20. SPL II: A Time for Consequences (2015, China)
The SPL trilogy (renamed Kill Zone internationally) is something special in that the films are wholly unrelated outside of some shared themes and cast members, but while 2005’s original remains the best of the bunch this follow-up is nearly as good. (2017’s Paradox is essentially the third film, and it’s worth watching too.) Tony Jaa, Wu Jing, and Zhang Jin are the three action leads, and good gravy do they deliver. The prison fight is an all-timer, and the three show a variety of fighting styles throughout that keep things lively and visually interesting. (Rob Hunter)
19. Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012)
It took me a very long time to watch Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning. I just couldn’t imagine that a direct-to-video sequel to a dead Jean-Claude Van Damme franchise would be anything other than absolute, rotting trash. Pfft. Don’t be such an asshole. Here is a film that proves that all any filmmaker needs is confidence, energy, and ingenuity to make something pop. Day of Reckoning picks a few bones from the corpse of the original franchise and stitches an entirely different beast together. Director John Hyams knows what action-heads need: broken bones, decapitations, streams of bullets penetrating an endless wall of villainous flesh. No one cares what bloated movies came before, Day of Reckoning is baller AF. (Brad Gullickson)
18. Blade of the Immortal (2017, Japan)
Takashi Miike is a legend who has directed nearly ninety movies and shows little sign of slowing down. He’s dabbled in pretty much every genre from musicals to comedies to horror to kids flicks, but it’s the world of killers killing and being killed that he calls home. This manga adaptation follows an immortal samurai slicing and dicing his way through hundreds of henchmen, and if you need to know more than that before watching I’m not sure we can be friends. Miike delivers an attractive film with humor and humanity, but it’s the epic amounts of swordplay and bloodshed that pushes this film into the top tier of his filmography. (Rob Hunter)
17. Ninja: Shadow of a Tear (2013, Thailand)
Speed, baby, speed. Scott Adkins is a flash on screen. Cinema does not need to splice around him, it only needs to contain him within the frame. Director Isaac Florentine knows to pull his camera back and just watch. The martial artist does all the rest. In that way, Adkins recalls the insane physical prowess of Bruce Lee. Filmmakers simply require the loosest of plots to plant him. Whatever gets him into scraps against muggers, henchmen, and assassins gets the job done. Adkins is the marvel, the movie is secondary. (Brad Gullickson)
16. Tokyo Tribe (2014, Japan)
Tokyo Tribe is part comedy, part musical, total action. Sion Sono puts all of his love and all of his soul into one film, and the result is a manic blast of energy. In this Japan, gangs own the streets. You either sign up or get lost in the chum of humanity. The film lulls you into its style, but by climax end, the world is rupturing from every side, and you’re screaming from the bleachers. (Brad Gullickson)
15. Avengement (2019, UK)
Rage, baby, rage. Scott Adkins is a beast on screen. The speedster who can barely be contained within a frame slows way the hell down for Avengement. He’s not here to be flashy. He’s here to embody anger. As a kid brother mutated by jail, who escapes so that his kin can feel the pain he experienced behind bars, Adkins screams with every twisting movement whether you hear him or not. Avengement is a brutal film that wants you to clock every bone crack, see every blood vessel pop, and feel every eyeball get gouged. Your enjoyment over the proceedings will depend on your own mood of the day. You feelin’ nasty? Avengment will have you laughing your balls off. You feelin’ queasy? Avengement will send you to the toilet. You feelin’ cheery? You’ll think you’re ringside at the MGM Grand as Tyson’s gnashing ears. (Brad Gullickson)
14. Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)
This franchise has been consistently good since its inception, but it just keeps getting better as Tom Cruise gets older. He seems to be enjoying his midlife years as an extreme daredevil, and it’s a joy to watch. When you see a crazy action set-piece involving everyone’s favorite Scientologist in these movies, you know it’s legit. Fallout sees him dive out of airplanes and jump between roofs like it’s nothing, and it’s just glorious. And the rest of the movie lives up to the same ridiculously great standards. (Kieran Fisher)
13. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019)
John Wick needs nothing. Whether afforded the amenities of the High Table or not, every inch of his person is a (un)registered deadly weapon. Chapter 2 showed his skill with a pencil. Chapter 3 shows his skill with a book. All items in his hands transform into WMDs. We just kick back to see what trinkets he’ll use next. While the mythology of the series expands into even stranger realms, John Wick Chapter 3 maintains the pleasures of the first film by leaning heavily into Keanu Reeves’ smoldering confidence. He’s not afraid. He lives only for his wife’s memory, and he wears the pain of her loss like an iron maiden. That shit is sexy. (Brad Gullickson)
12. Dredd (2012, UK)
Karl Urban keeps the helmet on and the frown planted. As the most feared officer on the streets of Mega-City One, he lords over the citizenry like a demigod, and only the most brazen of outlaws would dare to stand in his way. Meet Ma-Ma (Lena Headey), boss of the Peach Trees, and terror of the underworld. She gains his attention after tossing a batch of skinned snitches from the tippy top of her apartment fortress and ignites a block war… or as Dredd would refer to it, “just another drug bust.” Mega-City One is every possible American hell made manifest. Where the very act of living marks you as a criminal, but hopefully, the Hall of Justice has their hands too full to notice your minor infringements. Just pray Judge Dredd never turns down your street. (Brad Gullickson)
Related Topics: Action, Decade Rewind
