The year 2014 was packed with plenty of action films. Most of them were big-budget releases starring the biggest names in Hollywood. But were they all good? It depends on who you ask but to be sure about which ones impressed the most, we'll rely on the good metrics of IMDb.
Interestingly, the highest-rated action film that year wasn't even from Hollywood. You'll find that one in position one right at the bottom of this list. In case you wish to go back six years and watch the best fistfights and gunfights that 2014 had to offer, look no further. Here are the ten best action films released that year, according to IMDb.
Need For Speed (6.5)
Movies based on popular video games don't always manage to please audiences but Need For Speed tried. Anticipation for the film was also high after Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul was cast in the lead role. When it was released, critics weren't impressed but audiences were. The film grossed $203,277,636 globally.
In the movie, blue-collar mechanic Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul) decides to race cross-country in order to avenge the death of his friend by a racer named Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper). The movie was criticized for showcasing the 2015 Ford Mustang too much, eventually making it seem like a lengthy commercial.
Sin City: A Dame To Kill For (6.5)
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For had two popular directors—Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez—at the helm. What could go wrong? A lot actually. The black and white film made losses at the box office, grossing just $39 million against its huge production budget of $65 million. However, viewer feedback was generally positive.
The movie tells different stories, each with a different title. In "Just Another Saturday Night," the plot revolves around the character Marv (Mickey Rourke) and his feud with a group of frat boys. In "A Dame to Kill For," the character McCarthy (Josh Brolin) decides to put his personal struggles aside to the knight in shining armor for a woman he is crushing on. And in "Nancy's Last Dance," Nancy (Jessica Alba), is determined to revenge the death of a loved one.
Non-Stop (6.9)
Ever since Liam Neeson said "I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you" in Taken, he has stuck to that mantra in every other movie. In Non-Stop, his mission was also to look for the bad guy, finding the bad guy and kill the bad guy.
In the movie, he plays a Federal Air Marshal Bill Marks who is on a plane from New York to London. He receives a text message saying that someone in the plane will be killed every 20 minutes unless the huge sum of $150 million is wired to a specific bank account. He thus begins searching the plane for the person behind the threat.
The Equalizer (7.2)
Director Antoine Fuqua has a string of hit films and in 2014, he teamed up with frequent collaborator Denzel Washington for the highly entertaining action film The Equalizer. Denzel McCall (Denzel Washington), a retired military intelligence officer who is forced to put a pause to his peaceful life to rescue a teenage girl who has been forced into prostitution by Russian gangsters.
Much praise was given to Fuqua for the stylish direction and Denzel for the slick action scenes. However, the majority of critics felt the plot was weak. Commercially, the movie was a huge success, grossing $190 million globally against a production budget of $50 million.
A Hard Day (7.2)
In the fast-paced action film, things go from bad to worse for homicide detective Gun-soo (Lee Sun-Kyun). His mother dies and while he is driving back from the funeral, he hits a man. Desperation kicks in, making him take the body and bury it next to that of his mother.
A sharp colleague takes the case and makes progress. To make matters worse, a witness agrees to testify. Gun-soo eventually decides to dig out the body only to find it with gunshot wounds. The film received 42 award nominations in total across different award organizations.
American Sniper (7.3)
The Clint Eastwood directed film was based on the best-selling memoir by US Navy Seal sniper Chris Kyle American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History. The movie tells the life story of Kyle, who was once the most clinical military marksman in history, managing 255 kills during the Iraq War.
The movie received 8 Oscar nominations with Bradley Cooper being in contention for "Best Actor" for his portrayal of Kyle. However, several scenes in the film, including Kyle killing boy were never in the book. The use of a fake baby in a scene also ended up being noticeable by many viewers.
John Wick (7.4)
Many agree that this is the movie that revived the career of Speed and Matrix star Keanu Reeves. In the 2014 action thriller, Reeves plays John Wick, an ex-hitman is forced to come out of retirement to hunt down gangsters that killed a dog left to him by his deceased wife.
Interestingly, the film was originally titled Scorn. Obviously, hell hath no fury than a pet-owner scorned but John Wick is a way cooler title. The film was a huge success, managing a worldwide gross of $88 million against a budget of $20 million.
Fury (7.6)
In the critically-acclaimed Fury, Brad Pitt gives one of his best performances in the past decade as a tank commander named Wardaddy (Such a cool name for a soldier). In the movie, Wardaddy risks it all and moves into a Nazi-infested territory with just a five-man crew. Even worse is that one of them is a rookie. Outnumbered, they do everything they can to survive.
Despite being leaked early as part of the 2014 Sony Pictures Entertainment hack by the hacker group "The Guardian Of Peace", Fury still did well at the box office, grossing $211.8 million, against a production budget of $68 million. The movie is partially based on American tank commander Sergeant Lafayette "War Daddy" Pool who destroyed 258 Nazi war vehicles with his tank.
Kingsman: The Secret Service (7.7)
The stylish Kingman revolves around the recruitment and training of a man named Eggsy (Taron Egerton) by a secret intelligence organization founded by the British elite. Soon, Eggsy is placed in a mission to stop technology tycoon Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) who intends to kill the majority of the world's population in order to stop climate change.
The movie managed a worldwide gross of $414.4 million. A sequel titled Kingsman: The Secret Service soon followed. A prequel titled The King's Man is also said to be in development. Kingsman: The Secret Service was also praised for bringing back the exaggerated yet entertaining elements of old spy movies.
The Raid 2 (8.0)
When the first movie was too good, there's always skepticism among fans that the sequel won't be as good. Generally, sequels tend to be worse than the original, rather than better. However, in the case of the widely popular Indonesian martial arts film, things were different.
All of the good things that audiences loved about the first film including the excessive violence and the unique Indonesian fighting technique called Pencak Silat were present in the sequel. The movie saw Iko Uwais reprising his role as officer Rama. This time, he went undercover to expose corrupt dealing between members of the force and Jakarta's mobsters.