Latest news with #actionMovies
Digital Trends
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
3 action movies to watch on Memorial Day
Memorial Day is more than just an excuse to get out the grill. It's also a day designed to honor those we've lost in combat, an important hallmark of the wars America has fought over its history. In that context, we've pulled together three action movies that all focus on what it means to be a soldier in one way or another. Some of these movies are more serious than others, but each one should resonate on this particular long weekend. Recommended Videos We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+. Black Hawk Down (2001) One of the best war movies of the past 25 years, Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down follows a platoon of U.S. forces attacked by local rebels in Somalia during the early 1990s. As the soldiers on the ground face relentless fire and are forced to fight to survive, we also come to appreciate the folly of U.S. forces assuming that they can bring peace to the world. Black Hawk Down is filled with young actors who would eventually become stars, but what really makes the movie work is the fact that none of those actors are more important than the relentless pace of the story being told. You can watch Black Hawk Down on Netflix. Da 5 Bloods (2020) A brilliant examination of the Vietnam War and its aftermath, Da 5 Bloods tells the story of a group of Black veterans of that war who reunite in the country decades later to find the treasure they buried there during the conflict. As they argue about the state of modern America and discuss how they were abused by the country they call home, the men also find themselves forced to fight for their right to leave with the gold. Anchored by a remarkable central performance from Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods is one of Spike Lee's more impressive and exciting efforts of the past decade. You can watch Da 5 Bloods on Netflix. The Great Escape (1963) The Great Escape is an action movie that strikes an impressive tonal balance between comedy and drama. Set in a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp, it follows a group of imprisoned soldiers who see it as their obligation to attempt to escape from the camp. As they slowly dig a tunnel to escape, a rogue amongst them keeps trying to break out in more reckless ways. Although it might minimize some of the horror of living in a Nazi prison camp, The Great Escape is an effective, action-oriented depiction of how much soldiers can fight even after they've already been captured. You can watch The Great Escape on Amazon Prime Video.
The National
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning review: Tom Cruise still has the power to surprise
It's called movie magic for a reason. Watch any magic trick and it's never in question whether you're being tricked. The thrill comes from the surprise found in its resolution – and in the mystery as to how they managed to fool you. But increasingly, in the era of green screen CGI, the mystery is gone from big action movies. How did Marvel do it, for instance? They pre-visualised it on a computer and then brought in the actors to fill in the blanks. Even the director often becomes secondary. And, as generative AI develops, human ingenuity is likely to become less a part of the equation. What, in that world, will we go to the cinemas for? It makes sense, then, that the villain of the last two Mission: Impossible films has been AI. After all, there is no franchise more steeped in the fundamentals of old-school filmmaking – no greater successor to the early days of cinema in which Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin pushed themselves to their physical limits to surprise and delight an audience. Perhaps that's why the narrative around these films has entirely become about what goes into making them. Since Tom Cruise first scaled Dubai's Burj Khalifa with 2011's Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, we've flocked to each subsequent instalment to see a man seemingly past his physical prime do things that no other person on earth could – or would even try to manage. And the further he's pushed his limits, the further we're moved to the edge of our seats. In many ways, it's turned Cruise into more of an elite pro wrestler than an actor. When watching a great wrestling match, audiences are thinking first and foremost about what the wrestler will do when they ascend to the top rope – and whether they'll survive the stunt they attempt from there. The storytelling is dependent on the real-life stakes – and when the two intertwine, it feels like nothing else. If you're chasing that transcendent feeling once again, then I have good news: Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning more than delivers. But I do have one caveat – it takes a while to get there. Our story begins with about 20 minutes of recapping – this is a part two after all, although the title obfuscates that. Ethan Hunt (Cruise), the oft-disavowed agent of the Impossible Mission Force and multi-time saviour of the world, is in hot pursuit of the Entity, a rogue artificial intelligence that is working to take hold of the world's nuclear arsenal – and wipe out all life on Earth. The Entity has flooded the internet with false narratives that no one can discern from the truth, which has plunged the world into chaos. Only Ethan has the power to stop it all, of course – although it won't be easy. As they often say in these movies, this isn't Mission: Difficult. There's an overwhelming amount of exposition here. That's thanks in part to this potentially being the final film in the series. As a result, forgotten storylines and characters from previous films are brought back, in an admirable attempt to reverse engineer an overarching narrative. But this is a franchise that has largely been made up on the fly – most of the films are heavily rewritten mid-production. The plotting has always been secondary. If you forget details or people along the way, don't feel the need to interrogate your confusion, or to rewatch the whole series later to figure out how it all fits together. Treat it as decoration – the sprig of parsley you pick off before you cut into the juicy steak beneath. You're here, first and foremost, for the action set pieces – and this instalment contains among the best in the series. Cruise dives to the bottom of the ocean and jumps between propeller planes – all beautifully photographed by a director in Christopher McQuarrie, who literally went along for the ride to capture them. While he'll never have the eye or visual flair of Brian De Palma or John Woo, who directed the first two films respectively, he makes up the difference in sheer ambition. Cruise, it should be said, is far from just a glorified stuntman. He's a consummate performer, and his unmatched physicality does most of the narrative's heavy lifting. Every bone in his body is acting – every movement full of heart and soul, every stride telling a story. But Cruise alone doesn't make these globe-trotting movies successful. The supporting cast, assembled through trial and error over the past seven films, is the most effective in the series so far. Ving Rhames, who plays Luther, is the only one who's stuck around since the beginning – and as he's diminished physically, his appearances have become even more emotional to witness, like Val Kilmer's cameo in Top Gun: Maverick. Simon Pegg was added as the bumbling comic relief in Mission: Impossible 3 and has become a key ingredient. And Hayley Atwell, who plays Grace and joined in Dead Reckoning, is Cruise's most versatile female co-star to date – jumping between tones with ease and fostering palpable chemistry with each scene partner. There are good arguments to made for this film to end the series. Tom Cruise is now in his 60s, for one. It's impossible not to wonder how many of these he still has in him – although he's continually proved that he's not one to be doubted. And unlike James Bond, it's impossible to imagine anyone else taking on the role of Ethan Hunt. Anyone who can fit into a tuxedo can play James Bond – but there's only one Tom Cruise. He's the character. He's the magic trick. And the mystery that lingers is how and why he does it. And two, we've seen versions of these stunts in other forms throughout the series, lessening the impact of some of the action. But even with that feeling of creeping familiarity, the film still has the capacity to surprise. I found myself surprisingly emotional at times – wiping tears from my eyes. That never happened in the other eight. And when a series can still surprise you like that, you never want to let it go. Particularly when it's unclear if we'll ever see filmmaking of this kind again. Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning releases in cinemas May 21 across the Middle East
CNA
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNA
Jackie Chan feels CGI stunts making audiences 'numb' to danger of filming action sequences
Jackie Chan fears that CGI stunts are desensitising viewers to the danger of action movies. The 71-year-old actor and martial artist has expressed misgivings about the computer wizardry involved in modern stunt work, as he feels it gives audiences a false impression of the risks involved in shooting such sequences. In an interview with luxury publication Haute Living, Chan explained: "In the old days, the only [choice we had] was to be there and jump, that's it." "Today, with computers, actors can do anything, but there's always a sense of reality that you feel is missing." The Rush Hour star added: "It's a double-edged sword. On one hand, actors become more and more capable of doing impossible stunts with the help of technology, and yet, on the other hand, the concept of danger and limit gets blurred and the audience is numb [to it]. "But I'm not encouraging anybody to risk their lives to do the stunts like I did. It truly is too dangerous." Having performed his own stunts throughout his career of more than 60 years, Chan has no intention of slowing down. "Of course, I always do my own stunts. It's who I am,' he said. "That's not changing until the day I retire, which is never! And to be honest, when you've done it for 64 years straight, there's no physical preparation anymore. Everything is in your heart and soul, it is muscle memory." While Chan is a legendary figure in the action genre, he has also expressed a strong desire to branch out into other genres, hoping to showcase his versatility beyond the action world. The Karate Kid: Legends actor said: "I want to do something outside of action. I want to be an actor who can handle different roles. I personally am very open to change. I want to do some new stuff, rather than staying in the action world. That's just not me, I'm always trying to break boundaries.' "Every filmmaker and actor, they want their own movies to be special and at the same time commercially successful. It's the same for me as well.' Reflecting on his career, Chan pointed out that commercial appeal has always been part of his approach, particularly when it comes to stunt choreography. "Most of the movies I made were commercial films, so it wasn't that much of a conflict. I would constantly brainstorm how to design an action sequence to make it more appealing to the audience,' he said. Chan adopts the philosophy of never being comfortable, both in life and his cinema work. "You can't make everyone satisfied and happy, so the only thing you can do is be true and honest to yourself,' he explained.
