#10. The Matrix
(The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, The Matrix Resurrections)
The Wachowski's turned the entire movie industry on its head with the release of the first Matrix film and brought a much needed level of intellect to the action genre after a decade of mindless Schwarzenegger and Stallone shoot 'em ups. But that's not to say that The Matrix isn't oozing with stylish action as well (including pioneering the whole "bullet-time" slow motion craze) but it's the fact that the film is equally as psychologically engaging that elevates it as a modern day classic. Sadly that level wasn't reproduced in Reloaded or Revolutions, which doubled down on the physics-bending action but could never quite replicate the mindfuck of the original. 2021's The Matrix Resurrections came close to the same emotional awakening the original nailed, but the action is shockingly subpar. It all adds up to a series of inferior sequels in the shadow of the groundbreaking original.
#9. Captain America
(Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame)
Iron Man may have kicked off the MCU but its Captain America who became the most consistent Avenger in his solo outings. Particularly after the fairly predictable origin story when the Russo Brothers took the character to a whole new level in The Winter Soldier; delivering an espionage thriller that manages to stand on its own merits apart from the interconnected universe of Marvel films. Add in Civil War essentially serving as Avengers 2.5 and Cap's pivotal role in all 4 Avengers films and Steve Rogers has had a pretty compelling run over the past decade. And I'm definitely excited to see what Anthony Mackie does once he picks up the shield in Captain America 4...
#8. Indiana Jones
(Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny)
Even though we didn't really get much of a better ending to the Indiana Jones saga with Dial of Destiny (hell, I'd argue that Dial is the worst film in the series) the highlights in this franchise are some of the best action-adventure pieces Hollywood has ever produced. Particularly the unjustly looked down upon Temple of Doom, which is actually my personal favorite in the series. And Crystal Skull isn't nearly as bad as it's made out to be either. Sure, we didn't really need Indy surviving an atomic bomb by locking himself inside a refrigerator or actually seeing the poorly designed CGI aliens in the film's final moments but it's still better than anything George Lucas has slapped his name on since Return of the Jedi...
#7. X-Men
(X-Men, X2: X-Men United, X3: The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men: First Class, The Wolverine, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Deadpool, X-Men: Apocalypse, Logan, Deadpool 2, Dark Phoenix, The New Mutants)
X-Men is the only comic book franchise to have started before the MCU was introduced and lived to tell about it. Until Disney inevitably wipes the slate clean and starts all over again but for now, it's been an impressive run. After Joel Schumacher ran Batman into the ground, it was Bryan Singer's initial X-Men film that kick-started this latest wave of superhero movies and after Brett Ratner and that scary no mouth Deadpool sabotaged the series in the mid 00's - Matthew Vaughn and James Mangold revived it with First Class rebooting the young X-Men and Logan giving us the gritty no holds barred Wolverine movie we've all been pining for. Toss in Ryan Reynolds' redux on his role as Deadpool becoming one of the most financially successful R-Rated film ever made and this series has plenty of high marks to make up for its lowest of lows.
#6. Spider-Man
(Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, Venom, Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Morbius, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Kraven the Hunter)
I know we're all in love with Tom Holland at the moment but can we take a second to appreciate how fucking awesome Sam Raimi's Spider-Verse was? The first two films were absolutely amazing and if not for Sony's insistence on cramming Venom into the third entry, I think he could have continued down a really interesting path. But instead we had to suffer through all of those weird emo Peter Park sequences in Spider-Man 3 and then the two awful Adam Garfield entries before Sony realized they were the problem - not Raimi - and let Marvel take the wheel. But Marvel is in grave danger of playing it too safe with Tom Holland's incarnation of the character. Even No Way Home (while easily the best of the MCU Spider-Man offerings) served primarily as an attempt to retcon the tepid missteps they've already made - even if it tossed in a butt-ton of fan service cameos to try and make up for it. Phil Lord & Chris Miller's animated Spider-Verse series centered on Miles Morales on the other hand, might be the most promising comic book property Marvel has left in the post-Endgame era.
#5. Mad Max
(Mad Max, The Road Warrior, Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, Mad Max: Fury Road)
While the fifth installment continues to rot in development hell thanks to some petty Warner Brothers executives, Mad Max still made one hell of a comeback with Fury Road in 2015 and re-established itself atop the action genre after the slight PG-13 stumble that was Beyond Thunderdome. Rarely does a sequel 20+ years after its predecessor feel like anything other than an empty cash grab (especially when you recast the title character) but Fury Road shattered all expectations and revitalized the franchise with arguably the best entry in the series thus far. A post apocalyptic wasteland where ruthless overlords control the means of survival has never felt more relevant than it has today, so I'm more than ready to see where the Furiosa spin-off and 5th Mad Max film will take us.
#4. Mission Impossible
(Mission Impossible, Mission Impossible 2, Mission Impossible 3, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, Mission Impossible: Fallout, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning)
There are a ton of secret agent movies. Way too many really. Hell there's like 20 of them with the same drunken British womanizer spanning over 50 years. And while that kind of longevity is impressive, I will remind you that there are also 21 seasons of Family Guy. TWENTY-ONE. Quantity does not equal quality and that's why I chose Ethan Hunt over James Bond (or Jason Bourne or Jack Ryan or Jack Reacher or whatever 15 franchises Liam Neeson has started hunting people down that mess with his family). Brad Bird and Christopher McQuarrie have reset this series as one of the most consistent and exhilarating action franchises going after the missteps of MI:2 & 3 and with Fallout setting the stage for 2 more entries from Cruise and McQuarrie the series only looks to be getting stronger as it goes. Whereas James Bond hasn't been in consecutively solid movies since the 1960's, when the original Mission Impossible TV series was still on the air.
#3. Star Wars
(A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, The Force Awakens, Rogue One, The Last Jedi, Solo, The Rise of Skywalker)
While it's legacy isn't as pristine as it once was (and seemingly declining with each passing Disney-fied entry) Star Wars is still one of the most consistently entertaining sources of sci-fi action we have. George Lucas' incredible foundation for the Star Wars universe is full of rich characters, colorful new planets and thought provoking themes. And while that doesn't always translate to the modern additions in the franchise, they're still a hell of a lot less painful to sit through than Lucas' own prequel trilogy. And even though I'm not entirely sure where the series is headed in Disney's hands; as it currently stands, the franchise is still one of the absolute best. Let's just hope Kathleen Kennedy lets up off the gas for a bit and stops trying to make Star Wars the next Marvel by cramming new projects down our throats every 8 months.
#2. Batman
(Batman: The Movie, Batman, Batman Returns, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Batman Forever, Batman and Robin, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, The Lego Batman Movie, Justice League, Birds of Prey, Joker, The Suicide Squad, The Batman, The Flash)
Batman's had a little bit of a bumpy ride, but his overall portfolio makes him the unquestionable king of comic book cinema. Both of Tim Burton's films (that's right BOTH) still hold up incredibly well and helped established the standard for superhero movies for years to come. The Christopher Nolan trilogy is the absolute apex of what modern super hero films can be. But then you have the campy shark repellent Adam West film, those over the top neon nightmares from Joel Schumacher and the infinite train-wreck that is the DCEU (sorry Affleck, you really weren't that bad - but every movie you played Batman in definitely was). However, Matt Reeves has created the most convincing Gotham City yet with his take on the property in 2022's The Batman, providing a massive boost in this franchise's stock.
#1. The Man With No Name
(For a Fistfull of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly)
Now there's a case to be made that Clint Eastwood spent his entire career playing the same stoic gunslinger, just in different outfits (and you're not really wrong), but can you really blame him for trying to recreate the badass masterpiece that was Sergio Leone's Man With No Name Trilogy? The classic three story arc still holds up after 50+ years and stands as the measuring stick all Westerns are held against to this day. Everything from the iconic Ennio Morricone score to the tension filled showdowns with Lee Van Cleef and the breathtaking scenery captured by the brilliant camera work of Leone make this the most legendary action series of all time.
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