While we love all types of movies here at IGN, we're especially fond of action films. That's what we were weened on, both the good and the bad. We previously ran this list way back in 2005, but there have been a lot of sweet action flicks released in that time -- enough that warranted we spruce up this list. (Be advised this list includes videos featuring NSFW violence and language.) Here then are IGN's Top 25 Action Movies of all time:

Perhaps the most philosophical surfing/heist movie ever made, Point Break sees Patrick Swayze as Bodhi, leader of the bank-robbing "Ex Presidents," and Keanu Reeves as undercover FBI agent Johnny Utah. What follows is a rollercoaster ride as the pair surf and sky-dive while playing the ultimate game of cat-and-mouse with plenty of foot chases and gunfights along the way. Director Kathryn Bigelow attacks these sequences with such ferocity and style that it's hard to imagine a better pairing of the film's disparate elements - the physicality of the surfing, screwing and fighting with personal ideals and character-based beliefs; it's one of the few movies that thrives on frenetic thrills and yet arguably gives you the sense that if you paid a little closer attention you might actually learn something.




The third James Bond film, 1964's Goldfinger perfected the Bond movie formula: more action, more beautiful women, lots of gadgets and nicely mixed in humor. Starring Sean Connery as 007, Goldfinger has some of the most memorable moments in any Bond film -- from Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton) painted in gold, to Auric Goldfinger's silent henchman Oddjob (Harold Sakata) taking on Bond with his head-chopping derby hat, to Bond strapped to a table about to be eviscerated by a laser ("Do you expect me to talk?" "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!"). The action sequences are superb, including a long car chase with Bond using the gadgets on his tricked-out Aston Martin to make smoke screens and oil slicks, fire built-in guns, and ejecting the passenger seat.




For all the mayhem onscreen, Mr. & Mrs. Smith is really about love and marriage and the need for honest communication between partners for it to succeed. (No, really.) Even the action set-pieces are played out as backdrops to their discovery of each other's truths, particularly during a wild freeway chase where they spat over their secret personal pasts while being attacked by killers sent to kill them for failing to kill each other off. Some of the biggest laughs of the movie are in this scene and it's a showcase of director Doug Liman's ability to stage frantic, yet coherent, action sequences that actually advance the story instead of being a detour from it. Beautiful people, blazing action and an underlying moral to take an interest in the lives of those closest to you to make your relationship last make Mr. & Mrs. Smith far more than the mindless generic kiss-kiss-bang-bang action flick that it could've been.




Turn up the Kenny Loggins and practice your best Iceman tooth chomp! Top Gun ushered in a new type of mold for action movies, one producer Jerry Bruckheimer would use to forge many other hits throughout the '80s and '90s. The spectacular training and combat sequences aren't anything like real air operations, but for a generation weaned on the attack on the Death Star, it's what's expected. As directed by maestro Tony Scott, the film's action was endlessly exciting, and the bromance between Goose and Maverick is one of the most memorable in Hollywood.

Casino Royale's Stairwell Fight

Perhaps the most cerebral of all 007's adventures. Daniel Craig played James Bond as thuggish on the outside, but emotionally damaged and vulnerable underneath, in the process adding a layer of depth previously unseen in Bond's outings. (An absence of ice palaces and invisible cars also helped, of course.) Craig's 007 is a finely tuned machine who is absolutely believable as someone who could clear a room, and as a cold, hardened man who has buried his heart as far away from harm as possible. The action sequences -- several of which, like the opening parkour set-piece, must be seen to be believed -- are breathtaking and returned Bond to his down and dirty roots.