994, but his role as hotshot SWAT officer Jack Traven is what truly elevated him to superstar status. The movie is quite literally a non-stop action thrill ride from start to finish, and one of the most adrenaline-fueled sequences in the entire film comes when Jack finally boards the ill-fated Los Angeles bus. It's a tense highway chase sequence (with some solid humor thrown in for good measure), and Reeves caps the entire affair off with a death-defying jump from a commandeered convertible. The bus boarding sequence isn't the flashiest Keanu Reeves action sequence of all time, but it's one of the most visceral and effective.

The Final Fight - Man of Tai Chi

Despite the fact that 2013's Man of Tai Chi was Keanu Reeves' first time behind the camera for a major motion picture, he performed quite admirably in the role -- which is badass in its own right. That said, the most badass moment within the actual film is unquestionably the final fight sequence between Donaka (Reeves) and Tiger (Tiger Chen Linhu) that combines good, practical martial arts prowess with some seriously otherworldly mysticism. We live in an era where legitimately compelling martial arts films have become far too rare, and Keanu Reeves' work on Man of Tai Chi (in front of and behind the camera) provides a real sense of nostalgia for a genre that has been underserved in recent years.

The Home Invasion - John Wick

Keanu Reeves was 50 years old when John Wick hit theaters in 2014, but the way the action star moved during the home invasion sequence towards the end of the film's first act would lead you to believe that he wasn't a day over 30. Mr. Wick comes across as a relatively docile creature during the opening scenes of the movie, but this particular sequence is the moment when he finally unleashes the man that the rest of the criminal underworld fears. The action in this fight is smooth; it's coherent, and (perhaps most importantly) it's punctuated by the hilarious arrival of a police officer that has no interest in stepping on John's toes as he sorts out his personal business.

The Chateau Fight - The Matrix Reloaded

The two sequels to 1999's The Matrix have quite a few problems, but Keanu Reeves' action prowess is not one of them. No scene from either sequel captures that idea more than the fight when the crew of The Nebuchadnezzar goes to the chateau to find The Keymaker in The Matrix Reloaded. While some of the other scenes from Reloaded use quite a bit of CGI (that has admittedly become dated by today's standards), the chateau fight is all Reeves, and the actor genuinely throws himself into the fight against The Merovingian's thugs. It's one of Reeves' best action sequences from the entire Matrix franchise, and it's easily his best fight scene between Reloaded and Revolutions.

The Dragon Fight - 47 Ronin

You would likely be hard pressed to find anyone who will refer to 47 Ronin as the best movie in Keanu Reeves' filmography. However, that doesn't change the fact that the film has quite a few standout action sequences that perfectly capture the actor's penchant for being a complete and utter badass. One of the more outlandish sequences on this list, the dragon fight shows Reeves' Kai facing off against the mythical beast with little more than a katana at his side, and Reeves once again proves that he can convincingly perform with literally any weapon in his hands. 47 Ronin isn't a perfect movie, but Keanu Reeves as a samurai is a million dollar idea that we wish we came up with years ago.

Under The Bus - Speed

Getting Jack Traven onto the bus is one of Speed's best early scenes, but getting him under the bus near the climax of that sequence takes the film to an entirely new level. After figuring out how to loop the camera feed that allows Howard Payne (Dennis Hopper) to spy on his victims, Jack picks up some handy bomb disposal gear and slides under the bus in an attempt to render the bomb harmless. Once he realizes that he won't be able to defuse the explosive device properly, Jack thinks fast and uses a piece of the bus' floor to slide himself and Annie (Sandra Bullock) to safety just as the vehicle goes up in flames. It's as tense as movie scenes get, and Reeves sells it beautifully.

Neo vs. Agent Smith - The Matrix

While both Matrix sequels feature some pretty stellar one-on-one fight sequences, nothing will ever come close to the original fight between Neo and Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) in the subway station. There's a palpable sense of danger to the scene, as audiences honestly don't' know whether or not Neo will make it out of the fight alive. In fact, he's only able to survive this encounter due to a bit of good luck and some strategic thinking at the end. The fight is brutal, bloody, unrelenting, and it captures everything that we loved about the grim and gritty nature of the first Matrix film. This scene made it clear: Neo was far more interesting when he was far less powerful.

The Club Shootout - John Wick

If the home invasion sequence at the beginning of John Wick serves as an appetizer for what's to come, then the nightclub shootout represents the meat and potatoes of the entire movie. Seriously, Keanu Reeves perfectly sells John Wick as the mythical force of nature that the rumors suggest before this scene. Directors David Leitch and Chad Stahelski deserve special credit for keeping the action in the frame intelligible, but it's Reeves who puts his real life talent and training on display as he lays waste to hordes of henchmen with fists and firearms. His primary target eventually gets away in this scene, but John leaves plenty of bodies in his wake.

The Lobby Scene - The Matrix

Honestly, if there is one single action sequence that Keanu Reeves will be remembered for from his long career as an action icon, then it has to be the lobby fight from The Matrix. It's Neo's first legitimate fight of the movie (after a long, well-earned build-up), and it's well worth the wait. Armed to the teeth with guns (lots of guns) as well as some serious kung-fu skills, Neo and Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss) storm a building full of soldiers and Agents to rescue Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) from captivity -- and guaranteed execution. Not only is this scene one of the best action moments in Keanu Reeves' entire filmography; it's also one of the best (and most iconic) gunfights ever committed to film.

Warcraft's paltry domestic box office return of $24 million over its opening weekend would lead you to believe that the Duncan Jones helmed blockbuster was the latest in a long line of video-game adaptations to have faltered, but that only tells 1/16th of the story. Because while Warcraft has floundered in the US it has grossed $280.5 million internationally, and in China alone it has brought in $156.8 million in just five days. Warcraft is now even expected to seriously challenge the $390 million amassed by Furious 7 in the territory, which made it the highest grossing Hollywood movie ever in China.

China has firmly become a key market for Hollywood studios. Currently it's the second largest box office in the world, but it's expected that the country's revenue will surpass that of the United States at some point in 2017 to make it numero uno. Still, that doesn't mean that their audiences actually have good taste. Because several Hollywood blockbusters that were critically savaged and rejected by US audiences have prospered amongst the nation's 1.3 million inhabitants, and we've gathered up the heavy hitters.

Warcraft

U.S. Box Office Total: $24.3 million

China Box Office Total: $156 million

Rotten Tomato Score: 29%

Warcraft's success in China shouldn't come as much of a surprise. While American audiences were nonplussed by its release, the fact that half of Warcraft's five million players were based in China meant that it was always going to garner interest. Especially since the majority of these players are aged between 18-35, a demographic that usually has plenty of money to spend especially on such cinematic frivolities. Its release was also timed to coincide with the Dragon Boat Festival, which is a public holiday held in China.

Transformers: Age Of Extinction

U.S. Box Office Total: $245 million

China Box Office Total: $320 million

Rotten Tomato Score: 18%

The Transformers franchise has always appealed to Chinese audiences. Over the course of four films, its China box office has made up $588.1 million of its $3.7 billion total. With Age Of Extinction, Paramount firmly aimed the film towards China. Not only did they set the final third of it in the country and Hong Kong (shooting some sequences there but Chicago and Detroit were mostly used as stand-ins, respectively), but Olympic wrestler Zou Shiming, singer and actor Han Geng and Li Bingbing were added to the cast, too. Plus, there was Chinese product placement, most laughably when Mark Wahlbeg tried to use a China Construction Bank ATM in Texas, while the Communist regime's officials are shown to be much more competent than their American counterparts, too.

Terminator Genisys

U.S. Box Office Total: $89 million

China Box Office Total: $113 million

Rotten Tomato Score: 26%

Most moviegoers were disappointed with the fourth installment to the Terminator franchise, which was released last summer to paltry domestic numbers. However, its international figures, especially in China, still means there is life in the franchise, yet. The appeal of both the Terminator brand, as well as the popularity of a returning Arnold Schwarzenegger, were seen as the biggest reasons for Genisys' triumph. Genisys' receipts were also boosted because it was the first film to be released following China's two-month "blackout period," which sees foreign films banned to assist local releases.

Need For Speed

U.S. Box Office Total: $43 million

China Box Office Total: $66 million

Rotten Tomato Score: 23%

A high percentage of you have probably erased Need For Speed from your memories. The forgettable action film took in just $43 million back in 2014., but Chinese audiences' enthusiasm for driving, which is seen as symbol of its burgeoning middle class and catapulted Furious 7 to its $390 million gross in the region, also allowed Need For Speed to strike a chord with Chinese moviegoers. In fact, with a budget of $66 million, its haul in this region led Need For Speed to become a nice little earner, as it ultimately finished with a gross of $203.3 million.

Point Break

U.S. Box Office Total: $28 million

China Box Office Total: $39 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 9%

Released a week after Star Wars: The Force Awakens to torrid reviews, domestically, Point Break never looked like it would match its 1991 predecessor's profits, but China responded to its high-octane action and the real-life stunts. This was a big part of its promotion in the country, and thanks to help from DMG, a Chinese group that co-invested inPoint Break's production with Alcon Entertainment, it tapped in to younger viewers. It also profited from being released three weeks earlier in China, too, which allowed good word of mouth to generate before US critics panned it.

The Expendables 3

U.S. Box Office Total: $39 million

China Box Office Total: $72 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 33%

The Expendables 3's US box office return was slightly hurt when three weeks before its release, it was leaked online, leading to it being illegally downloaded over 2 million times in a week. Plus, it also didn't help that it was cut for a PG-13 audience. None of that mattered to Chinese audiences, as they still flocked to see the action ensemble assemble. It was buoyed by a heavy marketing campaign, which saw Jason Statham head out to the country to promote it and thus helping to raise its profile. While that might seem relatively simple, it worked again more recently when Daniel Craig visited China ahead of Spectre's release, leading the Bond flick to take in $83 million in the territory.

San Andreas

U.S. Box Office Total: $115 million

China Box Office Total: $103 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 49%

A moderate success in the US, where its $110 million budget was clawed back, San Andreas truly flourished internationally, where it made three times its US total. San Andreas got off to a rollicking start in China, taking in $55 million in its first six days of release. Box office experts put this success down to how common earthquakes occur in the territory, while it helped that it starred Furious 7's Dwayne Johnson, who also made a visit Beijing to try and convince more viewers to go.

RoboCop (2014)

U.S. Box Office Total: $58 million

China Box Office Total: $50 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 49%

Chinese audiences have often shown a predilection for seeing films in enhanced new formats, which is exactly what led the underwhelming remake of RoboCop to its strong numbers back in 2014. Despite being released in the usually weak period of February in China, which is just after their New Year, RoboCop thrived because it was converted into 3D specifically for the territory. In fact, no other country released RoboCop in 3D, which made it an alluring commodity for Chinese audiences.

One issue still plaguing the film industry remains the need for studios to remake classic properties. Movies with some form of brand recognition get repackaged for a new generation – often with modified bells and whistles meant to attract a different crowd. So it’s not enough to remake Point Break using extreme sports as the backdrop. It also has to be released in 3D.

This isn’t a review of the new Point Break. This is a breakdown of the use of 3D in Ericson Core’s new crime thriller. We’ll go over key categories that are essential to your 3D enjoyment, to make sure that you pay for the right ticket if and when you choose to see Point Break. Now, go grab me two meatball subs, and let’s dive in.

Fit Score

4/5

The premise behind the new Point Break is that fledgling FBI agent Johnny (Luke Bracey) is infiltrating a band of thieves who are trying to complete a series of death-defying extreme-sports stunts. With that in mind, each new stunt (involving skydiving, skiing, motorcross and the like) should open the door to new and clever uses of 3D. The "Fit" on Point Break is solid.

Planning & Effort Score

3/5

That being said, even though the filmmakers left themselves open to several opportunities to properly use 3D in their stunt sequences, Point Break drops the ball on half of the action scenes. There are times when the movie is filming on the side of a mountain, and the cameras position beautifully to help the ridge stand out in 3D. But there are underwater and nighttime scenes (more on those in a minute) that do nothing with the technology, which disappoints.

Before the Window Score

2/5

Early on in Point Break, during a motorcycle scene that goes a long way toward setting up Johnny’s backstory, dirt from a bike’s tire rips off the wheel and into our lap, and I thought, "Yes! At least Point Break is going to be one of those reach-out-and-touch 3D movies!" Sadly, that’s the only time I can remember something breaking through the screen and occupying the space before the window.

Beyond the Window Score

3/5

Here, too, there’s nothing spectacular that stands out, and for this, I’m going to blame director Ericson Core, who also serves as the movie’s cinematographer and chooses to shoot Point Break in a dim, grey-and-green tint that does nothing to emphasize the beauty of some of the movie’s locations. 3D movies that have breathtaking depth beyond the window invite you to step through the screen and explore their worlds. One scene involving the tube of a massive wave made good use of the Beyond the Window palete, but outside of that? Not much.

Brightness Score

2/5

Even if you were still on the fence about paying to see Point Break in 3D, this is the category that will send you in a different direction. By design, 75% of Point Break takes place in the dark. Nighttime scenes in bars and clubs are plunged in shadow. The FBI offices are dark corridors lit mainly by computer screens. Even the daytime scenes, as mentioned, have a burnt look to them that suggests shadow (or a distinct lack of color). When you put 3D glasses on? It makes it so much worse. The Brightness Score for Point Break needs to be low.

Glasses Off Score

3/5

There’s a minimal amount of blur around the images in Point Break when you remove your glasses, suggesting the amount of 3D that exists in the frame. During conversations, you can remove your glasses and actually watch the movie as you would a normal 2D film (even though you paid for a 3D ticket). During the action scenes, the blur increases… though the 3D doesn’t necessarily improve those sequences.

Audience Health Score

3/5

Point Break mostly is a smooth experience, from the chair of someone watching it in 3D, though one or two sequences became so choppy I either removed my glasses or looked away from the screen. One was a snowboarding scene that cut from rider to rider with abandon. The other was a rave scene in a pitch-dark dance club that probably would have been unwatchable in ANY format, but looked particularly blurry and ugly in 3D.  

3D SCORES RECAP

3D Fit

4

P & E

3

Before The Window

3

Beyond The Window

3

Brightness

2

Glasses Off Test

3

Audience Health

3

Total Score

21/35

Final Verdict: As you can guess, I don’t recommend that you see Point Break in 3D. Which is disappointing, because one way that the 2015 remake of the classic action film could have distanced itself from its predecessor would be to introduce 3D in creative ways and apply it to the various extreme-action set pieces sprinkled throughout the film. Instead, 3D seems to be an afterthought on this remake, which means it’s not worth your time.

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Click to visit our full  To 3D Or Not To 3D Archive.

It's tough to get super excited for this week considering we’re coming off the awesome high that is Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but it’s Christmas and we still have some rather huge movies getting ready to hit theaters. Get ready for Concussion, Daddy’s Home, Joy and Point Break.

Just remember, I'm not reviewing these movies, but rather predicting where they'll end up on the Tomatometer. Let's take a look at This Rotten Week has to offer.

Rotten Watch Prediction

64%

This week, there was a bit of news released about Cleveland Browns’ cornerback Joe Haden, noting that while his 2015 season was lost because of neck and brain injuries, but he’s excited to return next year. That probably tells you all you need to know about the state of brain injuries in the NFL right now – and why a movie like Concussion is coming out at a pretty perfect time.

Preview the true story of the doctor who shed light on the problem in the trailer for the film below:

Concussion, starring Will Smith, tells the story of Doctor Bennet Omalu’s independent research into ex-football players brains and how he began to uncover the traumatic brain injury known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy latent in these guys from hundreds and maybe thousands knocks on the noggin over the course of their careers. Of course, the NFL didn’t Omalu’s initial findings as it implied the game killing the players both quickly and slowly. The film details the NFL’s effort to stifle Omalu’s findings because well, it made them look terrible. Concussions are still very much an issue in the NFL, and could ultimately be its undoing - though that’s more of the long game. In the short term, the sport’s still wildly popular of course.

Director Peter Landesman has been down the somewhat-controversial-historical-storyline trail before, helming movies like Kill the Messenger and Parkland. Both of those films explored narratives around characters involved in controversial situations. This is down the same path. While critics aren’t necessarily over the moon about the film, they like it well enough. Some think it's Oscar bait – and that very well may be, but it should play well enough anyway.

Rotten Watch Prediction

60%

If you watched the trailer for Joy on mute, I think you’d be fully convinced it was a Silver Linings Playbook sequel. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, mind you, it’s just crazy the amount of overlap between that film and this one. I suppose it’s mostly the three main on-screen players (plus David O. Russell behind the lens), but for any flick that’s a lot. Nevertheless it’s another story about family, with a much different bent.

Here, see what I mean in the trailer for Joy below:

Joy follows the story of its titular character (played by Jennifer Lawrence) and the rest of her family as they navigate the business world in what appears to be a sweeping, funny and moderately powerful story. Lawrence alone is typically worth the price of admission, and when you lump in Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper and Diane Ladd, well you’ve got an all-star cast. Yet critics aren’t totally over the moon about it.

Russell has some big time critical wins under his belt with Silver Linings Playbook (92%), American Hustle (93%) and The Fighter (90%). Lawrence helped carry two out of those three - but this one is falling short on the Tomatometer. It’s sitting at 63% through about 50 reviews, which would put it in range of Russell’s only other critical "disappointment," I Heart Huckabees (62%). Of course many a director would kill for this kind of critical response, but David O. Russell isn’t your typical director and he’s set the bar pretty high already.

Most critics seem to agree that the cast carries this flick through some plot issues and the scope of the film is a little too broad and winding to get down into the nitty gritty. This could be critics comparing Russell only to himself, though I doubt it. Even the trailer appeared meandering and discombobulated at times as I had trouble zeroing in on the central issue.

Rotten Watch Prediction

29%

I know what good parenting is all about. For instance, just today I persuaded my kid to spend daddy-daughter Sunday coming to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens with me, all the while insisting she "shhhhh" and that "too much popcorn will make you thirsty." So I get what being a good parent is all about – and I have a feeling I’ll be able to relate to Will Ferrell’s character in Daddy’s Home.

See a couple of other guys vying for Dad of the Year in the trailer for Daddy’s Home below:

Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg are on opposite ends of the fathering spectrum in this flick. Ferrell is the nice guy dweeb who’s committed to his step-kids loving him no matter what obvious signs the little tykes send him. And Wahlberg waltzes in all bad boy, dropping copious amounts of cool dad all over the place. Are they going through the comedic blueprint here? Sure. But it looks fun nonetheless.

Daddy’s Home does, in some ways, appear the kind of movie cooked up in the Hollywood Lab when executives were looking for any way in hell to just get these two actors together. This kind of thing, star vehicles with a story just kind of there for convenience, happens all the time on the big screen. It doesn’t predispose the flick to sucking, but I doubt there’s a ton there beyond some hijinks and surface laughs.

Director Sean Anders’ comedic directing and screenwriting resume isn’t necessarily a what’s what of funny with him helming flicks like Horrible Bosses 2 (35%) and That’s My Boy (20%) and helping write Dumb and Dumber To (29%) and We’re the Millers (47%). Each of those movies definitely had their moments, but none were able to sustain all the way through because the concepts just didn’t hold tight. They were jokes piled together to form a movie rather than a fully-formed idea with the jokes to spare. I suspect this latest falls into the latter category and comes up short with critics.

Rotten Watch Prediction

34%

Some classics were made to live on in time, untouched and unsoiled. They were absolutely perfect and flawless movies the first time around and remaking them can only be fraught with peril. Flicks like The Godfather and Citizen Kane come to mind. Point Break 100% falls into this group. It was a perfect movie then and doesn’t need an update. Classics should stay that way. But that’s not the world we live in"

See a classic remade in the trailer for Point Break below:

All kidding aside, the original Point Break was such a cool flick and unconventionally entertaining in its own right that remaking it seems a case of diminishing returns. I mean they caught lightning in a giant wave first time around with a flick about bank robbing surfers being infiltrated by an ex-D1 football star-turned FBI agent. That the original even made it passed the pitch phase was remarkable in itself, something akin the fifty year storm Bodhi sought. It only comes around every once in a while and is something memorable for sure.

The remake uses the same names but with a slightly different premise. The baddies aren’t surfers but instead fall under the much wider blanket of "extreme athletes". Utah is still an FBI suit, but with a background in said extreme sports instead of being boxed into just football. Also, the gang doesn’t seek money for their own gain, but instead are looking to play Robin Hood against the 1%’ers of the world. I guess the update needed a little more altruistic motives.

It looks funs enough with action sequence upon action sequence upon action sequence. The acting, sticking with the original motif, looks stiff to say the least. There’s almost no chance the critics are in on it, but I don’t suspect the filmmakers were going after that angle either. It’s an adrenaline flick through and through.

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Three movies last week and I was basically ? with my predictions - though if you’re splitting hairs, I did miss Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Predicted: 84% Actual: 95%) by a percentage point. It was a mistake to go this low for the movie. It was a movie made for Star Wars fans while also bringing a new generation along for the ride. Mission accomplished.

Meanwhile, Sisters (Predicted: 90% Actual: 62%) dropped like a rock throughout the week. This thing really fell from a high perch considering there were a bunch of positive reviews in at the time I posted. It dipped about 25% or more over the last seven days. Critics who weighed in thought the flick lacked any real depth and the jokes fell flat. This was in sharp contrast to the first few that came out. I mean I understand studios releasing movies to warm and fuzzy types early to get a ground swell of good buzz leading into release. But it’s rare you see a movie flip so much in such a short time.

And finally, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (Predicted: 17% Actual: 14%) sucked, should never have been made and I don’t really want to talk about it because it looks terrible.

We’ll be back in two weeks with The Forest and The Masked Saint. It’s gonna be a Rotten Week!

In the glut of movies hitting theaters around Christmas—a list that includes a new Star Wars movie, Quentin Tarantino’s latest western, and Leonardo DiCaprio fighting a grizzly bear, among others—it’s been easy to lose sight of the impending Point Break remake. Many expect the action flick to be swallowed up by the Star Wars: The Force Awakens juggernaut, but the studio has a strategy to help combat this, and it involves opening the movie early in China, which seems to be working out rather well.

China has become an increasingly key part of the Hollywood money making machine in recent years, to the point that Warner Bros. and Alcon Entertainment already opened Point Break there, three weeks ahead of its domestic release. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the remake of Kathryn Bigelow’s 1991 action classic opened to a solid $12.1 million over its first three days, finishing second in the Chinese box office race to Ridley Scott’s The Martian.

With a reported budget of $120 million, Chinese marketing for the Point Break remake, handled by DMG Entertainment, has largely revolved around the massive daredevil stunts. The original features surfing, skydiving, and similar extreme sports activities, and the do-over is taking those elements and cranking them up to the proverbial eleven. There’s still skydiving and surfing, but amplified even further, and they throw dangerous motorcycle stunts, base jumping, snowboarding, and more just to up the ante.

Opening early in China looks to be a shrewd business movie for the studios, especially as earnings for The Martian begin to decline since it’s been out for a few weeks already. Chinese regulations block out most of December, one of the seasons of the highest theater traffic, for Chinese-only new releases—that’s why Star Wars: The Force Awakens won’t open there until January. As a results, Point Break will be the only big new American blockbuster in action until into 2016, effectively cornering the market. In fact, it won’t really fact any substantial roadblocks until December 18, when Mojin—The Lost Legend, an epic Chinese fantasy film opens.

This is a bold move on the part of the studios, but one that could potentially pay big dividends. Point Break will have the market mostly to itself for almost an entire month, and with a hefty price tag, not to mention stiff competition around the world, they’ll need every advantage they can grab.

Point Break opens in the U.S. on Christmas Day.

Payday 2 developers Overkill Software will be paying tribute to the film Point Break with two DLC packs. These add-ons, set to launch today, will introduce new heists and give players new options for criminal mayhem.

The first of the DLC packs is a Bodhi Character Pack, available for free. This allows you to choose Bodhi, a surfer/criminal mastermind, for your heists. He's armed with a utility knife for quick takedowns. His Platypus 70 sniper rifle has a dumb name but can tear through shields and multiple enemies. Overkill says you'll be able to one-shot most enemies if your aim is true.

Bodhi also has his own perk deck, called the "Ex-President." Here are some examples of the perks you'll be able to access:

• Point Break - When your armor is up, you can store extra health for every enemy you kill. Any time your armor regenerates, you'll gain this stored health as well.
• Life of Ice - Increases the amount of health that can be stored, while also boosting maximum health and dodge.
• The Perfect Line - When your armor has fully depleted, every kill will increase the speed that it regenerates.

Rounding out the Character Pack are two new masks, one of which you can see in the trailer.

The Point Break Heists DLC is a more substantial add-on but unfortunately costs $7. As its title suggests, this DLC brings two new heists to the game called "Beneath the Mountain" and "Birth of Sky." These jobs will be given to you by a new contact named Vernon Locke, a mercenary threatening to bring down Crime.net if you don't work with him. By playing through these missions, you'll earn a combined 10 achievements. Here's the official description of each heist:

Beneath the Mountain - "Built deep into granite bedrock, Black Ridge was designed by the Air Force to survive a direct nuclear impact. After the Cold War, it was purchased by Murkywater, and re-fitted to act as a command center for the mercenary army. Locke knows there is loot stored in the deep vaults of this mountain fastness. He will guide you through it, supplying intel and assets. Can Black Ridge survive a direct attack by the Payday gang?"

Birth of Sky - "Robbing stores is great. Robbing banks, warehouses and casinos is really fucking great. But how about robbing a plane? A military cargo plane, 20,000ft above the ground? Murkywater is a private army with a private air force, and part of that air force is tasked with transporting huge pallets of ill-gotten cash around the world. One such plane is scheduled to fly over the Eastern Seaboard soon. Locke has arranged for you to be on board. Getting the money will be one thing - getting off the plane, that's something else..."

This Heists Pack also includes some new equipment equipment. You'll get access to a new pistol along with four melee weapons. Four new masks, patterns and materials will also be up for grabs.

These DLC packs are a cross-promotion for the Point Break remake starring Édgar Ramírez and Luke Bracey. The film's scheduled to hit theaters on Christmas Day. Four of the six new songs in the Point Break Heists DLC pack are actually from the film's soundtrack.

This isn't the first time that Payday 2 has been used to promote an upcoming film. Last year, Overkill released a DLC pack inspired by Keanu Reeves film John Wick.

It used to be a simple equation. Open your movie in the United States. If it was a hit there, then you made money. If not, then it didn’t. The box office for the rest of the world was either icing on the cake or a minor salve in one’s wounded pride. That’s not the case anymore. If your movie doesn’t strike a chord in the US, or even if it does, China can change the dynamics of a film financially. China is now the second largest box office in the world and being successful there has become as important as success in America. Warner Bros. has decided that China is so important to Point Break that the film will be releasing in China first, a full three weeks before it arrives stateside.

While opening in China first isn’t unheard of, it is rare and no movie has even had such a gap between the two release windows. Only Iron Man 3 and Penguins of Madagascar have opened first in China. The latter, which opened 12 days before the American release, was the previous record holder for such a distinction. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film’s Chinese co-producer, DMG, likely had a lot to do with making the release deal. For a film whose budget is reported to be somewhere around $100 million, a strong three weeks in China could make the film’s money back before it ever opens in the States. Whatever they make in the US could be pure profit.

There are a couple of other reasons this move is potentially huge for the film. First, China has regular blackout periods where western movies are not allowed to open. This gives Chinese films an opportunity to have success without being stomped on by American blockbusters. December is one of these blackout periods and Point Break’s December 3 release will be the last US film to open before the blackout. This also means Point Break won’t have to deal with the 900 lb. gorilla with a lightsaber who is going to own the December box office in the US. While the The Force Awakens opens the week before Point Break in the US, it won’t be hitting China until sometime in January due to the black out. By that point, Team Point Break will have made their money, removed their masks, and they’ll be on the beach surfing.

If this strategy is successful for Point Break, look for other studios to follow suit. If opening in China first means bigger box office, then it could make the difference between profit and loss for some films, and we know which one the studios will choose. Point Break will be in theaters for all of us on Christmas Day. Are you going to check it out?

When it came to capturing real-life extreme sports, the upcoming Point Break remake really pushed things to the limit. Thanks to the assistance of some tremendously talented athletes, the movie features all kinds of daring and terrifying stunts – from riding giant waves to motocrossing along a mountain ridge. Perhaps the most breathtaking in the film, however, is a wingsuit sequence filmed in Walenstadt, Switzerland… and what you probably don’t know is that it was a hugely risky thing to shoot.

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending a special Point Break presentation in Los Angeles, and in addition to seeing extended footage from the film, there was also a panel discussion with star Edgar Ramirez, director Ericson Core, and base jumping advisor Jeb Corliss. During the event, the men went deep into detail about the making of the movie, and spent a considerable amount of time discussing the aforementioned wingsuit sequence. You can preview a bit of it in the featurette below:

Don’t think that looked too scary? Maybe something that you could do on the weekend with your buddies? Well, read on to fully understand why that would probably be a pretty bad idea without proper preparation.

Nobody Had Actually Ever Done It Before

The idea of jumping off a mountain and hoping that a special suit lets you glide like a flying squirrel is petrifying – but it would certainly be significantly less terrifying if paired with the knowledge that somebody actually previously survived it at a particular location. In the making of Point Break, the athletes didn’t have that luxury. Jeb Corliss revealed during the presentation that the wingsuit stunt being performed in Walenstadt, Switzerland had never actually been attempted before. As a result, there was about a year of training necessary. The reality is that the production went into the stunt not actually knowing whether or not the jump could actually be done and survived. They simply hoped that it would, prepared themselves for it, and executed it for the film.

They Were Going At Crazy Speeds

The word "gliding" may summon images of these extreme sports athletes gently floating through the air, riding a soft breeze like a kite - but that couldn’t be a more inaccurate assessment. Do not forget that this particular adventure begins when people willingly jump off a cliff. According to Ericson Core and Jeb Corliss, those performing the flight in the movie reached speeds of up to 140 miles per hour as they zoomed across mountain sides and through narrow crevices. This speed, of course, means that accidentally hitting the ground almost definitely means death – and while Corliss is actually one of the few people on Earth to survive what he calls a "terminal bounce," that doesn’t mean that the stunt was any less life-threatening to those who were doing it.

A Large Group Is Much More Dangerous Than A Small Group

This element was briefly touched upon in the video at the top of this article, and it really only takes common sense to understand why it is so dangerous. When one person is flying with a wingsuit, they’re obviously given a lot more freedom of movement, having only to worry about crashing into rock formations instead of other airborne objects. In the making of Point Break, however, solo missions were not on the table. In the movie it’s a group of four men that are flying together – and that doesn’t even include the cameraman who flew behind them and captured their aerial antics. Every person in the group statistically raised the threat level in the activity for everyone around him, and multiple lives were at risk as a result.

The Wake Vortex

The idea of flying in formation with other wingsuit enthusiasts is a serious and possibly fatal challenge because of the risk of collision, but the truth is that the threat actually goes beyond that as well. During the presentation, Jeb Corliss gave us a little lesson in aerodynamics and introduced us to the concept of the Wake Vortex. When a person is flying in a wing suit, they’re not just gliding on top of the air, but also slicing right through it. This means that when you fly through a particular area of the sky, you disrupt the atmosphere in a way that would actually prevent other flyers from gliding through that same area. If one of the athletes in Point Break had flown too close to another’s Wake Vortex, there was the possibility that they could fall right out of the sky.

They Had To Do It A Ridiculous Number Of Times

After reading all of the previous points, you’re probably thinking to yourself that a person would have to be crazy to even try to attempt this wingsuit adventure even once. This is a Hollywood movie, though, and that means that the filmmakers needed a lot of coverage for the editing room and to make sure the sequence pops. As a result of this, director Ericson Core required his athletes to do the jump-and-glide multiple times… specifically around 60. Given the incredible amount of risk involved with the stunt, that number practically suggests that the crew was asking for some kind of major accident during the making of Point Break. Fortunately, however, everyone wound up surviving, and the result is simply an impressive bit of filmmaking.

And so it begins. Ready or not, Point Break, the remake of Kathryn Bigelow’s 1991 camp action classic, is on the way, and it appears the promotional push has begun. Just the other day we got our first taste of the action in the inaugural trailer, and now Warner Bros. is back with a new featurette that delves into the stunts, extreme sports, and general daredevilry we’ll see in the finished film.

The first thing you see in this video is a collection of silhouettes lining the windswept ridge of jagged mountain as a voice asks, "Is this radical enough for you?" And what follows certainly attempts to push the boundaries of what qualifies as extreme when it comes to this type of cinematic action.

As you can see in this footage, they really went all out. Like the original Keanu Reeves/Patrick Swayze-starring version, the plot centers around a group of bank robbers who are also surfers. Point Break 2015 expands that a great deal, as the heists are bigger—they’re not just a bunch of dudes looking to finance their endless summer, the new outlaws are international criminals pulling off major heists. They also do more than just surf and skydive. Both of those figure into the film, but they also worked in snowboarding, rock climbing, base jumping, and more.

It’s cool that they, at least from what you can see in this video, went almost exclusively practical for all of these stunts. To further the authenticity, they brought in experts in their respective fields, like Laird Hamilton, perhaps the most accomplished big wave surfer in the world. He pioneered the trend of having jet skis pull you out farther so you can get access to the really big waves. They also travel the world, wing suiting in Switzerland, rock climbing at Angel Falls in Venezuela, and more.

And apparently the extreme sports play an even larger role in the plot this time out, and new Johnny Utah (Luke Bracey) isn’t just some random undercover FBI agent assigned to the task. In this iteration he’s already a practitioner of the extreme arts, and has some kind of death wish to boot. I still can’t shake the feeling that this is going to wind up feeling more like a remake of xXx than of Point Break, but it’s still early in the going.

Point Break rides a wave into theaters this Christmas. Maybe you can fit in a screening between repeat viewings of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which opens the week before.

Earlier we got a taste of the adrenaline-fueled action from the upcoming Point Break remake, but that wasn’t enough. Oh no, that was just a tease, and now they’re back with a full trailer that wants to push you right up to the edge and beyond.

Dare I say this looks like a dumbed-down version of Point Break? Maybe that’s the wrong phrase, as the first one isn’t actually an intellectual opus (it is one of my all-time favorite movies, however). Overly serious is a much better description. The Keanu Reeves/Patrick Swayze-starring original from 1991 is fun and campy and riding a wave right out of the late ‘80s. You got the feeling that everyone involved knew they were making a ridiculous movie

On the other hand, from what we see here, Point Break 2015 plays everything super straight. There's not a lot of humor here. They take all the action from the source and do it stone-faced while cranking it all up a few notches. Along the way, they hit all the notes, but the waves are bigger, the stakes are higher, their motivation is a little bit grander. You’ve still got skydiving bank robbers, but instead of just financing their endless summer, they’re out to reshape global finance, and they’re willing to kill people, and do, in order to get their point across.

Instead of a fish out of water, New Johnny Utah (Luke Bracey) is already an extreme athlete, so he identifies with them right out of the gate. The formula is intact, but they give it a somber makeover. More than anything, this feels like a movie that would have happened in in the early 2000s, where extreme sports like rock climbing, base jumping, and snowboarding routinely popped up in crime-themed actioners. I can’t be the only one who got a serious xXx flashback watching this.

I definitely have mixed feelings about a Point Break remake, but that’s not to say this is without certain charms. Teresa Palmer shredding that giant wave is admittedly pretty sweet, and seriously, a guy races an avalanche on motorcycle, which should be kickass to watch on a large format screen.

And those shots of them skydiving through loose cash are pretty damn cool.

Fans of the original also have a few moments here to hang their hats on. You may notice that one of the men in Johnny Utah’s briefing is played by James Le Gros, who plays Roach in the original ("You’re cold because all of the blood is running out of your body, Roach. You’re going to be dead soon.")

You may also notice that they haven’t completely abandoned the Presidential masks from the first film. It doesn’t look like they wear them all the time, but it’s nice to know they make a cameo.

Point Break stars Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer, Edgar Ramirez, Ray Winstone, Delroy Lindo, Tobias Santelmann, Matias Varela, and Clemens Schick, and opens everywhere Christmas Day.  

Teasers for trailers typically don’t do a lot to get our pulse racing. It’s like a mint before an appetizer, as a full trailer is really only setting up the actual feature, which is the meal. And yet, there’s a visual sequence in the center of this ultra-quick Point Break teaser trailer that has us hoping the remake will bring a few original twists to the table come December 25.

Warner Bros. knows that it has a cool image on its hands with the "Money Shot" of skydivers caring so little about their boosted fortune that they are willing to unleash it midair, just so they can plummet through a wind-tunnel of cash. How can we tell? Because the sequence is also the centerpiece of the first Point Break poster that just arrived online.

And we expect it to be part of the full trailer, which will be arriving online later today.

Point Break, as you likely know, was Kathryn Bigelow’s groundbreaking 1991 action thriller about an undercover agent (played by Keanu Reeves) assigned to infiltrate a band of beach-bound thrill seekers who were suspected of pulling off a series of bank heists while wearing the masks of dead presidents. The remake seems like it’s staying on the same general path. The plot synopsis reads as such:

While the focus on Bigelow’s story was surfing, Patrick Swayze’s gang leader also dabbled in skydiving and extreme sports. But this remake looks like it wants to ramp up its approach to the Fast & Furious audience by going hard into "big-wave surfing, wingsuit flying, sheer-face snowboarding, free rock climbing, and high-speed motorcycling," according to Warner Bros.

Point Break director Ericson Core served as director of photography on such films as Invincible, The Fast and the Furious and Payback. The film will co-star Ray Winstone, Teresa Palmer and Delroy Lindo. Warner will have it in theaters on Christmas Day. Look for the full trailer later today.

While the original Point Break - starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze – is best known for largely centering on the world of surfing, the upcoming remake due out later this year has some much bigger extreme sports plans in store. In addition to hanging 10, the characters in the updated story will also find themselves snowboarding, rock climbing, base jumping, skydiving and wingsuiting. And tonight we got an early look at exactly what the movie will be delivering.

After Paramount Pictures’ turn this morning, tonight The Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas belonged to the folks at Warner Bros., as the studio debuted some brand new footage from their upcoming slate during their presentation at the annual CinemaCon expo. Included during this event was the first ever footage from the brand new Point Break, which showed off some pretty extreme stunt work filmed in various corners of the world.

The footage shown during the presentation was largely cut in the fashion of a trailer, with little bits and pieces from scenes throughout the movie teased in quick montage format – though there were two sequences in particular that definitely stuck out from the rest of the pack. The first is what appears to be the heist that winds up getting Bodhi (Edgar Ramirez) and his gang on the radar of the FBI. Believe it or not, it’s actually a job that’s being pulled in the upper atmosphere, as the group is successfully able to board a plane midflight and steal literally a pallet of cash. While we didn’t see how they got on the vehicle, the footage did show off their exit strategy – which involved pushing the pallet out of the cargo door and skydiving to follow it down to a huge crevice/cave in the ground below.

While the heist scene was shown in bits and pieces in the sizzle reel, there was also one portion of the footage dedicated to spotlight one of the biggest stunts of the movie: Seemingly set shortly after Johnny Utah (Luke Bracey) has gone undercover and managed to infiltrate Bodhi’s tight-knit group, the sequence began with the gang wearing wingsuits while standing on the edge of a giant cliff. After a brief dialogue between Johnny and Bodhi, the entire group jumps, and the camera follows them as they soar through some absolutely stunning terrain – including an incredibly tight trench that everyone has to soar through. Without context it was hard to grasp how the moment will fit into the plot/drama of the rest of the film, but it was definitely beautiful to look at, and impressively all very real.

Shortly after the Warner Bros. presentation, I was also able to attend a press conference with director Ericson Core, stars Luke Bracey and Teresa Palmer, and coordinators/professional athletes Laird Hamilton, Jhonathan Florez, Jon Devore, and Jeb Corliss, and during this event I learned some rather cool things about the wingsuit sequence as well. The scene was actually shot on location in Walenstadt, Switzerland, and while the flyers in the film looked like they were merely gliding on the current, Devore (who actually flew in the sequence) revealed that they were actually going between 150 and 160 miles per hour. Florez also revealed that portions of the trench got as thin as seven meters wide – not a ton of space for a group of five to fly through. Core also revealed that the sequence took a full six weeks to shoot, with the stuntmen doing approximately 60 jumps each.

Given that Point Break isn’t scheduled to arrive in theaters until Christmas Day, it may be a few months before an official trailer is posted online for all of you to enjoy. Given how impressive the stunt work in the aforementioned sequences were, I won’t be surprised in the slightest when those same moments are highlighted in the debut preview as well.

The upcoming remake of Point Break may have hit some bad waves when its release date was shifted from the cozy summer to being locked in a Christmas Day cage with a gigantic lion of a film known as Star Wars: The Force Awakens. However, for one of the film’s producers, the perilous release date shift is actually "an opportunity" to work on the visual effects the film plans to showcase when it opens a mere week after Star Wars hits on December 18. Are the folks behind Point Break simply making lemonade out of lemons? Or are they on to something?

In an interview provided by Deadline with Alcon Entertainment CEO Andrew Kosove, the film's producer may have been flashing a serious PR poker face when he implies that the release date swapping of Point Break with the recently moved Mission: Impossible 5 from July 31 to December 25 is actually a GOOD thing.

Kosove also reminds us that big hits like Avatar and Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes saw big numbers during a shared Christmas 2009 release window. It may be the case that Kosove is extremely confident in the film’s visual effects to the point that he seriously sees it as a potential contender to possibly ride the wave of momentum of the inevitable box-office juggernaut that The Force Awakens will be.

Anyone who has seen Kathryn Bigelow’s original 1991 film with surfing, skydiving, ex-President-impersonating bank robbers will know it to be a property that brings sheer intensity in its showcase of extreme lifestyles and action-packed chase sequences. So, in that respect, Kosove would be right in such a belief in the film’s exciting, potentially over-top adrenaline rush. However, when considering whether all of that hipster jazz will be enough to shift the attentions of moviegoers from seeing the fresh new Star Wars movie, the standard answer becomes a bit less optimistic.

According to most of the various synopses floating about, the film will actually follow the original’s premise rather closely, even managing to keep the same names for the primary characters. The role of the fresh-faced F.B.I. rookie, Johnny Utah, famously played by Keanu Reeves in the original, will be played by Luke Bracey, an up-and-coming young Aussie actor from The November Man and The Best of Me, who also has the odd distinction of having donned the mask of the villainous Cobra Commander in G.I. Joe: Retaliation.

Playing the role of his direct antagonist/quasi-mentor in the bohemian adrenaline junkie, Bodhi, famously played by the late Patrick Swayze, will be Edgar Ramirez, a Venezuelan actor who continues to build his action-thriller resume -- which already includes Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty and the big-budget popcorn sequel, Wrath of the Titans. They will be joined by Teresa Palmer and Ray Winstone in roles that will also be analogous to the original film.

Point Break is seriously hoping that the power of "100% pure adrenaline" will be enough to carve out a decent box-office take against the Star Wars monolith when it hits theaters on December 25.

Super Bowl Sunday is a lot like Christmas morning for movie geeks. In between breathless updates on Deflategate, we are able to "unwrap" new footage from a full slate of pending, effects-driven blockbusters… well, the ones that were able to spend millions on a 30-second TV spot showcasing their wares.

Not every 2015 blockbuster needs a Super Bowl spot. Hollywood knows that you’re already sold on The Avengers: Age of Ultron and Jurassic World (and the latter already confirmed its presence on the Super Bowl airwaves). Why waste money preaching to the choir? Instead, these are the 10 movies on Hollywood’s release schedule that could use a Super Bowl boost. Maybe they aren’t on your radar yet? Maybe a studio showed some footage, and it didn’t go over as well as planned? Super Bowl Sunday could be Salvation Sunday if these films play their cards right and blow us away with a memorable trailer we are forced to talk about next Monday.

Mission: Impossible 5

A no-brainer, particularly because Paramount just shifted the action sequel’s release date up several months from December to July 31. My guess is because production on Christopher McQuarrie’s action-thriller is humming along beautifully, so what better way to announce the arrival of the next Ethan Hunt adventure than with an explosive Super Bowl spot showing Tom Cruise in the latest eye-popping stunt set piece? The move to July makes me think there’s enough footage shot to cut together a winning TV spot. Your mission, Paramount, should you choose to accept it…

Ant-Man

Like I mentioned in the introduction, audiences are going to Marvel’s summer kick-off, The Avengers: Age of Ultron. But I’m not sure everyone’s sold on Marvel’s other superhero adventure, and a great Super Bowl spot could start swaying crowds to Paul Rudd’s side of the fence. Complaints following the initial Ant-Man trailer suggested that the clip lacked action. I can’t argue. But I can tell you that I have heard some incredible things about the clever action set pieces in Peyton Reed’s Marvel movie, and a suggestion of those sequences could go a long way toward impressing casual comic-book fans who might be on the fence for this one.

Furious 7

The last two Fast & Furious movies have been enormous hits, each banking north of $200 million domestically and dominating the overseas market. April’s Furious 7 was poised to be a smash regardless of the controversy that swirls around it, but now there’s going to be a morbid curiosity factor in seeing how director James Wan danced around the unfortunate death of leading man Paul Walker. The first teaser trailer was a terrific appetizer. But I have faith in the Fast marketing team that they will entice the beer-and-wings crowd with a brilliantly macho TV spot, ensuring that millions of tickets get pre-sold on Sunday.

Mad Max: Fury Road

Let’s stay on the topic of cars that go "crash, boom, bang." Mad Max: Fury Road has to make up a LOT more ground than the Furious franchise. Unlike the Fast films, it has been 30 years (!!!) since a Mad Max movie has been in theaters – and none of the original cast members are coming back to help get Fury Road on track. Film geeks are excited to see what director George Miller will do with his prized anti-hero. But mainstream audiences might not even recognize Tom Hardy or Charlize Theron in their Fury Road roles, so Warner can help this May 15 release with a bone-crunching TV spot on Sunday.

San Andreas

The Rock + Super Bowl audiences = WIN. Obviously. And even if Dwayne Johnson shows up in a Furious 7 spot – perhaps duking it out with Jason Statham – it’d still be wise for Warner Bros. to lure potential blockbuster audiences in with a San Andreas commercial showcasing The Rock, the beautiful Alexandra Daddario, the movie’s central earthquake, or all three (in that order). The film’s first trailer was a somber affair, taking a melancholic approach to the devastation that will be in the wake of "The Big One." Maybe the movie is uber-serious? But if it’s The Rock in a Roland Emmerich-style disaster epic – and if it’s lighthearted at all – Sunday would be a great time to convince people to see this movie over Memorial Day weekend.

Entourage

For whatever reason, sports guys also love Entourage. And from what we have been hearing, the upcoming Entourage movie will include several cameos from major NFL players – including current Super Bowl quarterbacks Tom Brady and Russell Wilson! What are the odds that the two guys who filmed a cameo for this comedy ended up playing against each other in the Super Bowl? For that reason alone, Entourage has to drop a few dollars on a football-themed commercial.

Tomorrowland

The main thing working against a potential Tomorrowland Super Bowl spot is that TV commercials during the big game tend to be very short. If you have something to sell, sell it quick, and move on. Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland seems like it has a lot on its plate, and the dense sci-fi mythology that we think supports the summer blockbuster might not fit into the bite-sized marketing window that the Super Bowl allows. Still, Disney needs to start expanding the fan base of this niche title, and a teaser that sells George Clooney, the director of Ghost Protocol and the creator of Lost could catch more than a few curious eyeballs.

Terminator: Genisys

Now Terminator: Genisys, on the other hand, is tailor-made for a perfect Super Bowl TV spot. It has one massive gimmick – Arnold Schwarzenegger returning to his most popular role – and placing him from and center in a Super Bowl ad would instantly raise awareness for a sequel that already holds a prime July 4 weekend release date. The first trailer didn’t do a lot to win fans over to the timeline reboot that is waiting for everyone in Genisys. But we have been hearing about a massive fight between multiple Arnolds. Make that into the Super Bowl spot, then watch the money come pouring in.

Point Break

Raise your hand if you knew the Point Break remake was coming out this summer. I’m paid to know such things, and even I was surprised -- when combing over the release schedule for this feature – to learn that Ericson Core’s reboot of the classic Keanu Reeves/Patrick Swayze extreme sports thriller was due to arrive in July. A high-energy clip that plays on nostalgia could be an excellent way to educate audiences on the existence of this July 31 release. And we know that Warner Bros. has time allotted during the Bowl. If an August release like Fantastic Four can unveil a trailer, then it’s time for Point Break to start showing off some footage.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Most people want to see Henry Cavill in his Superman tights. Understandably. But if I’m Warner Bros., I need to start drumming up the hype around Guy Ritchie’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E., because after the movie shifted from January to August, I think people just forgot about it. This is a good time to remind folks that Cavill and Armie Hammer play dueling spies globetrotting across stylish European countries to stop the fiendish plans of a mysterious international criminal organization. Ritchie had two big hits with the cheeky bro-mantic actioners centered around Sherlock Holmes. Can he rekindle some of that magic with U.N.C.L.E.? Our first shots from the movie will answer a lot of questions.

It's hard to believe, but Keanu Reeves turns 50 today. And a solid chunk of those five decades has gone toward creating movies that -- whether heralded or hated, brilliant or bonkers -- have been wildly entertaining.

To pay tribute to the star whose name is Hawaiian for "cool breeze over the mountains," we've come up with five ways to toast the wonder that is Keanu Reeves. Pick your poison (as in picture) then pair it with an on-theme treat to make tonight's dinner and a movie a perfect celebration of one of Hollywood's most fascinating and unflappable stars. Plus we'll tell you the best way to watch them now.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

Reeve's first iconic role came in 1989 when he portrayed the great Ted 'Theodore' Logan in this most excellent adventure. This time-travel comedy followed two dopey rocker teens who used a souped-up telephone booth to leap to the past to meet such historical figures as Napoleon, Abraham Lincoln, Joan of Arc and Socratic Method. It was a must-see for children of the '80s/'90s. But revisit it as an adult, and you'll not only get a head rush of nostalgia, but also be pleasantly surprised at all the jokes that flew over your head the first time round.

Highlight: When Ted blows Socrates mind by quoting Kansas, "All we are is dust in the wind, Dude." Also anytime the boys air guitar.

How To Watch It: Strap on your own air guitar. Enjoy a slurpie from Circle K (or any convenience store) and party on, dudes!

You can stream Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure now on Amazon.

The Matrix

In 1999, Keanu Reeves blew our minds and became a science-fiction savior with Andy and Lana Wachowski's groundbreaking action epic The Matrix. Here, he stars as a computer hacker whose world is turned upside down when he meets an unexpected band of revolutionaries who reveal all he knows is a lie. The first in a blockbuster trilogy, this film launched Reeves into a new stratosphere of stardom, and is widely considered his most popular movie. 15 years later, The Matrix is still a killer thriller with dizzying action sequences.

Highlight: "I know kung fu." Of course he does.

How To Watch It: The perfect meal to go with this rich sci-fi dish are "really good noodles." But whatever noodles you prefer, don't use a spoon to eat them. There is no spoon.

You can stream The Matrix now on Amazon.

The Devil's Advocate

Before The Matrix cemented Reeves into film history, The Devil's Advocate paired him with a scene-chewing Al Pacino. Reeves stars as a hotshot Southern lawyer whose morals are challenged when he's called to New York City to be part of an affluent and influential law firm. It was a modest box office success, with decent reviews. Yet in the passing years, this fantasy drama has been mocked for its melodrama and totally over-the-top bravado. But if loving this garish thriller is wrong, I don't want to be right.

Highlight: Keanu's "Southern" accent. Listen to it come and go. Revel in its intensity and earnestness!

How To Watch It: With a friend who loves a good bad movie. A perfect pairing with this devilish treat is a big bowl of chocolate ice cream, because as the devil himself tells us that, "biochemically," chocolate gives us the same sensation as love.

You can stream The Devil's Advocate now on Amazon.

Point Break

Predating Neo or even Jack Traven of Speed, there was Johnny Utah. This Kathryn Bigelow-directed 1991 crime-thriller about an FBI agent who goes undercover in search of bank-robbing surfers has become a touchstone for male bonding, and memorably won Reeves the honor of the MTV Movie Award's Most Desirable Male. But amid the waves (both of the ocean and of co-star Patrick Swayze's crazy lustrous hair), Reeves delivered a performance charged with adrenaline and drama.

Highlight: Utah's confession: "Bodhi, this is you're fucking wake-up call, man! I am an F.B.I. Agent!"

How To Watch It: If you--like Pappas (Gary Busey)--are "so hungry (you) could eat the ass end out of a dead rhino," take a cue from this dude, and pair Point Break with a double order of meatball sandwiches. Get him two, Utah!

You can stream Point Break now on Amazon.

Side By Side

The Matrix made Keanu Reeves a kind of poster child for digital filmmaking, as well as the perfect host for this informative and insightful documentary. Written and directed by Christopher Kenneally, Side By Side aims to explain to the evolution of film stock to digital cameras in a way that is both expansive and understandable to the most casual moviegoer. At its center, Reeves thoughtfully interviews everyone from James Cameron and George Lucas, to Christopher Nolan, and Martin Scorsese.

Highlight: When David Lynch says "Keanu." There's a lot of great debate for and against the advent of digital filmmaking. But this little moment will tickle you no matter which side of this fight you take.

How To Watch It: With your cinephile friends--the ones who call directors "auteurs"--and a bottle of wine. Expect arguments of analog versus digital to follow. Add more wine accordingly. Or you can pick up some store bought chewy chocolate cookies, per Nolan's withering comparison to digital video.

You can stream Side by Side now on Netflix.

With actors like Edgar Ramirez and Ray Winstone on board, the upcoming remake of Point Break sits in a good place where male actors are concerned, but now they are ready to start playing on the other side of the gender line. Alcon Entertainment has officially announced that Australian actress Teresa Palmer is now in talks to play the female lead in the new action movie.

Set to be directed by Ericson Core, the filmmaker behind the 2006 Mark Wahlberg football movie Invincible, Point Break will once again tell the story of a young FBI agent named Johnny Utah (set to be played by Luke Bracey) who goes undercover to infiltrate a gang of bank robbers who also happen to have a passion for extreme sports. Ramirez will be playing Bodhi, the leader of the criminals originally portrayed by Patrick Swayze and Winstone will reportedly be Pappas, Utah's handler brought to life by Gary Busey in Kathryn Bigelow's 1991 movie. Sadly there is no information in Deadline's article about the role Teresa Palmer will be taking, but if the original is anything to go by she will probably be playing Tyler, the young woman who teaches Johnny to surf and winds up being his romantic interest.

There were a few years recently where Palmer simply couldn't catch a break at the box office, but it's possible those times are coming to an end. Between 2010 and 2011 she was in The Sorcerer's Apprentice, I Am Number Four and Take Me Home Tonight, all of which failed to get any attention from audiences. Last year, however, she played the lead female role in Jonathan Levine's Warm Bodies and not only earned critical acclaim for her performance but saw the film make $116 million globally on a $35 million reported budget.

Point Break will presumably be Teresa Palmer's next big project, but she has a good amount of stuff that she's been working on coming up. She is playing the lead in the Kriv Stenders Australian thriller Kill Me Three Times, has a role in Terrence Malick's Knight Of Cups, is part of John Hillcoat's Triple Nine ensemble, and will be starring opposite Liam Hemsworth, Billy Bob Thornton and John Malkovich in Matt Shakman's Cut Bank.

Palmer will probably be one of the last if not the last lead cast in Point Break, given that the movie is scheduled to start rolling cameras in just 10 days. The script, which was written by Kurt Wimmer (the Total Recall remake), will reportedly require the production to take place all over the world, stopping in four continents. Shooting locations will include Germany, Austria, Italy, Mexico, Venezuela, French Polynesia, and India. You'll be able to find the finished result in theaters when Warner Bros. releases it on August 7, 2015.

So Gerard Butler surfed away from the ongoing Point Break reboot, and you allowed yourself a moment of hope that the Hollywood Gods had decided to leave one of your precious, classic action-bromance movies alone. Think again.

Edgar Ramirez has entered negotiations to play the character of Bodhi in the reboot, according to THR. The Venezuelan actor’s previous credits include Zero Dark Thirty, where he played Larry, and Olivier Assayas’ television mini-series Carlos, which earned him a Golden Globe and Emmy nomination. Though he’s in conversations for the role, Alcon principals Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson said to the trade, "We consider Edgar one of the finest actors in the world today, and we are thrilled he will be creating a fresh new take on the iconic character of Bodhi." So it sounds like a done deal.

The "take" Edgar Ramirez will try to erase from our minds belongs to the late Patrick Swayze, who personified the Zen-like surfing guru in Kathryn Bigelow’s adrenalized Point Break back in 1991. And that’s part of the reason why I’m spiritually against a Point Break re-do. Bodhi might not be Patrick Swayze’s most iconic role (that, I believe, belongs to dance instructor Johnny Castle in Dirty Dancing). But he so fully embodies the part that I don’t envy Edgar Ramirez for having to give it another go.

The plot of the new Point Break will elevate the concept to the world of extreme sports, with an undercover FBI agent (this time played by Luke Bracey) infiltrating a gang of thieves. As we’d previously reported, curmudgeonly kook Ray Winstone will take the Gary Busey role in the remake, so Utah, get him two!

Casting on the Point Break remake is heating up, even as Gerard Butler falls by the wayside. Variety notes that Clemens Schick has been tapped to play one of the members of the criminal gang that Edgar Ramirez will lead. No word on whether or not they will be wearing masks of ex-presidents. Ericson Core is on board to direct the film, which is expected to reach theaters on August 7, 2015.

After spending years in development, the upcoming Point Break remake finally seemed to have all of its parts in place - including it's two main cast members - but now one of those important pieces has fallen away. Gerard Butler, who first entered negotiations to be a part of the production in January - has reportedly walked from the project.

The Hollywood Reporter was the first to post the news, saying that there are multiple reasons why the two parties split. In addition to having some creative differences with the filmmakers (that sadly go unexplained in the trade report), apparently Butler also has a scheduling conflict. Point Break is scheduled to start filming in late June and the production is expected to take place over the course of many months in multiple international locations. This apparently runs into the shooting schedule for London Has Fallen - a sequel to the modestly successful 2013 thriller Olympus Has Fallen - which will be going in front of cameras in the fall.

Butler was attached to play Bodhie in Point Break, the movie's "Zen-infused thief " who was played by Patrick Swayze in the Kathryn Bigelow-directed original. He was going to be playing opposite Aussie newcomer Luke Bracey, who is still on-board to play the Keanu Reeves role Johnny Utah, and Ray Winstone, who will be taking over Gary Busey's role. While the 1991 movie had Bodhie portrayed as a champion surfer, the remake will feature all kinds of extreme sports. Kurt Wimmer, who most recently penned the Total Recall remake for director Len Wiseman, is penning the screenplay, while Ericson Core - the filmmaker behind the 2006 Mark Wahlberg football drama Invincible - is attached to helm.

Point Break losing its most recognizable actor may seem like a big roadblock, and some of you out there may be wondering (or possibly downright hoping) that this will set back production. This apparently won't be the case, as Alcon Entertainment says that they still plan to start on time. Presumably this means that the company will be scrambling in the next few weeks to try and find someone to replace Butler. Hopefully the role doesn't require a lot of training.

Gerard Butler will be back on the big screen in animated form this summer, reprising his role as Stoick in How To Train Your Dragon 2, but he has a lot more on his plate as well. He just signed on recently to star in Dean Devlin's disaster/action movie Geostorm, and has been filming Alex Proyas' Gods of Egypt with Game of Thrones' Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Geoffrey Rush and Elodie Yung. Also in development is the sports drama Dynamo, as well as Simon West's war movie Thunder Run, which will co-star Matthew McConaughey.

When Gerard Butler came aboard to play the Patrick Swayze role in the upcoming Point Break remake last month, the big question that everybody was asking was, "Who will play the Johnny Utah to Butler's Bodhi?" Rather than going for a big name star to fill Keanu Reeves' shoes, Alcon Entertainment is instead turning to up-and-coming Aussie actor Luke Bracey, who Variety reports is now signed on to the film.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the 1991 original, which was directed by The Hurt Locker's Kathryn Bigelow, the story followed a young undercover FBI Agent named Johnny Utah who worked to infiltrate a group of surfers that also happened to be serious criminals. The new film is being directed by Ericson Core (Invincible) and scripted by Kurt Wimmer (the Total Recall remake), and while most of the story elements will remain the same, the remake will be replacing "surfers" with "extreme sports athletes."

According to Variety's report, Bracey beat out a number of other stars when Alcon was testing actors this past Friday. Initially they were looking to bring in a bigger name - the trade notes Garrett Hedlund and Nicholas Hoult as two examples - but instead decided to go with a fresher face. This move does mirror the original to an extent, as Point Break came after Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure but before titles like Speed, Dracula, and My Own Private Idaho.

While Bracey doesn't exactly have a household name here in the states, there's a pretty good chance you saw him in a key role in one of last year's big blockbusters:

That's right - Bracey was the man under the mask playing Cobra Commander in G.I. Joe: Retaliation (replacing Joseph Gordon-Levitt from the first film). The young actor's other previous credits include Monte Carlo, the Selena Gomez vehicle from 2011, and the Australian soap opera Home and Away.

Now that the Point Break remake has found its stars, the next step is to line up a supporting cast and then the project will be all but ready to launch intro production. The way things have progressed, I wouldn't be surprised if production starts up this summer and we see the finished product in theaters some time in 2015.

While we all bemoan the fact that more '90s movies are getting the remake treatment, let's all ignore the wave and watch the trailer for the original: