Crank up the adrenaline with these stunt-filled action films
With David Leitch’s love letter to stunt professionals, The Fall Guy hitting theatres, and rumblings of a potential Academy Award for stunts on the horizon, it’s the perfect time to fire up some of the best movies with the finest stunts that you can find on streaming. Of course this is not a comprehensive list, just some suggestions to get the juices flowing during your pre- or postFall Guy streaming session.
Plus, stunts were an integral part to the early advent of cinema, more than a hundred years ago. Audiences were so startled by the Lumiere Brothers’ film The Arrival of the Train at the Station, they ran out of the theatre. And filmmakers have been thrilling audiences since then with action-packed feats of derring-do, from Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton to Tom Cruise and Keanu Reeves.
It’s always a good idea to start at the beginning, so start with Buster Keaton’s own cinematic train opus, the 1926 silent film The General, about a stolen locomotive with his lady love on board. You’ll be dazzled by Keaton’s performance, and witness how modern stunts evolved from, and pay homage to his work. Stream it on Tubi. Another pioneering stunt performer, Harold Lloyd starred in the 1923 film Safety Last! which is streaming on Classix and the Criterion Channel, so add that to the list as well.
Of course, modern Hollywood stunts would not be what they are today without the influence of Hong Kong action cinema, especially star Jackie Chan. After a disappointing Hollywood experience, Chan channelled his energy into the Police Story franchise, which became a massive blockbuster hit in Asia and Europe. They are largely considered to be some of the best action films of all time. Rent Police Story and Police Story 2 on digital platforms.
We couldn’t talk about stunts on film without covering the Mission: Impossible franchise, which sees Tom Cruise executing more and more daring stunts, including the motorcycle mountain jump he pulled off in the most recent film Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One. Stream the entire franchise on Paramount+.
Back in 1999, a stuntman named Chad Stahelski doubled Keanu Reeves on The Matrix, an action film that greatly advanced stunt work. Some 15 years later, Stahelski would direct Reeves in the John Wick franchise, their own love letter to stunt work, created in partnership with Leitch, who would go on to make his directorial debut with the chilly Cold War actioner Atomic Blonde (2017) starring Charlize Theron. Stream The Matrix on Netflix, stream the John Wick franchise on Starz and rent Atomic Blonde on Prime Video to see a bit of The Fall Guy DNA.
Finally, no mention of stunt movies would be complete without a shout out to what might be the best action movie of the 21st century so far, George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road. This mad dash across the desert involved hordes of war boys clinging to vehicles tearing across the Namibian landscape, leaping and battling from swinging poles and scaffolding, motorcycle grannies, feisty wives, a steely Theron and a taciturn Tom Hardy. It’s always the right time to stream Fury Road, and it also serves as prep for the prequel, Furiosa, which roars into theatres on May 24. Stream Mad Max: Fury Road on Starz.