The 10 Longest Action Movies of All Time, Ranked
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Action movies aren’t always on the shorter end of things, but it can be nice when they are, to be perfectly blunt. Most action films don’t really have to be all that ambitious or mind-blowing narratively, and if the stakes are there, the hero is decent enough, and the villain sufficiently deserving of a punch or three to the face, then maybe that’s enough.
And that can be the sort of thing you can get through in less than two hours, with so many classic action movies clocking in well under (see The Raid, Police Story, and the first John Wick – but not some of its sequels – for example). As for epics, though? The longest action movies of all time can often be considered epics, too, with the ones below all being more than three hours, but thankfully mostly feeling worthy of devoting all that time to.
10 'King Kong' (2005)
188 Minutes
1933’s King Kong does make a pretty good argument for the idea that this story does not need a long runtime, since that one clocks in at well under two hours, and it’s also – quite comfortably – the best King Kong movie. But 2005’s King Kong takes the same basic premise and does things on a much grander scale, being maximalist, epic, and also more action-focused.
It would be a stretch to call the 1933 original an action movie, because it’s more of an adventure/horror sort of thing. There’s a little bit of horror in the 2005 version, and it’s also still very much an adventure movie, but you can’t deny the sheer quantity of action on offer here. And, for what it’s worth, there’s enough by way of quality here, even if it still probably could've been the ideal level of epic and over-the-top had it had its runtime trimmed by 20 to 30 minutes.
9 'Grindhouse' (2007)
191 Minutes
Grindhouse is a deliberate double feature that serves as a homage to exploitation movies of old, and the way they used to be screened way back when. The double feature is made up of two movies, obviously, Planet Terror and Death Proof, but both are now able to be watched separately, and if you do watch either on their own, they're extended, versus the versions found in Death Proof.
But if you watch them together, as one movie, that’s how Grindhouse technically becomes one huge epic, and some more minutes are added on because of the fake trailers included. Planet Terror is kind of a horror/action movie at the same time, with some sci-fi elements for good measure, and then Death Proof might technically be more of a thriller, but it does conclude with an extended (and amazing) car chase sequence, so it’s still got a bit of action for sure.
8 'Avatar: The Way of Water' (2022)
192 Minutes
For now, Avatar is a trilogy, but it might well end up being longer than that. Who knows for now. Anyway, Avatar: The Way of Water is the second movie of the bunch, in any event, and it did elevate what was found in the first movie on a technical front, which is saying a lot, since Avatar (2009) was already stunning with its special effects and set pieces, but then you do feel the step forward with some of the bigger sequences in The Way of Water.
James Cameron usually does sequels incredibly well, so this being bold wasn’t too surprising. There was a third movie, and maybe that one wasn’t quite a step forward like The Way of Water was, but for present purposes, it was longer. By about six minutes, compared to The Way of Water. As a result, there is a need to mention…
7 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' (2025)
198 Minutes
Avatar: Fire and Ash is the third Avatar movie, and this one is kind of like The Way of Water all over again. There are some new characters, sure, but not a whole lot, and the other thing Fire and Ash decides to do is stage a bigger action sequence right at the end, and it is admittedly spectacular, even if it feels a bit like the climaxes of Avatar (2009) and The Way of Water mashed together and remixed.
It’s complicated trying to figure out exactly how to feel about Avatar: Fire and Ash, because it’s still pretty much perfect in terms of its spectacle and special effects, but there isn't enough offered here, even if you're forgiving of James Cameron and his frequently familiar-feeling stories. This is long, though, and there’s enough fighting and excitement for it to classify as an action movie, so it does have to be mentioned and stuff.
6 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' (2003)
201 Minutes
Another Peter Jackson movie, released a couple of years before King Kong, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was the biggest film of its trilogy, and also had the most by way of action. There’s an argument to be made that the best action set piece of The Lord of the Rings can be found near the end of the second movie (Helm’s Deep in The Two Towers), but that film is too short to crack this particular ranking.
Of course, the whole trilogy is immense, of course, and it’s easy to judge the entire thing as one film, largely because J.R.R. Tolkien’s original text was written as one story but initially published in three parts. So, it’s a sort of trilogy, whether you're looking at the source material or Jackson’s film adaptation. Since The Return of the King was released separately, like the other two movies, and is the longest, it’s the one going here, but The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers are worthy of honorable mentions.
5 'Chûshingura' (1962)
207 Minutes
Chûshingura is right on the edge of being an action movie, because it’s a bit more of a historical drama, and the action is limited and mostly saved for near the end, but the same can be said about the next movie in this ranking, too. Also, Chûshingura builds up a lot of tension anyway, so it is still engaging before the vengeance it’s inevitably about really explodes in nature.
Narratively, this nearly 3.5-hour-long movie is about some samurai warriors who are left leaderless after their master is betrayed, and so they organize and seek to get revenge for that death, and for being left without a master. There are 47 of them, so if you’ve heard the name “The 47 Ronin” before, it’s that story (one that’s been told outside this particular adaptation, like the less action-focused The 47 Ronin from 1941, and the more bombastic Hollywood loose “adaptation” in 2013, just called 47 Ronin).
4 'Seven Samurai' (1954)
207 Minutes
It’s not the longest movie here, sure, but without Seven Samurai, there might not be the action genre as it’s currently understood, because this one did go a long way toward redefining what the genre could be, especially structurally. It’s a very efficiently told story that occurs over three distinct acts, all in a way that might not seem as special nowadays, but probably only because it’s been easy since 1954 for filmmakers to take inspiration from what Akira Kurosawa accomplished here.
It’s not the fastest-paced action movie, by any means, and there isn't a lot of action until the final act, but Seven Samurai is perfectly paced, since the slower moments inevitably end up being incredibly valuable in getting you to care about the fighting when it does go down. There’s a whole host of well-developed characters, a balance of different emotions, and a confidence in how the whole epic story plays out and ultimately goes down.
3 'Sholay' (1975)
208 Minutes
Sholay is a bit of an everything movie, because it’s long, action-packed, and overall relentlessly entertaining as an epic, all the while thriving in a bunch of different genres. That means it’s inaccurate to just call it an action movie, but even if it’s complex and ambitious on that front, it’s also fairly simple narratively, because much of it’s about a quest for revenge on the part of one man, after his family is murdered.
He gets the help of some other warrior-type characters, and then adventuring, action, comedy, tragedy, and even some musical elements ensue. It’s a bit like a wilder Seven Samurai, or like Seven Samurai if it drank too much coffee, and then ran around for exactly one minute longer, but also kept up a faster speed for all that time (for better or worse… mostly better, though).
2 'Zack Snyder's Justice League' (2021)
242 Minutes
In 2017, there was a Justice League movie that was way too rushed, and probably too short. It’s a fair criticism to make, because it felt like it was required to be only two hours long, and that’s right where it was, runtime-wise. A few years later, it got another cut of sorts, but it might be more accurate to say that Zack Snyder’s Justice League was a whole other movie, and it’s being counted as such for present purposes.
It’s nice to actually have some breathing room for a big old superhero team-up movie, with the execution here not being perfect, admittedly ... but for the most part, it’s a much more satisfying viewing experience than the 2017 film.
It’s pretty much exactly twice as long, and it’s nice to actually have some breathing room for a big old superhero team-up movie, with the execution here not being perfect, admittedly (the scenes tacked onto the end are a bit much), but for the most part, it’s a much more satisfying viewing experience than the 2017 film. Yes, you need to devote a lot more of your (probably) precious free time to it, but it’s worth it, in the end, if you do want to see an actually pretty good Justice League movie.
1 'Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair' (2004)
254 Minutes
Like with Grindhouse, Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair is kind of two movies in one, and while The Lord of the Rings wasn’t counted as one movie on its own, it’s fairer to do here, since The Whole Bloody Affair has been officially screened – and designated as – its own thing. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 might well be redundant now, though watching them back-to-back instead of watching Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair still makes for a similar experience.
The whole revenge epic is more of a wild martial arts sort of movie for its first half or so, and then the second half slows things down a bit, with a much smaller body count but stakes retained, with some different sorts of martial arts homages and quite a bit by way of a spaghetti Western style and visuals. It is an action movie overall, and it has been released as one massive movie, so all 4+ hours of it are going here, in the #1 spot.
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