10 Movies With the Worst Action Sequences, Ranked

There’s nothing quite like a good action movie. When done right, the genre can provide some of the most exhilarating and compelling experiences possible in cinema, keeping a tight grip on viewers’ attention throughout. When done not-so-well, however, an action movie can be a pretty hard one to get through. When done downright terribly, there are typically two outcomes: a film that’s insufferably boring, or one that’s so ludicrously bad that it’s hilarious.

For logical reasons, the element that makes or breaks an action movie are its action scenes. If they’re good enough, they can elevate even a pretty weak script to being an irresistibly fun experience. If they’re ridiculous or unengaging, they’ll either end up being unintentionally laughable or making even the best of screenplays hopelessly dull.

10 ‘A Good Day to Die Hard’ (2013)

Directed by John Moore

Born with the iconic 1988 classic of the same name, the Die Hard franchise may not have been the most consistent throughout its first four films and nineteen years of existence, but at least each of those installments had something unique and thoroughly entertaining to offer. That all changed in the series’ last movie: A Good Day to Die Hard, where John McClane and his wayward son team up against underworld forces in Russia.

Easily and by far the weakest installment in the franchise, the fifth Die Hard film commits the biggest sin that an action movie can possibly commit: it’s atrociously boring. This is largely due to its uninteresting characters and their alarming lack of chemistry, but it’s also because of how by-the-numbers and forgettable the action sequences are. Whereas all its predecessors had at least a few cool stunts and entertaining set pieces, this one offers nothing that hasn’t been done better by a hundred films before.

9 ‘Dolemite’ (1975)

Directed by D’Urville Martin

Though its quality is questionable, what’s not up for debate is that Rudy Ray Moore‘s Dolemite is one of the most iconic and influential Blaxploitation movies in the movement’s history. It’s a B-action comedy about a pimp who, after being released from jail, takes on the criminals and corrupt police officers who framed him and put him in there in the first place.

Funny, entertaining, and historically significant though it may be, however, Dolemite also happens to be a love letter to utterly incompetent filmmaking (a quality perfectly captured in 2019’s biopic Dolemite Is My Name, starring Eddie Murphy as Moore). Badly shot and choreographed, and with a boom mic so often visible that it’s practically a stunt performer, the film’s action scenes are just as charmingly silly as everything else in the film.

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8 ‘Dragonball Evolution’ (2009)

Directed by James Wong

Based on the legendary anime franchise Dragon Ball, likewise based on the manga series Dragon Boy, Dragonball Evolution (that’s right: They didn’t even bother to get the title right) is generally regarded as the worst thing that’s ever happened to the franchise. It’s about the young warrior Son Goku, who sets out on a quest to collect seven magical orbs that will grant their wielder unlimited power.

With some of the worst visuals, most baffling creative decisions, and most horrible casting that any live-action anime adaptation has ever seen, it’s no wonder why Dragonball Evolution is detested both by fans of the show and those who have never followed it. With none of the high-energy intensity, visual flair, or emotional stakes that fans expected from a Dragon Ball movie’s action sequences, Evolution‘s are forgettable at best and jaw-dropping in their badness at worst.

7 ‘Borderlands’ (2024)

Directed by Eli Roth

Based on the popular and beloved video game franchise of the same title, Borderlands had high expectations resting on its shoulders. It follows an infamous bounty hunter returning to her childhood home, where she forms an unlikely alliance with a team of misfits to find the missing daughter of the most powerful man in the universe. Sadly, not only did the movie fail to live up to expectations; it performed so far below them that that’s an achievement in itself.

With its theatrical run already over, Borderlands is now officially one of the biggest box office flops of the decade so far. Its action scenes lack the brutality and imagination that fans of the game expected (likely partly due to its restriction to a PG-13 rating), and they’re so packed with horrible dialogue and pointless character moments that viewers are left wanting to move on to the next thing. Not a great thing for an action-centric film to do.

Rent on Apple TV

6 ‘Battlefield Earth’ (2000)

Directed by Roger Christian

Based on the book of the same title by scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, Battlefield Earth is about as idiotic as the man behind its source material makes it sound. One of the worst cult classics ever, it’s set in a futuristic Earth that’s ruled by the alien race of the Psychlos, who have enslaved humanity. However, they are unaware that their “man-animals” are about to ignite the rebellion of a lifetime.

Pretty much nothing about Battlefield Earth works well, making it go beyond the realm of “so-bad-it’s-good” and into the realm of “so-bad-it’s-unwatchable.” One of the many things that the movie fails at is at offering compelling, high-stakes sci-fi action. Instead, its combat sequences are masterclasses in how not to build tension and suspense, how to abuse bad CGI and slow-motion, and how much bad editing can completely ruin an action scene.

5 ‘The Last Airbender’ (2010)

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

One of the 2010s’ most derided action movies on Letterboxd, The Last Airbender

proved that M. Night Shyamalan wasn’t just a simple hit-or-miss director; he was actually capable of delivering genuinely atrocious films. In it, the young successor of a long line of Avatars must master all four elements to stop the Fire Nation from enslaving the Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom.

While the animated series that the movie is based on is among the most beloved TV shows of all time by viewers of all ages, saying that this adaptation was a letdown would be the understatement of the century. For one, the action is horrible. Aside from lacking imagination and creativity, these scenes have characters do bizarre, nonsensical dances before bending their respective elements. It may have worked in animation, but in live-action, it makes every action scene somehow both laughable and sad.

4 ‘Samurai Cop’ (1991)

Directed by Amir Shervan

For those who love hilariously bad action movies, there’s no better fit than Samurai Cop. It’s about two tenacious police detectives who seek at all costs to stop the Katana, a renegade Yakuza gang composed of sadistic killers who want to lead the drug trade in Los Angeles. With some of the most incompetent filmmaking and most quotable terrible dialogue ever, it’s an experience that every cinephile should have at least once in their lives.

One of the most iconic “so-bad-it’s-good” movies of all time, Samurai Cop is composed of the least romantic romance scenes, the stupidest exposition and character moments, and some of the most hysterically dumb action sequences that the medium has ever seen. Punches don’t land, wigs are pulled off, silly one-liners are thrown around, and the worst-possible swordplay choreography fills the screen in the film’s many terrible — yet incredibly enjoyable — action scenes.

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3 ‘Who Killed Captain Alex?’ (2010)

Directed by Nabwana I.G.G.

Perhaps the most popular Ugandan movie ever made, Who Killed Captain Alex? flew right out of the slums of the country’s capital to show that Ugandans have plenty of stories to tell — even if their way of telling them is rather… Unique. It’s a cult classic where Uganda’s president gives Captain Alex an assignment to defeat the Tiger Mafia, but he gets killed in the process. Upon hearing the tragic news, his brother goes on an investigation to avenge Alex’s death.

With amateurish visual effects, poor choreography and cinematography, choppy editing, and over-the-top performances.

One of the most hilarious “so-bad-it’s-good” movies ever, the film had a reported budget of $85 USD, and it shows. With amateurish visual effects, poor choreography and cinematography, choppy editing, and over-the-top performances, its combat sequences are as atrocious as they are hilarious. It’s impossible to bash the movie for it, though. It’s a joyful, thoroughly entertaining celebration of the love for filmmaking and the dedication to making a movie, no matter what it takes.

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2 ‘Gymkata’ (1985)

Directed by Robert Clouse

For the action cult classic Gymkata, someone came up with the brilliant idea of casting legendary American Olympian gymnast Kurt Thomas in the lead role. He may be an exceptional athlete, but he sure isn’t an actor. He offers a bizarre performance in this B-picture about an American gymnast traveling to the distant land of Parmistan to compete in a deadly game not won by a foreigner in more than nine hundred years.

Gymkata may not be one of the best gymnastic movies, but it sure is one of the most hilariously entertaining. Absolutely nonsensical and delightfully over-the-top, the film’s fight scenes incorporate crazy gymnastic tricks into their choreographies in all the places where they least fit. So, viewers are left with action sequences where goons are defeated with backflips that don’t even graze them. It may not make much sense, but it certainly makes for an unforgettably fun time.

Rent on Apple TV

1 ‘Attack Force’ (2006)

Directed by Michael Keusch

No list of the worst anything in action movies could ever be complete without at least one Steven Seagal movie. The controversial actor-writer-director-producer-martial artist is the mind behind some of the most infamous “so-bad-they’re-good” action movies of the ’90s, but sometimes, he delivered duds that were just downright atrocious. Such is the case with Attack Force, a direct-to-DVD sci-fi thriller about a military commander racing to stop the inventor of a new drug that turns people into bloodthirsty killers.

What makes these sequences even worse is that they’re not even idiosyncratic or exaggerated enough to provide genuinely solid laughs.

There are some who would call Attack Force hilariously bad, while others would say that it’s so low-quality that it’s not even a good time. Whatever the case, its action scenes are definitely something. The choreography, cinematography, and editing are admirably incompetent, and the switching between Seagal and his body doubles is so blatantly obvious that one has to wonder if they even tried to hide it. What makes these sequences even worse is that they’re not even idiosyncratic or exaggerated enough to provide genuinely solid laughs. Instead, Attack Force has action scenes so bad that one forgets all about them as soon as the credits roll.

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KEEP READING:The Worst Action Movies of All Time, According to Rotten Tomatoes