Luc Besson - 10 Best Ultra Stylish Action Movies

Luc Besson is a well known and celebrated French director , the  writer, and producer who is considered the French equivalent of Steven Spielberg, filmmaker Luc Besson has a reputation for making high-octane, fast-paced, ultra-stylish, and hugely budgeted movies with mass appeal. 

Either directing, writing, or producing, I always tend to enjoy his movies. Sure, a lot of it is mindless action, but some of it is much more than that. I'm including not only what he's directed, but movies he's written or produced, as well. He has been involved in a lot of European action movies. If you haven’t already seen the best, here’s a list of Luc Besson's ten ultra stylish action movies you should check out...

10. Taxi (1998)

***Quality Entertainment And Action Packed French Film***

"Emilien Coutant-Kerbalec: Oh my, they're gone!

Daniel Morales: 'Oh my, they're gone!' Let me ask you a question: Do your interrogations always end up like this, or are you just trying to impress me?

Emilien Coutant-Kerbalec: But no! I usually get to ask at least one question."

"Taxi" story is about how a nice young man , who just wants to be a taxi-driver, got caught up with an idiot cop  who's trying to impress his boss  – a busty blonde – by catching the feared and frenetic Mercedes Gang of bank robbers who have now invaded Marseilles to clean out all the local banks.

Producer and writer Luc Besson's touch is definitely notable throughout the movie. It has the same sort of humor, pace and overall style as his directed movies. It's the sort of entertainment he himself could had directed. I would recommend this film to anybody, although especially to Jackie Chan/John Woo Hong Kong movie fans as a lot of the action sequences have a similar hyper-real feel to them.

9. Unleashed (2005)

***An Enjoyable And Original Jet Li Movie***

"Infirmier: So let me work this through one more time now; I don't pay you, and you take his collar off.

Bart: Correctomundo.

Infirmier: You take his collar off, he beats us all to death."

"Unleashed (a.k.a "Danny The Dog") " plot about Danny (Jet Li) who loses his mother at a young age, and his then raised as a dog with a collar to serve only his master. His master is a ruthless, bloodhound who uses Danny to do his dirty work. When Danny escapes his master, he's taken in by a blind piano player (Morgan Freeman) . After trying to start a new life, his old master finds him and tries to bring him back to serve him. Now Dany must fight his way out of his old life so he can be able to live a normal life.

It was a pretty original movie along with a nice platform for Jet Li to show off his great martial arts skills. Not only did we get to see some fast and brutal action from Li, but we got to see a bit of acting as well.

I enjoyed Unleashed and would recommend it to fans of martial arts movies, Jet Li or both. I rank it up with Jet Li's "The One" with it's originality and great story.

8. District B13 Series (2004, 2009)

***The Stunts And Explosive Acrobatics Action Steals This Show***

"Damien: You really think the government would kill two million people just for having a few problems?

Leito: Six million died for not having blonde hair and blue eyes."

Luc Besson wrote the scripts, this plan of choreography, as there is not a lot of spoken dialogue in this fast-paced thriller series and Patrick Allessandrin directs a story of a region of Paris (District 13) that is cordoned off the rest of Paris by a group of five warlords who manage to control the drug ridden violent region.

In this age of CGI and wire assisted stunts, it's wonderful to watch real human beings doing amazing, acrobatic things. It is pure adrenaline and certainly one of the best action movies. The greatest attractions are the performances of David Belle and Cyril Raffaelli.

The cinematography is superb, the musical score is French rap music that while it suits the mood of the film becomes irritating in its repetitiveness. In all this is an escapist film that is high on excitement is not very high on intelligent dialogue.

7. Ong-bak (2003)

***Most Realistic, Violent Martial Arts Movie Ever Made***

"To fight for the honor of his village, he must unleash the ancient art of Muay Thai: 9 Body Weapons."

"Ong-bak" movie revolves around a young man from a small village, who is trained in martial arts, and sets off to find the man who stole the head of the village idol (Ong Bak). He is also to find a village elder son who is living in Bangkok. The son is a lowlife con-man who wants nothing to do with his past. The man who stole the head of the idol works for a mob boss, who collects artifacts and best of fights.

The undoubted star of this film is Tony Jaa. He is a truly talented martial artist, with the skills of a master, and the face of a leading man. He is a superstar who really has made a name for himself with this film.

There's only one thing to say. If you are a Martial Arts fan.. Definitely see it. If you're not - see it anyway.

6. The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)

***Breathtaking Sword Fight And Brilliantly Crafted Movie***

"Joan of Arc: I am the drum on which God is beating out His messages. And right now He is beating so hard, it's splinting my ears."

"The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc", Joan's inner turmoil coming through during her trial which is stark contrast to the confident messenger she portrays in front of her judges. Dustin Hoffman who, as the cloaked figure seems to be her final tormentor and possible executioner, turns out to be the last person in her shrinking world to show her any selfless compassion.

Milla Jovovich is brilliant as the violent, aggressive, and a zealous titular character, with her hatred for the English and the desire to do God's will made plain on every shot of her face in battle.

The battle sequences are brilliant and brutally shot, specifically designed to do away with the glorification of war that is so frequently seen in movies such as this; men are decapitated, blood sprays, heads are smashed to a pulp. The savagery of 15th-century warfare is brought to the fore effectively and honestly.

5. Taken Series (2008, 2012)

***A Brilliant And Surprisingly Good Action Entertainer***

"Bryan: I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you."

In a world of James Bonds, Jason Bournes, and Frank Martins, it's hard for a little random ex-spy named Brian Mills to get some love. On the surface, his film seems a little formulaic, and he seems a little...well...old. However, once we get into the Mills's story, and see how infinitely badass the wonderful Liam Neeson plays him, you'll probably be saying something along the lines of "James who?". 'Taken', which follows Mills as he pursues those responsible for kidnapping his daughter, is a heart pounding thriller with a stupendous display of badassery from Liam Neeson. It may have a plot that's sort of unbelievable, but it's one of the best action thrillers in years.

I highly recommend this action entertainer to those who really wants to get blown away with real hard hitting action.

4. The Transporter Series (2002, 2005, 2008)

***An Exciting, Adrenaline Pumping Action Series Ever***

"Lai: You're always complaining, except when we make love. Then you say nothing."

"If You Need It To Arrive Safe and In One Piece -- Hire A Professional"

This frantic , adrenaline motion pictures are lavishly produced by the French producer and director Luc Besson with his production company called Europacops. Based on the characters created by Robert Mark Kamen and Luc Besson , deals with the former mercenary Frank Martin (Jason Statham), he is an expert on deliveries of high risk.

This exciting series gets noisy action , suspense , tension and lots of violence when the thrilling fights and murders take place , being pretty entertaining . Chases galore abounds with breathtaking velocities and rousing pursuits where the cars leap and fly . It's a run-of-the-mill action series as from the beginning to the end the action-packed is interminable.

3. The Fifth Element (1997)

***Sci-Fi At It's Best And Very Entertaining Movie***

"Korben Dallas: What's your name? 

Leeloo: Leeloo Minai Lekarariba-Laminai-Tchai Ekbat De Sebat.

Korben Dallas: Good. That... that whole thing's your name, huh? Do you have, uh... a shorter name?

Leeloo: Uh, Leeloo."

Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) is a former special agent, now taxi driver turned special agent again in order to save the world from an ever growing evil in the form of a giant burning evil 'scare the pants of The President' ball of fire. In order to save the world from this said evil he needs five elements, 4 of which are unknown to everybody except the fifth element who he predictably meets after she falls into his taxi after being chased by cops.

Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Milla Jovovich, and Ian Holm all produce the necessary passion for their deep characters and the splendid dialog. The Fifth Element is a fantastic sci-fi action film that's as good to look at as anything out there, the style together with an entertaining story & Bruce Willis pretty much means The Fifth Element is a personal favorite of mine, what can I say? Watch it as soon as you can.

2. La Femme Nikita (1990)

***An Action Flick With Refreshing Substance***

"Amande: Let your pleasure be your guide."

"Amande: There are two things that are infinite: femininity and means to take advantage of it."

 "La Femme Nikita" story follows a street punk named Nikita (Anne Parillaud) is sentenced to life imprisonment after purposely killing a police officer. The French government fakes her suicide and starts training her to be a killer for them. She succeeds and they set her free. She meets and falls in love with friendly, handsome Marco (Jean-Hughes Anglade) but the government keeps calling her to do jobs and she hates it. But she can't escape.

Anne Parillaud won the Cesar for her performance as the title character and its easy to see why. She is utterly convincing whatever she is playing.

Perhaps 20 years ago the flaws would have been hidden somewhat by the exciting style of film making that Besson employed. But since many many movies have copied this style since, you will be watching nothing new.

1. Leon: The Professional (1994)

***A Visceral And Intelligent - Besson's Masterpiece***

"Leon: You need some time to grow up a little.

Mathilda: I finished growing up, Leon. I just get older.

Leon: For me it's the opposite. I'm old enough. I need time to grow up."

"Mathilda: Is life always this hard, or is it just when you're a kid?

Leon: Always like this."

Luc Besson gives us an exciting movie here that should excite, shock and keep you locked into the movie. "Leon: The Professional" is the story of a very smart and calculating professional killer named Leon (Jean Reno) who ends up with a burden in his arms, a twelve year old girl named Matilda (Natalie Portman). Matilda's fate is almost met when a very crooked DEA Agent Stansfield (Gary Oldman) murders her family while she is out buying milk - Leon saves her life and teaches her the trade of "cleaning". Superb actors, electric performances from Reno, Portman and Oldman.

The killing and action scenes throughout the film are spectacular, and the cinematography is surprisingly stunning. This is a film that most certainly deserves its 'Cult Classic' label, and is a movie that should be a trailblazer for the genre.

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