Top Car Chase Scenes of All Time

Posted Wednesday, Jan 09, 2019

All action movies tend to have certain common elements: the bad guy, the double-cross, guns, explosions, choreographed fights, and car chase scenes. Each of these has its own place, but usually the well choreographed fights and chase scenes are most memorable, probably because we instinctively recognize the talent, practice, and execution that goes into making these scenes. And if it’s impressive that stunt people can control their bodies to such an extent to make exciting fight scenes, it’s even more impressive that they can control 2-ton objects in the same fashion- hence, our love of the car chase scene. A quick perusal of the internet will return several “Top 10” lists, and, although they have differences, they share many of the same titles. So here is a composite list made from those. Since it’s a composite, there were ties for several positions. In that case, I broke the ties based on my own prejudices. Sorry.

10. Mad Max: Fury Road. Another post-apocalypse flick in the Mad Max series featuring crazy, heavily modified vehicles of all types.

9. Smokey and the Bandit. For years after seeing this movie, I wanted a black, T-top Trans-Am, as did every American boy of my generation. Several chase scenes with lots of raw speed, trickery, and humor.

8. The Blues Brothers. Where else can you find a chase that includes scores of police cars (including the one driven by Jake and Elwood), Nazis, and the interior of a mall?

7. The Matrix Reloaded. A mixture of a car chase and choreographed fighting that includes cars, SUVs, motorcycles, swords, knives, and machine guns.

6. Bourne Supremacy. Quintessential Bourne- he uses his skills to evade the police, special units, and an assassin, in an old, battered taxi nonetheless.

5. Vanishing Point. Smokey and the Bandit made me want a Trans-Am; my father actually bought a Challenger after seeing this movie. Lots of raw speed on desert highways.

4. Death Proof. Another Mopar car chase that includes a white Challenger just like Vanishing Point. The difference? For some odd reason, there’s a stunt lady on the hood during the chase scene.

3. The French Connection. A bit of a twist on our theme: this time it’s a car chasing an L-train in NY. What makes it so great? It’s pretty much real- the director didn’t get permits to make the scene. It’s a stunt driver doing 90 mph for 26 blocks...for real.

2. Bullit. This includes the car chase scene to which all others are compared. And it’s got one of my favorite cars of all time: 1968 Mustang Fastback, which is such an iconic car that Ford produced a Bullit ‘Stang in 2001, 2008, and 2018.

1. Ronin. This movie has all of the elements listed above- bad guy, double-cross, explosions, fighting, and a great car chase scene. What better way to see the streets of Paris than at high speeds (and sometimes in the wrong direction on one-way roads)?

There are obviously some honorable mentions: The Rock, The Italian Job, Gone in 60 Seconds (1974), Terminator 2, Fast and Furious, and To Live and Die in L.A. Each has wonderful chases, but, once again, this is a composite list from several found online. If you’ve never seen one of these, I recommend that you do so.

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