Welcome to my ever-expanding list of the best action hero movies in English. I intend to make this site the ultimate resource for English-speaking action hero movie junkies & connoisseurs.
Movies rated EXCELLENT 🥇
The BEST action hero movies available
These are the very best action hero movies I have found thus far, to my taste.
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1999The Matrix★ Keanu Reeves
☆ Laurence Fishburne
☆ Carrie-Anne Moss
☆ Hugo Weaving9.5 -
1988Bloodsport★ Jean-Claude Van Damme
☆ Bolo Yeung
☆ Donald Gibb9.5 -
2017The Foreigner★ Jackie Chan
☆ Pierce Brosnan
☆ Rory Fleck Byrne9.0 -
1986Crocodile Dundee★ Paul Hogan
☆ Linda Kozlowski9.0
Movies rated VERY GOOD 🥈
These movies are all epic classics, but also lacking something compared to the very best movies of all time (listed above). So when you’re short of something to watch, and haven’t seen these in the last few years, they provide solid entertainment value. Boring bits are few and far between. First-time viewers will probably rate them even higher, but they may get over-cheesy or other flaws may appear for many-time re-watchers. Enjoy!
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2014The Equalizer★ Denzel Washington8.5
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2011Thor★ Chris Hemsworth
☆ Natalie Portman8.5 -
2010The Book Of Eli★ Denzel Washington8.5
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2007Hitman★ Timothy Olyphant
☆ Olga Kurylenko8.5 -
2003The Rundown★ Dwayne Johnson
★ Seann William Scott
☆ Christopher Walken
☆ Rosario Dawson8.5 -
2003Bulletproof Monk★ Chow Yun-Fat
★ Seann William Scott8.5 -
2002The Transporter★ Jason Statham
☆ Shu Qi
☆ François Berléand8.5 -
2002Equilibrium★ Christian Bale
☆ Sean Bean8.5 -
2001The Order★ Jean-Claude Van Damme8.5
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1998Blade★ Wesley Snipes8.5
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1998Soldier★ Kurt Russell
☆ Jason Scott Lee8.5 -
1996The Quest★ Jean-Claude Van Damme
☆ Roger Moore8.5 -
1989Kickboxer★ Jean-Claude Van Damme8.5
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1985No Retreat, No Surrender★ Kurt McKinney
☆ Jean-Claude Van Damme8.5
Note: I’m constantly developing the ratings system and shuffling movies around, so don’t pay too much attention to exact rating scores – they’re always liable to change a bit, but should be roughly in the right ballpark already.
Movies rated PRETTY GOOD 🥉
We’re getting much further down the list now, but these are still legendary movies! The only reason they’re ranked so low is because they’re beaten by those ranked higher. These movies are still quite entertaining for the most part, and can be very enjoyable for first time viewers. If you’ve never seen them before, you definitely need to check them out – every single one of them. They are all very noteworthy contributions to the action movie archives, well worth rewatching every few years.
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2022Black Adam★ Dwayne Johnson
☆ Pierce Brosnan8 -
2018Aquaman★ Jason Mamoa8
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2017Wonder Woman★ Gal Gadot
☆ Chris Pine8 -
2017Ghost In The Shell★ Scarlett Johansson8
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2016The Accountant★ Ben Affleck8
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2016Mechanic: Resurrection★ Jason Statham
☆ Jessica Alba8 -
2014The Legend of Hercules★ Kellan Lutz
☆ Scott Adkins8 -
2014Lucy★ Scarlett Johansson8
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2014Divergent★ Shailene Woodley
★ Theo James8 -
2013Ninja II: Shadow Of A Tear★ Scott Adkins8
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2011Colombiana★ Zoe Saldaña8
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2009Ninja★ Scott Adkins8
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2009Ninja Assassin★ Jung Ji-Hoon (Rain)8
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2008Wanted★ James McAvoy
★ Angelina Jolie
☆ Morgan Freeman8 -
2001The One★ Jet Li
☆ Jason Statham
☆ Delroy Lindo8 -
2000Romeo Must Die★ Jet Li
☆ Aaliyah8 -
1995Waterworld★ Kevin Costner8
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1995Hackers★ Jonny Lee Miller
★ Angelina Jolie8 -
1993Hard Target★ Jean-Claude Van Damme
☆ Yancy Butler8 -
1992Universal Soldier★ Jean-Claude Van Damme
☆ Dolph Lundgren8
Movies rated DECENT
These movies are still thoroughly entertaining for first time viewers and people who haven’t seen them in many years. They’re slightly weaker than those above, but are still quite strong action hero movies. They’re pretty much all classics.
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2023Blue Beetle★ Xolo Maridueña
☆ Bruna Marquezine7.5 -
2023The Equalizer 3★ Denzel Washington7.5
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2022Black Panther: Wakanda Forever★ Tenoch Huerta
★ Letitia Wright7.5 -
2020Bloodshot★ Vin Diesel7.5
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2019Hobbs & Shaw★ Dwayne Johnson
★ Jason Statham7.5 -
2018The Equalizer 2★ Denzel Washington7.5
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2018Hotel Artemis★ Dave Bautista7.5
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2018Black Panther★ Chadwick Boseman
★ Michael B Jordan7.5 -
2018Venom★ Tom Hardy7.5
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2016Doctor Strange★ Benedict Cumberbatch7.5
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2015Jupiter Ascending★ Channing Tatum7.5
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2014Hercules★ Dwayne Johnson7.5
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201347 Ronin★ Keanu Reeves7.5
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2011Limitless★ Bradley Cooper
☆ Robert De Niro7.5 -
2008Jumper★ Hayden Christensen
☆ Samuel L Jackson7.5 -
2008Transporter 3★ Jason Statham7.5
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2008Iron Man★ Robert Downey Jr7.5
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2005Transporter 2★ Jason Statham7.5
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2005Elektra★ Jennifer Garner7.5
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2004Catwoman★ Halle Berry7.5
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2003Daredevil★ Ben Affleck
☆ Jennifer Garner7.5 -
1999Inferno★ Jean-Claude Van Damme7.5
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1996The Glimmer Man★ Steven Seagal7.5
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1995The Hunted★ Christopher Lambert7.5
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1995First Knight★ Richard Gere
☆ Sean Connery7.5 -
1994Fist Of Legend★ Jet Li7.5
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1994Léon: The Professional★ Jean Reno
★ Natalie Portman7.5 -
1992Under Siege★ Steven Seagal7.5
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1992The Master★ Jet Li7.5
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1991Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves★ Kevin Costner7.5
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1991If Looks Could Kill★ Richard Grieco7.5
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1989The Karate Kid Part III★ Ralph Macchio
★ Pat Morita7.5 -
1987The Living Daylights★ Timothy Dalton
☆ Maryam d’Abo
☆ Andreas Wisniewski7.5 -
1984The Karate Kid★ Ralph Macchio
★ Pat Morita7.5
Movies rated ABOVE AVERAGE
These movies are slightly Above Average. Just a touch better than those rated OK (below) but slightly falling short of the more impressive movies rated Decent (above).
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2024Code 8: Part II★ Robbie Amell
★ Stephen Amell7.25 -
2019Code 8★ Robbie Amell
★ Stephen Amell7.25 -
2016Boyka: Undisputed IV★ Scott Adkins7.25
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2016Undisputed III: Redemption★ Scott Adkins7.25
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2011Assassination Games★ Jean-Claude Van Damme
★ Scott Adkins7.25 -
2001Replicant★ Jean-Claude Van Damme7.25
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2000Shanghai Noon★ Jackie Chan7.25
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1999Blue Streak★ Martin Lawrence7.25
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1999Universal Soldier: The Return★ Jean-Claude Van Damme
☆ Bill Goldberg
☆ Michael Jai White7.25 -
1995Sudden Death★ Jean-Claude Van Damme7.25
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1994Timecop★ Jean-Claude Van Damme7.25
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1994The Bodyguard from Beijing★ Jet Li7.25
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1993Demolition Man★ Sylvester Stallone
★ Wesley Snipes
★ Sandra Bullock7.25 -
1984Beverly Hills Cop★ Eddie Murphy7.25
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1977The Spy Who Loved Me★ Roger Moore
☆ Barbara Bach
☆ Richard Kiel
☆ Curd Jürgens7.25 -
1973Enter The Dragon★ Bruce Lee7.25
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1973Live And Let Die★ Roger Moore
☆ Jane Seymour
☆ Clifton James7.25 -
1964Goldfinger★ Sean Connery
☆ Gert Fröbe
☆ Harold Sakata7.25
Movies rated OK
These movies are Average. They’re mildly entertaining if you’ve not seen them before or in many years. Not as exciting as those above, but far from dustbin material. Many of these are highly memorable classics too.
MOVIE | STARS | RATING |
---|---|---|
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) | Benedict Cumberbatch | 7 |
The Matrix Resurrections (2021) | Keanu Reeves | 7 |
The Magnificent Seven (2016) | Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt | 7 |
Hard Target 2 (2016) | Scott Adkins | 7 |
Hitman: Agent 47 (2015) | Rupert Friend | 7 |
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014) | Chris Pine | 7 |
The Mechanic (2011) | Jason Statham | 7 |
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) | Chris Evans | 7 |
Iron Man 2 (2010) | Robert Downey Jr | 7 |
The Karate Kid (2010) | Jackie Chan, Jaden Smith | 7 |
From Paris With Love (2010) | John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers | 7 |
Salt (2010) | Angelina Jolie | 7 |
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) | Harrison Ford | 7 |
The Shepherd (2008) | Jean-Claude Van Damme, Scott Adkins | 7 |
Redbelt (2008) | Chiwetel Ejiofor | 7 |
Fearless (2006) | Jet Li | 7 |
Undisputed II: Last Man Standing (2006) | Scott Adkins, Michael Jai White | 7 |
Batman Begins (2005) | Christian Bale, Liam Neeson | 7 |
Mr & Mrs Smith (2005) | Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie | 7 |
The Foreigner (2003) | Steven Seagal | 7 |
National Security (2003) | Martin Lawrence | 7 |
Die Another Day (2002) | Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry | 7 |
Half Past Dead (2002) | Steven Seagal, Ja Rule | 7 |
Ticker (2001) | Steven Seagal | 7 |
Exit Wounds (2001) | Steven Seagal | 7 |
The World Is Not Enough (1999) | Pierce Brosnan | 7 |
Mercury Rising (1998) | Bruce Willis | 7 |
Knock Off (1998) | Jean-Claude Van Damme | 7 |
Legionnaire (1998) | Jean-Claude Van Damme | 7 |
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) | Pierce Brosnan | 7 |
Fire Down Below (1997) | Steven Seagal | 7 |
Maximum Risk (1996) | Jean-Claude Van Damme | 7 |
The Steal (1995) | Helen Slater | 7 |
The Net (1995) | Sandra Bullock | 7 |
GoldenEye (1995) | Pierce Brosnan, Gottfried John | 7 |
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995) | Steven Seagal | 7 |
On Deadly Ground (1994) | Steven Seagal | 7 |
Street Fighter (1994) | Jean-Claude Van Damme, Kylie Minogue | 7 |
The Specialist (1994) | Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone | 7 |
Only The Strong (1993) | Mark Dacascos, Paco Christian Prieto | 7 |
Nowhere To Run (1993) | Jean-Claude Van Damme | 7 |
The Bodyguard (1992) | Kevin Costner, Whitney Houston | 7 |
Out For Justice (1991) | Steven Seagal | 7 |
Double Impact (1991) | Jean-Claude Van Damme | 7 |
Lionheart (1990) | Jean-Claude Van Damme | 7 |
Hard To Kill (1990) | Steven Seagal | 7 |
Licence To Kill (1989) | Timothy Dalton, Robert Davi, Talisa Soto | 7 |
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) | Harrison Ford, Sean Connery | 7 |
Above the Law (1988) | Steven Seagal | 7 |
Lethal Weapon (1987) | Mel Gibson | 7 |
Raw Deal (1986) | Arnold Schwarzenegger | 7 |
The Karate Kid Part II (1986) | Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita | 7 |
Highlander (1986) | Christopher Lambert | 7 |
A View To A Kill (1985) | Roger Moore, Christopher Walken | 7 |
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) | Harrison Ford | 7 |
Octopussy (1983) | Roger Moore | 7 |
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) | Harrison Ford | 7 |
Moonraker (1979) | Roger Moore, Richard Kiel, Michael Lonsdale | 7 |
The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) | Roger Moore, Christopher Lee, Hervé Villechaize, Britt Ekland, Clifton James | 7 |
Diamonds Are Forever (1971) | Sean Connery, Charles Grey, Jill St John | 7 |
You Only Live Twice (1967) | Sean Connery, Akiko Wakabayashi | 7 |
Thunderball (1965) | Sean Connery, Adolfo Celi | 7 |
From Russia With Love (1963) | Sean Connery, Daniela Bianchi, Robert Shaw | 7 |
Dr No (1962) | Sean Connery, Ursula Andress | 7 |
Movies rated BELOW AVERAGE
These movies are a bit better than those rated So-So (mediocre) but are falling short of the standard of those deserving a solid OK (average). But they’re not “not okay”, so they can be called Lower OK or Below Average.
MOVIE | STARS | RATING |
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For Your Eyes Only (1981) | Roger Moore | 6.75 |
Movies rated SO-SO
Now we’re getting deep into the weaker movies. These ones are a couple of touches worse than those I’d call OK or Average. They’re not as bad as those rated merely Watchable (below) but they’re slightly weaker than those scoring just Below Average (above).
MOVIE | STARS | RATING |
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Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009) | Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, Mike Pyle, Andrei Arlovski | 6 |
In Hell (2003) | Jean-Claude Van Damme | 6 |
Derailed (2002) | Jean-Claude Van Damme | 6 |
Double Team (1997) | Jean-Claude Van Damme | 6 |
Death Warrant (1989) | Jean-Claude Van Damme | 6 |
Cyborg (1989) | Jean-Claude Van Damme | 6 |
The Golden Child (1986) | Eddie Murphy | 6 |
The Protector (1985) | Jackie Chan | 6 |
Never Say Never Again (1983) | Sean Connery | 6 |
Movies rated WATCHABLE
OK, now we’re really scraping the barrel. The movies below are watchable if you’re desperately bored and haven’t seen them before. Much worse and I wouldn’t have bothered to review them, but as they made it to this list, they are genuinely watchable (once a decade, tops). Expect a generally harsh critique for any movie listed below.
MOVIE | STARS | RATING |
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One More Shot (2024) | Scott Adkins, Michael Jai White | 5 |
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) | Harrison Ford | 5 |
Birth of the Dragon (2016) | Philip Ng, Xia Yu | 5 |
Welcome to the Jungle (2013) | Jean-Claude Van Damme | 5 |
Cleaner (2007) | Samuel L Jackson | 5 |
Wake Of Death (2004) | Jean-Claude Van Damme | 5 |
Undisputed (2002) | Wesley Snipes | 5 |
Unbreakable (2000) | Bruce Willis, Samuel L Jackson | 5 |
The Patriot (1998) | Steven Seagal | 5 |
The Chase (1994) | Charlie Sheen | 5 |
The Next Karate Kid (1994) | Hilary Swank, Pat Morita | 5 |
Sidekicks (1992) | Jonathan Brandis, Chuck Norris | 5 |
Highlander II: The Quickening (1991) | Christopher Lambert | 5 |
Marked For Death (1990) | Steven Seagal | 5 |
Best Of The Best (1989) | Eric Roberts, Phillip Rhee | 5 |
Black Eagle (1988) | Sho Kosugi, Jean-Claude Van Damme | 5 |
Red Heat (1988) | Arnold Schwarzenegger | 5 |
Masters Of The Universe (1987) | Dolph Lundgren | 5 |
48 Hrs. (1982) | Eddie Murphy, Nick Nolte | 5 |
The Big Brawl (1980) | Jackie Chan | 5 |
The Octagon (1980) | Chuck Norris | 5 |
Movies rated BARELY WATCHABLE
These movies are dwindling between Watchable and Unwatchable, so I made a new category for that middleground: Barely Watchable.
MOVIE | STARS | RATING |
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Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning (2012) | Scott Adkins, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, Andrei Arlovski, Roy Jones Jr | 4 |
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) | George Lazenby, Diana Rigg | 4 |
Movies rated UNWATCHABLE
Some movies I expect to be watchable but aren’t. For example, The American – an assassin movie starring George Clooney. How could it possibly be unwatchable? Well, it really is that bad. Had I known how bad it were, I would never have watched it. Any movie like this, where I had high hopes based on its cast and genre, and have given it every chance and pretty much watched it till the end (skipping the most boring bits) shall be reviewed & listed here as Unwatchable. Consider this section like a wall of shame. The real Rotten Tomatoes.
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2010The American★ George Clooney3
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1967Casino Royale★ David Niven3
See Also
Wikipedia has some useful links for seeing the most popular action movies in history – this is a useful reference in case I’ve missed anything – of course I’ve missed lots of these but am gradually expanding my own list to include them all, it just takes time writing honest reviews which I like to do during and/or immediately after watching each one even if I’ve seen it many times before.
- Wikipedia’s list of American martial arts movies
- Wikipedia’s lists of action movies by decade or subgenre
- Wikipedia’s lists of top-earning action movies
DON’T MISS: My actor-specific Top 5 & Top 10 lists
This is a new concept that I hope to expand on. The top ten movies, in descending order, for each action movie star featured on this site. The full filmography of their movies (minus some in the wrong language or genre) can be found further down the page, beneath the top 10 list. Check out the ones I’ve started here:
- Top 10 BEST Van Damme Movies
- Top 5 BEST Steven Seagal Movies
Why do I do this?
There are many lists of action movies around the web, and there are many lists of martial arts movies too. But “action hero movies” seems to be a niche genre neglected. And the more generic lists are never in an agreeable order. They’re also rarely comprehensive – they’re usually missing some great ones while including some stinkers, often with many that aren’t even available in English!
So this site began as a scrapbook of reviews & recommendations for anyone who wants to watch a good English language action hero movie – be it a martial arts movie or otherwise – but has seen most of them before and either can’t find anything new worth watching or can’t re-find a good one seen before. There’s one I’m still looking for!
Unlike all the other lists online, this one is BY an action hero movie junkie, FOR action hero movie junkies. I’m also a teacher of Kung Fu myself, with a focus on practical Self Defence (not cinematics) so I know what I’m looking for when it comes to credible fight mechanics, martial philosophy & psychology, strategy & tactics, etc.
I’m not into slow & gritty, suspenseful drama scenes like professional critics always seem to be. Nor am I into gruesome horror scenes. But I do appreciate intriguing concepts, rich scripts, powerful actors, convincing acting, fresh humour, benevolent messages and good effects for setting the mood and building momentum etc. So far as is appropriate for the smooth action hero movie genre.
Tip: If you generally agree with my reviews & ratings, consider bookmarking this site for inspiration on what to watch whenever you’re bored. That’s what I use it for myself. I built this site first & foremost for my own reference, not for commercial gain.