Top 20 Movie Car Crashes
#20: Baby Beats Buddy
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“Baby Driver” (2017) After a heist getaway goes wrong and ends up in the death of Buddy’s wife, the widower decides to make his driver Baby pay the price. The two eventually end up facing off in a parking garage. We witness the two crash into each other numerous times before Baby makes a decisive move. After hopping behind the wheel of a large vehicle, he rams into Buddy’s car and drives forward until the ride is sent tumbling backwards over a steep parking garage drop. The climactic fall looks fantastic and feels visceral. While Baby still had to fight Buddy after this point, the crash still served as a fiery sign that the movie’s hero was going to overcome his enemy.
#19: A Comically Long Crash
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“Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” (2006) The heated rivalry between drivers Ricky Bobby and Jean Girard came to a head during this comedic movie’s final race. After all their competitors are eliminated, the duo recklessly speeds to the finish line. However, their rivalry causes them to abandon all caution and get into a massive crash. The filmmakers use clever editing to make the wreck look like it’s going on for a ridiculous amount of time. It takes so long for the vehicles to come to a stop that they even have time to cut to commercial. By the time the cars finally stopped rolling, we were laughing so hard that we almost forgot that there was still a race going on.
#18: Crushing An Assassin’s Hopes
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (2007) Before Jason Bourne can get evidence of a shady government program into the hands of an ally, he has to deal with an assassin named Paz. The hero attempts to get away cleanly in a cop car. But Bourne quickly resorts to bashing his car into any and all pursuers. Eventually, the hero ends up pushed onto a barrier by the determined Paz. Realizing that a crash was inevitable, Bourne straps himself in and withstands the hit. The gnarly wreck is so violent and destructive that we doubted that the hero or villain could survive the collision. However, Bourne manages to walk away from his assassin and one of the best filmed crashes in his franchise.
#17: Destroying the Dreadnought
“Death Race” (2008) It’s honestly impressive how many scenes of carnage this film crams into its 111 minute runtime. In one scene, a criminal’s car is hit with spikes, shot by a missile and sent rocketing into the air before coming down hard. While that crash is remarkable, the sequence that really stands out involves the drivers Jensen and Joe. They were originally rivals in the aptly titled death race. But when the intimidating dreadnought vehicle is sent after them, they put aside their differences. The two work together to trigger a trap that makes the humongous tank flip. Their collaboration gives us a glorious slow motion scene and explosion. Thanks to a combination of practical and special effects, this collision was the highlight of “Death Race”.
#16: Inverted Wreck
“Tenet” (2020) This creative crash is so nice that the movie shows it twice. The car at the center of this accident first appears when the movie’s Protagonist is trying to escape villains. During the getaway, he and the audience are stunned to see that a crash is happening in reverse. The vehicle ends up upright and enables the villain to get a crucial item from the protagonist. Later on in the movie, the hero becomes able to travel backwards in time.. While moving backwards, The Protagonist ends up behind the wheel of the doomed car and crashes it. The revelation that the hero was behind this crucial reverse accident made an already stunning scene into a huge game changer.
#15: A Hilarious Game of Chicken
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“Short Time” (1990) In this dark comedy, a dying detective named Burt Simpson discovers his family will get a huge payout if he expires while trying to stop criminals. This fact inspires him to drive right into the middle of a tense car chase. Simpson gets into his first major collision when he veers off the highway to get close to the villains. After tumbling over and revealing he isn’t hurt at all, he ups the ante. Simpson plays chicken and stops his car right in the path of speeding villains. Since neither side is willing to back down, the antagonists crash into the hero’s vehicle and go flying. The incredible stunt work here ends with the hilarious punchline that Simpson is virtually unscathed from the accident.
#14: When Cars Fly
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“Bad Boys II” (2003) Director Michael Bay took what could’ve been a standard cop movie chase scene and turned it into an excuse to destroy as many cars as possible. While behind the camera of “Bad Boys II”, he had lead detectives Mike and Marcus chase a gang through Miami. We thought the scene reached its height when over a dozen cars collided in the middle of the intersection. However, the Bayhem was truly unleashed when the heroes got to a freeway. We get collisions with boats, barriers and everything in between. But the most impressive crash comes when a car rolls over multiple times and sails above the hero vehicle. Even the lead characters stop and marvel at the incredible mechanical carnage in this wild chase sequence.
#13: Avenging A Fallen Driver
“Need for Speed” (2014) During the first half of the film, the vicious Dino causes a driver named Pete to get into a heartbreaking and elaborate crash. Fortunately, the fallen motorist’s friend Tobey gets to avenge the ally he lost. The hero and villain eventually meet on the road for a crucial race where several vehicles collide in bombastic ways. But when Dino tries to play dirty, Tobey evades the bad guy and causes the evil dude to get into a crash of his own. The firsthand POV and karmic justice made the entire affair incredibly satisfying. Although Tobey doesn’t allow Dino to die, we still are left exhilarated and pleased by the results of this competition.
#12: The T-1000 Keeps on Trucking
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“Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (1991) John Connor and his robotic T-800 ally spend most of the movie at the mercy of the relentless T-1000. But near the end of the movie, they finally get to turn the tables…and a truck. The T-1000 goes from chasing the heroes in a helicopter to getting into a large vehicle. Once inside the rig, the T-800 climbs atop the truck to personally deal with the T-1000. The heroic robot turns the wheel and sends the truck sideways. This allows us to witness a breathtaking vehicle flip that finally makes a victory against the antagonist feel possible. Since the truck also spits out liquid nitrogen that freezes the T-1000, the truck’s end marked the beginning of an exciting heroic comeback.
#11: Nux’s Final Sacrifice
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“Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015) Originally, Nux was a proud War Boy who dreamed of sacrificing his life for his sinister boss. But after he treks across an apocalyptic hellscape and sees a number of practical and awe-inspiring collisions, he finds new allies. The bond Nux forms with his new friends inspires him to turn on his fellow War Boys. When a convoy of enemies comes for his allies, he gets behind the wheel of a large vehicle and overturns it. The music swells as all the enemies smash into each other at once in a cathartic wreck. Nux’s sacrificial play made the high octane movie feel like more than just an excuse to bash cars together.
#10: A “Fury-ous” Car Escape
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“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014) Moviegoers will never forget the violent crash that Dr. Strange caused by being reckless. However, Nick Fury’s bad car experience managed to be even more memorable. After getting a little too close to sensitive secrets, the superspy gets hit by four vehicles out of nowhere. Fury is then forced to rely on slick driving and a few weapons to get away from his attackers. Just when it looks like he’s in the clear, The Winter Soldier shoots an explosive under the spy’s car. In an awe-inspiring shot, the assassin calmly moves aside as the vehicle flies by. Fury’s world and the MCU were turned upside down after The Winter Soldier’s explosive attack.
#9: A Devastating Daytona Incident
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“Days of Thunder” (1990) A promising racer named Cole nearly ended his career early with one bad move. During a competition at the Daytona International Speedway, a few cars get caught up in a bad crash. The incident causes smoke to limit visibility on the track. Despite that fact, Cole drives right into the haze with full confidence to stay ahead. Unfortunately, he plows right into a car and goes flying. The practically shot crash looks absolutely devastating. And to hammer in how dangerous the accident was, the movie immediately cuts to Cole’s journey to the hospital. This realistic and horrific crash definitely highlighted the serious dangers that NASCAR drivers can face.
#8: Stuntman Mike Goes On a Violent Spree
“Death Proof” (2007) If Stuntman Mike ever offers you a ride home, you should definitely say no. This vicious driver built a “death proof” vehicle and regularly tests how much damage it can take. In an unforgettable scene, we watch a montage of Stuntman Mike intentionally colliding with cars. Director Quentin Tarantino put so much gore into these visceral crashes that we can barely show any of the footage here. But trust us when we say that Mike is the only way able to walk away from these horrible traffic incidents. Although the stuntman’s car seems to be totaled at the end of the montage, he was only warming himself up for more collisions.
#7: Han’s Seemingly Fatal Crash
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“Fast & Furious” franchise (2001-) Back in 2006, Han became a fan favorite driver during the events of “Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift”. That’s why audiences were devastated when he was seemingly killed after a random motorist collided into his vehicle and it exploded. This event became even more tragic when we learned that the accident wasn’t random. 2013’s “Fast and Furious 6” revealed that Han was specifically targeted so a villain could get revenge. But this crash stunningly got another layer when we learned that Han was alive! As it turns out, he faked his own death to protect a young girl that’s crucial to the plot of the 9th film. No one could’ve expected that one crash would become vital to 4 franchise movies and counting.
#6: Keymaker Highway Chaos
“The Matrix Reloaded” (2003) When the main heroes use a highway to get a man named Keymaker away from villains, they kick off a sequence that results in 300 actual cars getting totaled. We loved seeing Morpheus cause a crash with his sword. And while the truck collision relies on CGI, it’s still a stunning sight. However, the best part of this hectic sequence comes when an Agent jumps on a car. Although the villain is CGI, the car that flips under him is real. The vehicle causes a number of cars to get wrecked and tumble down the highway. Even the digital Matrix would have trouble recreating such mind-blowing stunt work.
#5: Predicting a Massive Pile-Up
“Final Destination 2” (2003) An entire generation of drivers started switching lanes whenever they saw a truck carrying logs because of this infamous horror scene. In “Final Destination 2”, a woman named Kimberly gets a vision that she and her friends will all die in a horrifying traffic incident. The pile-up begins when loose logs fall off a truck and instantly kill an officer. His death is swiftly followed by a series of gruesome fatalities on the wood filled highway. The scene features explosions, tumbling cars and plenty of fire. It all builds up to the protagonist's red car violently spinning down the highway. While the carnage is over-the-top, the fact that it was caused by something mundane ensured many moviegoers would always be wary of log trucks.
#4: Toppling the Joker
“The Dark Knight” (2008) Audiences thought Joker had the upper hand when he took the Dark Knight’s famous batmobile out of commission. However, a determined Batman just hopped on his motorcycle-esque vehicle and continued to chase the clown. Although the Joker was in a massive truck, the fearless Batman decided to use the weight of the vehicle against him. The Dark Knight swiftly uses cables and the help of a few street lamps to flip the Joker’s ride. What made this scene especially satisfying was the fact that a real truck was toppled to give us this sequence. As an added bonus, this incredible flip led to the Joker’s temporary capture.
#3: Bond’s Record-Breaking Crash
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“Casino Royale” (2006) Once Bond saw that his love interest Vesper had been captured and pulled into a car, he hopped into his Aston Martin and followed her with haste. But while moving at high speeds, he sees that the villains left her on the road he was driving on. Bond immediately turns the wheel to save her life while endangering his own. The resulting crash set a Guinness World Record because the car rolled a stunning seven times before finally settling. While the incident may have raised 007’s insurance rates, Bond can at least take comfort that his actions put him in history books.
#2: All of the Chicago Cops Collide
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“The Blues Brothers” (1980) Although this movie is largely a comedy, its famous car crash scene deserves serious praise. When the titular brothers race to save their childhood orphanage, they’re pursued by tons of cops. But the officers are better at colliding into each other than they are catching one car. During this chase, officer vehicles are flipped, smashed and sent careening off the road. Behind the scenes, 40 stunt drivers and 60 police cars were used to film over 100 crashes. The spectacular efforts of the crew behind the scenes made this comedic movie’s finale incredibly epic. Over 30 years after the movie’s release, other films are still trying to top this wild series of pile ups.
#1: An Unstoppable Driver
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“Gone in 60 Seconds” (1974) During 1974’s “Gone in 60 Seconds”, audiences are treated to an absolutely outstanding 40 minute chase sequence that’s full of crashes. There are pile ups on bridges, car parts that are sent flying, and high speed collisions galore. A garbage truck is even tipped over on its side at one point! While all the spectacle is fantastic, the best and most symbolic collison comes when main character Pace is sent into a pole. Although it looks like the end, our “hero” is just getting started. The practical stunt work and determination of the protagonist made this collision the standout part of a 40 minute sequence. But if we’re being honest, any one crash from this outstanding chase could’ve raced to the top of the list.
