Action movies are no stranger to post-apocalyptic settings, and Mad Max: Fury Road delivers. With pre-development plans starting on this movie as early as 1997, it finally hit the big screens in 2015. The film follows the titular Max and Furiosa, who both end up traveling together as rebels trying to restore the world order.

There’s a lot of large-scale action here, with monster-trucks, explosions, guns, and people fighting for their lives amongst a plot that hardly ever lets up on the intensity and the heavy metal soundtrack. While there might not be a lot of logic throughout the movie, who wants that when you’re in for a high-octane ride that features powerful women and some surprisingly touching moments in the process.

Plenty of superhero movies fit the bill for a list of the best action movies, and the 2008 Batman film The Dark Knight slips into one of our top spots. Since it pulls from the long-running DC Comics franchise, there’s no surprise that things kick into action when Batman faces off against the Joker on the big screen. With extraordinary special effects and a thrilling score, the tension is high in this film.

What also makes this movie so stellar is the fantastic performances by the cast, especially the leads, who help suck the audience into the story and don’t let them go until the movie is over. The direction and writing provide a strong foundation that shines all the way through, making this easily not just a top action film, but a fantastic movie altogether as well.

Another film full of speed and exciting car action is The Fast and the Furious. While some later entries can top this movie, there’s no doubt that the first in the series has left an incredible impression that holds up even over ten years later, setting the tone for movies to come. Right out the bat, the two leads are strongly fleshed-out characters that make you want to follow on their high-speed adventures.

What helps make this movie so great is that some incredible lines of dialogue will never fade from the memories of those who’ve seen the film. From the car action of drag racing to the drivers behind the wheel, there’s plenty to enjoy in The Fast and the Furious. And any movie that can spawn seven subsequent films has to have done something right.

While we’re stretching rather far back into movie history with this pick, we can’t deny that the 1927 film Metropolis is an incredible piece of action film work, especially for its time. While we can see how the effects look like effects, the fact that the filmmakers were able to create such a vast environment with two dynamically different worlds without any digital insistence is incredible.

This film is very much a dystopia, showing off a future where a beautiful and towering city only gets by through exploiting the workers of the underground. There are chase sequences, mob scenes, a flood, and even the threat of becoming burned alive—which all present a sense of incredible danger. With restorations to damaged film from 2010, we can experience an early execution of astonishing levels of action.

Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones is indisputably an action icon. This action adventure film comes loaded with memorable moments that still can excite audiences even almost forty years later. The rolling boulder sequence is especially notable, and it has made it into multitudes of other action stories since.

Of course, we also have the snake pit, the melting faces, and the gun vs. sword fight, all of which help this movie stand out as a thrilling adventure. And, just like The Fast and the Furious, this film went ahead and launched several follow-up films, all with their stunning moments and unique charms. And all that, we believe, is what makes this film a winner.

The 2011 film, Drive, introduces us to the lead character Driver: a stunt driver by day, and an escape car for crooks at night. As we first see him, this man only cares about exerting perfect control in his work—and his skill shows that he’s more than capable to handle his high speed, high tension double life that never slows down for a moment.

As the plot goes on, though, the audience starts to see much more of the initially stoic and emotionless driver than we expected. Like every excellent car-based action movie should have, there’s a fantastic chase scene, highly-damaging collisions, toppling of speed devils and so much more. The special effects also help bring this film together, adding to the already compelling story that’ll keep sucked in until the end.

When movie franchises swap directors, you can expect that some of the vibes of the series will change in the process—and that’s what happened when James Cameron ran the sequel to Ridley Scoot’s Alien. Now, the original movie was excellent, but it followed a slowly creeping pace that took its time in building up a sinking feeling of paranoia in its audience.

Cameron did nothing of the sort instead going all out on the action. There are aliens (obviously), mech robots, guns, and explosions abound, turning it into a high-stakes, big-budget film loaded with action sequences as the lead character, Sigourney Weaver, tries to take down the alien queen. This film was one of Cameron’s early films, and it was an excellent piece of action work you can’t deny.

If Aliens went ahead and ditched subtlety for all-out action, then Seven Samurai is an excellent example of a film that knows how it takes its time in the execution. Made by Japanese film legend Kurosawa Akira, Seven Samurai is a long film that steadily builds up every emotional thread within it through its over three-hour runtime, all the way from the terrorized farmers to the ronin that decide to protect them.

This movie is in no way 200 minutes of straight action. Instead, Kurosawa masterfully shows us the stakes and the characters that are rising to take on the challenge, so that when the battles finally do hit, you feel invested in every blow, you feel every loss, and you walk away feeling immensely satisfied. While there is an English language remake, this film is worth every minute of the original work.

It wouldn’t be a list of the best action movies of all time without giving some credit to Jackie Chan. This action legend pulled off some of his most risky and thrilling stunts in this film in a way that not many other actors can match. There were numerous injuries suffered by Chan and others during this movie, and the result is captivating to watch.

What also helps this movie keep up the high energy and action tempo is Chan’s expertise in fight choreography and direction. Yes, Jackie Chan has numerous other films that are worth mention, but the ridiculous level of stunt work and live-action feats is what makes Police Story stand out as one of this star’s most celebrated action films.

If we’re going to talk about Jackie Chan, then we also need to acknowledge the prowess of Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon (especially since Chan appears as a member of the movie’s stunt squad). This Hollywood film allows Lee to go all out as an incredible action hero, showing off his skill and even taking down an army within the film’s plot—which helped transform this star into an action hero icon.

While this movie could have quickly become nothing more than a laughable mess thanks to its hectic direction and somewhat lackluster script, the performances of Lee and the rest of the cast are what make it gold. The other cast members are brilliant, and they’re what made this film the action icon that it is today.

We couldn’t only mention James Cameron’s work in Aliens if it meant leaving out Terminator 2: Judgement Day, so we didn’t even bother to try. The original Terminator is an incredible science-fiction film, but the sequel undeniably excels as an action film. With a little more experience under his belt by this point, Cameron went all out to crank up the destructiveness.

And destruction occurs in spades: we see LA turn to ashes in a vision of a nuclear firestorm, cop cars explode, helicopters crash and Cameron’s great directing skills make them all possible. Not to mention Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as the original Terminator, plus a fantastic display of just what CGI could accomplish back in the day.

Some action movies we enjoy because they portray deeper meaning about the state of the world, and some action movies we like because they carry a heaping load of escapism combined with nostalgia—and that’s perfectly okay. Die Hard has captured the hearts if action lovers everywhere with its speed, wit, explosions, near cartoon levels of violence, and intensity.

What this movie does is allow for the perfect way to abandon the worries of the world and let viewers leave the dullness of reality behind. It has a simple concept of terrorists holding the people inside a skyscraper hostage, but all the elements fall right into place to display a fantastic execution of a winning formula in all its 80’s, over the top glory.

Some action movies we enjoy because they portray deeper meaning about the state of the world, and some action movies we like because they carry a heaping load of escapism combined with nostalgia—and that’s perfectly okay. ​Die Hard has captured the hearts if action lovers everywhere with its speed, wit, explosions, near cartoon levels of violence, and intensity.

What this movie does is allow for the perfect way to abandon the worries of the world and let viewers leave the dullness of reality behind. It has a simple concept of terrorists holding the people inside a skyscraper hostage, but all the elements fall right into place to display a fantastic execution of a winning formula in all its 80’s, over the top glory.

To wrap up our list, we’re going with Predator, once again bringing Arnold Schwarzenegger into the stage. After all, who else would you send into the jungle to take care of a killer alien? Only someone with a fierce attitude that can overcome the odds is suitable for the job.

Naturally, there is no shortage of showdowns, gunfire, bloody carnage, and death with a murderous alien beast on the loose, and this movie delivers on all fronts. Just like with Die Hard (and sharing a director), this film isn’t incredibly thought-provoking, but it provides all the violence and escapism you could ever want out of an action movie—and who can ask for more?

While there are multitudes of action films out there, these fourteen are some of the best around—and they’re more than enough fodder for you to set up your next movie marathon.