10 Action Flicks That End on a Quiet Note

An action movie must have a killer conclusion. That unspoken rule goes hand-in-hand with basic storytelling. The plot steadily builds in suspense and emotion, leading to a big climax where the drama comes to a head. Applying that formula to an action flick, the simplest way is to pepper several fights or chases throughout the tale. You then finish with a colossal set piece to outdo all others. This outline is reliable, but some daring filmmakers go a different route.

Certain action flicks end their stories in quieter ways. They forego spectacle in lieu of low-key conversations and understated tension. Suffice it to say, the results are unexpected. Audiences might feel cheated by the bait-and-switch, since the whole point of watching an action flick is to witness exciting set pieces. Then again, this tactic might be more impactful by deliberately standing out. Such subtlety could be pretty poignant in the right hands.

Related: 10 Unthinkable Stunts That Were Filmed for Real

10 The Warriors

With a name like The Warriors, you’d expect a lot of fighting. This dystopian flick sees New York City ruled by various gangs, each with its own gimmick and territory. The titular Warriors have Coney Island, but they leave their home after Cyrus—head of the Gramercy Riffs—calls a summit of all the factions. Unfortunately, this meeting goes south when the Rogues assassinate Cyrus and frame the Warriors. Now, these underdogs must battle their way through several rival gangs to reach their home turf. What they don’t realize is that the final showdown is back on Coney Island.

Once the Warriors return, the Rogues are waiting for them. The two factions position themselves for a faceoff, and the leaders even draw first blood. At the last second, though, the Riffs arrive and witness the Rogues’ boss admit to killing Cyrus. The larger gang surrounds the perpetrators, leaving audiences to guess at their demise. More importantly, this lucky break spares the exhausted Warriors from another fight. As the sun rises over Coney Island, a night of dodging danger calls for a long rest.^[1]

9 Desperado

Though technically a sequel, Desperado is an action-packed remake of El Mariachi. The titular guitarist is out for revenge against the gangsters who killed his love. Using his guitar case of guns, he shoots his way across Mexico in search of the big boss, Bucho. This crusade prompts the thugs to escalate their attacks. The war escalates until the hero calls in his fellow mariachis for a fiery showdown. Sadly, his vengeance isn’t so simple.

He and his new lover, Carolina, visit the villain’s compound to settle the score. The vigilante learns that Bucho is his long-lost brother. The two men air their grievances in a tense standoff, regretting their diverging lives and the damage they’ve done. Bucho, though, decides to kill Carolina in recompense. El Mariachi can’t let this stand, so he guns down his brother before the film cuts away. This jarring edit, directed by Robert Rodriguez, thankfully heralds a fresh start for the hero.^[2]

8 Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut challenges the hero beyond simple comic book action. Seeking to pursue his budding romance with Lois Lane, he decides to end his super duties and give up his powers. Unfortunately, this downgrade comes just as General Zod and his fellow Kryptonian fugitives invade the Earth, oppressing the populace with powers equal to Superman’s. To stop them, the hero forsakes his domestic bliss and restores his abilities, leading to an explosive fight in Metropolis. Knowing the city will suffer, however, he draws the villains away.

The final showdown occurs at his Fortress of Solitude. While the theatrical version has another battle unfold here, the Richard Donner Cut skips this skirmish for subterfuge. Zod holds Lois hostage to force Superman into forfeiting his powers again. Thankfully, the hero reverses things by sapping the baddies’ abilities instead. This trick lets him dispatch Zod and his cronies with little issue. This resolution isn’t exactly blockbuster material, but it shows that Supes is more than just a musclehead and reflects Donner’s original intended ending.^[3]

7 Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

This prequel may not have Max, but it’s no less thrilling. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, directed by George Miller, begins with the young heroine losing her mother and being abducted by the Dementus biker gang. Though eventually freed from these villains, she falls into the thrall of cultist Immortan Joe, working on his war rigs in the post-apocalyptic wasteland. The upside is that this service forges her into a cunning warrior. She guns down marauders and rival factions alike in high-speed road wars, but the biggest conflict is the one she sits out.

Furiosa maneuvers Joe and Dementus against each other, letting the former destroy the latter’s biker army. After picking off the remainders, the vengeful girl captures Dementus and ponders his fate. What she doesn’t count on is his encouragement. The villain taunts Furiosa about becoming a ruthless killer herself, so she sets out to prove him wrong. Taking him back to Joe’s base, she uses him to fertilize a tree, plucking its fruit to guide the Immortan’s wives toward a better life. Thus, Furiosa ends her grand revenge saga by starting the path of redemption.^[4]

6 Zulu

It goes without saying that war movies have a few battles. Zulu is no exception. The historical film focuses on a small British outpost during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 in South Africa. After relations break down between England and the Zulu nation, the fort falls under attack from thousands of tribal warriors. The few troops stationed here must rise to the challenge, using careful strategy and disciplined guile to beat back the enemy’s superior numbers. The defenders succeed in several skirmishes until the climax, where they prepare to be overrun. What happens instead shocks them.

Rather than wipe out the Brits, the countless Zulu warriors gather on the horizon to salute their foes. The tribesmen admire the soldiers’ valor, especially in such a hopeless cause. Thus, they sing a reverent song to honor their enemies before quietly departing. It’s hard to find such civility in combat, especially in a film based on the Battle of Rorke’s Drift.^[5]

5 Gojira

Gojira may have popularized the kaiju genre, but it’s far heavier than its cheesy peers. The film depicts atomic bomb tests occurring in Japanese waters. Unbeknownst to everyone, the radiation awakens and mutates a saurian beast called Godzilla (or Gojira). This monster stomps across Japan, razing its greatest cities to the ground. The military tries to stop him, but even the most destructive weapons fail to leave a scratch. This hopeless scenario needs a subtler approach.

Scientist Dr. Serizawa designs a new device called the Oxygen Destroyer. As its name suggests, it obliterates any oxygen in the area, killing all life nearby. He fears such a deadly tool falling into the wrong hands, so he decides to kill two birds with one stone. The film’s final minutes see him dive to Godzilla’s underwater domain and deploy the weapon. The strategy reduces the creature (and Serizawa) to a pile of bones. Rather than more bullets or explosions, the catastrophe ends with just a few bubbles. Released in 1954, the film serves as a somber metaphor for nuclear devastation.^[6]

4 Kelly’s Heroes

Kelly’s Heroes may be another war flick, but it’s not exactly conventional. Taking place in World War II, the movie opens on disgraced U.S. Army Private Kelly, played by Clint Eastwood, who learns of a secret stash of Nazi gold hidden behind enemy lines. He recruits a bunch of his disgruntled buddies to seek out this treasure, but it doesn’t come easy. The troops deal with minefields, firefights, and tank battles in their quest for booty. They finally hit a stalemate with the Germans guarding the gold. This situation calls for a little creativity.

The soldiers appeal to the Germans’ self-interest. They don’t really want to guard this gold; they’re just following orders. As a result, the two sides reach a tentative truce, splitting the riches and going their separate ways. The outcome isn’t exactly a blaze of glory, but it is the most practical solution for deserters.^[7]

3 Sicario

Sicario is a slow burn for action flicks, but one could argue that its methodical pace makes it realistic. The film follows FBI Agent Kate Macer as she joins a task force to combat a drug cartel operation. She’s horrified by the shootouts, torture, and assassinations employed by the criminals, but just as shocking are her allies resorting to similar tactics. The biggest perpetrator is Alejandro Gillick, a former Mexican lawyer who joins the task force as an assassin. He seems to take on the dirtiest duties, and viewers finally learn why in the climax.

The final raid sees Gillick enter the home of the operation’s leader, Fausto Alarcón. The villain previously killed his wife and daughter, so Alejandro now seeks revenge. He calmly sits down during the boss’s family dinner, exchanging tense words about how he profits from death. The drug lord tries to say that Gillick and the U.S. are just as cruel, but the assassin cuts the conversation short by shooting Alarcón’s wife and sons. He then caps it off by executing the villain. The deaths are sudden, which is more than you can say for most cartel casualties. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, the film emphasizes tension over spectacle in its closing moments.^[8]

2 The Equalizer 3

Robert McCall has seen enough violence to last two lifetimes. The former Marine, portrayed by Denzel Washington, works covertly as a vigilante—taking down criminals who think they’re untouchable and helping innocents who can’t help themselves. The third film sees a wounded McCall recover in a small Italian village, which falls under the thumb of a Camorra family. Growing fond of the humble town, the aged avenger starts fighting the mobsters, putting his efficient training to work. This resistance draws deadly reprisals from the crooks, who resort to torture and car bombs to assert their dominance. To stop these atrocities, Robert must cut the snake’s head off.

The Equalizer 3 ends with McCall sneaking into the Camorra’s mansion and killing everyone inside. Rather than an all-out gunfight, though, his methods catch the thugs completely unawares, slaughtering them with nary a sound. He finishes by poisoning the leader with the gang’s own drug. As the dying crook crawls across town, Robert follows him at a creepily casual pace. Is he the Equalizer or the Grim Reaper?^[9]

1 Dredd

In an urban dystopia of crime, drugs, and depravity, an elite group of cops called Judges must dole out swift justice at the end of a gun. The greatest of these officers, Dredd, winds up trapped in a housing block controlled by infamous drug runner Ma-Ma. The villainess’s thugs try to silence the hero, but he and rookie Judge Anderson leave a pile of bullet-riddled bodies in their wake. After finally reaching Ma-Ma, though, Dredd hits a snag.

The crime boss wires her heartbeat to a set of explosives, threatening to take the whole housing block with her to the grave. The Judge can’t just gun her down, so Dredd gives her a dose of her own drug, Slo-Mo. This narcotic slows her perception (and her heartbeat) to a crawl. He can then toss her off the top floor, sending her to a serene death out of the bombs’ range. The result is eerie even by execution standards. Based on the Judge Dredd comic series, the film ends not with spectacle but with chilling restraint.^[10]