The 8 Best Action Movies of the 2010s

Ranked by the data, not by me. Critics and audiences agreed on all eight. I agree with seven of them.

Number one made billions. My own score says it's the weakest of the eight.

1. 8
   Creed (2015)9.0

   A spinoff nobody asked for became the best Rocky movie.

   Coogler turned a reported $35 to 40M legacy play into a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. Stallone handing off the gloves hits harder than any training montage.
2. 7
   The Fighter (2010)9.0

   Bale steals the movie from the guy it's about.

   Wahlberg is the title fighter, but Christian Bale eats every scene alive. Audiences beat 94% of movies on this one, on a reported budget as low as $11M.
3. 6
   Captain Phillips (2013)9.0

   Barely an action movie. Still the tensest one here.

   No car chases, no explosions, just Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi sweating on a cargo ship. An A CinemaScore and $218.8M worldwide, mostly from people forgetting to breathe.
4. 5
   Skyfall (2012)9.0

   The only Bond that works better as a drama than a spy movie.

   $1.11B worldwide and 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. Bardem plays the villain like he's auditioning for every villain role at once. Craig mostly broods. Somehow it works.
5. 4
   Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)9.1

   This deserved number one, and the data is wrong.

   98% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 87 on Metacritic, the best critic marks on this list. Tom Cruise keeps risking his neck for our entertainment and we keep buying tickets.
6. 3
   Dangal (2016)9.2

   The best movie here that you probably skipped.

   Just $12.4M domestic, but $303.7M worldwide. Aamir Khan coaches his daughters like a drill sergeant, and audiences beat 98% of all movies on it. Go fix that.
7. 2
   Ford v Ferrari (2019)9.3

   The best race movie is secretly about middle management.

   Audiences beat 99% of movies on it. Bale and Damon fighting Ford's suits is the real race, and the 8.1 on IMDb says nobody minded the boardroom detours.
8. 1
   Avengers: Endgame (2019)9.4

   Top of the list, and the weakest movie on it.

   A 9.4 movie.guru score and $2.94B worldwide. My Guru's Take is 7.8, the lowest of these eight. It's a victory lap that only works if you did the homework.

$741.83 says the first comment is someone typing Mad Max in all caps.

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