Actions speak louder than words, and that’s the reason why action movies where fight sequences reign supreme are more popular than the ones where dialogues make up most of the script. The stunts, the jumps, the fight sequences and the visually strong backgrounds, all help in making an action film click, and ’101 Action Movies You Must See Before You Die’ narrows down the best action films for you to watch.

Don’t be surprised if you find a Chinese, Japanese or a film from Hong Kong in this collection or have never heard of the term Blaxploitation, because there are a lot of terminologies that this book brings to you. The world’s best critics, film historians and academics give their insights on the best movies of their times, so if one writer describes a swashbuckler movie starring Douglas Fairbanks, then another will give his input on Star Wars, and another on Avatar.

What makes this book stand out from the many ‘collections’ in the market is the fact that it covers more than a century of film making and doesn’t let you feel bored, despite taking you down the memory lane. The narrative is fast, the language is simple and the knowledge this book passes onto the readers is immense. The book chronicles the history of action films in a way no other book has done so, because you get the plot summary, a listing of cast and credits, and interesting notes about the production. Nearly each film is accompanied with an illustration or a picture/poster from the movie that adds colour to this intensely readable book.

Did you know that Michael Bay decided to cast Will Smith in Bad Boys after watching an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air? Bruce Willis was famous for his comedy roles on TV before he became an action star through Die Hard. Or that football star Jim Brown tried his hand at acting after representing Cleveland Browns for nine seasons! It is trivia like these that make this book an ideal purchase for anyone who is remotely interested in action flicks!

Where else would you find The Great Train Robbery and The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three listed together, two of the best movies that deal with ‘issues of the track’ but released 71 years apart! Is there any other that discusses The Perils Of Pauline that was released 99 years ago but each of the ‘episode’ ended in a cliffhanger moment that was continued in the next installment, which also ended with an awe-inducing stunt! There is The Thief Of Bagdad, Captain Blood and The Adventures Of Robin Hood that are considered classics – and were way ahead of their times – whereas The Mark Of Zorro (1940) leaves its mark alongside another swashbuckling hit, The Three Musketeers that came eight years later!

When you talk about action movies, you can’t leave behind the master of suspense, and Alfred Hitchcock makes his presence felt with his most action-packed adventure – North By Northwest – that is still fresh despite being over 50 years old! Four of Sean Connery’s Bond flicks – From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball and Diamonds Are Forever – make their presence in this book alongside On Her Majesty’s Secret Service where the Scottish actor was replaced by George Lazenby, an Australian model. The stunts in the latter as well as the story and photography made it a success but Connery’s return put an end to Lazenby’s ambitions as an actor in general, and Bond in particular!

Movies like Our Man Flint – that were Americanized version of James Bond featuring James Coburn as the secret agent – are given a place in this book but that’s the prerogative of the editors, the readers need not agree with them on some selections. These selections include movies like Fist Of Legend, Ong-Bak and Hot Fuzz as not many have heard about them, and not many are likely to go and watch them even on the recommendation of the esteemed writers!

And then there is Dirty Harry, the Clint Eastwood flick that kick started modern the cop genre and is still considered as one of the best cop movies of all times. You will also find the daddy of all disaster movies – Airport – as well as The Towering Inferno which not only had an ensemble cast but also had a history where Steve McQueen and Paul Newman had a tiff regarding whose name should appear first in the titles! The book also lists Foxy Brown, the flick that made Blaxploitation an everyday word and Death Race 2000 which featured an unknown actor Sylvester Stallone in a supporting role opposite David Carradine!

The best superhero flicks of all time including Superman: The Movie, Batman, X-Men, Spider Man, The Dark Knight and Iron Man all make it to this book where visually attractive films are a must watch. That’s why movies like Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and Avatar are given special mention since they helped raise filmmaking standards by being out-of-the-box!

Be it buddy-comedy movie 48 Hrs, the gruesome First Blood, the action-packed Commando, Tom Cruise’s Top Gun, the brilliant Lethal Weapon or the original Die Hard, this book gives equal space to all action movies that made a difference. Even Harrison Ford makes his presence felt as an action star of the 90s with The Fugitive, Clear And Present Danger and Air Force One where he saved the day as a doctor-fugitive, a politician and finally as an American President! Steven Seagal’s Under Siege, Arnold Schwarzennegger’s True Lies, Will Smith & Martin Lawrence’s Bad Boys and Antonio Banderas’ Desperado also  vie for a place in this wonderful book and same goes for the iconic James Bond return flick Goldeneye and the Mission: Impossible movie that started it all!

Be it the first heist film, the talkie with mind-boggling action, the best sci-fi flick ever or the Bond flick that made you fall in love with the character, you will find them all here in this collection that discusses movies, like never before. This book lists nearly every movie an action-flick buff should know about. From heist movies The Fast And The Furious to The Transporter , The Bourne franchise to Taken, this collection lists over 101 movies from the last 100 years where actions speak louder than words. Trust me, this is one place where the good guys always gets the girl, saves the world and manages to have a martini that is shaken, but not stirred, in a tuxedo!

Omair Alavi can be contacted at omair78 @gmail.com