Action Movie SUBGENRES

This is a huge, ongoing project that I live to work on :D  If a movie that you think should be in a category is not there,
it's probably because I haven't gotten around to re-watching it to be sure. Same thing, if you see any glaringly wrong placements
of films in categories, please email me:  gynell@gmail.com. For a list of movies, see my Hit List.

HEIST 

"WHERE'S THE VAN?!" I'd say for Saturday afternoon fun, Action Movie FREAKS would rather watch a good Heist movie over Adventure any day.  There's something about the extra level of cleverness in executing a plan, and of course, getting away with it.  We want to KNOW how they did it. We want to watch them pulling it off. Don't gloss over the details cause you can't think of something clever enough—hell, why even make that movie?  Drop a safe three floors into a canal, drive an armored car off a bridge, pretend to be the fire department so you can steal $75 million in jewels and scuba away, whatever it is, we want to be impressed! Deep down we all want to steal money, get away clean, and live the good life somewhere exotic. Really, who wants to work?!

Under Siege (9 Oct 1992)
Erika Eleniak's titties. Yeah, I know, pretty spectacular (and I'm a girl and I have to lead with that).  It's probably most of the reason guys own this movie.  For male Action Movie Freaks, its just a bonus for another great Steven Seagal movie.  Tommy Lee Jones plays the bad guy and it's great to watch him be defeated.  Another bonus: Gary Busey! Before Gary Busey was in a motorcycle accident (1988), he was everyone Action Movie Freak's favorite character actor. This movie is entertaining every time you watch it. It's probably equal parts Seagal, Action, and Tommy Lee. It's a pretty ballsy idea to hijack a Navy battleship, and it has the best kind of countermeasure:  BAD ASS already on board.  Kick it up a notch? He's a cook and make it Steven Seagal.  As heists go, it's kind of slow and violent, but the fun is in seeing how Seagal fucks it up for them.  

Heat (15 Dec 1995)
m.  

Executive Decision (15 Mar 1996)
Surprisingly, this is a Heist movie. Not your typical heist, but a heist nonetheless. In this case, Steven Seagal's men, with the help of Kurt Russell, have to take control of an airplane back from terrorists.  How they manage to pull this off is a taut, and highly entertaining ride. The cast includes John Leguizamo, Halle Berry, BD Wong, Oliver Platt, and Ingo Neuhaus (the first VX victim from The Rock). The script was written by Jim Thomas and John Thomas, who wrote Predator.  Read more . . .

Mission: Impossible (22 May 1996)
This movie filled every expectation to overflowing. I remember the anticipation and wondering how much cooler it could be than the show (which I loved). The theme song really creates excitement and Tom Cruise, as  young as he is in this first movie, is every bit as cool, calm, collected, and capable as he is in every other M:I adventure.  The Heist in this movie is so much fun because of the Trash Talking beforehand.  Then there's the 'how'. When the how is good, Heists are especially enjoyable. We so want them to get away with it!  These movies excel at adding another level to the technical with derring-do, something Tom Cruise excels at. There's always those holy-crap-I-wonder-how-they-filmed-that moments, like this one.

Three Kings (1 Oct 1996)
blurb.  

Mission: Impossible II (24 May 2000)
After the first movie, everyone wonders if the next will be as good, so what do you do? Hire a great Director. A great Action Movie Director—if you're Tom Cruise who else would you get but the best: John Woo. Not only is this sequel action-packed but beautifully stylized as well. Action can be beautiful? You betcha.  Even though Tom seems to have been born the consummate professional, and these movies call for a level head in heated situations, Ethan Hunt's brand of cool here got all mixed up with Tom Cruise the man. He did his own climbing and motorcycle stunts(!) and then some. If there was any doubt he was an Action Figure, this movie erased that and solidly planted him on the Action side (regardless of whatever else he would go on to film). Love him for taking on the TV show and seeing the potential for a really top-notch Action Movie series.  

3000 Miles to Graceland (23 Feb 2001)
Kevin Coster and Kurt Russell, plus Christian Slater Kevin Pollack, Howie Long, Thomas Haden Church, Bookem Woodbine, Ice-T, Jon Lovitz, and Courteney Cox & David Arquette!  This movie has a really High Killcount.

The Fast and the Furious (22 June 2001)
People laughed at the trailer for this movie. Little did they know it would become one of the most popular franchises of all time. The series has come a long way from Dom living his life a quarter mile at a time, but it remains true to its roots which has a "family" theme that gives it a universal appeal in part thanks to its mixed race cast. Everyone feels represented and everyone feels like a part of the group. I swear this movie was created from the final scene in Gone in 60 Seconds because that's pretty much what it is, plus Action, and lots of Vehicles!

The Italian Job (30 May 2003)
em.  

Stander (10 Oct 2003)
them.  

Mission: Impossible III (5 May 2006)
them.  

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (12 June 2009)
em.  

Inception (16 July 2010)
em.  

Takers (27 Aug 2010)
em.  

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (21 Dec 2011)
What a ride Ghost Protocol is! I defy you to relax in your chair. I have to see it again! Overall, Ghost Protocol knocks your gloves off for Action and visual effects. It's bound to make tons of money. People will see it just for the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Those who saw it early will be telling their friends to see it for the camouflage trick, the Kremlin explosion, the climbing the tower scene, the scene with Jeremy Renner, ALL the car scenes, the crazy ending sequence, and well, you get the idea. Action, Action Action. That Tom Cruise did wire work on the actual site is mind blowing. Simon Pegg is awesome too. I love the comedy element in Action Movies.   Read more.

Parker (25 Jan 2013)
When this movie was first listed on IMDb, it was not listed as "Action" even though it contains one of the greatest fight scenes ever. They remedied that, however. Don't let the fact that Jennifer Lopez is in this movie keep you from watching if you don't like her. If you do like her, she's perfect in this movie. She's just ditzy/pretty enough to be believable as a Realtor, and just human enough that you like her, root for her, and relate to the everywoman in her character.  Statham's character, however, is otherwise engaged. There's a good bit of comic relief in the Moron #1, Moron #2 vein. The bad guys are entertaining and the perfect foil for Statham as a total Bad Ass. He takes a licking and keeps on ticking. This is one of those enjoyable-every-time-you-watch-it movies. Oh yeah, and he looks great in a Stetson!  Read more . . .

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (31 July 2015)
em.