Massive explosions. Hails of gunfire. Unnecessary but awesome car chases. Incredibly cheesy yet badass one-liners. These are but a few of the hallmarks of a great action movie. Making a good action movie can be challenging in its own right, but even more difficult is recapturing that magic mayhem in a sequel. In honor of John Wick: Chapter 2 (one of the best action movie sequels in recent memory) hitting theaters this weekend, I decided to take a walk down a gunshot-riddled, adrenaline-fueled, white-knuckle memory lane and round up some of the greatest action movie sequels ever made.
Assembling this list wasn’t easy, and I’ve almost certainly omitted some real gems, but I stand by each and every one of these movies. Their unique blend of jaw-dropping action set pieces, bone-crunching fight scenes, and the childish glee they instill in viewers make them worthy of accolade, or at the very least a rewatch. Maybe you can even make it a double feature with John Wick: Chapter 2 this weekend. The world is your assault rifle-wielding oyster.
Which of these films is your favorite? What would you add to this list? Get to the chopper and let us know in the comments below.
Image: Disney/Marvel
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Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter and ask him about all things anime (@Osteoferocious).
