For those looking for thrills in the Wild West, these Western movies offer non-stop action. While it is typical to see at least a couple of shootouts in these kinds of stories, even the best Western movies are not guaranteed to be action-heavy experiences. The genre is versatile and capable of more than just gunfights.
McCabe & Mrs. Miller and the underrated Brad Pitt Western The ᴀssᴀssination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford showcase quieter and more atmospheric Westerns. Of course, the genre has also been populated by some of the great action movie directors of all time, while the Spaghetti Western movement brought more excessive violence.
From the older classics to the more modern Western hits, these movies provide a fast-paced and exhilarating experience that will more than please action movie fans.
10
The Quick And The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ (1995)
Though mostly known for the Evil ᴅᴇᴀᴅ movies at the time, Sam Raimi brought his unique filmmaking vision to the Western genre with the underrated The Quick and the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. The movie brings together a colorful cast of characters for a dueling tournament, where some are after more than just the final prize.
Not surprisingly, the premise of a dueling tournament provides plenty of opportunities for gunplay in the movie, with Raimi bringing plenty of flair to these moments to save them from getting boring. It builds to a more explosive finale that takes things up a notch.
The movie features a fantastic star-studded cast, including Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, and a young Leonardo DiCaprio. It makes it all the more exciting to see these characters facing off and to see which survives in the end.
9
Shanghai Noon (2000)
It is exciting to see what different styles of action filmmaking can be brought to Western movies, especially when one of the greatest action movie stars of all time steps into the genre. Shanghai Noon stars Jackie Chan as a Chinese Imperial guard who travels to America and teams with an outlaw (Owen Wilson) to rescue a princess.
Chan is one of the most skilled physical comedic actors of all time, and he brings those talents into the Old West setting to great effect. His martial arts moments in the movie are hilarious, thrilling, and impressive, from the lively barroom brawl to the more serious climactic church showdown.
Shanghai Noon is a great buddy action movie that just so happens to be a Western, using the tropes of the genre for some clever gags. Chan and Wilson also proved to be a great team, leading to their follow-up adventure, Shanghai Knights.
8
Bone Tomahawk (2015)
Bone Tomahawk certainly doesn’t deliver a single dull moment, but the action will certainly be too brutal for some fans. The movie stars Western icon Kurt Russell as a sheriff who ᴀssembles a posse to head into the barren wasteland beyond their town to rescue people abducted by a vicious tribe.
The movie leans into the rare subgenre of Western horror movies and establishes itself as one of the best. While not filled with big action set pieces, Bone Tomahawk has a gripping pace from beginning to end that will leave audiences on the edge of their seats.
Notable Western star Timothy Olyphant was originally cast as John Brooder.
The violence hits with an impact that will shock audiences, defying conventions with how these kinds of sequences are usually delivered. It makes for an intense experience, but viewers should also be warned that Bone Tomahawk also features one of the most gruesome kills ever put on screen.
7
Butch Cᴀssidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)
One of the most iconic cinematic duos of all time also helped create one of the most entertaining Western adventures of all time. Butch Cᴀssidy and the Sundance Kid stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford as the тιтular outlaws who are charismatic and easy-going friends, despite their criminal activities.
The movie gives a kinder depiction of these characters than reality suggests, but the movie actually follows surprisingly close to historical facts, tracking the crimes and adventures of the two men. It just so happens that they encountered a lot of action in their days.
There is a nice amount of action here, with the early train robberies having a fun tone, the relentless running from the law making for a thrilling adventure, and the iconic climactic shootout offering a grim and intense finale.
6
For A Few Dollars More (1967)
The Dollars Trilogy contains three of the greatest Western movies of all time. While The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is often seen as the best of the bunch, For a Few Dollars More is certainly the most action-packed out of the three movies. Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef play bounty hunters after the same outlaw.
Sergio Leone is a filmmaker whose confidence is shown through his action sequences. The long introduction to these characters is made up of very little dialogue, allowing the action to do the talking. It is sH๏τ in such a stunning and impactful way that it is hard not to be completely gripped in the opening moments.
The movie marked Lee Van Cleef’s first major movie role and ignited his successful career in Spaghetti Westerns.
That quiet yet propulsive feel is maintained throughout the movie, with the movie getting its laughs, its emotion, and its characters all through these flashy action moments.
5
The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Though Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai is one of the greatest action movies of all time, its Western remake, The Magnificent Seven, is also a rollicking good time. The premise is very similar to the original, only transplanted into the Old West as a group of gunfighters help protect a village from ruthless bandits.
The team of heroes, led by the likes of Yul Brenner, Charles Bronson, and Steven McQueen, is a highlight of the movie. Most of these characters get their own fun action sequence to introduce them. There are also some exciting scenes of the heroes training the villagers to fight back.
Of course, it all builds to the thrilling finale, which is an extended action sequence with the heroes and villagers taking on the bandits. It is a wild and rousing action sequence with genuine stakes, as not all of the heroes that we have come to love survive in the end.
4
Tombstone (1993)
There have been several Western movies that have depicted the real-life Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, but none are better than Tombstone. Kurt Russell takes on the iconic role of Wyatt Earp as he leads a band of heroes in the тιтular town, fighting back against the dangerous criminal gang known as The Cowboys.
The O.K. Corral scene is an intense one, with the fast-paced and chaotic nature of the gunfight subverting expectations as to what these showdowns were truly like. However, that turns out to be only the beginning of Tombstone‘s action storytelling, as there are many great sequences that follow, especially as Earp begins hunting down the villains.
The movie has a stylish approach to the genre that came in the 1990s, and the pace of the movie keeps the excitement building from beginning to end. It is also bolstered by some terrific action dialogue and pitch-perfect performances from the cast.
3
The Wild Bunch (1969)
As the genre began to move away from traditional Westerns, The Wild Bunch was one of the movies that signaled the change. The movie, from legendary director Sam Peckinpah, follows a group of aging outlaws seeking to make one last big score while the Old West gradually disappears.
Peckinpah is one of the greatest action movie directors of all time, and The Wild Bunch is considered his masterpiece by many. It is also the greatest example of his stylish action approach. The shootouts are visceral and epic sequences that remain impressive even today.
The Wild Bunch’s use of slow motion in action scenes was seen as a revolutionary cinematic technique at the time.
The Wild Bunch is also notable for being one of the movies to bring graphic violence to the Western genre. Rather than characters being sH๏τ and clutching their chests, there was blood flying and real brutality to what we were seeing.
2
Django Unchained (2012)
Quentin Tarantino is a director known for his love of Westerns, making his first entry in the genre a highly anticipated movie. As is typical with the filmmaker, Tarantino reworked history in Django Unchained. Jamie Foxx stars as a slave who is freed by a bounty hunter and goes on a journey to find his wife.
Watching Django and his partner, Schultz (Christoph Waltz), go on their bounty hunter adventures is great fun with plenty of bloody moments. A highlight is the duo taking on a gang of Ku Klux Klan goons, making quick work of them.
The third act of the movie allows Tarantino to fully embrace his bloodiest tendencies with a shootout that would do Sam Peckinpah proud. It is a wild and violent experience that sees Tarantino’s first Western living up to the hype.
1
3:10 To Yuma (2007)
Elmore Leonard’s 3:10 to Yuma was already adapted into a movie in 1957, but it was the modern take that amped up the action of the story. Christian Bale stars as a desperate farmer and family man who joins a posse of men hired to transport a renowned outlaw (Russell Crowe) to his prison train.
The journey is a tense one with danger around every corner. Crowe’s outlaw proves to be as ᴅᴇᴀᴅly as he is charismatic, while his vicious gang is on their trail to free him.
The movie gets started quickly and never holds up as it moves towards its climax, with Bale as the only hero left standing and a town filled with people looking to stop him from making it to that train. It is a thrilling blend of an action movie and modern Western that proves there is plenty of excitement left in the genre.
