5 Best Adventure Movies

Putting together a list of the 5 best adventure movies might be one of the toughest and most fun compilations. Over the course of the last 100 years there have been plenty of absolutely fantastic adventure flicks and these are the best of the best, at least according to us.

1. "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" Of course any of the "Lord of the Rings" movies could be number one on this list but since this is the conclusion to the trilogy it has to take the cake. The battle scenes are never more fantastic in size and scope than they are in this iteration and you get to see the characters really develop and mature from the first movie to this final installment.
2. "The Dark Knight" "The Dark Knight" was actually the second in a series of Batman movies that involved a relaunch of the franchise with a concerted effort to get darker and grittier than those that came before it. Christian Bale reprises his role of Batman and goes toe-to-toe with Heath Ledger as the Joker in what has to be considered one of the best villain performances of all time. We weren't particularly big fans of Ledger before this movie, but his over the top evil won us over.
3. "The Matrix" While the "Dark Knight" and the "Return of the King" might have been sequels that improved upon the originals, the first Matrix film outperformed its sequels by far. The story line of people living in a shared dream world as their real bodies were served up as food for machines threw and interesting take on the old "I think therefore I am" debate about existence. The special effects were also revolutionary at the time. I dare you to find someone who hasn't seen this movie at least twice.
4. "The Silence of the Lambs" It's hard to believe that Anthony Hopkins wasn't really the household name we know him to be now when this movie was released.  His portrayal of Hannibal Lecter will forever be one that movie villains aim to match. Jodie Foster's character as the green FBI agent hot on the case of "Buffalo Bill" was done brilliantly too. Of course Ted Levine stole every scene he appeared in as the cross dressing murderer with the very odd voice.
5. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" Re-imagined the way adventure films could be done and brought us one of the most lovable heroes of the 20th century. The Ark in question was the Ark of the Covenant, a case that supposedly held the original 10 commandments. Indiana Jones was the man who would become the greatest hero of our generation as he raced the Nazis to get to the Ark first. Karen Allen also did a great turn as Indiana Jones' love interest who was almost as much of a handful as the Nazis themselves.