Let's face it...it's June and were still talking about Marvel's The Avengers. A little over a month since the billionaire blockbuster dropped, we still can't get the film's Hulk-Smashing climax out of our head
That got us thinking plenty about some of Hollywood's craziest action finales --- stuff like Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon, Kill Bill vol. 1, and, of course, The Wild Bunch. And that got us thinking about making another top ten list.
Daily, from Monday (June 11, 2012) to Wednesday (June 20, 2012), Action A Go Go brings to you our TOP TEN FAVORITE ACTION FINALES of ALL-TIME! We'll run through several genres, explain why it was selected, (hopefully) provide video of the moment, and crown the queen of all action finales --- someone worthy enough to stand beside Hulk charging through an alien's asshole.
-Derek (@DScarzilla) and Troy (@FTVReadAComic).
NUMBER 1
THE WILD BUNCH
The Wild Bunch may be one of those westerns that non-western fans toss out for film cred, but can you blame them? It features a crew of self-interested outlaws turning their guns on a town full of heartless smugglers. Ultimately, neither of the combatants are worth rooting for. This leaves the viewer with one nasty lingering conclusion: You have to be merciless if you want to live in the Wild Wild West. To us, that leaves far more of an impact than any ending in which John Wayne rides off into the sunset.
NUMBER 2
THE KILLER
As far as Action Movies go, it’s hard to argue that there are more influential movies out there than John Woo’s THE KILLER. From the complex characterization to the surreal gunplay, action movies don’t come better. Oft criticized for all the wrong reasons, it still stands as an international phenomenon and definitely belongs on a list of top ten action endings.
Two enemies, one an assassin and the other a cop, brought together by circumstance and now bound by honor. They find sanctuary in a church, the assassin’s blind lover stranded with them. Then they are surrounded by car loads of gangsters out to kill. All hell breaks loose and everything that was ever cool about gun fights in cinema shows up. Every shot is a finely crafted masterstroke of filmmaking. The camera moves with grace and precision, the editing is amazing, and you never know what’s coming next. The tagline for the English version was “One Viscous Hitman. One Fierce Cop. 10,000 Bullets.” That’s a low estimate.
NUMBER 3
THE MATRIX
Where do we begin with this one? I’ve heard it celebrated as the Star Wars of our generations (Y to X), and it is hard to disagree. Hard hitting action, groundbreaking special effects, incredibly influential (X-men, Swordfish, etc. all took hints from it), and mind bending philosophical ideas (really, this is like an action movie hamlet) all add up to one towering film. Unlike the Star Wars franchise, the last two movies fizzled and failed to solidify a true legacy.
However, no one can argue that they action films weren’t changed forever when Neo and Trinity walked into that office building. That lobby shoot out is so awesome, so relentlessly explosive and --- dare I say --- beautiful, that it is impossible to look away until Neo stops the bullets with sheer will power.
While not technically an ALL OUT ACTION fest like some of the other movies on this list, it’s one of the best, and most satisfying endings to an action movie ever and belongs on this list.
NUMBER 4
Not to discredit Vic Armstrong or the risks he took sand-surfing from the back of a moving vehicle, but Indy 2’s finale takes the cake when compared to the action of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
In this endless domino-effect of violence, Indy saves the girl, frees a slew of slave children, and eliminates a Thugee enemy with the aide of a rock crusher. He then survives a mine car chase, a flood, a collapsing bridge, and narrowly avoids becoming crocodile food. Also, because this movie came out (and contributed to) the PG-13 rating during it’s infancy, one kid sets another kid on fire.
Yes!
NUMBER 5
AKIRA
This is one movie we talked about on the MOKA podcast, and definitely belongs here. Akira, without its insane ending, would still be a beautiful and intense anime, up there with the best, but with this ending it has become a cinematic icon.
Part sexual metaphor, part monster movie, part giant philosophical question, this ending takes you places you never thought you could go. What if your own body was unstoppable? What if your power had no limits? What if you had to fight a god?
It’s amazing, mind bending, and enlightening. Good stuff. Just watch it. I still don’t know what’s going on, but I can’t look away every damn time.
NUMBER 6
POLICE STORY 3/SUPERCOP
It's unnecessary to mention that Jackie Chan does his own stunts. But there truly is an added suspense in knowing that a real person is risking their neck versus a computer effect.
Case in point: In Supercop, Chan and Michelle Yeoh fall from roofs, buses, helicopters, and trains to prove how dedicated they are to action. It makes the whole thing far more thrilling than whatever an ILM cartoon can accomplish.
NUMBER 7
RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II
Demolition Man was my first review for this blog and I am glad to bring up STALLONE again here on this list of crazy endings in Action Filmdom. All of the RAMBO films are legendary, but II took action films to truly epic heights.
In this second installment Rambo is pulled out of jail to perform a special mission for the CIA to find POW’s that are still in Vietnamese (and Soviet) hands. After being double crossed and losing a fleeting love Rambo goes on a epic rampage, blowing people up with a bow and arrow, taking a helicopter and leveling half the country, then taking it to the ground with an M-60 (Pig) that lays waist to anyone in his path. This movie spawned legions of imitators and impersonators but Rambo First Blood Part II
still holds up as one classic heaping bad ass slice of cinematic Americana .
NUMBER 8
THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT
After Cutthroat Island Cutthroat Island
The film flopped, burying the careers of just about everyone involved. However, Davis, Harlin, and Black (with Sam Jackson, of course) did bring their A game with LKG's ridiculous finale. (The film as a whole is pretty danged entertaining too).
NUMBER 9
COMMANDO
In all seriousness, in the Arnold cannon, COMMANDO is one of his simplest and most ridiculous movies. John Matrix (Arnold ) used to be a cammando. People steal his daughter Jenny Matrix (Alyssa Milano) to try and force him to help South American dictator back into power. He destroys everything and everyone while getting her back. He dead lifts cars, he blows stuff up, and takes down armies of men with whimsical ease.
But that ending is just jaw dropping. Its a big orgy of everything that was great about eighties action movies and, aside from TRUE LIES(1994), it's probably Arnold 's most fun film.
The ending is below, but please do yourself a service and watch the whole movie on YouTube, as it is a great ride from start to finish.
NUMBER 10
PROJECT A-KO
Before Avengers showed us city-wide, aliens vs. superheroes destruction on film, such feats belonged exclusively to anime. 1986's Project A-Ko beat Marvel's film to the punch twenty-six years earlier by turning all of Tokyo
We could also argue that it even slightly one-upped the blockbuster by taking the fight inside the alien spacecraft. We could…but that would sound too much like looking a gift Hulk in the mouth.
