I’d like to start anew with a bang, so let’s start gearing up for the countdown.
10th – Bad Boys II (2003)
Yup, this is one of two car chases on this list which partially uses CGI, and I have to admit, the destruction caused looks even better when you think about it… Michael Bay sure knows how to cause mayhem.
9th – Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
OK…, not so much a car chase as a bike/truck chase, but still, one of the vehicles has more than 2 wheels, and James Cameron knows how to make the tension work during chase scenes, especially this landmark one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htpL9i5WSp4 (embedding disabled)
8th – The Dark Knight (2008)
The second out of 2 chases that utilises CGI. OK, this one me likey, because it keeps the CGI down to a minimum, the tension is spiked due to the lack of music and Heath Ledger, and the destruction is so awesome, the police can’t do a thing about it. The best film of the decade certainly has something extra to be proud of.
7th – The Road Warrior (1981)
It’s one thing to make mass vehicular damage, it’s another thing if is prolonged greatly. This chase, the climax to the sci-fi/action classic “The Road Warrior” pits a group of scavengers being chased by deadly road punks. It’s lean, it’s mean, and it’s all REAL.
Part I:
Part II:
6th – The Rock (1996)
Another Michael Bay film? This one works, as Sean Connery escapes in a Hummer, Nicolas Cage gives chase in a Ferrari, the police are hot on their heels, and the city of San Fransisco is turned into a giant bumper-car ride, and that’s not even the real threat in the movie. Oh, and it all culminates into streetcar destruction. Need I say more?
5th – The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
“The Bourne Identity” may have had Paul Oakenfold and a Mini-Cooper doing some serious business and “The Bourne Ultimatum” causes the New York traffic to be piled up (literally), but it’s this chase that is the landmark movie car chase of the decade. No other chase has tension, realism and awesomeness rolled into one, and this one (literally) ends abruptly with a bang.
P.S. This is not the full clip and I am extremely sorry for the Low Quality (apparently YouTube has some copyright issues)
4th – The French Connection (1971)
This Best Picture Winner helmed by William Friedkin has an exceptional car chase, it may not be as thrilling as it was back then, but this chase can be called nostalgic in terms. And I agree, a tense, well-crafted, and very realistic chase that pits car against train, all to catch one suspect.
3rd – Bullitt (1968)
Another classic car chase. This one however set the standard for the modern car chase. It has chases through the hills, streets and finally highways of San Fransisco, and ends with a fiery bang. Classic it may be, but that Mustang that Steve McQueen drives is iconic.
2nd – Ronin (1998)
John Frankenheimer proved himself to be worthy of car chases, and this car chase can be close to perfection. The movie has 2 other car chases before this, but none of them as terrific and exciting as this. Granted, THIS is how car chases are made – no CGI, no MTV-Style shaky camera, and no quick cuts. We could do without the sometimes unnecessary explosions though, but all is forgiven as the streets and highways of Paris are thrown into chaos.
1st – To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)
You may be thinking, wha-? Yes, I bet you’ve never heard of this film before, because this is a no-nonsense thinking man’s action thriller, that never relents on the grittiness and reality that is L.A. The car chase itself is a mere piece of art, and (although it has crappy Chevy Impalas) tense and gripping throughout. At the end is the icing on the cake, driving on the opposite sides of the highway, and (arguably even higher) chaos is spilled on the tarmac. Again, directed by William Friedkin.
Notable mentions:
The Seven-Ups (1973), directed by Philip D’Antoni
The Hitcher (1986), directed by Robert Harmon
Jade (1995), directed by William Friedkin
The Island (2005), directed by Michael Bay
The Rookie (1990), directed by Clint Eastwood
The Matrix Reloaded (2003), directed by The Wachowski Brothers
The Dead Pool (1988), directed by Buddy Van Horn
Breakdown (1998), directed by Jonathan Mostow
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), directed by Jonathan Mostow
Batman Begins (2005), directed by Christopher Nolan
The Bourne Identity (2002), directed by Doug Liman
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), directed by Paul Greengrass
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), directed by Doug Liman
The Italian Job (2003), directed by F. Gary Gray
Duel (1971), directed by Steven Spielberg
Live Free or Die Hard [a.k.a. Die Hard 4.0], directed by Len Wiseman
Mad Max (1979), directed by George Miller
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985), directed by George Miller and George Ogilve
