1. "Mad Max: Fury Road"

Because how they exceeded the hype and made one of the best action movies of all time with the legacy of this franchise at stake is an outright miracle. Because George Miller still has the same precision and energy he did making The Road Warrior is so astounding it’s unfair. Because not since Ellen Ripley has a female genre character been as stoic and merciless as Furiosa. Because it’s the fastest two hours I’ve spent in a theater this year. Because its message and action are so powerful in its catharsis that it may very well end up my favorite film of 2015, if not the decade.

 

2. "Inside Out"

Because anyone who thinks Pixar bankrupted on sequels is gravely wrong. Because I can’t remember the last time I cried so hard watching a film. Because its humanism is singular and its optimism is unwavering.

 

3. "The Gift"

Because Joel Edgerton is a great actor and he’s an even better director. Because against-type Jason Bateman is a bliss. Because it has the same disturbingly emotional sucker-punch feeling of Prisoners and Gone Girl. Because if this was made in the 90’s, half of the film would be reshot, and we have the courage to accept how flawed people can be. Because Wendell Pierce is in it.

 

4. "Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation"

Because Tom Cruise has cemented himself as America’s answer to Jackie Chan in his physicality. Because Christopher McQuarrie is symphonic at directing action that’s focused and relentlessly paced and offered. Because it’s proof that recasting and rewriting a 20-year-old franchise isn’t necessary. Because more important to any of the great cast, Ving Rhames is formally back in IMF.

 

5. "Spy" and "Terminator Genisys"

Spy: Because Melissa McCarthy is a more convincing action star than an innumerous amount of blank slates the genre gets these days. Because this is her Beverly Hills Cop moment. Because Jason Statham is a personification of every delusional story Steven Seagal has ever told about being in the CIA. Because Paul Feig made an action-comedy that has a very real ambience of danger and violence while also providing satirical jabs. Because Allison Janney should just be in everything. Because Jude Law has his douchey American I Heart Huckabees accent.

 

"Terminator Genisys": Because everyone who rallied against its existence was wrong. Because screw you, it’s endlessly entertaining. Because it’s the first time since Cameron left the franchise that there’s been a soul in this mythology. Because Arnold reacquaints himself with the role with grace.