Top 50 Ranked

Best 2012 Action Movies Ranked

Epic Blockbusters and Global Thrillers From a Classic Year

Discover the best action films of the year, featuring superhero sequels, gritty sci-fi hits, and high-octane international martial arts cinema.

Draft Best 2012 Action Movies with friends and our judges will crown a winner!

About 2012 Action Movies

Ten years after the turn of the millennium, 2012 arrived as a definitive crossroads for the action genre. It was a year where the old guard attempted a comeback while the new architects of the blockbuster refined the blueprints for what a modern spectacle should look like. Looking back, it feels like the last moment where practical grit and digital maximalism lived in a somewhat equal, if uneasy, harmony.

The year was undeniably dominated by the culmination of two massive superhero arcs. Christopher Nolan concluded his gritty reimagining of Gotham with The Dark Knight Rises. It was a film that felt heavy, choosing physical scale and operatic tragedy over the quippy lightness that was beginning to define the genre elsewhere. On the other side of the aisle, Joss Whedon pulled off the unthinkable with Marvels The Avengers. By successfully merging four different franchises into a single frame, Whedon changed the gravitational pull of Hollywood. Suddenly, every studio wanted a cinematic universe, and the standalone action flick began its slow retreat into the background.

However, the real soul of 2012 was found in the films that favored focused, kinetic energy over world building. While the caped crusaders were taking over the box office, a small Indonesian production called The Raid: Redemption was busy rewriting the rules of the fight scene. Gareth Evans delivered a masterclass in claustrophobic choreography that made Western action look sluggish by comparison. It reminded audiences that you did not need a hundred million dollars to create tension. You only needed a camera that knew where to look and performers willing to put their bodies on the line.

The year also saw the rebirth of the cerebral action hero. Skyfall hit theaters fifty years after James Bond first appeared on screen, but Sam Mendes used the anniversary to deconstruct the icon. It was a beautiful, neon soaked meditation on aging and obsolescence that proved Bond could be sophisticated without losing its punch. Similarly, Looper offered a high concept blend of sci fi and gunplay that felt like a return to the smart, mid budget genre films of the nineties. Rian Johnson managed to make time travel feel visceral rather than just confusing.

Even the traditionalists had their day. Dredd arrived as a cult classic in the making, stripping away the camp of previous adaptations to deliver a lean, mean, and visually stunning siege movie. Pete Travis and Alex Garland understood that the best action films are often the simplest ones. It was a year where Joe Carnahan gave us The Grey, a survival thriller that used the tropes of the action genre to explore the nature of mortality. Even the aging icons of the eighties were still kicking, with The Expendables 2 leaning into the self aware absurdity of its own existence.

Viewed from a decade later, 2012 looks like the end of an era. It was the last year before the assembly line of shared universes truly took over the industry. There was a sense of variety and a willingness to experiment with tone that feels increasingly rare. Whether it was the technical precision of a Bond chase or the brutal simplicity of a hallway brawl in Jakarta, 2012 offered a buffet of thrills that honored the past while sprinting toward the future. It remains a high water mark for fans who crave substance alongside their stunts.

The Complete Rankings

Based on the top picks in drafts on SnakeDrafts

See Top Ten
50
2012 Action in Cold War (2012)
Cold War
2012

Five police officers in Hong Kong are kidnapped. The police commissioner is on a business trip overseas. Two vice commissioners, Sean Rau and M.B. Lee, then take over the case. The two vice commissioners are rivals who both vie for the police commissioner seat. At first, M.B. Lee takes the lead in the case, but comes to a dead end. Sean Lau then takes the lead, but he falls into a trap. Both men are then investigated by the ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption).

Action
Thriller
1h 42m
Leung Lok-Man
Aaron Kwok, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Charlie Yeung Choi-Nei, Gordon Lam Ka-Tung
49
2012 Action in 7 Boxes (2012)
7 Boxes
2012

It’s Friday night in Asunción and the temperature is 40ºC. Víctor, a 17-year-old wheelbarrow-boy, dreams of becoming famous and covets a cell phone in Mercado 4. He is offered the chance to deliver seven boxes with unknown contents in exchange for $100. This sounds like an easy job but it soon gets complicated. Something in the boxes is highly coveted. Víctor and his persecutors find themselves caught up in a crime they know nothing about.

Action
Thriller
1h 46m
Tana Schémbori
Celso Franco, Lali González, Víctor Sosa, Nico García
48
2012 Action in The Thieves (2012)
The Thieves
2012

A gang of South Korean thieves team up with a Hong Kong crew to steal a diamond necklace from a heavily-guarded casino safe in Macau. As the cops close in, old betrayals — and misunderstandings — resurface.

Action
Crime
2h 15m
Choi Dong-hoon
Kim Yun-seok, Kim Hye-soo, Lee Jung-jae, Gianna Jun

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47
2012 Action in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
The Amazing Spider-Man
2012

Peter Parker is an outcast high schooler abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents' disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors, his father's former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors' alter ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

Action
Adventure
2h 16m
Marc Webb
Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary
46
2012 Action in Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome (2012)
Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome
2012

The first Cylon war has been raging for 10 years and a young Ensign William Adama joins the fleet. Disappointed not to be assigned to a fighter but to a freighter, his co-pilot also isn't too keen on having a rookie flying his aircraft as he has only a short time before he again becomes a civilian. Their cargo is a civilian scientist, but they no sooner leave than she has new orders for them and a new destination. Although she’s less than forthcoming about the details, Adama is keen—particularly as it involves going into Cylon controlled space. However, nothing is as it seems.

Science Fiction
TV Movie
1h 31m
Jonas Pate
Luke Pasqualino, Ben Cotton, Lili Bordán, Jill Teed
45
2012 Action in Outlaws - For Greater Glory (2012)
Outlaws - For Greater Glory
2012

A chronicle of the Cristeros War (1926-1929), which was touched off by a rebellion against the Mexican government's attempt to secularize the country.

History
Drama
2h 25m
Dean Wright
44
2012 Action in The Mountain (2012)
The Mountain
2012

The heroic story of two soldiers trapped in an ambush, fighting for their lives.

War
Action
1h 30m
Alper Çağlar
Çağlar Ertuğrul, Ufuk Bayraktar, Fırat Doğruloğlu, Mesut Akusta
43
2012 Action in Two Rabbits (2012)
Two Rabbits
2012

Edgar is a young upper-middle class man, close to completing 30 years old, he lives a full life crisis and is in a position common to the vast majority of Brazilians. On the one hand the power, represented by a corrupt state, abusive and absent in their taxes before their obligations. On the other, crime increasingly organized violence became a constant in the lives of citizens in large cities. Edgar responds to all this as a modern vigilante. With the help of ingredients such as technology, counter-information and manipulation, Edgar concocts a brilliant plan, using the greed of their opponents as the reason for its destruction. As the plot unfolds, we know more about the dark past of each character as Edgar fit the pieces together in an intriguing puzzle that makes up the film's plot.

Action
Crime
1h 48m
Afonso Poyart
Fernando Alves Pinto, Alessandra Negrini, Caco Ciocler, Marat Descartes
42
2012 Action in A Company Man (2012)
A Company Man
2012

A contract killer becomes disenchanted with his line of work and spares the lives of his two latest would-be-victims. But the assassination company he works for has no intentions of letting him quit.

Drama
Action
1h 36m
Lim Sang-Yun
So Ji-sub, Lee Mi-yeon, Kwak Do-won, Kim Dong-jun
41
2012 Action in Detective Conan: The Eleventh Striker (2012)
Detective Conan: The Eleventh Striker
2012

Kogoro's detective agency receives a mysterious phone call. Someone on the other end warns about a bomb and leaves behind a code, which if Conan can decipher the riddle, he can stop the bomb. An adventure begins for Conan and the Detective Boys, taking place at a soccer match between Hideo Akagi of the Tokyo Spirits and Ryusuke Higo of Big Osaka.

Animation
Mystery
1h 50m
Yasuichiro Yamamoto
Minami Takayama, Kappei Yamaguchi, Wakana Yamazaki, Rikiya Koyama
40
2012 Action in Drug War (2012)
Drug War
2012

A drug cartel boss is arrested in a raid and coerced into betraying his former accomplices as part of an undercover operation.

Action
Drama
1h 47m
Johnnie To
Louis Koo, Sun Honglei, Crystal Huang Yi, Michelle Ye Xuan
39
2012 Action in Into the White (2012)
Into the White
2012

During World War II, enemy fighter pilots find themselves face to face after shooting down one another's planes over a desolate landscape. In order to survive, they must set aside the rules of war.

War
Action
1h 44m
Petter Næss
Stig Henrik Hoff, Lachlan Nieboer, Rupert Grint, Florian Lukas
38

When cops Schmidt and Jenko join the secret Jump Street unit, they use their youthful appearances to go undercover as high school students. They trade in their guns and badges for backpacks, and set out to shut down a dangerous drug ring. But, as time goes on, Schmidt and Jenko discover that high school is nothing like it was just a few years earlier -- and, what's more, they must again confront the teenage terror and anxiety they thought they had left behind.

Action
Comedy
1h 49m
Phil Lord
37
2012 Action in Resident Evil: Damnation (2012)
Resident Evil: Damnation
2012

U.S. federal agent Leon S. Kennedy sneaks into the "East Slavic Republic" to verify rumors that Bio-Organic Weapons (BOWs) are being used in the country's civil war, which the U.S. and Russia are making preparations to jointly intervene in. Right after his infiltration, the U.S. government orders him to leave immediately. Determined to uncover the truth, Leon ignores the order and enters the battlefield to end the chain of tragedies caused by the BOWs.

Action
Animation
1h 40m
Makoto Kamiya
Matthew Mercer, Courtenay Taylor, Robin Sachs, Dave Wittenberg
36
2012 Action in Superman vs. The Elite (2012)
Superman vs. The Elite
2012

The Man of Steel finds himself outshone by a new team of ruthless superheroes who hold his idealism in contempt.

Science Fiction
Animation
1h 16m
Michael Chang
George Newbern, Pauley Perrette, Robin Atkin Downes, Dee Bradley Baker
35
2012 Action in A.C.A.B. - All Cops Are Bastards (2012)
A.C.A.B. - All Cops Are Bastards
2012

A look at the controversial riot cops unit, told through the stories of three veteran cops and a young recruit.

Action
Drama
1h 45m
Stefano Sollima
Pierfrancesco Favino, Filippo Nigro, Marco Giallini, Andrea Sartoretti
34
2012 Action in The Tower (2012)
The Tower
2012

Tower Sky, a luxurious building complex, has organised a lavish Christmas party for its VIP guests. However, things go awry when a fire breaks out and thousands of lives are endangered.

Action
Drama
2h 1m
Kim Ji-hoon
Sul Kyung-gu, Son Ye-jin, Kim Sang-kyung, Jo Min-ah
33
2012 Action in 009 Re:Cyborg (2012)
009 Re:Cyborg
2012

009 Re:Cyborg follows a group of nine cyborgs, each of them created by a shadowy organization for use as weapons against humanity. The group turns on their creators to protect the population instead, using the powers given them to fight their creators.

Action
Animation
1h 43m
Kenji Kamiyama
Mamoru Miyano, Sakiko Tamagawa, Daisuke Ono, Chiwa Saito
32
2012 Action in Beyond Outrage (2012)
Beyond Outrage
2012

As the police launch a full-scale crackdown on organized crime, it ignites a national yakuza struggle between the Sanno of the East and Hanabishi of the West. What started as an internal strife in Outrage has now become a nationwide war in Outrage Beyond.

Action
Crime
1h 52m
Takeshi Kitano
Takeshi Kitano, Ryo Kase, Toshiyuki Nishida, Shun Sugata
31
2012 Action in Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 1 (2012)
Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 1
2012

In 1970s India, Sardar Khan vows to take revenge on the man who killed his father decades earlier.

Action
Thriller
2h 40m
Anurag Kashyap
Manoj Bajpayee, Richa Chadha, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Nawazuddin Siddiqui
30
2012 Action in Blood-C: The Last Dark (2012)
Blood-C: The Last Dark
2012

Tokyo, Winter. Despite the use of the Youth Ordinance Bill to enforce curfews for minors and regulate the use of the Internet, young people continue to fight for their own freedom through underground methods. One such group calls themselves Surat. They have decided to take on Fumito Nanahara, a man who has great influence on the political world, and basically controls Tokyo with an iron fist. While using the Internet as a weapon to discover more information about Fumito, they learn about "Tower", the secret organization behind Fumito which engages in human experimentation.

Animation
Action
1h 46m
Naoyoshi Shiotani
Atsushi Abe, Masumi Asano, Keiji Fujiwara, Misato Fukuen
29
2012 Action in Eega (2012)
Eega
2012

Nani is a flower decorator, madly in love with his neighbor Bindhu. He gets killed by the baddie, Sudeep, a powerful businessman. Nani comes back as a housefly to get his revenge.

Fantasy
Action
2h 25m
S. S. Rajamouli
Sudeepa, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Nani, Adithya Menon
28
2012 Action in Confession of Murder (2012)
Confession of Murder
2012

A serial killer reappears 15 years after his murder spree with a book detailing his crimes. The resentful cop who failed to catch him before is assigned to protect him. The families of the victims plan revenge. And as the media circus spirals out of control, a masked man called "J" appears claiming to be the real killer.

Action
Thriller
1h 59m
Jung Byung-gil
Jung Jae-young, Park Si-hoo, Jung Hae-kyun, Kim Young-ae
27
2012 Action in Tangled Ever After (2012)
Tangled Ever After
2012

The kingdom is in a festive mood as everyone gathers for the royal wedding of Rapunzel and Flynn. However, when Pascal and Maximus, as flower chameleon and ring bearer, respectively, lose the gold bands, a frenzied search and recovery mission gets underway. As the desperate duo tries to find the rings before anyone discovers that they’re missing, they leave behind a trail of comical chaos that includes flying lanterns, a flock of doves, a wine barrel barricade and a very sticky finale. Will Maximus and Pascal save the day and make it to the church in time? And will they ever get Flynn’s nose right?

Animation
Comedy
9m
Nathan Greno
Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Alan Dale, Paul F. Tompkins
26
2012 Action in Ghost Recon: Alpha (2012)
Ghost Recon: Alpha
2012

Ghost Recon: Alpha sees a team led by Ghost Leader infiltrate a trade at a Russian depot between a general and a mysterious other figure.

Action
Science Fiction
24m
Hervé de Crécy
Charlotte Rampling, Mark Ivanir, Keith Gilmore, Pavel Ledinsky
25
2012 Action in Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (2012)
Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo
2012

Fourteen years after Third Impact, Shinji Ikari awakens to a world he does not remember. He hasn't aged. Much of Earth is laid in ruins, NERV has been dismantled, and people who he once protected have turned against him. Befriending the enigmatic Kaworu Nagisa, Shinji continues the fight against the angels and realizes the fighting is far from over, even when it could be against his former allies. The characters' struggles continue amidst the battles against the angels and each other, spiraling down to what could inevitably be the end of the world.

Animation
Science Fiction
1h 36m
Hideaki Anno
Megumi Ogata, Yuko Miyamura, Akira Ishida, Megumi Hayashibara
24

In a dystopian society where the Capitol forces each district to send two young tributes to fight to the death in a televised spectacle, a girl volunteers to take her sister’s place, setting the stage for a struggle of survival and defiance.

Science Fiction
Adventure
2h 22m
Gary Ross
Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson
23
2012 Action in Berserk: The Golden Age Arc I - The Egg of the King (2012)
Berserk: The Golden Age Arc I - The Egg of the King
2012

Guts, an immensely strong sword-for-hire, has little direction in his life, simply fighting one battle after the next. However, this all changes suddenly when he meets and is bested by Griffith, a beautiful and charismatic young man who leads the Band of the Hawk mercenary army. After Guts joins the Band and the relationship between the two men begins to blossom, Casca, the tough, lone swordswoman in the Band of the Hawk, struggles to accept Guts and the influence he has on the world around her. While the two men begin to fight together, Griffith continues to rise to power, all seemingly in order to reach his mysterious, prophesied goals. What lengths will Guts and Griffith go to in order to reach these goals, and where will fate take the two men?

Animation
Action
1h 16m
Toshiyuki Kubooka
Hiroaki Iwanaga, Takahiro Sakurai, Yuki Kaji, Takahiro Fujiwara
22
2012 Action in Blue Exorcist: The Movie (2012)
Blue Exorcist: The Movie
2012

The atmosphere in True Cross Academy is lively and boisterous in the days leading up to the grand festival held once every 11 years. During this time, Okumura Rin is entrusted with the responsibility of suppressing the berserk Phantom Train. In the midst of his mission, he meets a devil whose appearance is that of a young boy.

Animation
Fantasy
1h 28m
Atsushi Takahashi
Jun Fukuyama, Kana Hanazawa, Kazuya Nakai, Koji Yusa
21
2012 Action in Fairy Tail: Phoenix Priestess (2012)
Fairy Tail: Phoenix Priestess
2012

The film revolves around a mysterious girl named Éclair who appears before Fairy Tail, the world's most notorious wizard's guild. She lost all of her memories, except for the imperative that she must deliver two Phoenix Stones somewhere. The stones may spell the collapse of the magical world, and Natsu, Lucy, and the rest of the Fairy Tail guild are caught up in the intrigue.

Animation
Action
1h 26m
Masaya Fujimori
Tetsuya Kakihara, Aya Hirano, Rie Kugimiya, Yuichi Nakamura
20
2012 Action in Berserk: The Golden Age Arc II - The Battle for Doldrey (2012)
Berserk: The Golden Age Arc II - The Battle for Doldrey
2012

The Band of the Hawk and their enigmatic leader Griffith continue winning battle after battle as their prestige throughout the kingdom of Midland grows. But their latest task is one that has seen failure from everyone who has attempted it: the subjugation of the impenetrable fortress of Doldrey.

Animation
Action
1h 38m
Toshiyuki Kubooka
Hiroaki Iwanaga, Takahiro Sakurai, Toa Yukinari, Takahiro Fujiwara
19
2012 Action in Thuppakki (2012)
Thuppakki
2012

Captain Jagadish, an intelligence officer in the Indian Army, returns to Mumbai for a vacation but soon finds himself in a deadly mission. After witnessing a bus bombing, he uncovers a network of sleeper cells planning multiple attacks across the city. With no official backing, he embarks on a personal mission with his trusted comrades to eliminate the mastermind, ensuring the sleeper cells remain leaderless and trapped in silence, waiting for orders that will never come. Ready to sacrifice his own life, he sets out on his final mission—but does he succeed, and at what cost?

Action
Thriller
2h 50m
A. R. Murugadoss
Vijay, Kajal Aggarwal, Vidyut Jammwal, Sathyan Sivakumar
18
2012 Action in Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie (2012)
Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie
2012

Sixteen years ago, a mysterious masked ninja unleashes a powerful creature known as the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox on the Hidden Leaf Village Konoha, killing many people. In response, the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze and his wife Kushina Uzumaki, the Demon Fox's living prison or Jinchūriki, manage to seal the creature inside their newborn son Naruto Uzumaki. With the Tailed Beast sealed, things continued as normal. However, in the present day, peace ended when a group of ninja called the Akatsuki attack Konoha under the guidance of Tobi, the mysterious masked man behind Fox's rampage years ago who intends on executing his plan to rule the world by shrouding it in illusions.

Animation
Fantasy
1h 49m
Hayato Date
Junko Takeuchi, Chie Nakamura, Toshiyuki Morikawa, Emi Shinohara
17
2012 Action in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2012

Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit enjoying his quiet life, is swept into an epic quest by Gandalf the Grey and thirteen dwarves who seek to reclaim their mountain home from Smaug, the dragon.

Adventure
Fantasy
Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, James Nesbitt
16
2012 Action in Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Rise of the Guardians
2012

When an evil spirit known as Pitch lays down the gauntlet to take over the world, the immortal Guardians must join forces for the first time to protect the hopes, beliefs and imagination of children all over the world.

Animation
Family
1h 37m
Peter Ramsey
15
2012 Action in Justice League: Doom (2012)
Justice League: Doom
2012

An adaptation of Mark Waid's "Tower of Babel" story from the JLA comic. Vandal Savage steals confidential files Batman has compiled on the members of the Justice League, and learns all their weaknesses.

Action
Animation
1h 17m
Lauren Montgomery
Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly, Susan Eisenberg, Michael Rosenbaum
14
2012 Action in One Piece Film: Z (2012)
One Piece Film: Z
2012

Zephyr, now known as Z, rides the seas with only one goal: Destroy all pirates and their dreams at becoming King of Pirates. When Luffy and his crew encounter him at sea, not only are they utterly defeated by the man with an arm made of Seastone, Nami, Robin, and Chopper are turned 10 years younger due to Z's minion Ain. Luffy is so determined to win against him that he does not even notice Z's master plan that could sacrifice thousands of lives.

Animation
Fantasy
1h 48m
Tatsuya Nagamine
Mayumi Tanaka, Kazuya Nakai, Akemi Okamura, Kappei Yamaguchi
13
2012 Action in Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins (2012)
Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins
2012

In 1868, after the Bakumatsu war ends, the ex-assassin Kenshin Himura traverses Japan with an inverted sword, to defend the needy without killing.

Adventure
Action
2h 14m
Keishi Otomo
Takeru Satoh, Emi Takei, Koji Kikkawa, Yu Aoi
12
2012 Action in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 (2012)
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1
2012

Batman has not been seen for ten years. A new breed of criminal ravages Gotham City, forcing 55-year-old Bruce Wayne back into the cape and cowl. But, does he still have what it takes to fight crime in a new era?

Science Fiction
Action
1h 16m
Jay Oliva
Peter Weller, Ariel Winter, David Selby, Wade Williams
11
2012 Action in Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 2 (2012)
Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 2
2012

After the death of his father and brother Danish, Faizal Khan vows to take revenge by destroying Ramadhir Singh's gang.

Crime
Thriller
2h 40m
Anurag Kashyap
Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Huma Qureshi, Richa Chadha, Rajkummar Rao
10
2012 Action in Jack Reacher (2012)
Jack Reacher
2012

One morning in an ordinary town, five people are shot dead in a seemingly random attack. All evidence points to a single suspect: an ex-military sniper who is quickly brought into custody. The interrogation yields one written note: 'Get Jack Reacher!'. Reacher, an enigmatic ex-Army investigator, believes the authorities have the right man but agrees to help the sniper's defense attorney. However, the more Reacher delves into the case, the less clear-cut it appears. So begins an extraordinary chase for the truth, pitting Jack Reacher against an unexpected enemy, with a skill for violence and a secret to keep.

Crime
Drama
2h 10m
Christopher McQuarrie
Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins, David Oyelowo
Why it ranks

Christopher McQuarrie channels the ghost of seventies thrillers, favoring meticulous procedural tension and crunchy, practical car chases over contemporary CGI bombast.

9
2012 Action in The Raid (2012)
The Raid
2012

Deep in the heart of Jakarta's slums lies an impenetrable safe house for the world's most dangerous killers and gangsters. Until now, the run-down apartment block has been considered untouchable to even the bravest of police. Cloaked under the cover of pre-dawn darkness and silence, an elite swat team is tasked with raiding the safe house in order to take down the notorious drug lord that runs it. But when a chance encounter with a spotter blows their cover and news of their assault reaches the drug lord, the building's lights are cut and all the exits blocked. Stranded on the sixth floor with no way out, the unit must fight their way through the city's worst to survive their mission. Starring Indonesian martial arts sensation Iko Uwais.

Action
Thriller
1h 41m
Gareth Evans
Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Donny Alamsyah, Yayan Ruhian
Why it ranks

An unrelenting assault on the senses, this Indonesian masterpiece strips the genre to its marrow, showcasing a breathtaking mastery of choreography and bone-crunching rhythmic violence.

8
2012 Action in Total Recall (2012)
Total Recall
2012

Factory worker Doug Quaid takes a virtual mind-trip vacation with the Rekall company, opting for implanted memories of being a spy. When the procedure goes wrong, Quaid becomes a wanted man by the police and joins forces with a rebel fighter to stop the evil Chancellor Cohaagen.

Action
Science Fiction
1h 58m
Len Wiseman
Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel, Kate Beckinsale, Bill Nighy
Why it ranks

Len Wiseman reimagines a classic through a lens of tactile, high-tech futurism, prioritizing breathless chase sequences and intricate set design within a sprawling, vertical cityscape.

7
2012 Action in Taken 2 (2012)
Taken 2
2012

In Istanbul, retired CIA operative Bryan Mills and his wife are taken hostage by the father of a kidnapper Mills killed while rescuing his daughter.

Action
Crime
1h 31m
Olivier Megaton
Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Leland Orser
Why it ranks

Liam Neeson solidifies his late-career transformation into a singular force of kinetic efficiency, grounding this frantic chase through Istanbul with his trademark grizzled gravitas.

6
2012 Action in The Expendables 2 (2012)
The Expendables 2
2012

Mr. Church reunites the Expendables for what should be an easy paycheck, but when one of their men is murdered on the job, their quest for revenge puts them deep in enemy territory and up against an unexpected threat.

Action
Adventure
1h 43m
Simon West
Why it ranks

Leaning into its own self-referential absurdity, this sequel weaponizes eighties nostalgia with a tongue-in-cheek bravado and a pyrotechnic scale that far outstrips its predecessor.

5
2012 Action in Dredd (2012)
Dredd
2012

In the future, America is a dystopian wasteland. The latest scourge is Ma-Ma, a prostitute-turned-drug pusher with a dangerous new drug and aims to take over the city. The only possibility of stopping her is an elite group of urban police called Judges, who combine the duties of judge, jury and executioner to deliver a brutal brand of swift justice. But even the top-ranking Judge, Dredd, discovers that taking down Ma-Ma isn’t as easy as it seems in this explosive adaptation of the hugely popular comic series.

Action
Science Fiction
1h 36m
Pete Travis
Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey, Wood Harris
Why it ranks

A lean, mean masterclass in spatial momentum, this claustrophobic thrill ride utilizes saturated slow-motion photography to elevate its brutal, linear progression into a visual fever dream.

4
2012 Action in Looper (2012)
2012

In the year 2044, time travel has not yet been invented but in 30 years it will have been. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target into the past where a looper, a hired gun, like Joe is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good until the day the mob decides to close the loop, sending back Joe's future self for assassination.

Action
Thriller
1h 58m
Rian Johnson
Why it ranks

Rian Johnson delivers a cerebral, grit-flecked noir that uses its time-travel conceit as a springboard for visceral gunplay and a startlingly inventive narrative structure.

3

Following the death of District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman assumes responsibility for Dent's crimes to protect the late attorney's reputation and is subsequently hunted by the Gotham City Police Department. Eight years later, Batman encounters the mysterious Selina Kyle and the villainous Bane, a new terrorist leader who overwhelms Gotham's finest. The Dark Knight resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him an enemy.

Why it ranks

Christopher Nolan concludes his operatic trilogy with a heavy, IMAX-scaled ferocity, trading the previous film's chaos for a grand, thematic meditation on sacrifice and urban uprising.

2

When an unexpected enemy emerges and threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins!

Science Fiction
Action
2h 23m
Joss Whedon
Why it ranks

This seismic cinematic event masterfully orchestrates a multi-protagonist dynamic, delivering a colorful, quip-heavy spectacle that redefined the modern blockbuster framework.

1

When Bond's latest assignment goes gravely wrong, agents around the world are exposed and MI6 headquarters is attacked. While M faces challenges to her authority and position from Gareth Mallory, the new Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, it's up to Bond, aided only by field agent Eve, to locate the mastermind behind the attack.

Why it ranks

Sam Mendes reinvents the Bond mythos with an elegant, painterly aesthetic that balances high-stakes espionage against a hauntingly personal deconstruction of 007's legacy.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about this list and SnakeDrafts

In 2012, 'The Avengers' and 'The Dark Knight Rises' revolutionized the superhero genre by combining stellar ensemble casts with intricate storytelling and spectacular visual effects, setting new standards for blockbuster superhero films.

'Skyfall' revitalized the James Bond franchise by blending classic espionage thrill with deeper character development and breathtaking cinematography, making it one of the most critically acclaimed action thrillers of 2012.

International films like 'The Raid' and 'Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 2' brought gritty realism and innovative martial arts choreography to 2012’s action genre, highlighting the global appeal and diversity in action filmmaking.

'Looper,' 'Dredd,' and 'Total Recall' expertly fused sci-fi concepts with high-octane action, showcasing futuristic settings and thought-provoking narratives alongside compelling fight scenes and stunts.

2012’s action films uniquely balanced practical stunts and digital effects, with a strong emphasis on both gritty realism and spectacular spectacle, marking a transition point where old-school action met modern filmmaking technology.

Yes, animated action films such as 'Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1' and 'One Piece Film: Z' stood out in 2012, combining dynamic storytelling with inventive animation techniques to captivate both domestic and international audiences.

Sequels like 'The Expendables 2' and 'Taken 2' continued their franchises by delivering familiar high-stakes action and character-driven plots, satisfying long-time fans while maintaining commercial success.
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