There’s no doubt that a good action film is much like a roller coaster: it’s all about the thrills and spills while you’re on, but the ride has to end with everyone happy, safe, and back on solid ground. Some of the most popular action vehicles, especially from the ’80s and ’90s, abide by this formula, serving a pretty straightforward “good prevails at the end” approach that audiences have come to expect from any such Hollywood tent-pole film.
As the years have gone by, these films have had to re-skin this formula time and again, raising the stakes, taking the audience for a wild ride, and safely dropping them off at their expected destination by the end. But what happens when the stakes get too high, and the odds seem too difficult to beat? A little screenwriting magic, and a gentle push from Lady Luck can often make all the difference between saving the day, and certain doom. Here are 20 action films where the hero saves the day by pure luck.
20 The Avengers (2012)
The Avengers was the first step of the MCU going from “heroes in the real world” to “bringing comics to life,” and in kind, has enough poppy colors, one-liners, and fantasy logic to fill every Marvel fan’s heart. Towards the end, the titular band of heroes finds themselves fighting a losing battle, as S.H.I.E.L.D. decides that New York City is beyond saving and launches a nuclear warhead on the city, only to be heroically redirected by Iron Man into the wormhole from which Loki’s faceless armies emerge. The warhead hits the alien warship, and upon detonation, results in the simultaneous defeat of the Chitauri.
A Nuclear Plan of Attack
Despite Iron Man’s heroic efforts, we have to ask ourselves: what would the Avengers have done if not for the nuke? And how did Tony gauge that the Chitauri would all be rendered useless once it hit? Of course, we can create all sorts of head-canon for this event, but we can all admit there was some element of luck involved in claiming their victory. Stream on Disney+
19 The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
The Amazing Spider-Man is an interesting blend of traditional comic-book action and tropes, married to the more gritty and realistic setting that many blockbusters were going for at the time. Keeping this in mind, there is one specific scene out of the entire film that stands out as one of the harder pills to swallow when it comes to plot convenience. After Spidey swings towards Oscorp, after being unmasked by Captain Stacy during the final act, a wayward bullet hits him in the leg, significantly slowing him down. With a limited amount of time to get to the Lizard before he launches a virus that will transform the population of New York into lizards, Spider-Man has all but lost.
The Folks in Spider-Man’s Friendly Neighborhood
Thankfully, during an earlier sequence, Spidey saves the child of a construction worker, who notices his plight and calls on his colleagues to line up a series of cranes in a row that lead directly to Oscorp Tower. A nice moment that shows the ripple effect of a single good deed, but also definitely a big moment of luck to have come to his aid. Stream on Disney+
18 Jurassic Park (1993)
Jurassic Park will go down in history as one of the greatest science-fiction films of all time, and with good reason. The film is both full of heart, and extremely logical in the way each event leads into the next, like a falling house of cards, save for one pivotal moment at the end. After a long night of monster-mayhem, our heroes cannot even get a moment’s rest as they’re stalked by the escaped velociraptors in the building’s main foyer.
T-Rex to the Rescue
Despite their best efforts, the Raptors have them surrounded and pounce to attack, when the T-Rex somehow makes its way into the building and stops our heroes from becoming breakfast. For such an amazingly tense moment that ends with such iconic imagery, we have to wonder how Rexy managed to sneak up behind everyone when, just a few hours ago, her entrance was announced before we even saw her. Rent on Apple TV
17 The Batman (2022)
2022’s The Batman plays more like a noir crime film than a superhero flick. Taking notes from the likes of David Fincher’s Se7en and The Dark Knight, Matt Reeves’ grounded take approaches the titular hero’s mythology from a much more grounded lens, turning the story into a three-hour chess match between Batman and The Riddler. Considering almost every single move by either party is reciprocated by a reaction in kind, it is a little surprising when The Big Clue that reveals itself to Batman before the flood is, in fact, revealed to him by an officer on the periphery of the investigation.
Background Check
When Batman visits The Riddler’s apartment after their prison tête-à-tête, he is stumped as to the villain’s next move. It isn’t until the background character, Officer Martinez, recognizes The Riddler’s murder weapon as a carpeting tool that Batman is then able to find out about the plan to detonate the sea-wall surrounding the city and create an epic flood. Stream on Max
16 Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012)
Largely overlooked as a mid-budget action-adventure film from the 2010s, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is a surprisingly fun time with loads of heart, humor, and ample monster moments in its tight 90-minute runtime. Towards the end of the film, the gang finds themselves trapped on the titular island, as it is in the process of sinking into the ocean much more rapidly than initially thought.
Powering a Ship with an Electric Eel
In a last-ditch effort to escape, Kailani (Vanessa hudgens) crawls into the crypt of Captain Nemo and locates the iconic Nautilus, which not only exists, but is also functional, despite being left unused for about 200-odd years. From there, Sean (Josh Hutcherson) and Hank (played by Dwayne Johnson) find a way to power the massive ship via electric eel in a final moment of father-son bonding, saving themselves, and sailing into their Happily Ever After. Rent on Apple TV
15 Johnny English Reborn (2011)
2011’s Johnny English Reborn may have flown under the radar for some, but this Rowan Atkinson vehicle does a great job at poking fun at the Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig eras of James Bond stories, like a modern day Austin Powers. In Reborn, Johnny comes back to MI6 from his early retirement (now living as a monk) to investigate a resurfaced villain from his youth.
Not-So-Deadly Compound
Without giving too much away, the villain uses a chemical compound called Timoxeline Barbebutenol that acts as a mind-control agent, which Johnny accidentally ingests via drinking. Despite the deadly after-effects of this compound (i.e. death), Johnny not only overrides mind-control, but also comes back from the dead to finally finish off his nemesis once and for all. Stream on Starz
14 Star Trek (2009)
J.J. Abrams’ original take on this iconic space-faring franchise, 2009’s Star Trek brought the crew of the USS Enterprise to new audiences, by making two significant changes. First, Abrams kicked the action up a notch, using the $150 million budget to its full potential with high-stakes fight sequences and his now-signature lens-flared, glossy CGI space battles. Second, he also canonized the reboot by re-introducing the original Spock (Leonard Nimoy), meaning this film was the beginning of a new, branched timeline.
Chance Encounter
In the film, however, Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) meets original Spock almost entirely by accident. Having been marooned on a desert ice planet, he flees a monstrous alien trying to get him, when a mysterious stranger saves his life. The craziest part is that not only did Kirk meet Spock seemingly at random, but Spock is the reason behind the entire timeline mix-up and has the means to stop the giant Romulan ship trapped in time. Stream on Paramount+
13 Ghostbusters (1984)
1984’s Ghostbusters is an iconic film in that it balances both comedy and action superbly well, and despite its many efforts, no other entry in the franchise has been able to reach the heights of the original. The titular team of nobodies may have been led by the charismatic Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), but the brains behind the operation was always the eccentric Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis), who designed and refined all their tech.
An Educated Guess
In the film, it is made explicitly clear by Spengler that their nuclear-powered proton packs are highly unstable, and that under no circumstances should the four ever “cross the streams,” as there could be disastrous consequences. However, when faced with the otherworldly entity of Zuul, the boys band together and do the one thing they were cautioned never to do. And as luck would have it, all four walk away unscathed, having saved the city of New York as well as the unfortunate souls trapped by Zuul’s minions. Rent on Apple TV
12 The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
We know this film has been talked to death at this point, but in a list about lucky saves, we have to address the bat-shaped elephant in the room. Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises is a great film, but ultimately the weakest entry in his Dark Knight trilogy. By the time the third act rolls around and Batman comes back to Gotham, the film decides to lean more heavily into a sort of poetic logic for a more grandiose finale.
Three Close Calls
Batman, in this film, survives death almost three full times in the final hour. First, he is betrayed by Miranda Tate/Talia Al Ghul and stabbed in the abdomen, which he proceeds to more or less walk off for the rest of the film. Second, Talia leaves Bane to finish Batman off, who is thwarted by Catwoman, who blasts through the doors on the Batpod and kills Bane with one swift blow.
And third, Batman flies the armed and primed neutron bomb from Gotham to the river and manages to get off, turn on the autopilot, and leave enough time for The Bat to fly far enough away that the detonation happens at a safe distance from the city. He also shows up at the same café that Alfred visits in the end and wordlessly signals to him that he is alive and happy. Stream on Max
11 Men in Black II (2002)
Men in Black II has largely been forgotten to time as one of the lesser action sequels of the early-2000s. Full of gross over-sexualization and humor that wouldn’t fly as much today, the film is widely-regarded as a misstep for the franchise. Still, there are some interesting ways in which the film builds on the lore of the original, first and foremost with the concept of “The Light of Zartha.”
A Cruel Twist of Fate
Interestingly, Agent K was present during the altercation, and is already aware of the presence of the Light on Earth. By the end of the film, we learn that the Light of Zartha is possessed by none other than Laura (Rosario Dawson), who is a person of interest to Agent J (played by Will Smith) in the romantic sense. And so the only way to ensure the villain never gets her hands on The Light, Laura is sent back to her home planet, like some cruel twist of fate. Stream on AMC+
10 Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
This is definitely a bit of a tricky one, considering the Force is involved to some degree, but we felt it still counts as a valid entry. 1977’s Star Wars, or Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, is the classic American science fantasy film. It has the hero who comes from nothing and longs for everything, the wisecracking and handsome smuggler with the heart of gold, and the tenacious princess who charges into battle, blaster first.
A Lucky Shot
After our heroes become fast friends and lead an attack on the treacherous Death Star during the final battle, Luke Skywalker must make the impossible shot. The only way to stop the behemoth space station is to fire two consecutive shots into an open air vent along the ship’s undulating and armored surface. Using the power of the Force, Luke manages to pull off this one-in-a-million maneuver and secure the victory for the Rebel Alliance. Sure, there is some space magic involved, but even then, the good guys were lucky. Stream on Disney+
9 Transformers (2007)
Michael Bay’s original Transformers movie is forever trapped in time, as it follows many of the tropes and ideas that were popular and successful in the late-2000s. Whether it’s Bay’s signature frenetic sense of humor, or the way he shoots Megan Fox, there is no denying that the film will always be tied down as a product of its time. But controversial filmmaking choices aside, the film also plays with a trope that seems to have come and gone in that late-2000 to early-2010s period of “how much power is too much?”
Overloaded on Power
During the final battle between Optimus Prime and Megatron, Optimus pleads to Sam (Shia Labeouf) to insert the cube into his spark. Sam, treating the cube like a battery, takes it instead to Megatron and, somehow knowing it will override him, pushes the cube into his chest, which then fries him from the inside out, killing him. Good thing he knew what would happen, or else the good guys would be in a pickle. Rent on Apple TV
8 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Following up Transformers with an entry that faces a similar issue, 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is perhaps a worse entry for the tropes that it borrows from the former. The film is not all bad in hindsight, and definitely suffers from the problem that many passing-of-the-torch sequels face, which mostly boils down to honoring the original and trying to bring a franchise into the world of the new.
Once Again, Too Much Power
In Indy’s (supposedly) final adventure, Russian troops led by Cate Blachett’s Irina Spalko are in search of a telepathic alien skull. After a series of swashbuckling action sequences, the heroes and villains both arrive at the skull’s original skeleton, upon which it is placed and proceeds to grant Spalko a wish. Much like Aladdin’s Jafar, Spalko wishes for omniscience, and in the process of gaining it, becomes consumed and ultimately destroyed by her thirst for knowledge and power. Sound familiar? Stream on Disney+
7 Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Taking heavy inspiration from ’80s pop culture (or rather our 2020s throwback to it), Wonder Woman 1984 follows Diana (Gal Gadot) still reeling with the loss of her World War I lover Steve Trevor (Chris Pine). When greedy businessman Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) chances upon an ancient wishing stone and begins granting the wishes of the entire world via satellite television, with some dire consequences, Diana gets Steve back, albeit temporarily. In the final act of the film, she realizes that all the wish-fulfillment is just making the world more chaotic, and in the process must let him go to try and stop Maxwell from destroying the planet.
The Hands of Fate
After the usual superhero punch-up, Diana ties up Maxwell with the Lasso of Truth, and through him, convinces the world to give up their wishes. This works and the world pretty much goes back to business as usual almost immediately. Considering how tricky it can be to convince a single person to change their mind on even the smallest decisions, the hands of fate definitely had to have helped Diana (along with her Lasso) to convince the world to give up that which they wanted most. Stream on Max
6 Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (2023)
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning is definitely not as tight a ride as some of the earlier entries in the franchise, especially coming off a series high with Fallout. The film is absolutely filled to the brim with characters, some of whom get little to no backstory, like Pom Klementieff’s gleefully deranged assassin, Paris. In the final moments of the film, Cruise’s Ethan Hunt and Hayley Atwell’s Grace are trying to outrun a crashing train from the inside as it slowly topples over a cliff until they lose their footing and are left dangling in midair, grip slipping.
From Foe to Friend
Just as they are about to fall, Paris — who was not only several train cars behind, but also stabbed not long ago — manages to not only find the duo, but gather enough energy to pull them up, and, in her dying breath, give them just enough information to go after the film’s villain for the sequel. Rent on Apple TV
5 Spectre (2015)
Spectre
- Release Date
- October 26, 2015
- Director
- Sam Mendes
It is a difficult thing to follow-up what feels like a final hurrah for the character, and in the process of bringing one of Bond’s most iconic villains to life, Spectre wavers a little, leaning into the zany old-school Bond logic that had previously, and intentionally, escaped the Daniel Craig era. After destroying Blofeld’s (Christoph Waltz) desert base in the world’s biggest stunt explosion, Bond finds himself back in London trying to save Madeline Swann (Léa Seydoux) from Blofeld’s makeshift maze in the ruins of the MI6 building.
Stretching Movie Logic
Having been given three minutes to save her life, Bond (taking a little longer than three minutes) finds her, saves her in time before the death traps and explosives kick in. He then sees Blofeld fleeing the scene in a helicopter, which he follows on a boat and shoots down via pistol, finally capturing him.
Considering the more grounded feel that this series started off with, Spectre was definitely a left-turn in terms of stakes and logic, leaving some Craig-era fans a little confused and disappointed. Oh yeah, we also didn’t talk about the fact that Bond got his brain drilled, and was supposed to be left incapacitated, but that’s for another time. Rent on Apple TV
4 Furious 7 (2015)
We’ll admit, having any entry from the Fast & Furious franchise on this list is a bit of a cop-out, considering the dream logic that these films seem to operate on. That said, Furious 7 is probably the beginning of this trend in terms of really stretching the audience’s suspension of disbelief. As Dom (Vin Diesel) and Shaw (Jason Statham) face off for a final time, they first smash their cars into each other, before jumping out and going hand-to-hand with a pair of crowbars in a carpark.
Dom’s Powerful Foot and Hobbs’ Magical Arm
But it isn’t until the penultimate moment that the ridiculousness really sets in — when Dom says, “The thing about street fights is, the street always wins,” stomping hard enough on the ground that a chasm opens up under Shaw, swallowing him whole. Meanwhile, while the rest of the gang is trying to fend off a killer drone (which is all being captured live on the news), Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), still in hospital with a broken arm, flexes out of his cast, makes his way to the heart of the action, and fires a minigun at the drone to help save the day. You can’t make this stuff up, or maybe you can. Stream on Max
3 Premium Rush (2012)
Not many people will remember this mid-budget action crime film from 2012, so we’ll quickly summarize the story here. In Premium Rush, Wiley (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a reckless bike messenger, who finds himself tied up in a sticky situation when a mysterious package he is carrying for a Chinese Immigrant called Nima (Jamie Chung), catches the eye of crooked cop and gambling addict Robert Monday (Michael Shannon). From there on, it’s a chase to the finish line. We learn that the package is actually a ticket that leads to a significant amount of money, enabling Nima’s family to come to the U.S. to live with her.
Bike Messengers to the Rescue
Towards the end, Monday captures Wiley and tortures him to hand over the package, while Nima’s family is waiting to get on the ship that will bring them over. Luckily for Wiley, his friends at the bike messenger agency sense trouble, and send the cavalry (in this case, every bike messenger in New York) to distract Monday and intimidate him. At the same time, a partner of the Chinese gang helping Nima makes his way to the same spot and shoots Monday in the head, killing him. The ticket manages to find its destination in the nick of time, and Nima’s family is able to get on board. Rent on Apple TV
2 Batman & Robin (1997)
Joel Schumacher’s much maligned entries into the Batman franchise may have aged better than most people remember. But whatever grounded nature was left in his Batman Forever was clearly replaced by a need to appeal to both toy companies and the barest of childlike sensibilities by the time Batman & Robin came around. Keeping this in mind, it is no surprise that the ending of the film makes about as much sense as it does.
A Sunny Solution
During the final battle, Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy have teamed up and used Gotham’s latest telescope (powered by diamonds) to freeze Gotham into an eternal winter. After punching the baddies away, the heroes realize that the only way to save Gotham is to use the satellites above Earth to redirect the sun’s rays, which can then be channeled through the telescope onto Gotham in order to melt the ice. Despite our soft spot for the film, it’s fairly obvious why the franchise took an eight-year hiatus before 2005’s Batman Begins. Stream on Max
1 The Mummy Returns (2001)
2001’s The Mummy Returns is the perfect example of a studio’s misunderstanding of why something works. The sequel needed to be bigger, but the same, better, but in the same way, and it needed to be turned around in a shorter amount of time. By the time the film released, audiences did not respond as positively as they had done the first time around. The film felt like a more bloated version of the first, with contrived arcs and strange character choices that plagued it from beginning to end.
It’s in the Blood
In the film, we see that Rachel Weisz’s Evelyn was an Egyptian Princess in her past life, armed with hand-to-hand combat skills to boot. In the finale, Imhotep releases the Scorpion King, an unkillable monster with a singular weakness: the Spear of Osiris. Rick (Brendan Fraiser) discovers that he is descended from a long tribe of Egyptian warriors who can command this spear, and uses his newfound knowledge, along with some timely incantations from Jonathan and Evelyn, to kill the Scorpion King and stop the end of the world. Phew, that’s a lot to swallow. Stream on Hulu
