Throughout the history of major motion pictures, action movies have been major grossing vehicles for big stars both male and female, often beating out all other genres. For example, Of all the highest-grossing pics of all-time, the majority were action pics, like all of the “Star Wars” movies, “Batman” movies, and “Avengers” movies. We’re talking billions in grosses here. And, 2016 was no different.
Overall, the majority of the highly anticipated action movies in 2016 were big hits at the box-office, from “Suicide Squad” to “Jason Bourne”, audiences flocked to the theaters to catch a glimpse of their fave action heroes. And, the highest grossing actors and actresses of the year were starring mainly in action films. They include Jennifer Lawrence, Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson, Kevin Hart, Chris Pratt, Chris Evans, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Wahlberg, Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr., and Channing Tatum, just to name a few of the biggest grossing of the year.
It’s a well-known fact that action movies are here to stay. Men and women alike obviously love them and the box office figures prove it. So, here are the top seven action movies of 2016 (in no particular order)
Jason Bourne
This fifth and latest installment in the highly successful Bourne movie franchise from Universal Pictures was released on July 29, 2016, is rated PG, and has a running time of 123 minutes. Matt Damon is back, of course, as Jason Bourne and is joined by Tommy Lee Jones, Alicia Vikander, and Vincent Cassel. The film was directed by Paul Greengrass, the critically acclaimed director who also directed “The Bourne Supremacy”, “The Bourne Ultimatum”, and “Captain Phillips”. Produced by Jeffrey Weiner, Paul Greengrass, Matt Damon, Gregory Goodman, Ben Smith, and Frank Marshall for Captivate Entertainment, this highly successful action-thriller was written by Christopher Rouse and Paul Greengrass. The storyline revolves around Jason Bourne, of course, who is the CIA’s most lethal ex-operative who gets drawn back into the world of intrigue when he’s hunted by the CIA and they find him living in Greece.
Suicide Squad
This action phenom was released on August 5th, 2016, runs 130 minutes, and was rated PG. It revolves around a team of super-villains who are not only incarcerated but are also the most dangerous in the world. So, naturally, the government decided to do something really brilliant and send them out on a mission together. Once they all realize that they didn’t pick them for a successful mission, but just as scapegoats who are destined to fail, they decide that it’s time for every man for himself so to speak.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Here’s another installment in the Star Wars series from LucasFilm that was released on December 16th, 2016 and runs 133 minutes. It’s an all-new epic Star Wars adventure about an unlikely group of heroes during a time of conflict. Their mission is stealing the Death Star plans from the Empire because it is their ultimate weapon of mass destruction. They’re just plain ordinary folks doing extraordinary things. This new Star Wars was directed by Gareth Edwards and stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, and Forrest Whitaker. It made 829.1 million USD at the box-office
Captain America: Civil War
The Marvel comics’ Avengers franchise has, of course, been wildly successful and this latest installment is no exception. It revolves around an epic battle between superheroes Iron Man and Captain America. It was co-directed by Joe Russo and Anthony Russo and together they did a pretty inspiring job of bringing this superhero spectacle to the big screen with fairly well-rounded characters and naturally lots and lots of action! The screenplay was written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely and was based on the comic books of Mark Millar.
Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. are both fantastic in this film, as usual, playing Captain America and Iron Man. And, each one of them has their own team backing them up in all of the exciting battles that ensue. Captain America’s team includes Ant-Man, Hawkeye, Falcon, Sharon Carter, and Bucky Barnes and Iron Man’s team is Black Widow, War Machine, Black Panther, and The Vision. The supporting cast is great, including Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, William Hurt, Emily VanCamp, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Frank Grillo, and Daniel Brühl.
Star Trek Beyond
This new Star Trek installment was released on July 22nd, 2016, runs 120 minutes, and is rated PG. It’s been highly anticipated by fans. The entire Star Trek franchise was initially created by Gene Roddenberry and reintroduced to the fans in 2009 by J.J. Abrams. This film was directed by Justin Lin, who is well-known for directing the amazing “The Fast and the Furious” franchise. “Star Trek Beyond” revolves around yet another epic voyage of the U.S.S. Enterprise and her crew who is exploring all of the far reaches of uncharted space. They end up encountering a new enemy who is quite mysterious while putting them to the test along with everything that the Federation stands for.
Independence Day: Resurgence
Well, we knew they’d be back and so they are, and they’re up against most of the original cast of heroes except for Will Smith and Randy Quaid. This film was released on June 24th, 2016, has a running time of 120 minutes, and is rated PG. It’s said that the first Independence Day was successful at being able to redefine the event movie genre, which is true, but this new epic chapter manages to deliver a global spectacle on a scale that’s almost unimaginable. It revolves around a collaboration of all the Earth’s nations to mount a defense against aliens to protect our planet utilizing alien technology that had been recovered. Unfortunately, however, Earth was not quite prepared for the sheer advanced force that the aliens possess. That’s, of course, when a group of brave earthlings uses their ingenuity to bring the earth back from the brink of extinction.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
This popular action film was released on March 25th, 2016, had a running time of 151 minutes, and is rated PG. It naturally takes place in Batman’s hometown of Gotham City. It revolves around the city’s fear that their savior is out-of-control and needs to be reigned in. Enter Superman and, of course, an epic superhero battle ensues. It just follows, of course, that while they’re both otherwise engaged fighting with each other, another epic threat develops that puts all of mankind in imminent danger like never before. It was directed by Zack Snyder and starred Ben Affleck, Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter, and Laurence Fishburne. While it had horrible reviews and fanfare, we had to include it, sorry!
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