14 Underrated Epics That Prove The Best Action Scenes Are In History Books

Michael Mann is a notoriously exacting director who believes every detail in his films should be exactly right. That attention to detail was especially beneficial with The Last of the Mohicans. Daniel Day-Lewis plays Hawkeye, a white adopted Mohican trying to rescue the daughters of a British colonel and falling in love with one of them in the process. The movie plunks Hawkeye right into the middle of the French and Indian War. Mann, basing his film on James Fenimore Cooper's novel, creates two types of danger for his lead character. Hawkeye not only has to dodge and/or fight the French army, he also has to traverse occasionally dangerous terrain. 

The Last of the Mohicans was a sizable hit when first released in 1992. Since that time, though, other historical action epics have overshadowed it. Mann truly makes the period setting come alive, transporting viewers back in time for a thrilling adventure.

If only one scene from Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World could be chosen to argue its greatness, that scene would have to be the one in which two massive ships fire cannonballs at one another from close range. The boom of the cannons firing is scary, and we see the wood splinter as each cannonball takes out a chunk of its target. Crew members scream and shout as they attempt to get out of the way. Director Peter Weir makes you feel like you're in one of those ships while it's happening. As an added bonus, you get a brilliant Russell Crowe performance as Captain Jack Aubrey. In the story, the Napoleonic Wars are in full force. He and his crew are tasked with tracking down a French vessel.

Master and Commander was nominated for the best picture Oscar in 2002. For some reason, audiences didn't fully gel to it during its theatrical run. The movie was a modest success, but the box office topped out at $93 million - far less than its reported $150 million budget. Most people who have seen it are very enthusiastic. There's no doubt, however, that this authentically staged historical adventure deserves to be discovered by a wider swath of the public.

There are two ways to watch Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven. One is in its original theatrical cut, the other in the extended director's cut that's available on Blu-ray. Both have furious action in the story, which is set during the Crusades. Orlando Bloom plays Balian de Ibelin, a blacksmith who becomes a defender of Jerusalem and its people. Scott stages the action sequences with a frenzied quality that helps convey how chaotic it can be in the midst of battle. To call them intense would be an understatement.

The theatrical version of the movie got generally negative reviews, primarily due to a story that felt disjointed. This prevented it from becoming a modern historical action classic like Braveheart. The director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven clarifies a lot of stuff, developing the characters more and furthering our understanding of the relationships between them. This version is a richer, more cohesive experience. 

Tom Cruise reportedly learned how to wield a sword for his role in The Last Samurai. Well, of course he did. He's Tom Cruise, and that's precisely the kind of thing he does. The film casts him as Captain Nathan Algren, a one-time Civil War hero with a drinking problem. He gains respect for the samurai after being captured by one and eventually joins their side. A large part of the story focuses on battle between the American military and the samurai. These sequences have an amazing sense of scope, depicting in detail the kinds of combat techniques used by both sides. They're so intense you can really feel the stakes for the participants.

One likely reason why The Last Samurai isn't talked about too much is that Cruise has made so many amazing action films set in modern times, namely the Mission: Impossible series. Those blockbusters have understandably dominated the conversation when it comes to Cruise's work. He gives a terrific, introspective performance here, though, and the sprawling battle sequences provide their own serious thrills.

Akira Kurosawa is the all-time master of movies about ancient Japan. Seven Samurai is his masterpiece and certainly his most well-known film. That one came out in 1954. Thirty-one years later, he was still at the top of his game, as evidenced by his epic Ran. Based on King Lear but set in medieval Japan, Ran centers on the aging Great Lord Hidetora Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai) as he hands over his vast empire to his three sons. Unhappy with how it's divided up, one of those sons sets a series of events in motion that pit family members against one another. 

The situation leads to a full-on civil war. Kurosawa delivers bloody battles that feature hundreds of extras riding horses or running at each other, weapons poised for maximum destruction. Few filmmakers have captured such things with this level of majesty. The film was made before the dawn of CGI, so those are all real people on the battlefield. The sequences are jaw-dropping, and part of what makes Ran so extraordinary. Living in Seven Samurai's shadow can't be easy, since that has become the go-to example of this type of cinema. Ran deserves to stand alongside it.

Apocalypo is a very unusual film. Its cast is made up entirely of largely unfamiliar Native American and Indigenous actors, it presents a hyperrealistic look at Mayan civilization, and the story unfolds in the Yucatec Maya language. In other words, it's not exactly the most commercial movie ever made. The plot follows Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood), a young hunter who escapes an attempt to make him a ritual sacrifice. He faces many perils in the process. Some of them are people hunting him down, while others are purely environmental. He makes his way through some hostile landscapes. 

Viewers with weak stomachs may have trouble with Apocalypto. The violence is presented in a very brutal, unglamorous fashion. If you can hack that, excitement awaits. Knowing his pursuers won't just let him get away, Jaguar Paw uses every fighting skill he has to defeat them. And because the story is set in a time and place without guns, he has to use alternative forms of weapons. Apocalypto puts you on the edge of your seat right away, then keeps you there the entire duration.