More than any other genre, action movies are meant to entertain. They provide thrills, chills, and exhilarating escapism from the doldrums of life. Like most movies, though, action flicks have been around for decades, making them a highly competitive market at this point. This is especially the case with comic book flicks stealing much of their thunder in the 21st century.
To top their peers, filmmakers naturally aim higher and higher with the spectacle. However, they sometimes get carried away. Bigger stunt sequences mean it's harder to believe a human being can survive. Granted, these films are still fun, but realism went out the window a long time ago.
10 John Matrix – Commando
It should be no surprise that Schwarzenegger is on this list. He's made a career out of playing invincible muscle-heads, but few exemplify that appeal like Commando. As the title suggests, Arnold stars as a former soldier, but one who wants nothing more than to spend time with his daughter. Terrorists predictably take her hostage, sending Matrix on a one-man rampage across the country.
Despite positioning him as a human being, the filmmakers take Schwarzenegger's immense size as carte blanche for craziness. He knocks over phone booths and flips cars like they were cardboard, but that's only the beginning. The climax sees him mow down an entire island of bad guys by himself. Of course, they always miss him by a mile, but he hits every shot with the same stoic determination he displayed in the Terminator films. He's not a robot here, so one wonders which barracks gave him such a godlike gift for destruction. Speaking of Daddy rescue missions...
9 Bryan Mills – The Taken Series
When modern slavers abduct his daughter, this former agent warns them of his "particular set of skills." It's vague, but these skills enable him to track down an international human trafficking ring and dispatch each of its members with unflinching coldness. They can't stop him no matter how hard they try or where they hide.
Mills's superhuman talents become more comically apparent in the sequels. His enemies have him on the back foot, but it never lasts. His survival training allows him to maneuver out of whatever cartoonish death trap they've cooked up. Whether they're terrorists, traffickers, mercs, or cops, they're all utterly inept next to Bryan. You can't help but weep for any poor sap who comes courting his daughter.
8 Mr. Smith – Shoot 'Em Up
Drifters never stay in one spot for too long, and the mysterious "Mr. Smith" takes that to heart. The secret to his success is to keep moving. He's always running and gunning, constantly throwing his enemies off balance. This allows him to use every aspect of his surroundings.
Smith has instinctual knowledge of his movie's own exaggerated physics. He utilizes even the most unassuming items in his environment for movement, cover, or additional attacks. This makes him all the more difficult to predict. For the cherry on top, he does it all while holding a baby. Now, that's a superpower in itself!
7 John McClane – The Die Hard Series
McClane started as an everyman cop in the first Die Hard. He stayed one step ahead of the bad guys by the skin of his teeth and no small degree of injury. As the franchise went on, though, his escapes got more and more ridiculous.
The two most recent entries--Live Free or Die Hard and A Good Day to Die Hard--are most guilty of this. Here, the beat cop slides down collapsing highways and jumps off buildings, walking off with nary a nonexistent hair out of place. For reference, Bruce Willis's character in Unbreakable couldn't do half this stuff, and he was an actual superhero.
6 Ash Williams – The Evil Dead Series
This goofball demon-slayer evolves along with his series. Ash was just a normal guy staying in an old forest cabin with his friends. Sadly, it's not long before he loses his mind (and his hand) thanks to the Deadite invasion. As Williams survives the monstrous onslaught, though, he becomes surer of himself. Pretty soon, he can slice up these sickos in his sleep, developing a macho attitude to go with this expertise.
A college student shouldn't be able to do half these cartoonish stunts, but thanks to Sam Raimi's zany direction, Ash does it all with ease. The trauma he survives veers into slapstick comedy right out of Looney Tunes or Tom & Jerry. It gets even more farcical in Ash vs. Evil Dead: a TV show where a middle-aged, overweight clown can still leap across the room and take down legions of demons without throwing his back out. Maybe his confidence keeps him young at heart?
5 John Wick – The John Wick Series
Though initially appearing as a gentle dog owner, John Wick has a killer reputation among his peers. Described as a monster in combat, this hitman can overcome any odds, wiping out enough thugs to shift the balance of a whole criminal empire. That sounds like an exaggeration, but he soon lives up to that hype.
Over three movies, this stylized setting throws every assassin under the sun (or neon lights) at John, who kills them all with skill and precision unmatched. Sure, he sometimes incurs injuries, but he never stays down for long. He gets back up and annihilates his attackers, making them sorry they ever looked at him wrong. Given his body count and legendary status, one wonders why people even try to fight him. They just can't resist being the one to kill John Wick. Unbeknownst to them, that dream is unattainable.
4 El Mariachi – Desperado
The title character of El Mariachi seems like a simple musician. That changes when his guitar case swaps with that of a hitman who carries guns instead of an instrument. This paints a target on the poor guy's back, and he soon finds himself on the run from the entire Mexican underworld. Fighting for survival sharpens this street performer into a deadly weapon in his own right.
Fast forward to Desperado, and El Mariachi is now feared among the criminal crowd. His quest to avenge his love has granted him superhuman reflexes and efficiency. He seemingly has a precognition for where to shoot, and he's quicker on the draw than any cartel thug. Not only does this give him the confidence to add some flourish to the fight, but it also lets him triumph when the odds are 30 to 1. Some people make lemonade out of lemons; El Mariachi lost his life as a humble guitar player and became Mexico's greatest gunslinger.
3 Roy Pulver – Boss Level
The title doesn't lie. Thanks to a revolutionary time travel device, dying for Roy Pulver is akin to dying in a video game: he just comes right back and starts the day over again. Countless crazed killers are still trying to off him, but he now has the advantage.
Namely, he learns from his mistakes. He simply avoids whatever fatal blow got him the last time. In addition, he masters skills like gunplay and martial arts to topple tougher opponents. Thus, the villains are dumbfounded as this idiot weaves through every foolproof plan they had to snuff him out. He doesn't even have to use any cheat codes.
2 Everyone – Fast & Furious Franchise
These guys have to be in on the joke at this point. The members of Dom's "family" have gone from street racing to international espionage, citywide destruction, space chases, and super soldiers. Because of this, the vehicular mayhem has only gotten more ridiculous.
Cars weren't meant to do half the stuff shown in these movies, and humans definitely weren't meant to walk away from such stunts unscathed. Regardless, that's what regularly happens in the Fast & Furious series. For this motley crew, driving out of a plane and crashing into a building is just another lazy Sunday drive (pun intended).
1 Every Jackie Chan Character – Various
Unlike other martial arts stars like Bruce Lee or Jet Li, Jackie Chan's characters are often goofy, downtrodden everymen. People push him around or disregard him entirely. Seeing him prove them wrong never gets old.
In the process of defending himself or running away, Chan inadvertently knocks his assailants into next week. This helps him excel in physical comedy, but the spectacle doesn't stop there. In trying to avoid the aforementioned conflict, he performs death-defying leaps across all kinds of chaotic environments. Even Spider-Man would shy away from such insane acrobatics, yet Jackie does it all with a frantic energy you can't help but admire.