The Top 10 Most Bonkers Action Scenes
By Rob Stevens
6th October 2009

10) I’m sorry, what time is it? (Safety Last!)
Clearly not an action film, but clearly an action sequence, before Hollywood ever knew what that was. Harry Llyold’s most iconic sequence involves him climbing up the side of a building, and then having to cling on for dear life to a clock as it ticks round. Llyod was inspired by a showman called The Human Fly, who took his breath away when he went to see him climb up the side of buildings. The Fly was given a part in the film.

9) A punch up at 3,000ft (Crank)
Bonkers is the only word to describe Crank, a film that makes no sense (and makes no apologies for that) from start to finish. Why did the bad guys give him a poison that works slowly instead of just cutting his head off there and then? Anyway, the climatic sequence sees hero Chev Chelios fighting baddie Ricky Verona hanging out of a helicopter 3,000ft above LA. Jason Statham did it, for real.

8) Wolverine Vs Bruce Lee? (Enter the Dragon)
There is a fair amount of madness in Bruce Lee’s films that sometimes goes unappreciated. A good example is the final scene in Bruce’s big James-Bondish hit, Enter the Dragon, where the bad guy has an action-man like ability to switch his hand at will. He chooses a Wolverine foot so he can claw Bruce and make him look iconicly bloody. The whole thing is rather surreal, but also, very brilliant.

7) Storm Clouds approaching (Steamboat Bill Jr)
Again, a pretty off the wall scene at the end of Buster Keaton’s last independent film, sees a huge storm sequence, where whole buildings fall down, Buster walks headfirst into the wind – almost horizontally – and mass damage was caused. It doesn’t make much sense, but even now is spectacular to watch. And of course, it ends with Buster’s most iconic shot, where the true madness lies. Keaton dusts himself off in front of a house, the front of which falls, leaving him surrounded by an inch of window either side, he walks off, undisturbed.

6) Hospital + baby + bad guys = Bonkers (Hard Boiled)
Chow Yun-Fat stars as Officer Tequila in one of John Woo’s most beloved Hong Kong films. You could fill this list with Woo films, but as far as his Hong Kong output goes, this probably takes the biscuit. Chow cradles, and sings to, a small baby (who looks nothing like the iconic baby on the poster/DVD box) to sleep, while he shoots the hell out of all the bad dudes with his shotgun in the other hand.

5) “James Bond’s going to die!” (The Spy Who Loved Me)
The Bond films are filled with crazy sequences, but this one is awesome. James Bond (Roger Moore) skis down a slope (wearing bright yellow in case they have trouble seeing him) twisting and turning and shooting bad guys as he does. Then, for no logical reason, the slope leads to a giant cliff (which to be honest, seems like a bit of a safety hazard) and as recounted by Alan Partridge you think “Oh No! James Bond’s going to die! He’s going to die!” – except he doesn’t, because he pulls his ripcord to reveal an outrageous union jack parachute he packed just in case.

4) The Craziest Prison Break Out (Face/Off)
We covered John Woo’s HK output, and while his Hollywood output has been infinitely more variable, it still contains the gem that is Face/Off, a film that can literally only be thought of as bonkers. John Travolta is a cop chasing after a bad guy (Nic Cage) who killed his son. Cage has planted a bomb in the city, but Travolta puts him in a coma before he can find out. So naturally, he goes deep undercover, taking Cage’s face, and going to jail to speak with Cage’s brother. Unfortunately, Cage then wakes up, and steals Travolta’s face. And Travolta (who is now Cage) is stuck in Prison forever. Not just any prison, either. In typical Woo fashion, the prison is way over the top, with magnetic boots so no-one can escape. Except Cage, who takes off his boots, and causes absolute mayhem before finding out he’s on an oil rig, and swims to the city.

3)  I’m Walking in the Air (Point Break)
Buddy Movies received a redefinition from Kathryn Bigalow in 1991, with her Point Break, which cast the buddies on opposite sides. Keanu Reeves’ cop is supposed to be chasing Patrick Swayze’s bank robber, but the pair form a tight friendship. When Keanu finally flies off the hook, he does it in some style, jumping out of a plane without a parachute, chasing after Swayze who has one. When he catches him, he threatens to shoot Swayze unless he pulls the ripcord to allow them to live – Swayzee refuses, knowing that Keanu can’t shoot him and pull the cord AND hang onto him as well. Madness.

2) Elephant meet window. (The Warrior King)
Tony Jaa is the first of Hong Kong’s big martial artists to really capture to madness of his hero, Bruce Lee. Often he goes much further. The Warrior King is a good example. Jaa’s character is a protector of elephants, and one gets kidnapped so he has to go and kill some bad dudes. When he reaches them, there is an insane battle, which about half way through sees a henchman throw an elephant, through a window. Jaa gets his own back by beating the henchman to death with a complicated combination of Kung fu and giant elephant bones.

1) The Bus Jump (Speed)
The highest of gloriously high concepts – Keanu Reeves is trapped on a bus with Sandra Bullock and some faceless hostages, on a bus that has to stay above 50mph or else it’ll be blown up by Dennis Hopper’s mad villain. So what happens when there is a gap in the road? Easy, Keanu tells Sandra to put her foot down, and to jump it, defying everything Isaac Newton ever put to paper.