'John Wick' and 7 Other Great Action Movies That Are Really Beautiful

Action movies are often overlooked when it comes to onscreen beauty. Part of that has to do with what we consider to be "art" and maybe part of it is that an action movie's target audience isn't too concerned with how pretty the movie looks. Though now that I think about it, whenever an action gets bad reviews, most people say "oh, it looks great" as the stock positive note. But I am talking about action films that are simply gorgeous and especially how they use violence artistically,

The list is in alphabetical order and is a mix between "duh!" and "say what?"

300: Rise of an Empire (2014)
So I love this movie, which is a sort of side-quel to 300. The battle scenes display an elegant masculinity that is all too rare in modern action movies. The film is restrained in its use of the color red and the fight choreography is almost dance-like. 300: Rise of an Empire is a pretty gory movie and it is basks in its own grotesque beauty. The film is chaotic and frantic, and the direction is stylish. This movie knows what it wants to be and is precisely that.

Drive (2011)
Drive belongs to a genre of films that I like to think I created: the action melodrama. Drive is a romance that erupts periodically into graphic but expressive violence. Take the elevator scene, where Driver (Ryan Gosling) pushes Irene (Carey Mulligan) to a corner, and gives her a primal, passionate kiss, and the lighting shifts to suggest they're the only ones in the world. But there's a henchman in the elevator, whom Driver viciously beats to death. Irene moves away from him and then out the elevator and the door closes. The scene depicts the twin sides to Driver: the romantic and the animal. The film is full of such sequences, where the gore is as evocative as the romance.

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
When it comes to mainstream summer blockbusters, Tom Cruise is one of the few movie stars who does action movies that actually look interesting and defy conventions (Oblivion and the Mission Impossible movies). But Edge of Tomorrow is the cream of the crop. Maybe it's the European/futuristic setting: the movie jumps from the beach, to the countryside, to the city and the camerawork is beautiful. This world feels lived-in and the effects of this losing war are all over the place. The editing is also phenomenal, seamlessly traveling through time loops. The movie has this grunge look to it and executes that with style.

Hanna (2011)
The editing is inventive, the techno score is rollicking and the fight choreography makes great use of space and surroundings. Hanna is one of the most interesting action films, taking its structure from fairy tales and using "fish out of water" themes to make even the most mundane scenes thrilling. Joe Wright, director of Pride & Prejudice Atonement and Anna Karenina, is no stranger to stylish execution. By bringing his talents to action, he makes a somewhat standard story feel exciting and glamorous.

Inception (2010)
This is the most obvious movie on the list. There's not a lot I can add to the discussion about Inception. The movie's use of practical effects is what gives it its edge. Practical effects require timing, planning and precise blocking. The film's sets, ranging from a swanky hotel to a snowy mountain, re evocative of each character's mindset. Because the movie deals with dreamspace, the movie has an overall other-worldly quality to it. And the editing is just really on-point. The movie is about a heist of some sort but the movie works like one as well.

John Wick (2014)
John Wick is one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen. Not only is the action gory and excellently choreographed, but while most movies try to hide behind quick cuts and shaky cam, John Wick holds the camera on the action. The fights feel more brutal because of this. John Wick is so simple; there are no frills or unnecessary plotting. And it features a really great scene at a nightclub, where John (Keanu Reeves) just tears through people backed by red and blue lighting and a pumping score. Truth be told, this is the movie that inspired this list.

Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)
All of Quentin Tarantino's films have a bit of action in them but I think Kill Bill Vol. 1 is the only one I feel comfortable labeling an "action movie." Because the Bride is a nonstop killing machine in this movie (she becomes human in the dramatically superior but less exhilarating Vol. 2), the fight scenes are filmed creatively. The domestic battle between the Bride and Vernita Green, the scene where the Bride tears through 88 crazy henchmen and then the calypso-set battle with O-Ren Ishii--Tarantino made sure the scenes don't blend together in memory. Even the non-action scenes have moments of violence that land either as comedy or high intense drama.

Quantum of Solace (2008)
Each one of Daniel Craig's Bond films is beautiful (I mean, shots from Skyfall could hang in museums). But I highlighted Quantum of Solace because I think it's pretty underrated. It's not my favorite Bond movie but there is a rugged finesse to the film and the shots are quite exceptional. The use of lighting and camera placement is exceptional. As the film moves to set piece to set piece. the cinematography reflects each one. The hot intensity of the desert finale, the sophistication of the opera scenes--Quantum of Solace, though it can be weak dramatically, at least makes an effort to stand out visually.

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