A good Action sequence is something that is truly amazing to watch, as it can be as expansive as explosions crashing across the screen, or more intimate, like a duel between two people. This gives the best action scenes such a range and in 2020 we were given some truly amazing spectacles.

For me, the best action scenes are those that excel in every element, whether that be live actions, special effects, digital effects, or animation and bring every facet to shine. It is also the category that looks at some of the department’s people don’t often fully understand like stunt coordination or the 2^nd unit.

So without further ado, these are the moments of action that awed us in 2020. Be warned that there may be some slight spoilers ahead for the films in question. Also, click on the banners to see the reviews of each film.

1917

A race to the end as explosions rain all around  

Directed by – Sam Mendes
Stunt Coordination by – Ben Cooke

Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn

A fabulous lady assaults a police station with explosions of colour   

Directed by – Cathy Yan
Second Unit Direction – Jonathan Eusebio
Stunt Coordination by – Jon Valera, Scott Rogers, Daniel Hernandez & Jonathan Eusebio

Da 5 Bloods

A final stand against a rising tide     

Directed by – Spike Lee
Second Unit Direction – David Webb
Stunt Coordination Led by – Seng Kawee & Jeff Ward

Extraction

Extracting a boy from kidnappers takes a turn and takes every step to survive    

Directed by – Sam Hargrave
Second Unit Direction – Thayr Harris
Stunt Coordination Led by – Doreen Chan, Thayr Harris, Kawee ‘Seng’ Sirikhanaerut, Michael Lehr & Daniel Stevens

The Invisible Man

Fighting something or someone who is not there but the punches keep coming 

Directed by – Leigh Whannell
Second Unit Direction – Deborah Antoniou & Robert Pomposo
Stunt Coordination by – Harry Dakanalis & Chris Weir

The Legend of Baron To’a

A brawl that starts at the top of a cul-de-sac and ends at the heart of the villains lair.

Directed by – Kiel McNaughton
Story by – John Argall & Owen Black
Screenplay by –John Argall

And the Winner is!!!!! – Extraction

This was a difficult pick as The Invisible Man gave our winner a real run for their money. However, when I think back, nothing quite hit as hard as the long take of chaos as the carefully laid plan of Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) completely falls apart and they have to wing it. There are car crashes, gun battles, hand to hand fights, falls from great highest, and three separate groups battling across the buildings of Dhaka. I mean the stuck the director on the front of a car and rammed it into things, and it works.    

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

What are your favourite cinematic moments from 2020?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 

Credits – All images used were created by the respective studio and artists of each film