Fist-clenching, heart-stopping moments of pure excitement
300
"No mercy!"
The Scene: The 300 Spartan soldiers construct a wall at Thermopylae and prepare to take on the Persian army for the first time.
Despite being hopelessly outnumbered, the Spartans fight with a strength of spirit, and claim victory in spectacular style.
Hold On Tight When: Having broken through the enemy line, King Leonidas tackles a handful of Persians in gorgeously choreographed slow motion.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
"E.T. phone home."
The Scene: Elliott and his friends rescue E.T from government scientists and make their escape on bicycles, outrunning lots of cars and evading several cops with guns.
Realism really isn't this film's strong point, is it?
Hold On Tight When: Just as they're about to be stopped, E.T and the kids ride high into the sky.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
"He's on the roof!"
The Scene: When a masked thief sneaks into Sir Te's estate and steals the sword, Green Destiny, lady warrior Shu Lien gives chase across the rooftops.
Hold On Tight When: Shu Lien finally catches up to the thief and the furious fisticuffs begin.
Transformers
"Join them in extinction!"
The Scene: Freed from his frozen prison, Megatron catches up with Sam and the Autobots in Mission City.
But instead of inserting the AllSpark cube into Optimus Prim's chest, destroying them both, Sam defeats Megatron with it.
No, it doesn't really make any sense to us either, but the action is great .
Hold On Tight When: Megatron and Optimus fly through an entire building.
The Hunger Games
"I'm not allowed to bet, but if I could, I'd bet on you."
The Scene: Arriving in the arena, Katniss and the other Hunger Games contestants are forced to battle to survive.
Cue a tense and harrowing bloodbath, during which we see children murdering children in a desperate attempt to stay alive.
Hold On Tight When: Katniss falls, and is almost killed. Twice.
Blade Runner
"Unless you're alive, you can't play... and if you don't play."
The Scene: In the climactic scene, Deckard tracks down the two remaining rogue replicants, Pris and Roy.
But after he kills Pris, Roy goes on a terrifying rampage, determined for revenge before his time runs out.
Hold On Tight When: Roy puts his head through the bathroom wall.
Dredd
"Rookie, you ready?"
The Scene: Dredd and Anderson bust in on some druggies, prompting a beautiful and epic slo-mo gun fight as they force their way into the den.
But their law-keeping antics only serve to incur the wrath of Ma-Ma.
Hold On Tight When: Dredd shoots a bullet through a heavily tattooed bad guy's cheek.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows
"Come now, you really think you're the only one who can play this game?"
The Scene: Holmes and Moriarty meet at the Reichenbach falls for one final game.
But as both men analyze the inevitable fight in their minds, it soon becomes clear that Holmes must take drastic measures to win and, post-slo-mo punch-up, falls to his death (or so we think) taking the professor with him.
Hold On Tight When: Mid-fight, Moriarty's voiceover kicks in, proving he's Holmes' equal.
The Dark Knight Rises
"Make the climb... As the child did. Without the rope. Then fear will find you again." The Scene: Imprisoned and forced to watch helplessly as Gotham burns, an incarcerated Bruce Wayne has no option but to scale a sheer rock face to freedom.
Cheered on by his fellow prisoners, and without a rope to catch him, Bruce makes the treacherous climb.
Hold On Tight When: Bruce makes jumps between two rocky platforms and risks falling to his death.
Cliffhanger
"You're not gonna die!"
The Scene: Hotshot mountain climber and rescue ranger Gabe Walker tries to rescue his best friend's girlfriend when her harness snaps and she's left dangling over a deep chasm.
While the others try frantically to come up with a solution, Gabe does his best, but her gloved hand slips through his and she falls 4,000 feet to her death.
Hold On Tight When: The harness snaps.
Terminator 2
"Get down!"
The Scene: In the climactic battle, the T-1000 pursues John and Sarah Connor and the T-800. Despite having done her best with a shotgun, the T-1000 repairs itself after Sarah's attack.
And just as we think all is lost... Arnie appears, grenade launcher in hand.
Hold On Tight When: The T-800's head pops in to frame.
Kill Bill
"So O-Ren, any more subordinates for me to kill?"
The Scene: The Bride seeks revenge on her next viictim, O-Ren Ishi, but first she must deal with her bodyguards, the Crazy 88, starting with meteor hammer-weilding, sadistic psychopathic schoolgirl, Gogo.
Hold On Tight When: With Gogo dispatched, O-Ren raises an eyebrow and asks the Bride: "You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?"
Serenity
"You've always taken care of me. My turn."
The Scene: Sacrificing herself to save the crew, River Tam takes on the invading Reavers single-handidly.
Well, she has some sort of scythe thing, but it's still very impressive.
Hold On Tight When: River runs and disappears behind the hanger doors.
Inception
"What's going on up there?"
The Scene: When the van the unconscious con-artists are travelling in falls off a bridge, the lack of gravity begins to have an effect on the dream layers.
Alone in Robert Fischer's dream, Arthur tackles his subconscious projections solo... and on the ceiling.
Hold On Tight When: The van rolls.
The Amazing Spider-Man
"Poor Peter Parker. No father. No mother. No uncle. You're all alone."
The Scene: With the Lizard determined to disperse his serum across the city, Spider-Man races to stop him, coming face-to-tail in a climactic battle atop the Oscorp building.
He manages to replace Connors' serum with the antidote, reverting Connors to human form, but not before the Lizard mortally wounds Captain Stacy.
Hold On Tight When: The top of the tower collapses, nearly taking Spidey with it.
Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade
"Are you crazy? Don't go between them!"
The Scene: On a routine exploration of Venetian catacombs, Indy is attacked by the Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword and must escape by way of speedboat.
Still, at least he has the lovely Elsa Schneider for company, eh?
Hold On Tight When: Elsa steers the speedboat between two much bigger ships. It's a squeeze, to say the least.
Spider-Man 2
"Oh, she'll be just fine. Let's talk."
The Scene: Determined to rescue Mary Jane, Peter Parker dons his Spider suit once more and confronts her kidnapper, Doctor Octopus.
After a short struggle atop a building, the fight moves to a speeding train, which Spider-Man is forced to stop with his bare hands.
Hold On Tight When: Doc Ock and Spidey take a tumble onto the speeding train.
Apocalypse Now
"We use Wagner. It scares the shit out of the slopes. My boys love it!"
The Scene: Using Wagner's majestic Ride of the Valkyries as a soundtrack, the Air Cavalry attack a Vietcong position.
What follows is the film's epic centrepiece - a 12-minute chopper assault that's often hailed as the single greatest combat scene in cinema.
Hold On Tight When: The choppers approach the beach.
The Expendables 2
The Scene: The movie opens with 15 minutes of explosive, non-stop action opening, complete with door ramming, head crushing, face shooting awesomeness.
Well, what else would one expect from Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li et al?
Hold On Tight When: Sly kills the helicopter with a motorbike.
The Bourne Supremacy
"You told me Jason Bourne was dead."
The Scene: Determined to finish the job he started at the beginning of the movie, Russian Federal Security Service agent Kirill tracks Bourne down in Moscow resulting in a high-speed car chase, which ends when Bourne forces his car into a concrete divider. Ouch.
Hold On Tight When: Bourne and Kirill enter the congested tunnel at high speed.
Flight
"Get everybody strapped in. Get everybody strapped in tight."
The Scene: With his plane malfunctioning, airline captain and recreational drug user Whip Whitaker is forced to sober up and crash land a commercial flight. But to slow the plane down, he must roll it - sending passengers flying.
Hold On Tight When: Whip rolls the plane to stop the dive.
Ong Bak
The Scene: In just one of many great fight sequences from this film, Ting is chased through the streets of Bangkok by a gang of thugs when they attack his cousin George and friend Muay Lek. Not bad for a country boy.
Hold On Tight When: The thugs finally catch up to Tony Jaa.
The Matrix Revolutions
"It ends tonight."
The Scene: After three films and a lot of kung fu, Agent Smith and Neo meet for one final fight.
But when Neo baits Smith into assimilating him, the machine leader sends a burst of energy into Neo's body in the real world, causing all the Smiths in the Matrix to be destroyed.
Hold On Tight When: The pair clash in mid-air.
Death Proof
"I forgive you! Now, hold the fuck on!"
The Scene: When he sees Kim playing 'ship's mast' on the hood of a car, maniac Stuntman Mike decides the three girls are the perfect candidates for his next kill.
But this time, he picked on the wrong chicks.
Hold On Tight When: Mike rear-ends the girls' car for the first time.
Ronin
"Why didn't you just shoot her?"
The Scene: Betrayed by their criminal colleagues, Sam and Vincent embark on a thrilling chase across Paris, the culmination of which sees Dierdre's vehicle go flying over a highway overpass and burst into flame thanks to some sharp shooting from Jean Reno.
Hold On Tight When: Vincent succesfully puts a bullet in Diedre's tyres.
The Lord of The Rings: The Return Of The King
"Arise! Arise, Riders of Theoden! Spears shall be shaken, shields shall be splintered! A sword day... a red day... ere the sun rises!"
The Scene: With the sun rising behind them, King Theoden leads the charge of the Rohirrim at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
Meanwhile, among the warriors are Merry and Eowyn, terrified of what's to come.
Hold On Tight When: The two armies clash and the Orcs are run down by Rohan's horses.
Tomorrow Never Dies
"Stop fidgeting back there."
The Scene: Handcuffed together, Pierce Brosnan and Michelle Yeoh escape Stamper on a motorbike through the streets of Saigon, culminating in an ingenious takedown of the helicopter pursuing them.
Who knew washing lines could be so darn useful?
Hold On Tight When: Bond drives the bike off a building and over a helicopter.
The Fast And The Furious
"I owe you a ten-second car."
The Scene: Their dealings with Tran done, Brian and Dominic have one last street race - testing their manly mettle against each other, and a fast-approaching train. It's all very macho.
Hold On Tight When: The cars get to the crossing.
Saving Private Ryan
"I'll see you on the beach"
The Scene: On the morning of June 6, 1944, the beginning of the Normandy invasion, American soldiers land on Omaha Beach and struggle against dug-in German infantry, machine gun nests and artillery fire. What follows is a four minute masterclass in how to shoot a battle sequence.
Hold On Tight When: The tension breaks, the ramp lowers and the soldiers are bombarded by enemy fire.
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
"Never tell me the odds."
The Scene: Han and Leia escape the Imperial Fleet with C-3PO and Chewbacca, but their hyperspace drive malfunctions, and they're forced to hide in a perillous asteroid field, relying on Han's piloting skills to keep them alive.
Hold On Tight When: The Millennium Falcon enters the asteroid field, with a fleet of TIE fighters in hot pursuit.
Bullitt
"You work your side of the street, and I'll work mine."
The Scene: Bullitt picks up his car and sees he is being tailed by hitmen.
But he turns the tables and follows them, resulting in a protracted, visually dramatic car chase through the hills and streets of San Francisco.
It does not end well for the hitmen.
Hold On Tight When: The bullets start flying.
The Bourne Identity
"So... We've got a bump coming up."
The Scene: With the police in hot pursuit, wanted amnesiac assasin Jason Bourne and his unfortunate companion Marie make their escape through Paris... in a Mini.
Who knew the little fellas were capable of such tight cornering?
Hold On Tight When: Bourne steers the Mini down a set of steep steps.
Top Gun
"I'm bringing him in closer, Merlin."
The Scene: During their graduation party, Iceman, Hollywood, and Maverick are ordered to deal with a crisis situation, providing air support for the rescue of a stricken communications ship that has drifted into hostile waters.
A tense dogfight ensues, testing Mav to his limits.
Hold On Tight When: Renegade Mav allows a hostile MiG to come within firing range before pulling a risky, but impressive maneuver.
Avengers Assemble
"I'm bringing the party to you."
The Scene: As Loki's Chitauri army attack New York, the super team finally come together, fending off the aliens in one, glorious, continuous sequence that begins as Iron Man takes to the skies, and ends with a bona fide LOL.
Hold On Tight When: Iron Man uses Cap's shield to reflect his repulsor rays and dispatch a couple of aliens before zooming back into the sky.
Superman Returns
"Is everyone alright?"
The Scene: When Lex Luthor causes a mass power outage on the East Coast, it interferes with the flight test of a shuttle to be launched into space from its piggy-back mounting on an airliner... upon which Lois Lane just happens to be a passenger.
Luckily, Superman makes a spectacular return to Metropolis by catching the crashing airplane in the middle of a baseball field.
Hold On Tight When: Supes proves too strong, and breaks off a wing while trying to slow the plane down.
The Raid: Redemption
"Trust me, I know what I'm doing."
The Scene: Trying to lead one of his fellow cops to safety, rookie Rama runs into a number of ruthless gangsters in a hallway... and takes them out with some of the most mind-blowing martial arts moves ever seen on screen.
Hold On Tight When: From the very beginning, friends.
Speed
"Floor it!"
The Scene: Due to crazy terrrorist Dennis Hopper's bomb-planting antics, equally crazy cop Keanu Reeves and his bus driving sidekick Sandra Bullock are forced to hold on tight when they come to a 30ft gap in the freeway and try to jump it.
Hold On Tight When: Jack throws himself across Annie to protect her from... well, we have no idea.
Star Trek
"Enterprise, now!"
The Scene: As the Romulan ship Narada attacks Vulcan, drilling into the planet's core, Kirk, Sulu, and Olson perform a space jump onto the drilling platform, hoping to disable it before Nero can launch red matter into the core, creating an artificial black hole that will destroy the planet.
Suffice to say, they fail.
Hold On Tight When: Sulu falls off the platform, and Kirk leaps to save him.
Iron Man 3
Warning: This entry contains mild spoilers for Iron Man 3. You may not wish to read it if you haven't seen the film.
"Easy, see? 11 more to go."
The Scene: When Air Force One is attacked, Iron Man must save the 13 passengers plummeting to the ground.
Being the genius that he is, Tony Stark decides to create a human daisy chain, catching the terrified individuals one by one in a sort of formation freefall.
Hold On Tight When: Tony realises there are more people to save than he can carry.
Mission: Impossible
"Krieger, from this point on... absolute silence!"
The Scene: Ethan Hunt proves his credentials as a spy to rival all other movie spies when, on a mission to clear his name, he infiltrates the CIA's headquarters to steal the non-official cover list.
How does he do it? By getting a mate to lower him through an air vent, balancing on a harness and performing a bit of computer trickery.
The movie's not called Mission: Impossible for nothing.
Hold On Tight When: Krieger almost drops Ethan.
Skyfall
"Agent down."
The Scene: The 23rd Bond movie opens in Istanbul as James Bond in hot pursuit of a mercenary with a stolen hard drive containing details of undercover agents placed in terrorist organisations by NATO states.
From a gun battle in busy streets, to a motorcycle pursuit on the rooftops of the Grand Bazaar, the pursuit finally moves to the roof of a train.
Of course it does.
Hold On Tight When: Bond precariously moves from the digger to the train carriage full of passengers.
Jaws
"Smile you son of a..."
The Scene: With Hooper gone and Quint dead, Brody battles the shark solo on the wrecked Orca.
Having lodged a pressurised scuba tank in its teeth, he then climbs out onto the almost horizontal mast and takes his last desperate shot as the shark speeds toward him.
Hold On Tight When: After a moment of calm, the great white rises from the water in its final attack.
The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers
"Look to my coming on the first light of the fifth day. At dawn, look to the east."
The Scene: After a long battle and with many lives lost, it seems all is lost at Helm's Deep.
But to give time for the women and children to flee, Aragorn convinces Theoden and his remaining soldiers to ride out and meet Sauron's army of Orcs and Uruk-hai head-on.
Hold On Tight When: Gandalf arrives to save the day, with Éomer and the Rohirrim behind him.
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
"Easy way to remember: blue is glue."
The Scene: Preparing to con nuclear activation codes from a bad guy, Ethan Hunt and his team of misfit crime fighters must first gain access to a hotel server room.
Having exhausted all other options, Hunt climbs up the side of Dubai's 2,723-foot Burj Khalifa building, with only a pair of gloves for safety... and then jumps out of it.
Hold On Tight When: One of the gloves fails.
The Matrix
"Can you fly that thing?"
The Scene: Having sacrificed himself to allow the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar to escape, Morpheus is captured and tortured by Agents Smith, Jones and Brown.
Neo and Trinity go back into The Matrix and mount a rescue mission, involving a furious shoot-out, an unconventional elevator ride, a lot of bullet dodging and, ultimately, the comandeering of a helicopter.
Hold On Tight When: Neo jumps from the hovering aircraft to rescue his friend.
Casino Royale
"I thought one less bomb maker in the world would be a good thing."
The Scene: In Madagascar, Bond is in pursuit of an international bomb-maker named Mollaka - who also just happens to be a parkour enthusiast.
While Mollaka gracefully makes his way over obstacles, Bond boldy barrels his way through the pursuit, relying on brute strength, ingenuity and dogged determination to catch his man.
Which he does, of course, in explosive style.
Hold On Tight When: Bond jumps from the first crane to the second... and nearly doesn't make it.
As Partridge probably put it whilst watching this scene, James Bond is going to die!
Die Hard
"Oh, God. Please don't let me die."
The Scene: During the explosive climax, Hans Gruber and his bad guys set off explosives at the top of the skyscraper meant to blow up all the hostages and conceal their getaway.
Of course, New York cop John McClane has other plans and runs to the roof, scaring away the hostages with a machine gun.
Hans decides to blow up the roof regardless, leaving crazy McClane no choice but to wrap a fire hose around his waist and hope for the best.
Hold On Tight When: Shoeless and shirtless, McClane leaps to erm... safety?
Aliens
"Get away from her, you bitch!"
The Scene: Assuming they're safe from the Xenomorphs, Bishop, Newt and Ripley prepare to make the long journey home on the Sulaco post-battle.
But Ripley's relief is short-lived when the Alien queen, stowed away on the dropship's landing gear, impales Bishop and tears him in half.
Luckily, she has a power-loader handy and isn't afraid to use it.
Hold On Tight When: The airlock opens, and Ripley's almost sucked into space.
The Spy Who Loved Me
"Sorry darling, something came up."
The Scene: The movie opens with one of the most daring and visually stunning stunts to ever be filmed.
In true 007-style, Bond leaves a lady wanting more, only for her to send Soviet agents after him in a thrilling, stunt-packed high-speed chase across a mountain.
Hold On Tight When: The cliff ends, and Bond keeps going.
Raiders Of The Lost Ark
"I'm going after that truck."
The Scene: With the Flying Wing destroyed, the Nazis decide to transport the Ark to Cairo by truck... only for Indiana Jones to chase them... on a horse.
What then ensues is perhaps the most creative battle ever seen in, on and underneath a wagon.
Hold On Tight When: Indy makes his way underneath a speeding truck, using his whip to allow himself to be dragged behind it.
