Top 10 Greatest Chase Movies of All Time

It doesn’t get much simpler than the premise for this early seventies film by Steven Spielberg, in which a man is terrorized on the road by a seemingly faceless driver. What begins as relatively ordinary one-upmanship between salesman David Mann and the driver of a tanker truck soon escalates into harassment and a deadly game of road rage, with the truck driver making repeated attempts on Mann’s life. “Duel” plays out much like a typical man vs. wild movie, but with a more technological beast in the role of the predator.

While all the “Bourne” films are pulse-pounding chase stories in their own right, our pick had to go to the second installment. Amnesiac former spy Jason Bourne is dragged back into the world of international espionage when he’s framed for a bombing and must find the perpetrators – all while being pursued by government agents. “Supremacy” is possibly the series’ best outing to date, with all of its hallmarks - a shadowy conspiracy, breakneck chases (both vehicular and on foot) and brutally eclectic fight choreography – that turned it up to eleven! Heck, even the soundtrack pulls out all the stops!

Set in 16th century Central America, “Apocalypto” follows a hunter named Jaguar Paw, whose tribe is attacked and taken to be sacrificed by Mayan slavers. After narrowly escaping, Jaguar Paw must evade his captors and return to his pregnant wife and young son, who hid from the slavers, but are trapped in a pit cave. Although the chase primarily occurs during the latter half of the film, and its historical accuracy is heavily questionable, “Apocalypto” is an exhilarating experience throughout, blending subtle commentary on declining civilization with a brutally immersive tale of hunter and hunted.

When hunter Llewelyn Moss finds a bag of money amid the remains of a massacre, he doesn’t count on being hunted himself. Moss is tracked by Anton Chigurh, an implacable hitman, whose methodical, relentless pursuit lends the film an aura of quiet menace. The Coen Brothers, who directed the thriller, use the strategy of “less is more,” by rarely showing direct confrontation between the two combatants, and instead keeping the threat of violence a constant throughout; letting the audience’s own expectations provide much of the tension. The fact that Moss and Chigurh’s final confrontation does not occur onscreen may disappoint some, but there’s no denying that the chase itself provides plenty of satisfaction.

This late ‘70s cult film follows the eponymous gang, the Warriors, over the course of a single night. When a charismatic gang leader is murdered during a summit between the Warriors and several other gangs, the titular group is wrongfully accused. Stranded in New York City with every other gang, and with the police after them, the Warriors’ struggle to return home to Coney Island is a memorable one, with the vest-sporting crew having to fight off numerous, colorful criminals throughout. Full of ‘70s style, atmosphere, and action, “The Warriors” is one chase movie you’ll want to catch like the last train home.

In this dystopian film, humanity is completely infertile, with no births having occurred for eighteen years prior to the film’s opening. The story follows Theo, a cynical man who lost his son, as he escorts Kee, the world’s only pregnant woman, to a secret group of scientists studying infertility. They are constantly pursued by radicals who want to use Kee as a figurehead for their position, all while trying to avoid catching the attention of those in control of the police state in which they live, as she is a refugee and therefore considered illegal. The film features a number of intense chase scenes, including a particularly long single-shot sequence, in which a crying newborn halts a war. In a world with no apparent future, what many of the movie’s characters are chasing…is hope.

We can just hear the comments now about this film’s placement! Make no mistake: “Mad Max: Fury Road” is utterly amazing! From beginning to end, “Fury Road” is almost entirely one continuous car chase, with Furiosa and her band of freed sex slaves fleeing the War Boys and their leader Immortan Joe. The car battles are thrilling, the choreography is intricate, and the visuals are breathtaking. If there’s one area in which the next entries excel at over this one though, it’s in pacing and character development, which “Fury Road” rarely slows down for.