On April 10, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced a new Oscars category honoring achievement in stunt design. This long-awaited award will debut at the 100th ceremony and recognize films released in 2027. This announcement comes after decades of calls for the creation of such a category. After all, stunts are older than sound films. Silent film stars like Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd — best known for an iconic scene in which he hangs from a clock off the side of a building — risked their lives for stunts all the way back in the 1920s. Since then, stunts have continued to serve as an integral part of cinema across the world.
Nevertheless, stunt designers and performers have received minimal recognition for all their daring and dangerous work. Movies like “The Fall Guy” even turned this lack of recognition into the butt of their jokes. Now that the academy has finally heeded the calls of industry stunt professionals and created this essential category, it’s the perfect time to take a look back. There are plenty of movies with incredible stunts that were regrettably never recognized. Here are just a few that deserved an Oscar.
“The Matrix” (1999)
Aside from being perhaps the most culturally pervasive movie of all time, “The Matrix” revolutionized the stunt game with its 1999 release. Tightly choreographed hand-to-hand combat scenes give the film’s characters their signature fighting styles, such as in the iconic Neo vs. Morpheus kung fu training sequence. “The Matrix” also innovated with its use of “bullet time,” where characters slow down or freeze as the camera travels around them, giving the appearance of time slowing down. If you need any more convincing that this film’s stunts went wrongfully unrecognized, check out the iconic bullet dodging scene, Trinity’s escape and the helicopter jump.
“The Fall Guy” (2024)
“The Fall Guy” might very well have been the reason the stunt design Oscars category was created. Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt star in this rom-com/action crime thriller about the botched production of a stunt-heavy blockbuster. Its stars have been very vocal about their support for a stunt category, as has its director David Leitch, a former stunt performer and coordinator himself. Yes, the film is a love letter to stunt performers, but it also features many impressive stunts, notably an intense and wild car cannon roll.
“Police Story” (1985)
A staple of Hong Kong martial arts cinema, “Police Story” is everything an action comedy should be. Co-written and directed by Jackie Chan — who also stars as Hong Kong police detective “Kevin” Chan Ka-Kui — the film goes balls to the wall with probably some of the most dangerous stunts ever put to screen. Within the first few minutes, two cars legitimately drive through an entire village. Chan’s comedic chops and acrobatic abilities are also on full display, cementing his status as one of the greatest to stunt. And just to show you it means business, the film’s end credit sequence features stunt performers being carried away in stretchers after injuring themselves for stunts. If that’s not dedication, what is?
“John Wick” (2014)
Over the past decade, the name “John Wick” has grown synonymous with high-octane shootouts, intense fight choreography and Keanu Reeves. The 2014 film revived the revenge action thriller genre and left a mark with its iconic scenes and high body count. It has also spawned four sequels, each of which have continuously upped their game in terms of stunts and cinematography. Much credit is owed to director Chad Stahelski, an expert action film auteur who, funnily enough, was Reeves’ stunt double in “The Matrix” trilogy. With the impending release of an Ana de Armas-starring spinoff, it seems likely there will be many more “John Wick” films to come.
“Mission: Impossible” (1996)
It’s impossible to talk about stunts in the film industry without mentioning the man, the myth, the legend: Tom Cruise. When he’s not hiding from his well-documented, nefarious associations with the Church of Scientology, he’s making movies. The first “Mission: Impossible” film is a classic action spy thriller, with memorable stunts like the fish tank explosion. Later films in the series, however, make the 1996 original seem tame in comparison. They feature Cruise climbing the Burj Khalifa and riding a motorcycle off a cliff, both of which are doubly impressive when you remember Cruise does all his own stunts. While the Oscars stunt category may have come too late to properly recognize Cruise and his team, their impact on the industry is undeniable.
Contact Leo Field at [email protected].