Best Action Movies of the 21st century
by jeeva-knight | created - 17 Jan 2012 | updated - 17 Jan 2012 | PublicTotal non-stop action movies blazing guns and you will never be disappointed if you are an action movie buff.
P.S. sc-fi,war & superhero movies are avoided
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1. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
PG-13 | 115 min | Action, Mystery, Thriller
Jason Bourne dodges a ruthless C.I.A. official and his Agents from a new assassination program while searching for the origins of his life as a trained killer.
Director: Paul Greengrass | Stars: Matt Damon, Edgar Ramírez, Joan Allen, Julia Stiles
Votes: 657,888 | Gross: $227.47M
2. The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
PG-13 | 108 min | Action, Mystery, Thriller
When Jason Bourne is framed for a CIA operation gone awry, he is forced to resume his former life as a trained assassin to survive.
Director: Paul Greengrass | Stars: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Joan Allen, Brian Cox
Votes: 486,606 | Gross: $176.24M
3. Casino Royale (2006)
PG-13 | 144 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
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: 694,055 | Gross: $167.45M
4. The Italian Job (2003)
PG-13 | 111 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After being betrayed and left for dead in Italy, Charlie Croker and his team plan an elaborate gold heist against their former ally.
Director: F. Gary Gray | Stars: Donald Sutherland, Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton, Charlize Theron
Votes: 388,219 | Gross: $106.13M
5. Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)
PG-13 | 120 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A bored married couple is surprised to learn that they are both assassins hired by competing agencies to kill each other.
Director: Doug Liman | Stars: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Adam Brody, Vince Vaughn
Votes: 540,804 | Gross: $186.34M
6. Taken (I) (2008)
PG-13 | 90 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A retired CIA agent travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been kidnapped while on a trip to Paris.
Director: Pierre Morel | Stars: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Leland Orser
Votes: 633,976 | Gross: $145.00M
7. After the Sunset (2004)
PG-13 | 97 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
The story of what happens after a master thief achieves his last big score, when the F.B.I. Agent who promised he'd capture him, is about to do just that.
Director: Brett Ratner | Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek, Woody Harrelson, Don Cheadle
Votes: 49,831 | Gross: $28.33M
8. The Bourne Identity (2002)
PG-13 | 119 min | Action, Mystery, Thriller
A man is picked up by a fishing boat, bullet-riddled and suffering from amnesia, before racing to elude assassins and attempting to regain his memory.
Director: Doug Liman | Stars: Franka Potente, Matt Damon, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen
Votes: 575,802 | Gross: $121.66M
9. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
PG-13 | 132 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name.
Director: Brad Bird | Stars: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton
Votes: 528,103 | Gross: $209.40M
10. Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
PG-13 | 128 min | Action, Thriller
John McClane and a young hacker join forces to take down master cyber-terrorist Thomas Gabriel in Washington D.C.
Director: Len Wiseman | Stars: Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Timothy Olyphant, Maggie Q
Votes: 420,479 | Gross: $134.53M
11. Fast Five (2011)
PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Dominic Toretto and his crew of street racers plan a massive heist to buy their freedom while in the sights of a powerful Brazilian drug lord and a dangerous federal agent.
Director: Justin Lin | Stars: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster
Votes: 406,828 | Gross: $209.84M
12. Man on Fire (2004)
R | 146 min | Action, Crime, Drama
In Mexico City, a former CIA operative swears vengeance on those who committed an unspeakable act against the family he was hired to protect.
Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Denzel Washington, Christopher Walken, Dakota Fanning, Radha Mitchell
Votes: 389,189 | Gross: $77.91M
13. National Treasure (2004)
PG | 131 min | Action, Adventure, Mystery
A historian races to find the legendary Templar Treasure before a team of mercenaries.
Director: Jon Turteltaub | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Sean Bean
Votes: 354,805 | Gross: $173.01M
14. National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)
PG | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Mystery
Benjamin Gates must follow a clue left in John Wilkes Booth's diary to prove his ancestor's innocence in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
Director: Jon Turteltaub | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Jon Voight
Votes: 253,399 | Gross: $219.96M
15. Shoot 'Em Up (2007)
R | 86 min | Action, Comedy, Thriller
A man named Mr. Smith delivers a woman's baby during a shootout, and is then called upon to protect the newborn from the army of gunmen.
Director: Michael Davis | Stars: Clive Owen, Monica Bellucci, Paul Giamatti, Stephen McHattie
Votes: 154,972 | Gross: $12.81M
16. Hot Fuzz (2007)
R | 121 min | Action, Comedy, Mystery
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: 534,923 | Gross: $23.64M
17. Gone in 60 Seconds (2000)
PG-13 | 118 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A retired master car thief must come back to the industry and steal fifty cars with his crew in one night to save his brother's life.
Director: Dominic Sena | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi, T.J. Cross
Votes: 294,419 | Gross: $101.65M
18. Shooter (I) (2007)
R | 124 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A marksman living in exile is coaxed back into action after hearing of a plot to kill the President. After being-double crossed for the attempt and on the run, he sets out for the real killer and the truth.
Director: Antoine Fuqua | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Michael Peña, Rhona Mitra, Danny Glover
Votes: 355,287 | Gross: $47.00M
19. Running Scared (2006)
R | 122 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A low-ranking thug is entrusted by his crime boss to dispose of a gun that killed corrupt cops, but things get out of control when the gun ends up in wrong hands.
Director: Wayne Kramer | Stars: Paul Walker, Cameron Bright, Chazz Palminteri, Vera Farmiga
Votes: 103,624 | Gross: $6.86M
20. Miami Vice (2006)
R | 132 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Based on the 1980s TV action/drama, this update focuses on vice detectives Crockett and Tubbs as their respective personal and professional lives become dangerously intertwined.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx, Gong Li, Naomie Harris
Votes: 123,641 | Gross: $63.45M
21. Mission: Impossible III (2006)
PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
IMF agent Ethan Hunt comes into conflict with a dangerous and sadistic arms dealer who threatens his life and his fiancée in response.
Director: J.J. Abrams | Stars: Tom Cruise, Michelle Monaghan, Ving Rhames, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Votes: 390,435 | Gross: $134.03M
22. Street Kings (2008)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
An undercover cop, disillusioned by the death of his wife, is implicated in the murder of an officer and must struggle to clear himself.
Director: David Ayer | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans
Votes: 120,707 | Gross: $26.42M
23. Swordfish (2001)
R | 99 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A covert counter-terrorist unit called Black Cell led by Gabriel Shear wants the money to help finance their war against international terrorism, but it's all locked away. Gabriel brings in convicted hacker Stanley Jobson to help him.
Director: Dominic Sena | Stars: John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle
Votes: 196,138 | Gross: $69.77M
24. Zombieland (2009)
R | 88 min | Action, Comedy, Horror
A shy student trying to reach his family in Ohio, a gun-toting bruiser in search of the last Twinkie and a pair of sisters striving to get to an amusement park join forces in a trek across a zombie-filled America.
Director: Ruben Fleischer | Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin
Votes: 620,662 | Gross: $75.59M
25. RED (2010)
PG-13 | 111 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
When his peaceful life is threatened by a high-tech assassin, former black-ops agent Frank Moses reassembles his old team in a last-ditch effort to survive and uncover his assailants.
Director: Robert Schwentke | Stars: Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, Mary-Louise Parker
Votes: 323,768 | Gross: $90.38M
26. Smokin' Aces (2006)
R | 108 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
When a Las Vegas performer-turned-snitch named Buddy Israel decides to turn state's evidence and testify against the mob, it seems that a whole lot of people would like to make sure he's no longer breathing.
Director: Joe Carnahan | Stars: Jeremy Piven, Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Joseph Ruskin
Votes: 151,990 | Gross: $35.66M
27. Vantage Point (2008)
PG-13 | 90 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The attempted assassination of the American President is told and re-told from several different perspectives.
Director: Pete Travis | Stars: Dennis Quaid, Forest Whitaker, Matthew Fox, Bruce McGill
Votes: 154,021 | Gross: $72.27M
28. Fast & Furious (2009)
PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Brian O'Conner, back working for the FBI in Los Angeles, teams up with Dominic Toretto to bring down a heroin importer by infiltrating his operation.
Director: Justin Lin | Stars: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster
Votes: 310,892 | Gross: $155.06M
29. The Fast and the Furious (2001)
PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Los Angeles police officer Brian O'Conner must decide where his loyalty really lies when he becomes enamored with the street racing world he has been sent undercover to destroy.
Director: Rob Cohen | Stars: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster
Votes: 419,070 | Gross: $144.53M
30. The International (I) (2009)
R | 118 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An Interpol agent attempts to expose a high-profile financial institution's role in an international arms dealing ring.
Director: Tom Tykwer | Stars: Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Ulrich Thomsen
Votes: 99,957 | Gross: $25.45M
31. The Rundown (2003)
PG-13 | 104 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A tough aspiring chef is hired to bring home a mobster's son from the Amazon but becomes involved in the fight against an oppressive town operator and the search for a legendary treasure.
Director: Peter Berg | Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Christopher Walken, Rosario Dawson
Votes: 142,975 | Gross: $47.73M
32. Mission: Impossible II (2000)
PG-13 | 123 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
IMF agent Ethan Hunt is sent to Sydney to find and destroy a genetically modified disease called "Chimera".
Director: John Woo | Stars: Tom Cruise, Dougray Scott, Thandiwe Newton, Ving Rhames
Votes: 377,399 | Gross: $215.41M
33. 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Former cop Brian O'Conner is called upon to bust a dangerous criminal and he recruits the help of a former childhood friend and street racer who has a chance to redeem himself.
Director: John Singleton | Stars: Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, Cole Hauser, Eva Mendes
Votes: 297,306 | Gross: $127.15M
34. Rush Hour 2 (2001)
PG-13 | 90 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Carter and Lee head to Hong Kong for a vacation, but become embroiled in a counterfeit money scam.
Director: Brett Ratner | Stars: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, John Lone, Ziyi Zhang
Votes: 238,778 | Gross: $226.16M
35. Rush Hour 3 (2007)
PG-13 | 91 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
After an attempted assassination on Ambassador Han, Lee and Carter head to Paris to protect a French woman with knowledge of the Triads' secret leaders.
Director: Brett Ratner | Stars: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Max von Sydow, Hiroyuki Sanada
Votes: 183,079 | Gross: $140.13M
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