What makes a truly great Western is hard to define, since the genre has far more depth and nuance beyond the common tropes echoed across various media. For me, my entry point was the Spaghetti Western, whose classics are often defined by reserved violence, atmosphere, and mysterious figures. Of course, those who dig a bit deeper into Italian-made Westerns will certainly find plenty of action.
Essentially, everyone looks for something else in their Westerns, certain elements that elevate a great one to a personal favorite. For those who love action in the genre, there is no shortage of explosive titles that put action first, along with a few over-the-top takes that ask for a bit of suspension of disbelief. To make this list, I also tried to span the different types of action movies, from gritty to stylized. Regardless, all these movies bring action to the Western genre like no others.
Why You Should Trust Me: Having written about film for over a decade, I’ve spent a good chunk of that time covering genre cinema specifically, Westerns included. At MovieWeb, I’ve written extensively on action movies and the directors who built their careers on them.
Honorable Mentions
Five More Worth Saddling Up For
My nine picks are certain to scratch that action Western itch no matter what aspect of the genre you are into, but what if you want more? Here are five honorable mentions that are every bit as action-packed and worth your time.
- The Magnificent Seven (2016): Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington) recruits six gunfighters to defend a town from a corrupt industrialist’s private army. An explosive crowd-pleaser stacked with shootouts, regardless of how you feel about it being a remake of a classic.
- Once Upon a Time in the West (1968): A harmonica-playing gunslinger (Charles Bronson) squares off against a railroad tycoon’s hired killer, Frank (Henry Fonda), over a widow’s land. One of the greatest Westerns ever made, but a bit too slow to really justify inclusion above.
- Django Unchained (2012): A freed slave (Jamie Foxx) partners with a bounty hunter, Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), to rescue his wife from a sadistic plantation owner, Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). Plenty of action here, more than the original, but the first Django is owed its dues over Tarantino’s homage.
- The Proposition (2005): An outlaw, Charlie Burns (Guy Pearce), is offered a brutal choice by a colonial police captain (Ray Winstone): kill his own psychotic older brother to save his younger one. Nick Cave’s screenplay makes this one of the most punishing Westerns ever made.
- Open Range (2003): Free-grazing cattlemen Boss Spearman (Robert Duvall) and Charley Waite (Kevin Costner) go to war with a rancher. You do get a slow build toward the climax, but the extended final gunfight makes it worthy of an honorable mention.
‘Django’ (1966)
The Coffin-Dragging Original
IMDb: 7.2/10 | Letterboxd: 3.8/5
A drifter named Django (Franco Nero) arrives in a mud-caked border town caught between a gang of racist Red Shirts and a group of Mexican revolutionaries. The reserved gunslinger makes an impact on the town, dragging a coffin behind him that catches the curiosity of all parties. Django aligns himself with María (Loredana Nusciak), a woman targeted by both factions, and begins to work the two sides against each other.
I get it: this one isn’t really heavy on action until the film’s back half, but the reveal of what is in the coffin and the subsequent onslaught bring the violence and action in glorious, bloody abundance. Sergio Corbucci’s Django is highly influential within the Spaghetti Western tradition and is often discussed alongside (though differently from) Sergio Leone’s films; it is just as essential a watch for fans of the genre as the iconic franchise headed by Clint Eastwood.
‘Tombstone’ (1993)
Chaos After the O.K. Corral
IMDb: 7.8/10 | Letterboxd: 3.9/5
Retired lawman Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) wants to get rich and stay out of trouble in Tombstone, Arizona, but the Cowboys, a loose gang of outlaws led by “Curly Bill” Brocius (Powers Boothe), have other plans. After a deadly showdown at the O.K. Corral drags Wyatt and his brothers into open war, the Cowboys retaliate, and Wyatt, backed by his gunslinger friend Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer), sets out to end the conflict.
While many versions of the O.K. Corral leave that as the film’s climax, Tombstone puts it deep in the middle and keeps the action pushing forward into a bloody vendetta. A phenomenal cast backs it all, with Kilmer’s Doc Holliday in particular, perfect in his verbal quips that match his fast shooting. Tombstone is one of the best Westerns of the ’90s, both in action and entertainment; an easy one to revisit time and time again.
‘The Salvation’ (2014)
Cold, Calculated, Revenge
IMDb: 6.7/10 | Letterboxd: 3.2/5
Jon (Mads Mikkelsen) is a Danish immigrant trying to build a life on the American frontier before his wife and son are murdered by two men. Jon kills them both, only to learn one of the dead men is the brother of Delarue (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), an outlaw who runs the town nearest Jon’s homestead. Delarue calls on the entire community to flush Jon out, but as a siege begins on his home, the immigrant fights back.
First off, the pairing of Mads Mikkelsen and Jeffrey Dean Morgan in a Western is pure perfection (Eva Green is great too), with both men embodying the gruff personas needed to immerse the viewer in the time period. The action here comes in quick bursts, with Mikkelsen’s Jon having to play it patiently throughout. This means every gunshot, of which there are many, has an immediate impact and severity that keeps the action tense from start to finish.
‘Keoma’ (1976)
An Underrated and Eccentric Spaghetti Western
IMDb: 7.0/10 | Letterboxd: 3.7/5
One of Franco Nero’s most underrated characters, here he plays Keoma Shannon, a Civil War veteran who comes home to find his three half-brothers working with a plague-profiteering tyrant named Caldwell (Donald O’Brien). Caldwell uses the town to his advantage, enforcing the quarantine so he can strip it of parts and riches. Keoma’s aging father has been left powerless, his old mentor George (Woody Strode) has been reduced to a drunk, and a pregnant woman is being hauled off to the quarantine mine as a suspected carrier. None of this sits well with Keoma, and he begins to fight back for his family and the people.
Enzo G. Castellari delivers an unforgettable fever dream within the Spaghetti Western genre. Keoma has plenty of slow-motion gun battles, an ominous messenger on a horse, and one of the genre’s strangest scores (it narrates the movie). I love throwing in these more experimental picks for those who like to challenge themselves with rule-breaking cinema, and this one offers strangeness in equal measure to its high body count; just be warned, the film really loves slow-motion action to the point that it becomes slightly comedic.
‘3:10 to Yuma’ (2007)
A Prisoner Transport That Never Lets Up
IMDb: 7.6/10 | Letterboxd: 3.8/5
More action-forward and revisionist than the classic, James Mangold’s 2007 film shares the same story beats as the 1957 original, both drawn from the Elmore Leonard short story. Here, struggling rancher Dan Evans (Christian Bale) takes a dangerous job escorting captured outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) to a prison train, for a payday that could save his ranch. The mission turns dangerous when Wade’s gang, led by the volatile Charlie Prince (Ben Foster), hunts them the whole way, and Evans must keep his prisoner alive and moving as the chase escalates.
Ambush after ambush makes 2007’s 3:10 to Yuma a wild ride (literally), leading to a final act of nonstop action. At the same time, you have Crowe and Bale playing off of each other, adding a layer of dramatic flair as Evans tries to contend with whether the outlaw is on his side or waiting for the moment to kill him. The shootout in the streets of Contention is utterly glorious and a treat for both action and Western fans.
‘The Quick and the Dead’ (1995)
An Ensemble Quick-Draw Tournament
IMDb: 6.5/10 | Letterboxd: 3.5/5
A mysterious gunslinger known as The Lady (Sharon Stone) rides into Redemption to enter a winner-take-all quick-draw tournament run by the corrupt John Herod (Gene Hackman). Yet she’s not there for the prize money. Years earlier, Herod’s gang lynched her father, the town marshal; a young Ellen was forced into a shooting situation involving three attempts to save him, and the incident left her carrying survivor’s guilt. The tournament is her ticket to get close enough to exact her revenge.
Sam Raimi’s often-overlooked Western exudes comic-book energy in its action and build-up, and it has more campy dialogue than others here. While that puts it further from more ‘traditional’ Westerns, it is ideal for those looking for pure entertainment, with a simple story and clear-cut morality. The cast is something else, featuring a young Leonardo DiCaprio and a pre-super-stardom Russell Crowe among the competitors. Also, what ’80s or ’90s kid doesn’t like the tournament setup that fueled much of the genre during those eras?
‘The Harder They Fall’ (2021)
An All-Black Cast Reclaims the Genre’s Real History
IMDb: 6.6/10 | Letterboxd: 3.5/5
Outlaw Nat Love (Jonathan Majors), who robs other outlaws rather than banks, has spent years chasing down the gang responsible for killing his parents. When their leader, Rufus Buck (Idris Elba), gets sprung from a prison transport, Love assembles his own crew. Along with sharpshooter Stagecoach Mary (Zazie Beetz) and legendary lawman Bass Reeves (Delroy Lindo), they head out to end Buck and his crew.
The shootouts flow with rhythm and color, making this one of the most polished action films on this list. Director Jeymes Samuel’s choice to cast historical Black cowboys and outlaws, mixing historical figures and fictionalized storytelling, gives the production a distinct voice while staying true to the genre. The Harder They Fall also nails its climax with a gun battle carried out across multiple locations.
‘The Good, the Bad, the Weird’ (2008)
An Action-Packed Homage
IMDb: 7.2/10 | Letterboxd: 3.7/5
A bounty hunter called “the Good” (Jung Woo-sung), a hitman called “the Bad” (Lee Byung-hun), and a train robber called “the Weird” (Song Kang-ho) fight over a treasure map in 1930s Manchuria. Unlike the film it pays homage to in name, this is a large-scale, fast race, as bandits, the Japanese army, and Manchurian rebels also begin to take chase.
The Good, the Bad, the Weird will quickly win over action fans, with iconic, explosive scenes like the horseback-and-motorcycle chase sequence. Director Kim Jee-woon’s film doesn’t let up from the beginning, bringing almost slapstick-style chaos to a Western that is big on spectacle and personalities. If you are set on getting as much action as possible out of a Western, The Good, the Bad, the Weird should be your first choice here.
