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With the premiere of ‘Mission: Impossible 7’, we review some of the best action movie sagas in history.
If you had to choose the most iconic action or spy saga in cinema, which would you choose? Ufff, complicated decision. Some are more classic, others more recent, but what counts is that they excite us beyond the limit. With that in mind, What would you say are among the best action movie sagas of all time?
From the epic missions of Ethan Hunt to the brutal battles of John Wick, here we will remember some of those franchises that have marked action cinema throughout history… There they tell us which one you have enjoyed the most.
**Be careful here: we will not include in this list superhero movies, sports dramas style rocky or adventure movies Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean.
These are xx of the best action movie sagas in history
‘Mission: Impossible’ with Tom Cruise is unforgettable
One of the most iconic and without a doubt, one of the best action movie sagas ever. In case of Mission: Impossible It is very curious because the history of this franchise did not start on the big screen… The brand began with a television series that aired from 1966 to 1973.only to be briefly revived in the mid-1980s.
However, the franchise is much more remembered thanks to the film saga that began in 1996 with Tom Cruise playing the fearless Ethan Hunt, one of his most recognizable characters.
Few things beat the tremendous action sequences, the stunts (many of them performed by Cruise himself) and that iconic song that everyone knows even if they are not fans of the saga. A significant piece of pop culture, by far. Not for nothing the story continues with the seventh film in the saga in this 2023.
‘Die Hard’ made Bruce Willis a true action hero
Die Hardwhich many will remember as Hard to Kill, it is not only one of the best action movie sagas we have seen. On an individual level, it is made the legendary Bruce Willis the perfect model of action hero thanks to his role as John McClane.
The first movie is a gem. which also features Alan Rickman (great actor) in a curious antagonistic role that brought him international fame. The other films in the franchise were also well received (mostly) and performed exceptionally well at the box office, but nothing like the first film.
People began to delve into the work of the writer Roderick Thorpe thanks to this film, because let’s remember that Die Hard is based on the book Nothing Lasts Foreverr from 1979 (although the character who inspires the film’s protagonist is not introduced to us as John McClane in that version). we will never forget the “yippee ki yay, motherfucker”by McClane.
‘Rambo’ is an absolute classic
Based on the novel First Blood by David Morell, Rambo He is another of the action characters that everyone knows almost without exception. And by the way, he is one of the characters that has cemented the legacy of Sylvester Stallone as one of the greats of action cinema in history.
If we talk about movies of yesteryear in this genre, surely very few are as brutal as the story of John Rambo and the trauma that the war left on him. Something interesting that we can highlight about this franchise is that it not only focused on violent sequences; it was a reflection on the collateral effects of the war in the psyche of the veterans. A total classic.
‘Lethal Weapon’ cannot be missing
There was a time when Channel 5 played a lot of these classic action movies type Hard to Kill and if: also the unforgettable Deadly weapon (Lethal Weapon) with Mel Gibson and Danny Glover.
But like the aforementioned Rambosomething very cool about Deadly weapon is that (at least in the first tape) it has an important emotional component beyond the story and the action itself. See the character of Martin Riggs (played by Gibson) Leaving his torturous past behind and forgetting his desire to take his own life is comforting.
It’s even inspiring to see that end of the first film, with Riggs and Roger Murtaugh sharing a Christmas dinner together after a very complicated mission.
‘John Wick’, one of the best action movie sagas of recent times
Yeah, john wick It’s one of the best action movie sagas of all time… and it’s probably the best of recent times. When the first movie came out in 2014, perhaps the only draw was that had Keanu Reeves in the title role.
It’s a very interesting thing to see how the franchise came together. The screenwriter Derek Kolstad he created the story and named the character after his grandfather. The first script of the film was named scornbut once Keanu Reeves earned the starring role, he suggested calling the franchise after the main character.
It was Reeves himself who proposed director Chad Stahelski and David Leitch to join in directing and producing respectively. since the actor knew them when he worked with them in Matrix (Stahelski and Leitch worked on the stunt staff and cast of that film.) And well, the rest is history.
With 10 years of history, john wick It is one of the most renowned action movie sagas ever. And the franchise has grown so much that the spin-off of ballerina with Ana De Armas, in addition to the prequel series The Continental.
‘Mad Max’ and how to revive a great saga
But of course that Mad Max It cannot be missing from this list of the best action movie sagas. And the net, of this list, is the only one that we can say that successfully revived after several decades… Yes, 30 years passed between the third movie and fury road of 2015.
The first three films starring Mel Gibson were good And since it’s an Australian production (ie, outside the mainstream American scene), its commercial performance stood out.
But what stands out in this matter is how he revived three decades later, especially in a time where revivals and reboots are not usually good not well seen by the public. Mad Max: Fury Road of 2015 delivered a more than solid continuation of the story of Max Rockatansky, and did not suffer at all from the absence of Gibson because Tom Hardy raffled off for the lead role.
And what about the action sequences, the production design, the makeup… An absolute gem of action movies. We reiterate: this latest film is an example of how to revive a franchise. We already want to see how the spin-off of furious with Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth.
‘Terminator’ is still great (although his latest tapes are not so great)
Contrary to the case of Mad Max, maybe Terminator It is an example that perhaps it is not such a good idea to overexploit a story. The first two movies are pure incredible sci-fi/action movie magic; They are the best in the franchise but by a looooong.
But the decline came with youErminator: Rise of the Machines from 2003, which was not bad but did not come close to its predecessors. then came Salvation of 2009 that was not the jewel in the crown eitherbut that it was entertaining (although it passed uneventfully over time; quite forgettable).
The franchise was revived with Terminator: Genisys and Dark Fate… which were not a big deal either with the review at the end. But hey, fortunately the last four films do not stain the legacy that the first two left by turning Arnold Schwarzenegger into the movie figure he is. Let’s stay with those.
‘Fast and Furious’ you may like it or not, but it’s iconic
Many still can’t believe that so far, we have 10 movies of Fast and furious. This is one of those movies that has quite a few detractors, that doesn’t outshine the massive number of fans around the world.
Like it or not, it’s one of the best action movie sagas of all time (or at least one of the most iconic). It’s even curious how history has evolved, from starting with clandestine races and police chases, to quasi-quasi space missions and more.
The saga has been magnified –for better or worse–, with Vin Diesel at the head of the franchise. And although it suddenly seems exaggerated, the action sequences are always vibrant, and that’s part of what keeps her cool. When Vin Diesel finally decides to finish it, it will be interesting to see how the story of Toretto and the family concludes. Here our interview with cast by Fast X.
‘The Matrix’, one of the best action and science fiction film sagas of the new millennium
Like Terminator, Matrix is the perfect combination between action cinema and futuristic science fiction with dystopian overtones. And with her, we have Keanu Reeves again on this list.
Few things will excite us like Neo did and the mission to awaken humanity from its slumber. The first film became a milestone at the time, becoming over time a benchmark for these film genres and of the pop culture of the new millennium (although the first one came out in 1999).
Also, this is one of those tapes for which Keanu Reeves has a place in our hearts forever.. Check here the interview we had with the cast for The Matrix: Resurrections.
‘James Bond’, the perfect balance of espionage and action
We close the list with the franchise of James Bond not because it is the best (that will be something subjective and to the taste of each person), but because he is the most important classic character at least on this list. Of that there can be no doubt.
The cultural impact of Agent 007 is undeniable and has held strong over the years. Every version of the character in the movies, from Sean Connery to Daniel Craighave perfectly captured what makes this an eternally interesting character.
It is the only franchise on this list that, we can say, has survived the test of time in terms of the degree to which the story has been updated. And the legacy is so powerful that Now that Daniel Craig has stepped down from the mantle, there’s a lot of anticipation for who the next Bond will be.
