There are so many genres of movies: dramas, horror, comedy, thrillers and my favorite, action. There are so many great action movies, but beyond that, there are so many great action scenes in movies that aren’t quite “action” movies in the strictest sense. That’s what this list is devoted to – great action scenes in any genre of movie. I have based this list in no particular order, and I am not excluding any scenes from any genre. I picked based on how important the scene is to the film, how well it was made, and of course, whether or not it got the blood-pumping. Lastly, I’m only using movies made in the 21st century.

1. Olympus Has Fallen – Raiding the White House

This scene is at the beginning of the movie. Despite this fact, a group of terrorists engaging in a gunfight with the Secret Service on the White House lawn is pretty significant, no matter what. In addition, we see the secret service racing to bring the president and his guest into the White House bunker. The giant attack plane raining down death on the Capital only adds to the tensions. In terms of the quality of the scene, it’s very well made. The special effects are very subtle, yet they pop out. Gunshot wounds appear as small spurts of blood, and the explosions aren’t too over the top. It’s not just the visual aspect of the scene; it’s the entire situation director Antoine Fuqua creates.

2. Kingsman – The Ending

This was one of my favorite movies of 2015. It was funny, and it had some awesome action scenes. The ending, however, is the best, though it is a bit unrealistic. With this movie, let’s just forget about reality. Not only does Eggsy have an umbrella that can stop a bullet, he manages to run through almost all of the evil submachine gun wielding henchmen without getting shot once. Regardless, the scene has everything on the line. That’s what really makes this scene. Eggsy looking like a true spy, getting to do exactly what his dad would have wanted him to do (save the world from killing itself so Samuel L. Jackson’s character and his rich friends can live in the world by themselves). In addition, he kills Jackson’s character Valentine by impaling him with a sword. After that, Valentine throws up at the sight of the sword in his stomach. It sounds gruesome, but the scene is funny, and really gets the heart racing.

3. Skyfall – The Opening Chase Scene

This is yet another opening scene. This makes our list only because it’s Bond. This scene brings us through the streets and the rooftops of Turkey and onto the roof of a speeding train. And to make matters worse, the villain is trying to escape with a drive that contains the identities of all MI6 field agents. This is as intense a scene as you can get. Judi Dench as M talking over Bond’s earpiece only intensifies this chase. Eventually, Bond’s partner is ordered to fire a shot at the villain as he is engaged in hand-to-hand combat on the roof of the train. The shot hits Bond, and he plummets back to earth after falling off the train crossing a bridge. Seriously, just the fact that he’s 007 won’t pass as the explanation for how he managed to survive a sniper bullet to the chest, and a ridiculously high plunge.

4. Creed – Creed vs. Conlan

This one may differ from the rest on this list in that there are no guns, no secret agents, no chases, no death. However, this still deserves a spot on the list. Yes, there is action. The action is not the reason it makes the list. If the list was based only on the actual action, I wouldn’t have even considered this. All that aside, this is on the list because basically the entire movie, maybe even the entire Rocky series, may have led up to this scene. Adonis is fighting for much more than himself. He’s fighting for his dad, he’s fighting for his girl, and most importantly, he’s fighting for Rocky. In addition, as the fight goes on, ‘Pretty Ricky’ Conlan really beats the life out of Adonis Creed. By the time the 12th round rolls around, Adonis Creed has one eye swollen shut, Rocky has to cheat and help him pass the eye test the trainer gives him, he’s spitting blood by the quart into a bucket, and last, but most importantly, the Rocky theme song kicks in. When I saw this in theatres, I wanted to get out of my seat and cheer on Adonis. I think that this was the best movie of the year, and would love to see this win a few Oscars.

5. Inglourious Basterds – The Theatre Massacre

Before I saw this movie, I wasn’t much of a Christoph Waltz fan. Now, he’s one of my favorite actors. This entire movie kept me in suspense. It was so well made. A big part of it was that it was really only twelve really long scenes. The ending, with the theatre burning down while two of Brad Pitt’s soldiers shot Nazi heads of state to death while the body of Hitler lay on the ground beside them, was the conclusion of a very long, almost drawn out movie. This ending was Quentin Tarantino at his best, throwing all the fake blood and fake gunshots he had into this. Another thing that makes this scene so great is the revenge aspect; everyone would love to see Hitler – one of, if not the most hated person in history – get his due.

Honorable mention – Public Enemies – The Jailbreak

This is an amazing scene. For those who are unfamiliar with the movie, this is the story of John Dillinger, a gangster who broke out of prison and wreaked havoc. The movie opens with Dillinger and his crew assembling guns they have snuck into the prison. They proceed to escape in a very loud fashion, engaging in a firefight with the prison guards up in guard towers. What really makes this scene is the sound of the guns. Those old Tommy guns make the scene much more explosive, and can almost transport you back to the mid 50’s. Why only an honorable mention? Since this is the opening scene in the movie, we don’t know the importance of it. Plus, it only lasted about 30 seconds. Great scene, but it’s just not quite right for this list.