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I think the cleverer play in Die Hard was giving Hans Gruber an empty gun. He had a suspicion that Gruber wasn't on the level, so giving him an empty gun made him reveal himself.

Watchmen - Villain reveals plan 45 minutes after he had already done it.

The scene in Robocop where Jones held his boss at gunpoint. Murphy's program prevented him from intervening, because all employees of Omni Consumer Products must be obeyed. The boss: You're fired.

When Marty McFly uses the same trick he saw from Clint Eastwood against Buford Tannen by strapping an iron plate to his chest before the duel.

In The Mummy (1999), Jonathan Carnahan (Evelyn's brother) joins the mind-controlled throng of people chanting "Imhotep ... Imhotep ..." imitating their walk and their chant, in order to be undetected. Then he ducks into the shadows behind a wall. It's brilliant and funny.

Will Smith's decision to have both his enemies clash at the end part of Enemy of the State should be included here. That was really Smart.

In Die Hard...Hans says shoot the window...for John's bare feet...but smartest move in any film is Demolition Man...when he doesn't know how to use the 3 sea shells...and so proceeds to curse at the machine on the wall 😂

In addition to these smart decisions, there is also Tony Stark flying his armored suit into the upper atmosphere with Iron Monger following knowing that the Monger's suit will freeze.

That scene in Taken is my favorite scene in the movie because of how badass Liam Neeson sounds when he threatens the trafficker

In "Aliens" when Burke locks Ripley in a room with a face hugger, she takes out a lighter and sets off the sprinkler and alarm systems, alerting the rest of the team to her predicament.

Here's another one: Clark Kent switches the crystals in Superman II to depower Zod and crew.

Andrew Garfield in the movie Hacksaw Ridge, where he covers an injured comrade in the sand, and let a dead body cover him when the Japanese soldiers are approaching them. That is so genius!

''I'm distracting you you big turd blossom'', man what a line from Chris Pratt.

Here's my favourite: In "The hunt for Red October", a torpedo is launched at the heroes' sub. Captain Ramius orders a turn to course 315, steering directly into the torpedo's path. In what appears like a suicidal move, it soon turns out to be a moment of genius, as the sub now closes the distance before the torpedo could arm itself, causing it to collide harmlessly against the Red October's hull without detonating. Honourable mentions go to: - Hannibal's planning in "The A-Team" (several plans could be mentioned here, but the one where he has the drug kinpin follow them into U.S. airspace and have a fighter waiting to shoot down the enemy takes the cake. - Luke's decision to surrender himself to Vader and the Emperor in "Return of the Jedi" turns out to be the right choice. Having correctly deduced that his father is deeply conflicted and possible to turn to the light side of the force, Luke is able to do so, enabling the destruction of Palpatine.

Indiana Jones and the last crusade when Sean Connery uses the umbrella to scare the birds.

I think that calling the dog by wrong name was the the smartest decision in Action movies.

HOW IS TAKEN NOT HIGHER ON THE LIST!? THAT WAS GENIUS

Top 20 sword fights in movies

Liam Neeson had a reputation as a tough guy long before "Taken" was even conceived. He had been in 51 movies already (and 50 after) and he was a tough guy in the vast majority.

The Jack Ryan movies, especially the first three, are basically smart people making the smartest moves they can.

*"The Tanker Breakout"* scene in Mad Max 2 was tactical brilliance by Pappagallo. The refinery filled with innocent refugees is surrounded and attacked by wasteland savages for a massive tank of gasoline. A semi-truck hauling the tank and driven by Max makes a break for it along the desert highway before the refinery is blown up. The savages are in hot pursuit of the tanker while the refugees escape in their own vehicles in the other direction. It is only after the tanker is attacked, rolls over and crashes that the contents is revealed...nothing but red earth. The gasoline was hidden in the vehicles of which the refugees escaped. The plan not only fooled the savages, but also fooled Max. Battered and broken, Max still manages to grin knowing he'd been played by Pappagallo...and played well.

I love that scene with the Joker when he takes off his mask in the bank. The way they added the bass to his voice when he says "stranger" gets across early on just how menacing he is.

The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down is one of the most intense action movies of all time.

The one from The Fugitive is a homage to a similar scene in The Great Escape.

Also Arnold, in Total Recall, Quaid pretends he is a hologram to give the enemies pause long enough to get the drop on them. “You think this is the real Quaid? It is.”

I like the bit in "Ronin" where De Niro's character hides a gun before entering the cafe. It shows that he's planning ahead.

How about all of the plan in Inside Man, particulary the swapping of 'robbers' for 'hostages' so that everyone would identify at least one of the criminals as an innocent party?

Recognizing a trap when youre flying into it: How can they jam us... if they dont know were coming?

Sherlock was right - smart is the new sexy. These moments took already good movies to whole new levels of excellence.

An honorable mention in the Taken portion, I loved when Liam Neeson waited for the last bad guy (who had a gun pointed at his daughter) to start talking before he shot him, because the moment he starts talking, his brain is more occupied in negotiating than on pulling the trigger. I don't think I've seen this done on any other movie (maybe 24?) but it was smart and subtle.

one of the smartest can be found in die hard 2 - blowing up the plane. not only did this act stop/kill the bad guys, it also solved the problem of the planes that could not land. literally 2 birds with one stone. underrated movie. it had its flaws but i always thought that ending was very cleverly written. macclaine didn't just overpower his enemies as most action heroes do. he used his smarts to solve 2 problems with one plausible "shot"

I'd love a part two of a video like this it really shows how often action movie characters actually make smart decisions

Honestly the smartest decision from heat was making a fake plan when the cops could hear them through bugs.

I thought Indiana Jones cutting the bridge at the end of The Temple of Doom was smarter than closing their eyes in Raiders of the Lost Ark

Best miss: Patriot Games - a Clancy movie with Sean Bean and Harrison Ford. Harrison Ford and his friends, including a British noble, are being hunted by Irish terrorists in Ford's power-downed coastal house. They figured out one of the staff had been providing information to the enemy. To know what the quisling knew, they needed to quickly gain information from him. He asked once, got nothing. Ford shot him in the knee cap with a silence pistol and someone was holding the quisling from yelling. He asked again and got what he needed. He didn't screw around - he did what the situation required. The terrorists figured out the targets were in the basement and that meant Ford and his folk had to flee through the outside cellar doors. However, when Sean Bean's terrorist team came in using NVGs to see in the dark, someone threw the lights up temporarily blinding them and Ford's team may have shot one on the way out (or just blinded them). They knew enough to keep moving one step ahead of the enemy and to strip their advantages - night vision, heavier firepower, knowing things the Ford party wasn't supposed to know (which Ford had twisted out of the quisling). Darn good decisions. No screwing around. No long discussions. Moving at the pace of the threat and a bit more. And smart at every turn.

The scene in the first taken when he finds the traffickers in the house. He gets all of the men to say something while having a seemingly bland conversation. All except one, who he passes the message to read out and match his voice to the phone call. He also used the interaction to discover the French detective was corrupt and taking bribes from them, which he used to threaten him later.

John Woo's "The Killer" did the hiding weapons and ammo in the escape route. Both are great movies, we need to see Chow Yun Fat and Keanu Reeves join forces.

you forgot in the first mission impossible to send kittridge the watch to see that jon voight character is still alive a classic one

Die Hard - John McClane taping a 2nd gun to his back after Hans thought he was unarmed.

I did saw ‘Heat’ on Netflix, and it’s one of the best action/crime drama movies ever made.

Amazing video Rebecca from watch mojo of the smartest decisions in impressive action movies scenes,fantastic job.

No, Liam Neeson's tough-guy persona was born when he sliced Tim Roth in half in that scene in Rob Roy!!

Never underestimate your opponent.

Jurassic Park is a story of what can happen if you don't pay your IT Staff. Never screw with IT

Thanks Rebecca, you are always the best... great video!

You forgot the finale of Law Abiding Citizen. That was pure art

Also in "Die Hard," McLean gave Hans an unloaded gun when he met him (and didn't know who he was).

the scene when Scarecrow figures out that using the Tin Man's axe to cut the rope to the big chandelier would trap the witch's guards, thus proving he had brains all along.

Inception takes the dream/reality idea to the next level (Total Recall did it with style granted, that about implanted memories as well). The rubber masks in Mission Impossible never get old, even in the modern day.

Bourne identity scene: the flock of birds circle around the sniper giving Bourne his position- not to distract the sniper.. seriously??

In the bourne Identity, he didn't shoot and scare the birds up to provide a misdirection. He scared the birds up knowing that they would fly up and away from the sniper, indicating where the sniper was in the field. Its why the scene shows the birds changing direction. When they see him and turn away, Bourne knows where hes at in the field. This is alot more clever than a simple distraction.

Just watching a clip from T2 transports you to another world!

it's funny that you mention that scene from Bourne. It's probably the only scene that I dont like. That shotgun would not have been able to blow up a popane tank, at all, especially not from that distance. The idea was absurd and forced. That being said, the Bourne series is one of my favorite and it has a ton of intelligent writing. The flashlight attached to the circulating fan is a good example. But the propane tank, nah bro.

In Behind Enemy Lines, pilot Burnett (Owen Wilson) falls down a ditch littered with murdered bodies. He covers himself with one of them to hide from Bazda's troops who were chasing him. Adding to the tension, Admiral Reigart (Gene Hackman) and Master Chief O'Malley (David Keith) are watching the whole thing on infrared live video, wondering what's going on. Navy/Air Force pilots are very smart anyway, but that was next level stuff.

This needs a sequel "Top 20 Dumbest Decisions In Action Movies", number 1. messing with Liam Neeson

Reminds me of a scene in "The Great Escape". A check in front of a bus was next to done, and then, at the very end, the Gestapo officer says: "Good luck!", and the English speaking fugitive replies out of habit: "Thank you" and knows in an instant that he was caught. The English guy had next to no chance, just as Dr. Kimble. It is just as our brain works: "Thinking, Fast and Slow", the major work of the nobel prize winner Daniel Kahneman. If you are asked what is 3 x 3 you will instantly say 9, you don't need to actually think about it. If a piano player or football player would intentionally execute every move, if they would think through it, they would never achieve the level they needed. That's why they practice over and over again till it has become a second nature to them. If you are asked 17 x 17 you will stop and start to think, you might even need a paper to make the calculation. That is a actual and intentional thought process. Yes, it is smart to use this one's advantage. But like I said, it was neither stupid nor their fault @ Dr. Kimble and the English fugitive.

In "Heat", when McCauley realizes law enforcement is watching, he sets up a meeting with his crew to a specific location and pretends bringing them in on a plan for their next job, knowing whoever watches them would go to that location themselves to try and get ahead of the robbers. McCauley then takes an elevated position to turn the tables and watch Hanna and his team so he can identify them. McCauley now knows who he's up against, leveling the playfield. I thought that decision was the smartest one I'd ever seen in any movie until then. In the "Bourne" movies though, there are so many examples. However the way he makes contact with reporter Simon Ross by slipping a burner in his pocket and then guides him through Waterloo station while observing the CCTV cameras and keeping Ross out of sight was such a good scene. The CIA gets caught off guard, baffled at how a simple reporter keeps avoiding their surveilance as they lose contact with the field operatives when Bourne takes them out one by one whithout them even knowing he's there. To me, that was Bourne's best move out of the entire franchise.

Heat was a remake of La takedown . I thought they used the truck in that as well

The fact that Predator, with more advanced technology, couldn't see his prey because of mud when our own primitive by comparison thermal scopes can just makes me shake my head.

The thing about Speed is that the villain is indeed much smarter.....but Keanu is taller.

I thought the best decision John Wick made was grabbing the pittie who was set to be put down and then giving it to Charon to take care of.

This just proves that thinking ahead gets you ahead.

"Get away from her you bitch". Ripley nicely informing the Xenomorph to make the right decision....lmbo

How about in Rogue One, Galen Erso rejoining the Empire and making himself invaluable to the Empire. Just so he could help build in the Death Star weakpoint.

A Bible reference in a WatchMojo video? Never thought I'd see the day.

Yes, it was smart of Gerard to yell out Kimble's name. But when Kimble's foot is trapped in the door, why does Gerard not just shoot Kimble in the foot so he at least can't run fast?? No, instead he goes for the head shot when he knows that's bullet resistant glass!! I know it's a stupid thing to be bugged by, but it does.

I like this one... great recommendations...😅

18:50 thank you!!!! I mean another flaw it makes itself look twice as injured

What, no love for Indiana Jones and the swordsman? Like you said, sometimes it's the simple things that count. "Hah! Face me and my fabulous swordsmanship, O infidel!" "I don't have time for this." *BLAM!*

can i ask for the list of the movies in this video? since it has spoiler warning, may there are movies that I've seen already and some are not. Thanks!

The A-Team: Luring the badguy into firing on them over US airspace, in the opening scene. Also, the whole final fight and resolution (part of Face's plan was for his girlfriend to pass the key to the handcuffs via the kiss at the end). Cold Pursuit: Using the tree cutter to spin the baddie's car around so the baddie's rival could shoot him.

I saw a clip where the concept of mud blocking IR tracking, and it turned out that it actually does, and you don't need that much, either. No need to cake it on as thick as you can, just a good slather will do. But, don't miss any spots.

@ 1:11 I've never figured out why Gerard just didn't shoot Kimball in the foot when it was trapped in the door. I'm sure he's proficient enough to hit that kind of a target.

How could you not mention Nobody? Burning the Obshok and then bringing the claymore into the club.

You forgot legendary Frank Morris leaving a fake head in his bed while he escaped from Alcatraz

Number 1: Obviously this should be on the list. And there was no sugar coating the foster parents being dead.

The dinosaur & flare thing could only work in the movie. Scientists do know now that the real T. Rex had probably an excellent, accute, hawk-like vision. In fact, it is possible it had the best vision of all time, and not "based in movement" at all.

death star plans from rogue one should be on this

The mud and exoskeleton n loop was super smart

idk about Dr Strange. There was no smarts involved, just the power of the time stone.

I once read that Inception movie idea is based on an old ducktales comic where Beagle Boys Inc tried to steal scrootch mcducks safe code by invading his dream.

YES!

The car in jurassic park, that is attacked by the t-rex, is not a jeep. It is a ford Explorer xlt. The idea to shut down the System to root out nedry's virus was also a good one

To be honest i never realised that the number 1 was such a smart decision until now

I personally think that Henry Cavill was brilliant in Mission: Impossible. And, the T-800 outsmarting the T-1000 was beautiful with the dog's name. That whole movie was amazing.

I’m pretty sure in the Jason Bourne scene that wasn’t a shotgun, It looks more like a rifle.🤔

Maybe not so much an 'action' movie, but in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the already crippled Enterprise heading for a nebula that will also hinder the Reliant just as much makes for a tense, thrilling final showdown.

Giving Alec Baldwin an empty gun, has to be the best move ever!

3:44 OMG you so missed it, birds gave snipers location, Bourne watched the birds where are they gonna land, and birds will avoid area where the sniper is

Can't forget about Willow where Willow uses his disappearing pig trick. In order to hide the baby from the evil queen Bavmorda.

"Payback'" with Mel Gibson had a much better vehicle-collision heist scene. Yes, the semi vs. armored car in Heat is more cinematic, but the stripped down version with a head-on collision using an old car and a mouth guard, foreshadowed by Gibson's Porter blithely noting "they don't wear seat belts," while casing the scene of the crime beforehand comes off as much more cunning. Payback has a lot of decisions that should be on this list, starting with Porter's ability to leverage a pick pocketed credit card into the cash he needs to launch his "pay back."

the @CorridorCrew guys just proved that the Predator mud trick totally works!

That the Clever Strategy of the T-800.

Make the Top 20 Greatest Directors of All Time.

How about an idea of taking The High Ground ? :)

Vassili Zaitsev (Judd Law) using bombs to disguise rifle/sniper shots in 'Enemy at the Gates' ?

These characters know

The fact that more Bourne clips weren't here, especially not finding Landy in Supremacy, and the hotel call... is disappointing.

What about captain jack sparrow when he stole a coin!