The Best Adventure Movies

Roger Ebert once said that movies are the windows in the walls of space and time. It’s a pretty heavy thing to say, but it’s rooted in truth: Movies can takes us to other worlds, other times, and offer experiences we may not have had otherwise. Adventure movies—movies with the core purpose of going somewhere, somewhere thrilling and unknown, to both the characters and the viewers—may do it best of all. A genre where misfits reign supreme, imagination knows no bounds, and film scores make you want to set out to the high seas.

Sometimes those adventures happen here on earth, in a place that seems like it could be right down the block from your childhood home. The extraordinary aspects of these types of film are born from everyday, rather standard activities gone absolutely haywire. Normally, a local plot to tear a dear neighborhood and build luxury condos is just a sad reality of life. In an adventure movie, it’s the beginning of a treasure hunt in the caves of a small town.

On the other hand, these films could take you to times and places you’d never be able to experience. Places where magic, curses, and monsters can reside, where sea and space are not only navigable, they are conquerable. These movies provide you with costumes, hair, and makeup that transform the banality of history into the romantic and enticing escapades of a slightly neurotic hero on a seemingly impossible quest.

The best adventure movies take you someplace else, and as the credits roll, you’re left with the same disorienting sensation you get when you enter the movie theater in the afternoon and come out at night. There are hundreds of great films that fit this genre, great tales that take us, the viewers, out of our daily lives and stressful obligations and into a world where magic can happen and the unconventional is expected.

Even people who didn’t like this movie admitted that it was visually and sonically stunning. It’s why the film won six Academy Awards. Beyond that, it's the tale of a group of strong women led by Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) who take on a bunch of devilish and mutated fighters driving crazy-outfitted war machines, assisted by the reluctant, but handy drifter Max (Tom Hardy) in a post-apocalyptic world where the battle for resources comes down to who has the best weaponry.

Baby Drew Barrymore! Siblings banding together! A bicycle to space! This was perhaps the most wholesome of all movies in this genre, and truly taught an entire generation about the meaning of friendship. Young Elliott and his journey to get E.T. home is the ultimate adventure, and an American cultural cornerstone.

Even if you get seasickness, this movie made you want to set sail. That is partly due to the film’s soundtrack, which truly changed the game for movie scores. Not to be discounted is Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow, one of the liveliest movie characters of the 21st century. Action packed scene after scene, island after island, the first installment of the Pirates of The Caribbean series showed that big-budget, popcorn films based on Disney rides can still pack a punch. There was magic, mystery, intrigue, and most important, there were pirates, delivered to audiences in a truly memorable way.

Time travel is still one of humankind’s most longed-after abilities. Nothing made us want to bounce around the fabric of time and space more, perhaps, than the incredible adventure that Marty McFly and Doc Brown have in their trusted DeLorean. Aside from stars Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, the other standout character were McFly’s Nike Bruins, which became an instantly iconic pair of sneakers.

This movie has everything: Will Smith as the fearless, lovable hero who lays it all on the line, aliens with really cool spaceships, Jeff Goldblum being very Jeff Goldblum-y, space fights, gun fights, government conspiracy… in this movie, the First Lady even cares about the American people! (Too real?) It’s a certified classic, and what Independence Day lacks in advanced CGI, it makes up for in heart and dog fights in space.

These films are an institution. As time passed, they have definitely improved in terms of special effects, but nothing tops the original, both for sentimentality and for action packed car chase glory. Paul Walker, a Los Angeles detective, becomes enamored with the street racing lifestyle he’s supposed to be investigating. Somehow, from there, the story birthed an entire franchise that is focused on family, epic car chases, and unbelievable explosions across countries and continents.

Casting Joaquin Phoenix as the smarmy, evil, nasty Commodus was the first of many great choices in Gladiator, which stars a young and dynamic Russell Crowe in the role of Maximus, a condemned general in Ancient Rome. Maximus was a great and powerful and favored by the Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, and chosen to rule after his death. This would have been fine, except the beloved Emperor had a son (Phoenix), a sadistic and neurotic dude who completely ruins Maximus’ life. And that is just the beginning of the film, before Maximus becomes a Gladiator who wields a sword with the power and prowess of a titan, all while on a quest for vengeance against the tyrant Commodus.

What’s more adventurous than a theme park gone haywire on an isolated island? A theme park gone haywire with a Tyrannosaurus Rex. It’s the recipe for a perfect movie. Throw in dinosaurs, Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern, and B.D. Wong, and there has never been a better cast. This film caused a widespread realization that velociraptors are smarter than humans and definitely would have wiped us out had we been alive during their time. (That scene with the raptors hunting Tim and Lex in the kitchen was a true nail biter.) This was also a truly iconic time for khaki cargo shorts and neckerchiefs.

Every Harry Potter movie is a great adventure story, but none quite captured the spirit of the genre as well as the third installment. In this film, Harry, Ron and Hermione finally realize that there is something very dark afoot and are becoming a ragtag team of experts when it comes to dealing with trouble. As Harry learns about his uncle Sirius, shape-shifting buses, werewolves, and all of Hagrid’s pets make this edition one of the most fun to watch.

A movie that gave life to every young kid who dreamed of finding something cool in their parents basement, this is the greatest adventure of all time. A group of rag-tag kids, all of whom definitely deviated from the usual 80’s cool kids, are bummed about the impending foreclosure of their homes. It’s a story that doesn’t sound too much different from of today’s woes. A rich developer comes in and wants to turn the land into a profitable and exclusive golf course, completely unapologetic toward the families they’ll uproot. But! Goonies never say die, and instead they embark on an epic adventure involving treasure maps, pirate ships, ruthless criminals, secret passageways, and boobie traps. It's a timeless story that will have you wishing to be twelve years old and endlessly hopeful again.