Top 10 Outrageous Parkour Scenes in Movies

It may be dangerous, but damn does it look fun! Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 parkour scenes in movies.

For this list, we’re looking at those big screen scenes involving movement and obstacle course training known as parkour that amazed us with the performer’s athletic ability and the extreme stunts performed throughout.

This buddy cop comedy follows two police officers as they try to find a stolen, expensive baseball card. In this scene, Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan watch as the thief breaks into a house in the dead of night, complete with spectacular jumps between balconies. It’s an impressive scene, and his grace between jumps is a blast to watch, as you can tell this is a true, limber professional who could actually pull off this silent robbery. Ironically enough, in a hilarious scene later on in the movie, the thief slips and falls on his head, showing us that maybe he’s not so graceful, after all.

Following a woman who grows to be an assassin after witnessing her parents’ murders, this action flick begins with some amazing parkour. After being given key information about a drug lord, the young girl must escape his henchmen through the streets of the favela. With some truly amazing stunts, which include hopping down a building and the final stunt of sliding through a sewer opening, the scene is extremely tense, but its hectic pace and loud action make it a true blast to watch.

This ensemble movie follows a group of criminals who try to pull off one last bank robbery. In this scene, Jesse is forced to make an escape from the cops. After pulling off a great stunt – ie: being hit by a car – the thief uses the city as a playground. It ends on a great scene of him jumping a large gap between buildings onto a parked car. It’s truly exciting, and you really get a sense of what parkour entails when he uses the city as a tool and a means to escape.

This movie follows eight freerunners who literally find themselves racing to the death, as only the first person to make the final checkpoint will receive the million dollar prize and live to see another life. Everyone else will die – that is, if they haven’t already been killed when the explosive collars they’re wearing detonate after they fail to follow any of the race’s other rules. In the opening scene, we follow them as they race around the city collecting a tag. The great vertical work, as well as on-ground acrobatics and the quick pace editing technique, add a nice sense of urgency to the sequence. It’s especially unique due to the use of a handheld camera, which gives the viewer a different perspective into the extreme free running world.

This French action thriller follows a detective and his taxi driver friend as they attempt a rescue. In this scene, the detective follows some Japanese yakuza members as they climb around the city, jumping cars and off bridges. It’s fun to see the men in black climb up walls like spiders, and the detective adds a humorous and realistic aspect, as he reinforces the fact that parkour is not quite as easy as it looks. What makes it especially successful is that it combines thrills and entertainment in one.

Following a villager who must travel to Bangkok to retrieve a stolen statue head, this Thai action flick was immediately praised upon release for its use of Muay Thai boxing, with critics hailing star Tony Jaa as the next big martial artist. When you watch this scene, this praise becomes understandable, as he performs some amazing stunts, which includes sliding under a car and jumping clear over several others. Many of the stunts are shown twice, indicating the importance of the stunt and allowing us to see them in their full glory.

Based on the video game of the same name, this adventure action fantasy flick follows the titular Prince as he goes on the run after being framed for murder while simultaneously protecting a special dagger from the forces of evil. This scene has some truly great parkour, with jumping between roofs and stuntmen taking full headers into the sides of buildings. While the stunts may not be as extreme as some of the others on this list, it’s the sheer speed of the runners and stunts that deserves our praise, as it is astonishing to watch the action unfold in such an urgent manner.

This French film stars the original practitioners of parkour, known as the Yamakasi. Featuring stunts performed throughout very tight spaces and ending on a breathtaking jump between buildings and into a window, this scene puts their abilities on full display as they evade police officers. The combination of speed, athleticism, and stunts makes it clear that these men are fully versed in the practice of parkour.

This reboot of the James Bond franchise sees 007 travel to Montenegro to compete in a high stakes poker game, but it’s the action in Madagascar that truly gets the movie going. Featuring some incredible stunts, including a heart-stopping jump between two cranes, this scene gets the action thriller off to a great start. We have never seen parkour in a Bond film before, and what an introduction it was.

Before we jump to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
- Shootout in Pakistan
“G.I. Joe: Retaliation” (2013)
- Rooftop Rescue
“The Bourne Legacy” (2012)
- John vs. Rand
“Live Free or Die Hard” (2007)
- Bachelor Party Fight
“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” (2011)

This French film features the man regarded as the founder of parkour, David Belle, in one of the lead roles. You might also recognize him from the 2014 remake entitled “Brick Mansions.” Following an undercover cop as he tries to infiltrate a gang, “District 13,” as it is known in English, should be singled out for this apartment escape, in which Belle performs some magnificent stunts without the use of CGI or help from wires, which makes it even more incredible. Basically a greatest hits compilation of the practice of parkour, the scene showcases the founder in all his athletic glory and leaves our jaws on the floor.

Do you agree with our list? What parkour scenes do you enjoy the most? For more breathtaking top tens published every day, be sure to subscribe to Watchmojo.com.