In praise of the train fight scene, a timeless action movie staple

polygon.com:

There are a lot of ways to make a good action movie. Outlandish stunts, exciting heists, big explosions… the sky is the limit. But there’s one way to guarantee a good time for audiences: staging an action sequence on a train.

Trains just rule, OK? In addition to being a wonderful form of mass transportation, they just look cool, inside and out (or on top, if you are an action star).

With the new Brad Pitt actioner Bullet Trainnow out in theaters, what better time to celebrate this great cinematic tradition? With death-defying stunts from Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh and movies entirely set on trains like Train to Busan (and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train, which we love but unfortunately did not make the cut due to a lack of easily available clips), here are some of our favorite train-themed action sequences. Enjoy!

Michelle Yeoh jumps a motorcycle off of a hill and lands it on a moving train. I repeat: Michelle Yeoh jumps a motorcycle off of a hill and lands it on a moving train. According to Yeoh, Jackie Chan was so stunned by the stunt that he felt the need to one-up her by landing on the train via parachute. The result: This scene absolutely whips. —Pete Volk

Logan may get more attention, as far as solo Wolverine projects go, but (hot take) I prefer The Wolverine. It’s the rare modern superhero project with a contained conflict (rather than an apocalyptic one), and, most importantly to this list, the fight on top of a bullet train absolutely rules. —PV

The Raid series changed the action world, emphasizing brutal action that is easy to comprehend visually. After the first movie’s vertical approach in a high-rise apartment building, the second is considerably more spread out in narrative