Although many incredible movies spanning all different genres have become cult classics over the years, action films are a category that immediately comes to mind, mostly given the quantity of incredibly influential movies it has delivered. This often has to do with their lasting imprint on audiences, whether because of the genre boundaries they transcended, the creative risks they took, or the unique and unconventional storytelling they featured, often elevated by stylish imagery.
To celebrate the number of iconic films that have become must-sees in this niche category, we look back at some of the best cult classic action movies of all time and rank them by their cult classic status. From Mad Max to Blade Runner, these movies manage to keep audiences equal parts entertained by their incredible action sequences and immersed in their worldbuilding.
They are:
- Mad Max (1979)
- Blade Runner (1982)
- Fight Club (1999)
- Oldboy (2003)
- Repo Man (1984)
- The Warriors (1979)
- Escape From New York (1981)
- Dredd (2012)
- Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)
- Point Break (1991)
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This more than anything drives home the fact that these listicles are very US-focused. If it hadn’t been for Oldboy and, you could argue, Dredd then this one would be blatantly embarrassing. But still… where is Seven Samurai or Kung-fu Hustle or Hard Boiled/The Killer or The Raid or, to some degree, Leon?
And Mad Max isn’t even the best Mad Max film.
Hmm… Run Lola Run, Who Killed Captain Alex, El Mariachi, too.
As far as US films, since it doesn’t have Bloodsport then forget it.
p.s. for the bystanders: !cultfilms@lemux.minnix.dev
Run Lola run is epic. If you like that movie you should check out Victoria (2015). The whole movie is one long take. It took 3x to get it right and it’s a masterpiece as far as epic filmmaking and choreography.
Ooo, subscribed.
Ditto. Good share.
This list is trash
And Mad Max isn’t even the best Mad Max film.
Yeah, well, you know, that’s just like, your opinion, man.
It’s totally Thunderdome
/s not /s
😋
If that’s your jam, rock it!
And now I’m imagining BrundleFly in the Thunderdome. Yeah, I’d watch that.
Collider pulls almost all of their spammy “top ten/top tips/top whatever” contents from reddit and they’re incredibly formulaic and mostly dumb.
I vote for The Road Warrior as the go-to for the Mad Max franchise.
The fuck? Mad Max is Australian-focused as all get out. How can you “argue Dredd” yet completely leave Mad Max out.
Fight Club and Blade Runner I wouldn’t really consider as action movies at all. You’d may as well put the Princess Bride in there if you’re playing that fast and loose with the genre.
The Raid definitely deserves a place. Id put Death Proof in there too, because I don’t think it’s all that well known.
Fight club…isn’t action in your mind? Literally half the movie is fighting.
I guess the difference for me is you don’t really watch Fight Club for the spectacle of the fight scenes, like you would in The Matrix or Die Hard. Yeah it’s got fighting in it but the action isn’t really the point of the movie, it’s about the growth of the fight club and relationship between the 3 main characters.
The raid absolutely, also Ong Bak fits into a cult classic action movie way better than most of these.
Gods. The Ong Bak and them flaming knees. The bloody tree in the opening. I don’t know how well it holds up, but when it came out I remember my jaw just hanging for basically the entire duration.
I’d never seen anything like it.
100%. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it but the tree scene in the beginning shouted “Buckle the fuck up” and it delivered.
It’s quintessential cult classic. Came out of nowhere (I was not aware of a booming Thai film industry), and had a huge impact.
Buckle the fuck up 🤣 These dudes are stuntmen and, yes, this is a movie. But ALSO these dudes are falling two straight storeys out of a goddamn tree and landing on their own bones… while punching each other on the way down
Agreed, as the comments talk about Fight Club, where’s the action in Blade Runner. There’s the shooting of Zhora(?) but what else?
The final rooftop encounter is a tense game of cat and mouse but I wouldn’t call it action.
The film may be generally disliked, but I think the entire freeway sequence of Matrix Reloaded is fantastic.
Most of these were major films that were loved by wide audiences, not cult classics.
half that list is far from a cult movie. Fight Club in particular may have similarly devoted fans, but the movie was a huge success on release, and that inherently prevents cult status. If a movie is popular across the board, it shouldn’t be on any “cult” list.
Not to mention that classing it as an action movie is a stretch
I think Equilibrium should be up there, in terms of action movies.
Great suggestion.
Yes! That’s what I was trying to remember the name for…
Nothing about the 1995 Dredd movie? What makes a cult classic is highly subjective, but I think it should be hard to find. Makes the hunt more fun. I found out very recently that Big Trouble in Little China is not really available on streaming services. I bought the blu-ray.
Does Boondocks Saints qualify?
Blues Brothers, for the scenes with Carrie Fisher, and the car chase at the end. That has to be on any list that wants to be taken serious.
