One of the most exciting film genres is the “chase” movie. In these thrilling kinds of films, a character or characters are on the run from someone and must evade this person at all costs. Maybe they’re criminals accused of a crime they didn’t commit and on the run from cops or just desperately seeking to get away from a villain who wants them dead. Whatever the reason, they need to get away and the audience goes with them.
What makes chase movies so appealing to audiences is that they feature stories where the action is constantly in motion. Viewers love the excitement, suspense, and thrill of the pursuit. Every movie is a journey, but chase movies make audiences feel like they are along for the ride too.
True Romance
![10 Best Chase Movies, Including Catch Me If You Can](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Clarence-and-Alabama-in-True-Romance.jpg)
Scripted by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott, True Romance is not just a great chase movie but also one of the best crime thrillers of the 1990s. Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette play lovers on the run who flee Chicago with a suitcase full of cocaine but the mafia won’t let them get away.
Scott and Tarantino’s styles blend well together and the result is a stylish and visceral thriller with a great cast of characters and memorably humorous moments. Like everything Tarantino does, True Romance has an enormous following to this day.
Mad Max: Fury Road
![Furiosa presses Max against the Rig in a fight scene from Mad Max Fury Road](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Furiosa-presses-Max-against-the-Rig-in-a-fight-scene-from-Mad-Max-Fury-Road-Cropped.jpg)
After a 30-year gap, director George Miller finally continued his Max Rockantansky saga with the highly acclaimed film, Mad Max: Fury Road. Tom Hardy takes over the role from Mel Gibson and, along with the amazing Furiosa character (Charlize Theron), creates an incredible entry in the franchise that earned a Best Picture Oscar nomination.
The movie, which is one big chase scene, revolves around a pursuit through a post-apocalyptic desert wasteland between the villainous Imperator Joe and Furiosa and Max, who attempt to escape to the mythic “green place.” It’s an incredibly astonishing film that never runs out of gas, keeps audiences on the edge of their seats, and features many jaw-dropping moments along the way.
The Chase
![Charlie Sheen and Kristy Swanson in car looking into camera in The Chase](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/The-Chase-1.jpg)
The Chase follows a wrongfully convicted criminal who kidnaps a woman in a moment of panic when confronted by police. What follows is a car chase that takes up most of the film’s running time as the two spend the movie on the run from the police, eventually falling in love.
The unique premise makes the whole movie one big car chase and, for the most part, takes place inside a car between two great leads, Charlie Sheen and Kristy Swanson. The Chase is also notable for being a critique of news media, as journalists cover the car chase as if it’s entertainment, something that would become common in real news in the years that followed.
The Terminator
![The Terminator looking off camera in The Terminator](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/The-Terminator-Movies.jpg)
A sci-fi classic was born when The Terminator hit screens in 1984. Directed by James Cameron, the landmark film features a killer robot known as a “terminator” (Arnold Schwarzenegger) traveling back in time to find Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), the mother of a future resistance leader. However, a resistance soldier has been sent back in time to protect her and the chase begins.
Part sci-fi and part slasher film, The Terminator is a lean action thriller that moves like a bullet. The sequel, Terminator 2: Judgement Day would follow the same formula with what some viewers might even consider better results.
Minority Report
![Tom Cruise balancing on top of a moving car pod in Minority Report (2002)](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Tom-Cruise-balancing-on-top-of-a-moving-car-pod-in-Minority-Report-2002.jpg)
Director Steven Spielberg first teamed with actor Tom Cruise for Minority Report, a film based on the classic sci-fi story by author Phillip K. Dick. In the future, crime can be predicted and Cruise’s precrime officer John Anderton never fails at stopping murders before they happen. However, things change when he himself is predicted to commit a murder, so he goes on the run to prove his innocence.
Minority Report features a great concept that asks a lot of moral questions, in addition to being an exciting sci-fi action thriller. Cruise gives one of his best performances and Spielberg is at the height of his game and delivers a visually arresting film and, perhaps, one of his most imaginative.
The Bourne Identity
![Matt Damon as Jason Bourne in The Bourne Identity hiding behind a wall with a gun](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/matt-damon-jason-bourne-stairwell.jpg)
Based on the Robert Ludlum novel, The Bourne Identity centers on an amnesiac man, Jason Bourne (Matt Damon), who desperately tries to discover his true identity while CIA agents and assassins are hot on his trail. The film moves at a kinetic pace and is regarded as having reinvented the spy movie genre.
The Bourne Identity successfully turned Matt Damon into an action star and the film eventually spawned several sequels. Stylistically, the film took a handheld approach to the action scenes, which has since been employed in many more action movies.
The Naked Prey
![Cornel Wilde trying to make fire in The Naked Prey](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/The-Naked-Prey.jpg)
Taking its cues from the classic story “The Most Dangerous Game,” The Naked Prey features a safari guide whose hunting party insults an African tribe, which results in an attack that leaves only the guide alive. Now, he must run through the wilderness and use his knowledge of the area to get to the British fort while evading the tribe. To make matters worse, he also has to do this stripped of his clothing.
Due to its minimal dialogue, The Naked Prey’s screenplay was only nine pages long, but it was still later nominated for the Best Screenplay Oscar. Essentially, the film is one long chase scene, as well as being one of the best survival movies ever made.
North By Northwest
![Cary Grant running from crop duster in North by Northwest](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Cary-Grant-in-North-by-Northwest.jpg)
The master of suspense himself, Alfred Hitchcock is responsible for one of the best chase movies ever made: North By Northwest. In a case of mistaken identity, advertising executive Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) gets pursued cross country by a spy who believes him to be a government agent. Most viewers remember the film for the classic crop-duster chase scene.
Since its release in 1959, audiences have believed the film to be one of Hitchcock’s best. Besides being a thrilling chase film, North By Northwest is a great tale of deception, intrigue, and excitement. It’s the closest audiences ever get to a James Bond film directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Catch Me If You Can
![Frank Abagnale in pilot uniform with flight attendants in Catch Me If You Can.](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Catch-Me-If-You-Can-Leonardo-DiCaprio.jpg)
Based on the true-life account, Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a young conman named Frank Abagnale who makes millions of dollars by successfully impersonating a lawyer, a pilot, and a doctor. All the while, the FBI is in hot pursuit, with Tom Hanks playing the agent in charge of the investigation.
Catch Me If You Can proves Steven Spielberg is a versatile director: crafting one of his more humorous and entertaining films. DiCaprio and Hanks are superb together and their relationship as “cat and mouse” is endlessly watchable.
The Fugitive
![Harrison Ford on the phone in The Fugitive](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Harrison-Ford-in-The-Fugitive.jpg)
Based on the television show, The Fugitive surprised audiences with its immense quality, earning a Best Picture Oscar nomination and a Best Supporting Actor Oscar win for Tommy Lee Jones’ iconic performance. In the classic film, Harrison Ford plays Richard Kimble, a doctor framed for his wife’s murder, so he escapes custody and goes on the run to clear his name. Jones’ US Marshal Sam Gerard is then tasked with bringing him in.
Despite being based on a TV show, The Fugitive is a superbly written and expertly crafted thriller with great characters to root for. The film’s popularity led to a spinoff movie for Sam Gerard called U.S. Marshals, which had a similar story but, despite Jones’ presence, did not achieve the original’s success.