# What's the most perfect action movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 18, 2007, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-perfect-action-movie/430503 "2007-12-18T21:21:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-perfect-action-movie/430503/1 "2007-12-18T21:21:13Z")
What’s the best action movie out there? My criteria: 1. Lots of gun play. Somewhat realistic would be nice. 2. Car chases are a bonus 3. Minimal “slow” scenes. Keep the action coming. 4. Maybe throw in some nudity I’m told The Bourne Supremacy keeps things going throughout. The Bond films are pretty good, but tend to get bogged down in plot with the evil villans and all. Die Hard is good although it takes a while for things to start happening. ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-perfect-action-movie/430503/2 "2007-12-18T21:24:30Z")
The most perfect action movie is _Big Trouble in Little China_, though oddly I took my nickname from the only slightly less awesome _The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai Across the Eight Dimension._ No nudity or car chases in either, though. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-perfect-action-movie/430503/3 "2007-12-18T21:29:18Z")
[QUOTE=Reno Nevada] The most perfect action movie is _Big Trouble in Little China_, though oddly I took my nickname from the only slightly less awesome _The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai Across the Eight Dimension._ No nudity or car chases in either, though. [/QUOTE] I’ve heard about that movie (Big Trouble in Little China) for years. Unfortunately I tried to watch it recently and found it pretty stupid. I liked Escape from New York better. Just thought of a couple more, The Transporter and Crank were great. Jason Stratham(?) kicks butt. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-perfect-action-movie/430503/4 "2007-12-18T21:30:53Z")
Die Hard. No er, with a vengeance or bloody four. ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-perfect-action-movie/430503/5 "2007-12-18T21:32:13Z")
My answer when this has come up before is _Aliens_. The only thing it fails is the nudity part. The last hour of that movie is almost non-stop, high-intensity ass kicking. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-perfect-action-movie/430503/6 "2007-12-18T21:33:03Z")
Gotta be Raiders of the Lost Ark. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-perfect-action-movie/430503/7 "2007-12-18T21:33:17Z")
Prediction: this is one of those threads where everyone will start throwing out their “favorite” action movies. Since your criteria didn’t include “believability”, here are some that come to mind: - “True Lies”. Not a perfect movie overall, but a good “action” movie that fits most of your criteria. - “Die Hard”. I always thought this was well paced. No car chases, though. - “The Bourne Ultimatum”. More so than “Supremacy” - I didn’t like “Supremacy” as much because the camerawork was making me nauseous. But “Ultimatum” is a good overall roller-coaster ride. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-perfect-action-movie/430503/8 "2007-12-18T21:33:39Z")
[QUOTE=jk1245] My answer when this has come up before is _Aliens_. The only thing it fails is the nudity part. . [/QUOTE] And given the smallness of Sigourney Weaver’s panties, it comes close in that department. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-perfect-action-movie/430503/9 "2007-12-18T21:35:15Z")
That was _Alien_, iirc. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-perfect-action-movie/430503/10 "2007-12-18T21:36:13Z")
As already mentioned, the correct answer is **Die Hard**. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-perfect-action-movie/430503/11 "2007-12-18T21:36:36Z")
I have always thought that Ronin was great, although not exactly your criteria. The action was great action, and the down times were actual suspense. I guess good things happen when you make an action movie with good actors i.e. Deniero, Bean,and Reno. ---
**Author:** ![NailBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@NailBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NailBunny)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-perfect-action-movie/430503/12 "2007-12-18T21:37:34Z")
I haven’t seen it in a million years, but I seem to remember _The Last Boyscout_ fit most of those criteria. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-perfect-action-movie/430503/13 "2007-12-18T21:38:56Z")
Invasion USA starring…Chuck Norris. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-perfect-action-movie/430503/14 "2007-12-18T21:39:45Z")
Answering my own post, Terminator 2 and Transformers were both very cool, but too many slow parts. Especially Transformers, and the closeup fighting scenes sucked. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-perfect-action-movie/430503/15 "2007-12-18T21:45:47Z")
I’ve always enjoyed _The Rock_ as a pure action saturday-afternoon adventure. Very little down time, lotsa nifty explosions, some snarky banter. I pretty much don’t get tired of it. True Lies is up there too. _Big Trouble in Little China_ is more of the ultimate B-movie than action-adventure. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-perfect-action-movie/430503/16 "2007-12-18T21:48:18Z")
> **[Action Movies](https://xkcd.com/311/)** > > By my count, only 48 of the 158 minutes in Live Free or Die Hard have action. That's pathetic, guys. Crank is better, but needs a bigger budget and more Summer Glau. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-perfect-action-movie/430503/17 "2007-12-18T21:48:19Z")
_Starship Troopers_ didn’t have realism or car chases, but it had enough T&A to make up for those shortcomings. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-perfect-action-movie/430503/18 "2007-12-18T21:51:04Z")
Any of the _Bourne_ movies do it for me - I’d go so far as to say the last two are the perfect example of pseudo-real action movies (though I confess that I missed the last quarter of _The Bourne Supremacy_ because the movie theater caught fire - and you can’t get more action than that). ---
**Author:** ![anamnesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@anamnesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anamnesis)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-perfect-action-movie/430503/19 "2007-12-18T21:51:15Z")
Aliens +1 … particularly because I know just how rushed the production schedule for it was. It’s incredible that it has stood the test of time and holds up as well today as it did twenty years ago when you consider how it was practically hot off the editing room reels and soundtrack scoring stage when it first hit cinemas. They didn’t have any time to polish it and it’s still gold. Cameron is notoriously picky about details and was forced to let so much slide, and Horner threw together a timeless action score for it in less than a week that still gets used in trailers and other promos to this day. Aliens is a testament to guerilla action filmmaking. ---
**Author:** ![Wildfire\_MM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f08c70/32.png) [@Wildfire\_MM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildfire_MM)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-perfect-action-movie/430503/20 "2007-12-18T21:52:36Z")
[QUOTE=control-z] What’s the best action movie out there? My criteria: 1. Lots of gun play. Somewhat realistic would be nice. 2. Car chases are a bonus 3. Minimal “slow” scenes. Keep the action coming. 4. Maybe throw in some nudity I’m told The Bourne Supremacy keeps things going throughout. The Bond films are pretty good, but tend to get bogged down in plot with the evil villans and all. Die Hard is good although it takes a while for things to start happening. [/QUOTE] A combination of 1, 2 & 3 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-perfect-action-movie/430503.md?page=2)