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10 Action Movies With the Best Cinematography

Published 2 weeks ago10 minute read

provides a uniquely engaging way to watch movies. all from the comfort of a living room or theater, getting hearts pounding and pulses pumping in ways that most other genres can't. The best action movies provide what many would argue is the very essence of cinema: escapism.

is one of the fundamental pillars of filmmaking. Good cinematography helps establish iconography— visual images that imprint on viewers' minds and leave a lasting impression. , and this is especially so when it comes to action movies. Visceral and kinetic thrills can be elevated through effective camera work, and these 10 action movies express that sentiment elegantly.

Cary Grant as Roger Thornhill, wearing a suit and running away from a crop duster plane in North by Northwest
Image via MGM

The normal life of New York advertising executive Roger Thornhill () is threatened when a group of foreign spies mistake him for a government agent. Being framed for murder forces Thornhill on the run, with both the dangerous spies and law enforcement hot on his trail. The intervention of a mysterious yet beautiful Eve Kendall () complicates matters even further.

For anyone even remotely familiar with film in any capacity, . While his horror and suspense efforts are often held in the highest regard, is an action-adventure movie that stands out as one of the genre's finest. On a technical level, —thatremains to this day as one of the most impressive feats of action cinematography (especially considering its age) ever put to the screen.

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North By Northwest

September 8, 1959

136 minutes

A New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt.

Alfred Hitchcock

Ernest Lehman

$4.3 million

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Ethan Hunt jumps from a plane and free falls in a parachute suit in 'Mission: Impossible - Fallout'
Image via Paramount Pictures

Formed from the remnants of the Syndicate, the Apostles are a criminal organization planning a multipronged nuclear attack that threatens the lives of millions. Once again under scrutiny for their operational procedures, Ethan Hunt () and the IMF are forced to collaborate with hardheaded CIA agent August Walker (). Old enemies and allies alike throw their hats into the ring in a race for plutonium cores.

Not only the strongest movie of the excellent franchise, . Cruise is a name often associated with truly insane stunts (especially in the Mission: Impossible series), but he's operating on . Thankfully, the quality of the cinematography reflects his daredevil efforts; it's kinetic, concise and overall glorious work. .

Mission Impossible Fallout Movie Poster
Mission: Impossible - Fallout

July 25, 2018

148 Minutes


Ethan Hunt and his IMF team, along with some familiar allies, race against time after a mission gone wrong.

A female FBI agent, played by Emily Blunt, in tactical gear while looking concerned
Image via Lionsgate

Astute FBI agent Kate Macer () is assigned . As Macer becomes more embroiled in a world of violence that far exceeds anything she has experienced before, she soon realizes that their fight against drug trafficking is far from virtuous.

Not only one of the , is one of . Expertly crafted and tense from the very first frame to the last, . This is thanks in no small part to legendary cinematographer . His work here may not be the most bombastic of his career, but it could very well be his most efficient and effective. The use of naturalistic lighting and long takes make the world (and brutality) of Sicario feel all the more palpable and dangerous.

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Sicario

September 17, 2015

122 minutes


An idealistic FBI agent is enlisted by a government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico.

Denis Villeneuve

Taylor Sheridan

Basil Iwanyk, Edward McDonnell, Ellen H. Schwartz, Molly Smith, Thad Luckinbill, Stacy Perskie

Sicario: Day Of The Soldado

Action

Alejandro Gillick, Kate Macer, Matt Graver, Dave Jennings, Ted, Reggie Wayne, Steve Forsing, Rafael, Fausto Alarcon, Phil Coopers, Manuel Diaz, Silvio, Burnett, Guillermo, Silvio's Wife, Eliseo, Delta Leader, Delta #2, Swat Officer, Coroner (Phoenix), Phoenix Cop, Air Force MP, AIC Guard, US Marshal, US Marshal Keith

$30 million

Sony

Sony, Lionsgate

Two men exchanging blows in Gareth Edwards' 'The Raid: Redemption' (2011)
Image via PT Merantau Films

Set in the slums of Jakarta, Indonesia, a towering and derelict apartment building serves as the safe house of a powerful drug lord and his army of thugs. While previously left untouched by the local authorities, . Unfortunately for the officers, their cover quickly becomes blown, and the team finds themselves vastly outnumbered and outgunned.

is a breathless example of . It's a landmark effort in stunt coordination, fight choreography, and high-intensity direction that is the for their audience. The close-quarters combat is captured with an efficiency and effectiveness that's all too uncommon in action movies. Thanks to the stellar camerawork, every punch, kick, and stab feels .

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The Raid: Redemption

March 23, 2012

101 minutes

A S.W.A.T. team becomes trapped in a tenement run by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs.

Gareth Evans

Gareth Evans

The Raid 2

The Raid

$1.1 million

Sony

Sony

Keanu Reeves as John Wick walking in a Church lit by dozens of candles in 'John Wick: Chapter 4.'
Image via Lionsgate

The world's most feared assassin, John Wick (), returns in this fourth entry to the franchise. After being hunted to the edge of the Earth by rivals and previous employers, , a shadowy organization with the keys to his freedom. Wick must find an alliance with the few people left he can trust if he ever wishes his life to return to normalcy.

; these are movies that appeal to the sensibilities of any action junkie, providing visceral shootouts, car chases and viscous hand-to-hand b. The success of can be attributed to the technical finesse on display, especially when it comes to the cinematography. There's a rhythm to the carnage— a bullet ballet that's and even harder to not be impressed by.

John Wick Chapter 4 Poster
John Wick: Chapter 4

March 24, 2023

169 minutes


With the price on his head ever increasing, legendary hit man John Wick takes his fight against the High Table global as he seeks out the most powerful players in the underworld, from New York to Paris to Japan to Berlin.

Chad Stahelski

Shay Hatten, Michael Finch

John Wick, John Wick: Chapter 2, John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum

John Wick

Lionsgate

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Arthur fighting a man in a spinning hallway in Inception.
Image via Warner Bros.

Dom Cobb () and his associates have revolutionized the art of thievery; they conduct operations within the dreams of their targets, . With retirement in sight and a promise of his freedom, Cobb accepts one last job that will require him and his crew to implant an idea into the subconscious of a powerful CEO heir.

Visionary director and out-there concepts go hand in hand, and might behis most ambitious work to date. While it can still be enjoyed on the surface level as a heist/action epic, that many modern blockbusters can only dream of. The cinematography adds immensely to the experience; the set pieces are visually stunning, .

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Inception

July 16, 2010

148 minutes

A thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O., but his tragic past may doom the project and his team to disaster.

Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan

Inception

Action

Cobb, Arthur, Ariadne, Eames, Saito, Yusuf, Robert Fischer, Browning, Mal, Maurice Fischer, Miles, Nash, Tadashi, Phillipa (3 Years Old), James (20 Months Old), Phillipa (5 Years Old), James (3 Years Old), Japanese Security Guard, Saito's Attendant, Elderly Bald Man, Lawyer, Flight Attendant, Cab Driver, Thin Man

$160 million

Warner Bros. Pictures

Warner Bros. Pictures

Toshirô Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Yoshio Inaba, Daisuke Katô, Isao Kimura, Seiji Miyaguchi, and Takashi Shimura ready to fight in 'Seven Samurai'
Image via Toho

Set in 16th-century Japan, . After gathering six other samurai to assist him, they begin to train the village people how to defend themselves. With a fierce battle looming over the horizon, and fight for those they swore to protect.

Widely accepted as one of the greatest movies ever made, is an action epic ,despite being over 70 years old. Few movies have a visual style this elegant; . Every frame in Seven Samurai could be a painting, and that extends to the excellent and expansive battle sequences. .

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Seven Samurai

April 26, 1954

207 Minutes

A poor village under attack by bandits recruits seven unemployed samurai to help them defend themselves.

Akira Kurosawa

Akira Kurosawa

Action

$580,000

Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures

Neo (Keanu Reeves) stopping bullets in 'The Matrix'
Image via Warner Bros.

Thomas Anderson () works a day job as a meek computer programmer but otherwise operates as a hacker known in the underworld as Neo. When Neo is presented with the opportunity to learn the truth behind humanity's existence, he accepts. The rabbit hole Neo enters goes deeper than he could've ever imagined, learning who will save the human race from simulated bondage.

. It's a turn-of-the-century sci-fi epic that changed the landscape of filmmaking as a whole. With its revolutionary computer-generated visuals and grand, existential scale, The Matrix is an exceedingly impressive piece of work. None of it would be nearly as effective if it wasn't for the masterful camerawork. Things were in The Matrix that had never been accomplished before. From the color grade to the revolutionary integration of complex camera movements, .

The Matrix Poster
The Matrix

March 31, 1999

136 minutes

When a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding underworld, he discovers the shocking truth--the life he knows is the elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence.

Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) wielding a sword in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Image via Sony Pictures Classics

Set in early 19th-century China, a generational swordsman named Li Mu Bai () decides to retire and give up his legendary Green Destiny sword. named Yu Shu Lien (). When the treasured blade is stolen by a mysterious young thief, Bai and Lien must race to recover it on an epic journey that spans the Chinese frontier.

. Martial arts movies are often known for their bombastic flair; in that regard, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is especially impressive. . The imagination and ingenuity on display when it comes to framing and composition, especially in the fight scenes, inspire in ways that are sure to reinforce anybody's love for movies. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a movie that's .

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Movie Poster
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

December 8, 2000

120 Minutes

A young Chinese warrior steals a sword from a famed swordsman and then escapes into a world of romantic adventure with a mysterious man in the frontier of the nation.

Ang Lee

Wang Hui-ling, James Schamus, Tsai Kuo-jung

Action

$17 Million

Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia, Good Machine International, Edko Films, Zoom Hunt Productions

Sony Pictures Classics

Big explosion in Mad Max Fury Road - 2015
Image via Warner Bros.

The apocalypse has left the world a barren desert wasteland. ; it's the lifeblood of the wasteland and the fuel source of rusted war machines. Max Rockatansky () navigates the landscape as a vagabond with no loyalties or friendships, only a desire to outrun a troubled past. After a run-in with the hardened and fearless Furiosa (), Max finds an unlikely ally in a race to an alleged promised land.

is a towering cinematic achievement in every regard. Unabashedly visionary and visually spectacular,. The adherence to practical effects and daring stunt work , as does the frenetic yet tight editing. There's a near-psychedelic beauty in the way Mad Max: Fury Road is put together, with the cinematography in particular elevating the thrills of the movie into the stratosphere. Never in the history of cinema has action ever been shot with such energy and vigor. Mad Max: Fury Road is a movie that needs to be seen to be believed.

Mad Max Fury Road Poster
Mad Max: Fury Road

Release Date
May 14, 2015

Runtime
120 Minutes

Director
George Miller

Writers
George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, Nick Lathouris

Prequel(s)
Mad Max, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Sequel(s)
Mad Max: The Wasteland

Franchise(s)
Mad Max

Budget
$154-185 Million

Studio(s)
Village Roadshow Pictures, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, Kennedy Miller Mitchell

Distributor(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures

NEXT: 10 Movies With the Worst Cinematography, Ranked

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