The Rock, the best action movie ever made?

I can't believe no one in this thread mentioned Lethal Weapon

Yeah definitely up there with you favourites

great movie, but Die Hard is the best in every aspect.

Loved 'The Rock' as a teenager.
Recently I watched it again… and was all like What the hell was I thinking!? After careful reflection, I wouldn't rate it better than a 5 out of 10 anymore.
This flick has a ridiculous plot with holes the size of Bay Area; one-dimensional characters; props and dialogues coming across as though concocted by a director of music videos (wait…); video game level-like mazes, boss fights and weak-spots; and most importantly, the action scenes didn't convince me, especially due to an overuse of slowmo footage and explosions as if everything in the world of Michael Bay was made out of Semtex instead of steel, concrete or stone. I'd take gritty realism over this any day!

I don't know your definition of an action movie (for example: is an action thriller with a focus on the thrill an action movie, too)? I'd consider any movie an action movie where a considerable part of the runtime is devoted to action scenes. So, my top list of action-packed movies no matter the subgenre (only in alphabetical order) would include, instead of 'The Rock',

• 'Casino Royale', for the most ass- and door-kicking 007 in history
• 'Collateral', despite making the list only just; the shootouts are just too good!
• 'Haywire', for clever action scenes and the only convincing female lead in such a movie
• 'Heat', for the best climactic gunbattle in cinema history
• 'Ironclad', for gritty medieval combat realism
• 'John Wick', despite its sorry excuse for a plot, for the most capable gunman in movie history
• 'Killer Elite' (2011), for the overall choreography of the fight scenes and nice atmosphere
• 'Le Pacte des Loups', for extraordinary fight scenes
• 'Live Free or Die Hard', the best of the franchise imho
• 'Proof of Life', despite making the list only just, the camp-attack is splendid action material
• 'Ronin', for nail-gnawing action scenes and car chases
• 'Sahara', for the overall impression of the "funny-yet-realistic" fight scenes
• 'Sherlock Holmes' (2009), for fights and action scenes both cleverly choreographed and well-shot
• 'Starship Troopers', for relentless violence and for indulging violence while still carrying a message
• 'Taken I', for highly realistic hand-to-hand combat
• 'The Equalizer', for a hero who manages to kill dozens without ever firing a gun
• 'The Mechanic' (2011), for cleverly-concocted action scenes
• 'The Town', for shootouts well-done
• 'Troy', for the most well-choreographed melee in cinema history
• The original 'Bourne' trilogy, perhaps the best action-packed movies ever made (even though I'm no fan of shaky cam at all)

As for the best of these, I'm split between 'Bourne Ultimatum', 'Sherlock Holmes' and 'Ironclad'.

Perhaps many of you will disagree on grounds of terms ("what is an action movie?")… however, this is how I feel at least. I should add that I do not deem a flick like 'Universal Soldier' a real action movie nor a worthwhile one. In my opinion it would fall under the exploitation genre. As far as I'm concerned, a movie should always want to tell a story and not confine itself to showing off a few good bits of choreography.

You wouldn't read a book that's about a single fight; you wouldn't listen to a track of music that's only chorus; you wouldn't play a video game that consists only of one level. Right?

I had never attempted to see it until recently. I was skeptical thinking it might be 'overrated.' My first attempt at watching it a few weeks ago, I kind of 'gave up' about 10 minutes into it.

My 2nd attempt I thought I'll just force myself to watch it. It did turn out to be one of the best action movies I've ever seen and in my opinion perhaps the best Bruckheimer movie I've ever seen -even somewhat better than one of my favorite action movies -Con Air.

It's definitely up there.

There's a lot of great ones I'd hold among the best such as: Die Hard, The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Spider-man 2, The Amazing Spider-man 2, Mad Max: Fury Road, Seven Samurai, Sanjuro, Return of the Jedi, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Dredd, Rush Hour 2, Hot Fuzz, Goldeneye, The Matrix, The Dark Knight, Con Air, Lethal Weapon, Enter the Dragon, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, 3:10 to Yuma, John Wick, Kung Fu Hustle, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.


...

The opening alone puts it on the list.

IMO Die Hard tops The Rock

also in the same league:
Taken
Breakdown
Black Hawk Down