The best action scenes on trains to watch to get ready for Bullet Train

You can make an action film in many ways. Exciting heists and big explosions are just a few of the many options available to create an action film. But there’s one way to guarantee a good time for audiences: staging an action sequence on a train.

Trains just rule, OK? Apart from being an excellent form of mass transit, trains just look great (or even better, if they are your action hero).

Brad Pitt’s new actioner Bullet Train This great filmtic tradition is now in cinemas. Jackie Chan’s death-defying acts and Michelle Yeoh’s movies set entirely on trains, there are many reasons to celebrate this great cinematic tradition. Busan to Train (and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba: The Movie: Mugen trainWe also have LoveWe are proud to present some of our favourite train-themed action sequences, but they were not cut because there weren’t enough clips. Enjoy!

Supercop

Michelle Yeoh swings her motorcycle from a height and then lands it on the moving train. Michelle Yeoh leaps off a hill to land a motorcycle on a moving train. Yeoh claims that Jackie Chan was stunned at the feat and decided to try it himself by landing via parachute on the train. The end result: This scene is absolutely stunning. —Pete Volk

The Wolverine

Logan While solo Wolverine project may receive more attention than others, I find my own preferred way of doing things. The Wolverine. It’s the rare modern superhero project with a contained conflict (rather than an apocalyptic one), and, most importantly to this list, the fight on top of a bullet train absolutely rules. —PV

The Raid 2

Raid was a revolution in the world of action, with brutal violence that’s easy to understand visually. After the first movie’s vertical approach in a high-rise apartment building, the second is considerably more spread out in narrative approach and location. In this standout scene (spliced together by a YouTuber so you only see moments from this sequence), Julie Estelle’s “Hammer Girl” absolutely wrecks some dudes on a train with her signature hammers. The Raid 2 We would like you to remember that hammers are Two Both are extremely dangerous. —PV

Mission: Impossible

It’s no hanging off a plane in Rogue NationBut back at the beginning Mission: ImpossibleIn a dramatic sequence featuring Jon Voight, Jean Reno and Tom Cruise, Cruise was seen hanging from the top of a train. This stunt featured both CG and practical effects. —PV

Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3’s opening scene has all the makings of a legendary train fight sequence: stakes, suspense, orphans, nunchucks, backflips, etc. Truly, there is nothing more powerful than a child’s imagination. —Toussaint Egan

Busan to Train

Technically, this movie could be considered the longest. But we can’t pass up the opportunity to highlight Ma Dong-seok beating down some zombies with taped-up forearms. —PV

Needed

If there’s one thing you know about Needed, it’s probably that bullets curve in it. The train sequence in which James McAvoy curves the bullet around a civilian so that it hits another bullet was one of our coolest examples. Angelina Jolie also crashes a car into a train, if you’re into that kind of thing. —PV

Speed

Speed Although the movie is known for using a different form of public transport, a train does not feature as prominently as the bus. Keanu Reeves holds Sandra Bullock captive on Dennis Hopper’s train, as Dennis Hopper takes Sandra Bullock hostage. Hopper joins him up there, and we get an all-out brawl on top of the moving train, ending in a memorable death for a great ’90s movie villain. —PV

Snowpiercer

It’s difficult to pick out just OneA movie that features a train fighting sequence is called “train fight” SnowpiercerThe film is almost all scenes shot inside trains, many of which are fight scenes. The blackout sequence, however, stands out as one of the film’s finest, as the audience witnesses Curtis’ (Chris Evans) rebellion being cut down by a cadre of masked machete-wielding soldiers with night-vision goggles. The scene’s climax, featuring a small boy hoisting a flaming torch like an Olympic marathon runner to aid Curtis, is one of the most exhilarating and memorable images in the entire film. —TE

Resurrections of the Matrix

Matrix’s dazzling action sequences are legendary, as is the Matrix train fight. Resurrections of the MatrixThis is the same. The scene begins with an RPG rocket tearing through the side of a Japanese bullettrain. It explodes into an explosion of gunfire, acrobatics and gunfire as Bugs and the crew of Mnemosyne and an alternate Morpheus fight off a swarm blue-pills. Neo struggles to regain control. It’s a perfect encapsulation of tone of Resurrections of the MatrixThe whole thing: as serious as well as energetic, but also irreverently funny and filled with personality. —TE

Spider-Man 2

Spider-Man 2 isn’t just one of the best Spider-Man movies ever made, it’s one of the best superhero movies of all time, full stop. There’s several points in the film’s favor for either argument, be it Tobey Maguire’s more mature take on the superpowered web-slinger as he struggles with his duties as a vigilante, Alfred Molina’s tragic and terrifying performance as a noble scientist and mentor twisted by grief and a freak accident into a multi-armed villain, or the skillful emotional storytelling and craftsmanship of director Sam Raimi. For the purposes of this list, however, let’s focus specifically on the train fight between Spider-Man and Dr. Otto Octavius, which easily stands the test of time as one of the most exhilarating action sequences seen in any superhero film.

There’s so much to appreciate, like Spidey shooting like a torpedo through the grating of a tunnel overpass, the breathtaking moment where Peter and Doc Ock trade blows while standing on the side of a train carriage as it barrels ahead, or the shot of Spider-Man maneuvering through traffic before hoisting himself across rooftops while saving civilians. It’s amazing, it’s spectacular, it’s everything you could want out of a Spider-Man film and more. —TE

John Wick Chapter 2

The John Wick franchise delivered one of the more low-key train fights on this list, as Wick faces off with Common’s assassin, Cassian, in an intricately choreographed close-quarters knife fight. —PV

Dhoom 2

It is nearly impossible to explain this scene from Bollywood Heist 2, the sequel to the popular franchise. Hrithik Rosshan portrays the antagonist Mr. A, Queen Elizabeth. And Mr. A is Queen Elizabeth. Complete with Mission: Impossible-style mask reveal. Also, he parachutes on a train before sandboarding behind it. A+, no notes. —PV

Legend of the Drunken Master

What, you thought there’d only be one Jackie Chan scene on this list? Don’t think so.

The long fight starts with a train. It then moves on to the top, before finally moving underneath it and away.

A side note: This movie as well the 1978 original are both available in HD. Drunken Master These classics are filled with wonderful sequences such as this. —PV

Take of Pelham 123

This is another one of those movies where most of the running time could qualify (and that’s true for both the 1974 and 2009 versions). But I’ve included the above scene from the 2009 version, where the train is first overtaken, because 1. it rules and 2. Tony Scott’s late period is one of my favorites. I think this scene is an excellent example of how he created tension. —PV

Unstoppable

Continue our journey down the Tony Scott late-period track (Refer to trainThis is a great blue-collar thriller that almost completely takes place on trains. A veteran railroad engineer (Denzel Washington) has to work with a rookie conductor (Chris Pine) to stop a runaway train in one of the director’s best movies and one of the best thrillers you can watch at home. —PV

The more they fall the harder it is

The train shootout in Jeymes Samuel’s The more they fall the harder it is Although it is short, its execution was excellent. Lakeith Stanfield’s theatrical introduction as Cherokee Bill, along with some mighty swift knife-play, steals the show before a single shot is ever fired. —TE

Ant-Man

It may be okay, but it could not be It may not involve a train but it certainly involves one. Scott Lang and Yellowjacket fight on a tiny train set in this delightful action-comedy scene from Ant-Man. It’s a wonderfully funny way to close the film. —PV

The Good, Bad, and the Weird.

Kim Jeewoon directs this Korean Western that is heavily inspired from Sergio Leone movies.“I Saw the Devil”) and stars Song Kang-ho and Lee Byung-hun. In this clip, which starts the movie, we get a swooping introduction to a train, and Song Kang-ho’s dual-wielding Yoon Tae-goo (aka “The Weird”) as he makes his way through the compartments. —PV

Fast Five

The Fast & Furious franchise has featured action sequences in basically every kind of vehicle imaginable, so Of course This list includes one movie. This scene is from the best in the series and ends with Paul Walker leaping off of a moving truck to be attached to a move train on to Vin Diesel’s moving car, which then takes them down a steep cliff onto the ocean below. Cinema! —PV

Furie

FurieAbsolutely rules. Director Le-Van KietThe Princess) previously worked with the incomparable Veronica Ngô on this revenge thriller about a reformed gangster who has to resort to her old ways when her daughter is kidnapped. With some great action sequences including the neon-soaked train fight above, it’s a bone-crunching blast. —PV

Skyfall/Spectre

It wasn’t just one. Two banger train sequences in Daniel Craig’s Bond movies. This is the first. Skyfall, has your classic “fight on Top of the train” scene followed by one of the more shocking ends to any Bond cold open. Bond and Dave Bautista fight it out in the second scene. Bautista is one of Craig’s most memorable henchmen. —PV

The Grandmaster

We love Wilson Yip and Donnie Yen’s Ip Man series, but don’t forget the legendary Wong Kar-wai’s take on the iconic martial artist. Tony Leung is Ip Man’s star in this video, and Zhang Ziyi plays Gong Ruo Mei in the clip. Action choreography was done by Yuen Wooping who also directed and directed the Ip Man spinoff. Master Z: Ip Man LegacyStars Grandmaster co-star Max Zhang). This fight scene technically takes place next to a train, but we’re including it because it’s absolutely gorgeous. —PV

Fugitive

Fugitive is one of the quintessential thrillers of the 1990s, following Harrison Ford’s Dr. Richard Kimble on the run from false accusations of the murder of his wife. In this scene, on the “L” train, Kimble is identified by another passenger (who informs a police officer) before the real killer attempts to take him out. —PV

Broken Arrow

You can hardly call any list related to action complete if there isn’t at least one John Woo clip included. This scene shows Christian Slater jumping from a train onto it. He kicks Howie Long, an ex-NFL star, off the train and over the bridge before he faces John Travolta in classic Woo gun combat. —PV

Resident Evil

The climactic battle between Alice (Milla Jovovich) and the mutant Licker at the end of 2002’s Resident Evil is a terrific action set-piece that feels like both an ode to Ridley Scott’s AlienA passionate homage to the train boss battle at the conclusion of Resident Evil 2. If you are able to know it, then you can be sure. —TE

Under Siege 2: Dark Territory

This scene has everything you’d want from a Steven Seagal movie.

One man is thrown off a train and then gets run over by the train. A variety of villainous characters and their henchmen are played by many actors, including Eric Bogosian. Jonathan Banks Kurtwood Smith! Katherine Heigl’s future stars It was a massive gun battle inside and on the top of the train. Seagal wearing all black. It was a hard act to believe that Seagal was wearing all black under a moving train. It’s pure ’90s action goodness all around. —PV

The Equalizer 2

This second installment of the highly-rated action series Denzel opens with this tensionful scene aboard a train. It moves from calm conversations to quick combative fighting with an urgency.

It’s a great display of Denzel’s skillset — his Robert McCall is calm, collected, and reserved, always in control of his situation, but able to amp up from zero to 60 on a moment’s notice. When his conversation with his target turns on a dime, finally letting the audience in on what’s going on… That’s the good stuff, right there. —PV

What are the Wrong Trousers?

Nick Park’s stop-motion classic from 1993, starring lovable oaf Wallace and his cucumber-cool dog Gromit — plus a silent penguin villain and a robotic pair of pants — is an impeccable half-hour heist thriller as well as a masterpiece of animated slapstick. It climaxes in an incredibly ingenious and sharply edited chase around Wallace’s suburban home on a model railway set that’s no less epic, suspenseful, or hilarious a set-piece for being miniaturized. It is action filmmaking at its best. —Oli Welsh