Action

12 Monkeys directed by Terry Gilliam (1995)
[7/10]
"We come to expect the ending, but I felt somewhat disappointed with the conclusion, which left me with an empty feeling like an unfulfilled promise."
Above the Law directed by Andrew Davis (1988)
[5/10]
"Admittedly a formula movie, but one that works well within the formula and still provides a satisfying time for action fans."
Air Force One directed by Wolfgang Petersen (1997)
[6/10]
"Air Force One provides good action and some suspenseful moments, but after multiple viewings, you find yourself saying, 'Oh, sure. Like the president would really have . . .'"
Akira directed by Katsuhiro Otomo (1988)
[7/10]
"Most viewers who like science fiction should find Akira an accessible story, but I highly recommend reading the six volume graphic novel for a richer, more detailed version of the story."
Avengers, The directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik (1998)
[3/10]
"The story line limps along and no amount of explosions or fight scenes can save us from the compounding ennui."
Beowulf (2007)
[4/10]
"The low quality animation made me feel like I was watching a cut scene from a video game. For the entire film, I kept getting the feeling that at any moment the cut scene would end, and I would have to take up the game controller to battle the monsters."
Brothers Grimm, The directed by Terry Gilliam (2005)
[6/10]
"Expect to laugh, but you shouldn't expect comedy on the order of Gilliam's Monty Python days."
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle directed by McG (2003)
[4/10]
"It doesn't really matter to what assignment Charlie sends the angles since the film follows the path of greatest skin exposure, highest number of explosions, and maximum stern looks from Lucy Liu."
Chronicles of Narnia, The: Prince Caspian directed by Andrew Adamson (2008)
[7/10]
"Director Andrew Adamson again does an excellent job bringing the spare details of C. S. Lewis's Prince Caspian to epic proportions on the screen."
Chronicles of Narnia, The: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe directed by Andrew Adamson (2005)
[8/10]
"On the whole, Adamson has faithfully captured the essence of Lewis's book and given a movie audience the adventure story it expects."
Cuba Libre by Elmore Leonard (1998)
[5/10]
"Leonard provides pretty standard fair: a cowboy, a love interest, an evil secret police captain, a need for revenge, several shootouts, and a few close calls. Good, light reading appropriate for a day at the beach or the down time on your vacation."
Die Hard directed by John McTiernan (1988)
[9/10]
"You can watch Die Hard over and over and still get a pleasant thrill with each viewing."
Dirty Dozen, The directed by Robert Aldrich (1967)
[7/10]
"Compared to today's action genre, The Dirty Dozen doesn't have nearly as many scenes of intense action, but it does manage to entertain with it's fairly well composed plot and well integrated subplots."
Eragon directed by Stefen Fangmeier (2006)
[5/10]
"If you have never read the book Eragon, then the movie provides a simple yet satisfying teen adventure story."
Flyboys directed by Tony Bill (2006)
[6/10]
"Essentially, you should see Flyboys for the excellent dogfights. You need the basic story line so you will care enough about the pilots when they die, but otherwise the plot doesn't do much to enlighten the audience about Americans serving in the French military as some of the first wartime aviators."
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai directed by Jim Jarmusch (1999)
[6/10]
"Jim Jarmusch creates an interesting mood of honor and despair. Ghost Dog comfortably follows the samurai code, which Ghost Dog regularly presents as voiced over narrative accompanied by the text of the code on the screen -- in the style of a PBS biographical documentary."
Gladiator directed by Ridley Scott (2000)
[8/10]
"Gladiator succeeds as a hero story, and Louis DiGiaimo should get some recognition for casting actors into perfect parts for their characters. I enjoyed the battles and the recreation of 2nd century Rome, but Gladiator doesn't carry the depth of feeling you get from other hero movies, such as Spartacus or Braveheart, and probably won't endure time as well as Alien, Blade Runner, or some other Ridley Scott films. "
Glimmer Man, The directed by John Gray (1996)
[6/10]
"The plot moves quickly along the thinnest of threads but holds together just enough to provide plenty of opportunities for explosions, shootings, gruesome murder scenes, and, of course, hand-to-hand combat -- especially in places with lots of glass and furniture."
Golden Child, The directed by Michael Ritchie (1986)
[5/10]
"Generally funny, but not riotously so."
Hard to Kill directed by Bruce Malmuth (1990)
[5/10]
"A moderately fun romp with plenty of action, although Seagal's character probably disables just as many people with his gun as he does with martial arts."
History of Violence, A directed by David Cronenberg (2005)
[6/10]
"A History of Violence asks serious questions about the generational effects of violence, but fails to provide any solid answers to these questions."
Hot Fuzz directed by Edgar Wright (2007)
[7/10]
"I didn't find Hot Fuzz as riotously funny as Shaun of the Dead. Hot Fuzz has much more subtle humor, mostly irony created by the totally metropolitan Angel trying to fit in to a small town lifestyle. But Hot Fuzz has a much more intelligent plot than Shaun of the Dead."
Incredibles, The directed by Brad Bird (2004)
[9/10]
"Before seeing The Incredibles in the theater, I was skeptical after hearing all the hype from the media and friends about the film. Without even a grudge, I have to say the movie lived up to most of the hype, and it has taken its place in my mind as Disney's all-time best animated movie."
Jumanji directed by Joe Johnston (1995)
[5/10]
"A movie with a promising premise, but the frame stories created to present the premise lack adequate character development to make all the special effects worth watching, especially since half the characters have their development revoked at the end of the film."
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang directed by Shane Black (2006)
[5/10]
"Individual scenes did make me laugh, but no synergy takes place between the noir and parody elements to make Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang more than a well-made, well-intentioned curiosity."
Kung Fu Hustle directed by Stephen Chow (2004)
[8/10]
"Kung Fu Hustle takes all the stereotypes of the martial arts genre, exaggerates them to an extreme, and provides a hilarious tribute to the genre."
Kung Fu Panda directed by Mark Osborne, John Stevenson (2008)
[6/10]
"Watching Kung Fu Panda, I came to the realization that animated martial arts just don't impress me. No one had to study for years in order to make the amazing moves demonstrated on the screen. Instead, the characters were just drawn that way."
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider directed by Simon West (2001)
[5/10]
"You get lots of action, and you get to watch a shapely heroine blast away tons of bad guys and a few animated stone creatures, but you can put your brain on vacation and just let your testosterone enjoy this one."
Last Boy Scout, The directed by Tony Scott (1991)
[4/10]
"The Last Boy Scout tries to look like a Die Hard movie but never quite delivers a satisfying stream of action."
Lethal Weapon directed by Richard Donner (1987)
[7/10]
"The characters, plot, and action all mesh effortlessly. Most action movies sacrifice plot and characterization for the sake of action, but Lethal Weapon balances its action with a logical plot that truly demonstrates a need for the use of lethal force."
Lord of War directed by Andrew Niccol (2006)
[5/10]
"From the Lord of War trailers, I expected an action movie, but writer/director Andrew Niccol has infused his film with political messages that unfortunately interfere with my enjoyment of the film."
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World directed by Peter Weir (2003)
[9/10]
"Master and Commander excels at presenting a picture of life on a nineteenth century naval vessel: close quarters, dirty living conditions, and a high likelihood of receiving severe wounds or dying."
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie directed by Bryan Spicer (1995)
[5/10]
"I doubt that you could enjoy the movie on its own merits; you have to see it as an extension of the Power Rangers story line established in the first couple of television seasons. But for Power Rangers fans, this movie still holds entertainment value, even after repeated viewings."
Mission: Impossible directed by Brian De Palma (1996)
[6/10]
"I can understand killing off one or two of the team members to provide a revenge motivation for the rest of the team, but killing off the entire team, including Phelps, departs so radically from the traditions of the TV series, that only the first twenty minutes really deserve the name Mission: Impossible."
Night at the Museum directed by Shawn Levy (2006)
[5/10]
"You don't want to think too hard about the premise or the motivations behind the characters, but you can have a few good laughs watching Stiller in a typical slapstick role."
On Deadly Ground directed by Steven Seagal (1994)
[1/10]
"Hot off the success of Under Siege, Warner Brothers let Steven Seagal direct On Deadly Ground. What a mistake. Someone has probably made a worse movie, but I haven't seen it."
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest directed by Gore Verbinski (2006)
[6/10]
"If you want action and don't care much about plot or character development, then see Dead Man's Chest. If you like your action movies to have some purpose behind the action, then you will probably find this movie runs a bit long -- like I did."
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl directed by Gore Verbinski (2003)
[8/10]
"Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl provides a fresh, funny adventure story that you can watch over and over."
Pok�mon the First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back directed by Michael Haigney, Kunohiko Yuyama (1999)
[4/10]
"I find the Pok�mon TV series (at least the first couple of seasons) fun and interesting, but the movie lacks most of the endearing qualities of the series. My two-year-old, who sat through all of The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland begged me to take her home."
Poseidon Adventure, The directed by Ronald Neame (1972)
[7/10]
"Classic disaster fare with good character development and some interesting religious philosophy thrown into the mix."
Shi mian mai fu [House of Flying Daggers] directed by Yimou Zhang (2004)
[6/10]
"Even if I weren't tired of watching martial artists dancing in the treetops, Yimou Zhang's House of Flying Daggers lacks the depth of story found in many of the recent Hong Kong martial arts epics such as Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and even his own Hero."
Silverado directed by Lawrence Kasdan (1985)
[9/10]
"Westerns and comedies don't get much better than Silverado. You get good crisp writing, witty remarks, great characters, and fun rough-and-tumble, .45-blasting action."
Siu Lam Juk Kau [Shaolin Soccer] directed by Stephen Chow (2001)
[7/10]
"Although not as riotously and continuously funny as Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer does have quite a few good laughs, and you can see how this successful venture led to the even funnier Kung Fu Hustle."
Snakes on a Plane directed by David R. Ellis (2006)
[4/10]
"Sure, Snakes on a Plane just duplicates the clich�s of most air-disaster movies, but with Samuel L. Jackson, you just have more fun watching the mayhem."
Such�mub�i [Steamboy] directed by Katsuhiro Otomo (2004)
[8/10]
"Ray's adventures as Steamboy provide a fun romp through an alternate history where advances in steam power accelerate the development of technologies."
Superman Returns directed by Bryan Singer (2006)
[7/10]
"Bryan Singer has collected an excellent cast and presented a new and interesting addition to the Superman saga that surpasses all the previous Superman efforts."
Three Musketeers, The by Alexandre Dumas (1844)
[7/10]
"Dumas weaves action and intrigue (and almost no character development) into a classic story that still fascinates."
U-571 directed by Jonathan Mostow (2000)
[6/10]
"Mostow has created a good action picture with cardboard characters and a cliched plot. He spends too much time in the first half of U-571 trying to show the realities of submarine life and neglects details that would make the audience care about the characters."
Under Siege directed by Andrew Davis (1992)
[6/10]
"Under Siege provides some good bone-crunching, blood-spattering fun that mostly outweigh Seagal's bad acting and some weak plot points."
Wanted directed by Timur Bekmambetov (2008)
[8/10]
"Over half of the film centers on Wesley training to take his place in the guild of assassins. Wesley doesn't have much fun training, but the film moves the story along with a nice combination of explosions, rapid-fire gunfights, chase scenes, and the discovery of cool and interesting things about the weavers' heritage and skills. You don't get a lot of deep thought out of Wanted, but you do get a fun, adolescent romp filled with plenty of action."
War of the Worlds, The directed by Byron Haskin (1953)
[7/10]
"By today's standards, The War of the Worlds has pretty unbelievable effects, but you can tell that Haskin took enormous care with the effects available to him at the time. The effects do work well to establish the deadly nature of the Martians and the unbelievable firepower they could produce with even just a single craft."
War of the Worlds directed by Steven Spielberg (2005)
[7/10]
"When a story remains popular for over a hundred years, clearly the elements strike a chord in the human psyche, and who better than Stephen Spielberg to know how to make a movie that resonates that chord in modern audiences."
Wo Hu Cang Long [Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon] directed by Ang Lee (2000)
[9/10]
"I have tried to watch Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon with a critical eye, but the engaging story and the absolutely gorgeous cinematography always distract me from my critical view and by the end, I just sigh like you would after taking a bite of the most succulent cheesecake."
Zathura directed by Jon Favreau (2005)
[6/10]
"If you've seen Jumanji, then you pretty much have seen Zathura. In essence, a couple of kids find an old game, start to play, and then realize that the game affects reality in quite serious and perilous ways."

Average score: 6.19