The release of Lana Wachowski's The Matrix Resurrections sees the first cinematic installment of the franchise since the director came out as trans in 2010. While the action film genre is typically viewed as an arena for heterosexual, cisgender men, several LGBTQ+ directors have made their takes on the genre.
Roland Emmerich, Joel Schumacher, and the Wachowski sisters are but a few who have revolutionized the action genre several times over. These directors bring with them exciting styles they've employed and unique perspectives that colored their narratives in new and interesting ways.
The Twilight Saga - Breaking Dawn Part 2 - Bill Condon
The finale to the Twilight series has some of Breaking Dawn, its sequel shows the series' climax in a battle as the primary characters seek to protect Edward and Bella's child, Renesmee, from the Volturi.
The film takes some liberties in adapting Stephanie Meyer's book, trying to up the drama and tension of the latter half of the novel. The lengthy dream sequence which shows the battle between the Volturi and the main vampires is one of the series' most thrilling scenes, building on the book's anticlimactic finale.
Money Monster - Jodie Foster
While Money Monster may not be an out-and-out action film, it is imbued with constant tension throughout, as TV financial expert Lee Gates is held hostage by Kyle Budwell, a disenfranchised investor who lost his entire life savings due to Gates' advice.
This is the fourth film directed by Jodie Foster and her most suspenseful yet. Money Monster may lack extravagant chase scenes or expertly choreographed fights. However, it excels in building tension and the lingering threat of violence throughout its runtime.
Batman & Robin - Joel Schumacher
Often maligned as one of the worst Batman films, Batman & Robin is the kind of campy fun that takes the franchise more in the direction of Adam West's light-hearted adventures than Tim Burton's darker take on the character.
Batman & Robin is Schumacher's follow-up to Batman Forever, and it is considered one of the most infamous adaptations of the property. The film is overloaded with corny gags and cheesy performances from Arnold Schwartzenegger, Uma Thurman, and George Clooney. The film features several memorable action scenes including the fight with the 'hockey team from hell' and Batgirl's motorcycle chase.
Universal Soldier - Roland Emmerich
While Roland Emmerich only directed the first Universal Soldier, the film went on to be a box office success and spawn five sequels. Emmerich's first entry to the series was overshadowed by Terminator 2: Judgment Day, though it stands today as an action classic of the genre, full of bombast, cliches, and memorable fight scenes.
It may not be Emmerich's best-known film today, which are disaster movies. With Jean Claude Van Damme helming the action sci-fi fusion that the director is typically known for, the film offers the sort of B-movie fun that action fans know to expect from the genre.
Falling Down - Joel Schumacher
Schumacher's Falling Down has proven to be ahead of its time in exploring the psyche of a disenfranchised middle-class white man. Michael Douglas stars as William Foster, a man down on his luck and facing both divorce and unemployment on the same day, the film follows his journey to get back home as he becomes continuously angered at what he sees as a lazy and complacent Los Angeles.
Falling Down is at times an absurd action film, but is best viewed as a satire underlying the thin-skinned resentment of a man like Foster. The movie would find itself in good company with films like Fight Club or American Psycho would portray similar characters.
Stargate - Roland Emmerich
Another blend of science fiction and action from Emmerich, while Stargate may be considered more the former kind of film, it still has plenty of action chops to boast. Kurt Russel and James Spader are the film's protagonists, with the latter attempting to decipher the ancient portal that leads across the galaxy while the former waits to defend Earth if needed to.
The film may be overshadowed by its television spinoffs, Stargate: Atlantis, Stargate: SG1, and Stargate: Universe, however, the Emmerich film is still full of 90s action fun, with a memorable ancient Egypt infused sci-fi style.
Speed Racer - The Wachowskis
Speed Racer is a wonder of a film. While it tanked in the box office and received mixed reviews upon release, it is a film that is stylistically unlike anything else.
It is also a film that truly delivers on the action thrills it promises, making full use of its computer-generated world to make breathtaking camera movements that aren't otherwise possible. While the film does feature some hand-hand combat, it's the racing scenes that stand out most as adrenaline-fueled cocktails of madness.
Nocturnal Animals - Tom Ford
Tom Ford's dark followup to his debut, A Single Man, may be classed more comfortably as a thriller, but it still contains some nerve-wracking action sequences within its neo-noir setting. The film follows Amy Adams as Susan, a gallery owner who receives a manuscript from her first husband, Edward.
Edward's novel is where most of the story takes place, and Susan starts to notice themes from their marriage cropping up within its dark narrative, portraying a grueling hard-boiled thriller of a husband seeking revenge for his murdered family. Nocturnal Animals is a darker film than the others on this list but still is a captivating and gripping action thriller.
Independence Day - Roland Emmerich
Perhaps Emmerich's height as a filmmaker, Independence Day is an instant classic and a blockbuster delight. The iconic film may be full of overly-sentimental and patriotic characters, but its action scenes are still a delight to this day, particularly the maximalist explosions showing the destruction of New York, and famously the White House.
The film created as many cliches as it fell victim to, but is still perhaps the most definitive alien invasion movie since Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
The Matrix - The Wachowskis
Perhaps the film that has influenced action films the most in the last thirty years, The Matrix is a film that even the Wachowski sisters haven't been able to replicate since. While the film is also iconic for the performances, the sickly green color palette, and the tight and efficient plotting, its action is still a highlight by far.
While the action scenes are arguably matched by those in Reloaded, they are still just as breathtaking today as they were back in 1999. From the effortless cool of Trinity and Neo shooting up a hallway to the high-energy thrill of the hand-to-hand combat to the mind-melting bullet-time scenes, The Matrix is still one of the great, if not the greatest, action films of all time.
