The worlds best action/adventure movies ever made

by surferdude2010 | created - 06 Mar 2011 | updated - 17 Mar 2011 | Public

these have to be the top 20 epic action/adventure movies

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1. Terminator Salvation (2009)

PG-13 | 115 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

49 Metascore

In 2018, a mysterious new weapon in the war against the machines, half-human and half-machine, comes to John Connor on the eve of a resistance attack on Skynet. But whose side is he on, and can he be trusted?

Director: McG | Stars: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood

Votes: 377,177 | Gross: $125.32M

2. Iron Man (2008)

PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

79 Metascore

After being held captive in an Afghan cave, billionaire engineer Tony Stark creates a unique weaponized suit of armor to fight evil.

Director: Jon Favreau | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges

Votes: 1,124,365 | Gross: $318.41M

3. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

PG-13 | 178 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

92 Metascore

A meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.

Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean

Votes: 2,006,059 | Gross: $315.54M

4. X2 (2003)

PG-13 | 134 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller

68 Metascore

When anti-mutant Colonel William Stryker kidnaps Professor X and attacks his school, the X-Men must ally with their archenemy Magneto to stop him.

Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen

Votes: 575,843 | Gross: $214.95M

5. Avatar (2009)

PG-13 | 162 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy

83 Metascore

A paraplegic Marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.

Director: James Cameron | Stars: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez

Votes: 1,385,957 | Gross: $760.51M

6. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

PG | 150 min | Action, Adventure, Family

62 Metascore

The Pevensie siblings return to Narnia, where they are enlisted to once again help ward off an evil king and restore the rightful heir to the land's throne, Prince Caspian.

Director: Andrew Adamson | Stars: Ben Barnes, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, William Moseley

Votes: 225,378 | Gross: $141.62M

7. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

PG-13 | 157 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy

81 Metascore

Harry Potter finds himself competing in a hazardous tournament between rival schools of magic, but he is distracted by recurring nightmares.

Director: Mike Newell | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Eric Sykes

Votes: 681,212 | Gross: $290.01M

8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)

PG-13 | 146 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy

65 Metascore

As Harry, Ron and Hermione race against time and evil to destroy the Horcruxes, they uncover the existence of the three most powerful objects in the wizarding world: the Deathly Hallows.

Director: David Yates | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Bill Nighy

Votes: 598,841 | Gross: $295.98M

9. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy

50 Metascore

A young fugitive prince and princess must stop a villain who unknowingly threatens to destroy the world with a special dagger that enables the magic sand inside to reverse time.

Director: Mike Newell | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina

Votes: 303,815 | Gross: $90.76M

10. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

PG-13 | 143 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy

63 Metascore

Blacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate "Captain" Jack Sparrow to save his love, the governor's daughter, from Jack's former pirate allies, who are now undead.

Director: Gore Verbinski | Stars: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley

Votes: 1,209,807 | Gross: $305.41M

11. Casino Royale (2006)

PG-13 | 144 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

80 Metascore

After earning 00 status and a licence to kill, secret agent James Bond sets out on his first mission as 007. Bond must defeat a private banker funding terrorists in a high-stakes game of poker at Casino Royale, Montenegro.

Director: Martin Campbell | Stars: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright

Votes: 694,349 | Gross: $167.45M

12. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Sci-Fi

40 Metascore

The early years of James Logan, featuring his rivalry with his brother Victor Creed, his service in the special forces team Weapon X, and his experimentation into the metal-lined mutant Wolverine.

Director: Gavin Hood | Stars: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Ryan Reynolds, Danny Huston

Votes: 530,298 | Gross: $179.88M

13. Iron Man 2 (2010)

PG-13 | 124 min | Action, Sci-Fi

57 Metascore

With the world now aware of his identity as Iron Man, Tony Stark must contend with both his declining health and a vengeful mad man with ties to his father's legacy.

Director: Jon Favreau | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle

Votes: 868,189 | Gross: $312.43M

14. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

PG-13 | 104 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

58 Metascore

The human government develops a cure for mutations, and Jean Grey becomes a darker uncontrollable persona called the Phoenix who allies with Magneto, causing escalation into an all-out battle for the X-Men.

Director: Brett Ratner | Stars: Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen

Votes: 540,491 | Gross: $234.36M

15. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

PG-13 | 201 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

94 Metascore

Gandalf and Aragorn lead the World of Men against Sauron's army to draw his gaze from Frodo and Sam as they approach Mount Doom with the One Ring.

Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom

Votes: 1,978,148 | Gross: $377.85M

16. X: First Class (2011)

PG-13 | 131 min | Action, Sci-Fi

65 Metascore

In the 1960s, superpowered humans Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr work together to find others like them, but Erik's vengeful pursuit of an ambitious mutant who ruined his life causes a schism to divide them.

Director: Matthew Vaughn | Stars: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Bacon

Votes: 723,382 | Gross: $146.41M

17. Tron: Legacy (2010)

PG | 125 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

49 Metascore

The son of a virtual world designer goes looking for his father and ends up inside the digital world that his father designed. He meets his father's corrupted creation and a unique ally who was born inside the digital world.

Director: Joseph Kosinski | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner

Votes: 355,747 | Gross: $172.06M

18. Hot Fuzz (2007)

R | 121 min | Action, Comedy, Mystery

81 Metascore

An overachieving London police sergeant is transferred to a village where the easygoing officers object to his fervor for regulations, all while a string of grisly murders strikes the town.

Director: Edgar Wright | Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Bill Nighy

Votes: 535,107 | Gross: $23.64M

19. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

PG-13 | 179 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

87 Metascore

While Frodo and Sam edge closer to Mordor with the help of the shifty Gollum, the divided fellowship makes a stand against Sauron's new ally, Saruman, and his hordes of Isengard.

Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom

Votes: 1,782,916 | Gross: $342.55M

20. 2012 (I) (2009)

PG-13 | 158 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

49 Metascore

A frustrated writer struggles to keep his family alive when a series of global catastrophes threatens to annihilate mankind.

Director: Roland Emmerich | Stars: John Cusack, Thandiwe Newton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet

Votes: 397,702 | Gross: $166.11M

21. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

PG-13 | 151 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy

53 Metascore

Jack Sparrow races to recover the heart of Davy Jones to avoid enslaving his soul to Jones' service, as other friends and foes seek the heart for their own agenda as well.

Director: Gore Verbinski | Stars: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport

Votes: 767,318 | Gross: $423.32M

22. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)

PG-13 | 140 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy

68 Metascore

Three years into the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi pursues a new threat, while Anakin Skywalker is lured by Chancellor Palpatine into a sinister plot to rule the galaxy.

Director: George Lucas | Stars: Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor, Samuel L. Jackson

Votes: 845,041 | Gross: $380.26M

23. Hancock (2008)

PG-13 | 92 min | Action, Comedy, Drama

49 Metascore

Hancock is a superhero whose ill-considered behavior regularly causes damage in the millions. He changes when the person he saves helps him improve his public image.

Director: Peter Berg | Stars: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman, Jae Head

Votes: 511,447 | Gross: $227.95M



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