20. The Final Shootout – “The Nice Guys”
While it was in some respects a slightly underwhelming spiritual sequel to “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” that didn’t quite recapture the magic of that movie, “The Nice Guys” was nevertheless easily one of the most entertaining studio movies all year. There’s a number of cracking action scenes throughout (the one where Matt Bomer’s assassin more or less destroys Ryan Gosling’s house with a machine gun nearly made the cut, too), but our fave is definitely the finale, where Gosling’s inept P.I. and Russell Crowe’s hired muscle head to the Los Angeles Auto Show to find the film that that could finally crack the case they’ve been working. Thrilling and funny (thanks in particular to Gosling’s almost Harold Lloyd-ish propensity for painful slapstick and physical comedy, which we hope other filmmakers put to use at some point), Black juggles the suspense across a number of levels, packs it with gags, and even brings it to a strangely positive conclusion as Gosling’s daughter (Angourie Rice) convinces Crowe not to kill Bomer.
19. Car Chase – “Hunt For The Wilderpeople”
Probably the warmest, most joyous, most enjoyable comedy of 2016 was Taika Waititi’s “Hunt For The Wilderpeople,” which sees Sam Neill’s grizzled, grieving Hec and his hip-hop loving foster son Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison) go on the run after a misunderstanding makes the authorities believe that the man has abducted the boy. It’s not an action movie per se, more of a comedic adventure, but it ends on a thrilling, hilarious high, as the manhunt’s taken to almost absurd extremes as Ricky and Hec flee in a pick-up truck from cop cars, local hunters and even a tank. It’s not the most thrillingly choreographed scene on this list — it basically involves them driving one way, and then turning around and driving back — but through sheer quality of filmmaking, Waititi makes it hugely exciting and often laugh-out-loud funny (“You don’t even have your full license!,” Rachel House’s wonderful pursuer yells at one point).
18. Escape From King Louie – “The Jungle Book”
One of the more pleasant surprises of the year came with Jon Favreau’s remake of “The Jungle Book.” The Disney fairy tale reboots have mostly been of questionable quality, last year’s decent “Cinderella” aside, but Favreau and writer Justin Marks paid homage to the animated classic version of Rudyard Kipling’s book while bringing something new to the party, and proved to be a real visual wonder. There are a number of action scenes that are among the best that Favreau’s ever done, with the peak here being Mowgli’s escape from an ancient temple from the film’s version of King Louie, a terrifying, enormous Gigantopithecus with a slightly Trump-ish feel voiced by Christopher Walken. As Baloo (Bill Murray) and Bagheera (Ben Kingsley) battle monkeys outside, Louie smashes through his home in search of Mowgli — it’s a world apart from the Louis Prima-voiced version in the 1966 cartoon, but really quite effective (apologies for the choppy nature of the video below).
17. Skeleton Fight – “Kubo & The Two Strings”
It’s the emotional core of “Kubo & The Two Strings” that make it one of the best films of the year, animated or otherwise, which helps to explain why we sobbed solidly through the last 10 minutes of the movie. But it’s also a rollicking, exciting adventure, as much so as any movie this year, and might peak in the scene where the titular hero (Art Parkinson) and companions Monkey (Charlize Theron) and Beetle (Matthew McConaughey) have to reclaim an unbreakable sword embedded in the skull of an enormous skeleton. Reportedly the largest stop-motion character ever built, the beast is a Ray Harryhausen-ish wonder, and director Travis Knight constructs a hugely enjoyable sequence around, on top and underneath it. Like the best fights, the heroes seem to be on the verge of defeat almost continuously, so there’s real air-punching triumph in their victory.
16. Basement Fight – “Don’t Breathe”
Few B-movies have pulled off scuzzy thrills as effectively in recent years as Fede Alvarez’s sleeper hit “Don’t Breathe,” and this mid-movie sequence is a prime example of how well it works. Having broken into the house of a blind man (Stephen Lang), two housebreakers (Jane Levy and Dylan Minnette), having already seen one of their friends killed, find a kidnapped woman in the basement. But the Blind Man, who’s far more capable than he appears, arrives and shoots at them, killing his captive, and then turns the lights out, leading them as unable to see as him, and being far less used to the surroundings. Alvarez shoots the scene in monochrome nightvision, letting us see what’s going on while also witnessing Levy and Minnette’s stumbling terror. It’s such a clever sequence, and the director wrings every drop of tension and terror from it, particularly in the final close-ups of Lang’s face.
