The best films with GOOD special effects
by troyb461330615 | created - 29 Aug 2011 | updated - 29 Aug 2011 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. 2012 (I) (2009)
PG-13 | 158 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A frustrated writer struggles to keep his family alive when a series of global catastrophes threatens to annihilate mankind.
Director: Roland Emmerich | Stars: John Cusack, Thandiwe Newton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet
Votes: 397,483 | Gross: $166.11M
Supervolcano
2. Transformers (2007)
PG-13 | 144 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
An ancient struggle between two Cybertronian races, the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, comes to Earth, with a clue to the ultimate power held by a teenager.
Director: Michael Bay | Stars: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson
Votes: 674,209 | Gross: $319.25M
End battle
3. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
PG-13 | 149 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Sam Witwicky leaves the Autobots behind for a normal life. But when his mind is filled with cryptic symbols, the Decepticons target him and he is dragged back into the Transformers' war.
Director: Michael Bay | Stars: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson
Votes: 428,079 | Gross: $402.11M
End battle
4. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
PG-13 | 154 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
The Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the moon, and race against the Decepticons to reach it and to learn its secrets.
Director: Michael Bay | Stars: Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Tyrese Gibson, Josh Duhamel
Votes: 431,717 | Gross: $352.39M
Chicago
5. Source Code (2011)
PG-13 | 93 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
A soldier wakes up in someone else's body and discovers he's part of an experimental government program to find the bomber of a commuter train within 8 minutes.
Director: Duncan Jones | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright
Votes: 549,286 | Gross: $54.71M
Train explosion
6. Star Trek (2009)
PG-13 | 127 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
The brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father's legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one planet at a time.
Director: J.J. Abrams | Stars: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Leonard Nimoy
Votes: 619,984 | Gross: $257.73M
The super drill....ice planet....opening sequence
7. Avatar (2009)
PG-13 | 162 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A paraplegic Marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez
Votes: 1,385,424 | Gross: $760.51M
'Nuff said
8. The Dark Knight (2008)
PG-13 | 152 min | Action, Crime, Drama
When the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine
Votes: 2,867,115 | Gross: $534.86M
Hospital explosion
9. The Expendables (2010)
R | 103 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A CIA operative hires a team of mercenaries to eliminate a Latin dictator and a renegade CIA agent.
Director: Sylvester Stallone | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren
Votes: 364,445 | Gross: $103.07M
Helicopter explosion and pier explosion
10. Apocalypse Now (1979)
R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, War
A U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest
Votes: 709,295 | Gross: $83.47M
Treeline explosion
11. Tropic Thunder (2008)
R | 107 min | Action, Comedy, War
Through a series of freak occurrences, a group of actors shooting a big-budget war movie are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying.
Director: Ben Stiller | Stars: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Kahn
Votes: 447,525 | Gross: $110.52M
See Apocalypse Now
12. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
PG | 152 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
An orphaned boy enrolls in a school of wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world.
Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Harris
Votes: 855,203 | Gross: $317.58M
13. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
PG | 161 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Harry Potter lives his second year at Hogwarts with Ron and Hermione when a message on the wall announces that the legendary Chamber of Secrets has been opened. The trio soon realize that, to save the school, it will take a lot of courage.
Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Harris
Votes: 691,631 | Gross: $261.99M
14. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
PG | 142 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Harry Potter, Ron and Hermione return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their third year of study, where they delve into the mystery surrounding an escaped prisoner who poses a dangerous threat to the young wizard.
Director: Alfonso Cuarón | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Richard Griffiths
Votes: 690,837 | Gross: $249.36M
15. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
PG-13 | 157 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Harry Potter finds himself competing in a hazardous tournament between rival schools of magic, but he is distracted by recurring nightmares.
Director: Mike Newell | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Eric Sykes
Votes: 680,817 | Gross: $290.01M
16. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
PG-13 | 138 min | Action, Adventure, Family
With their warning about Lord Voldemort's return scoffed at, Harry and Dumbledore are targeted by the Wizard authorities as an authoritarian bureaucrat slowly seizes power at Hogwarts.
Director: David Yates | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Brendan Gleeson
Votes: 632,519 | Gross: $292.00M
17. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
PG | 153 min | Action, Adventure, Family
As Harry Potter begins his sixth year at Hogwarts, he discovers an old book marked as "the property of the Half-Blood Prince" and begins to learn more about Lord Voldemort's dark past.
Director: David Yates | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon
Votes: 594,924 | Gross: $301.96M
18. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
PG-13 | 146 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
As Harry, Ron and Hermione race against time and evil to destroy the Horcruxes, they uncover the existence of the three most powerful objects in the wizarding world: the Deathly Hallows.
Director: David Yates | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Bill Nighy
Votes: 598,485 | Gross: $295.98M
19. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
PG-13 | 130 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Harry, Ron, and Hermione search for Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes in their effort to destroy the Dark Lord as the final battle rages on at Hogwarts.
Director: David Yates | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon
Votes: 946,968 | Gross: $381.01M
20. Thor (2011)
PG-13 | 115 min | Action, Fantasy
The powerful but arrogant god Thor is cast out of Asgard to live amongst humans in Midgard (Earth), where he soon becomes one of their finest defenders.
Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston
Votes: 899,464 | Gross: $181.03M
Rainbow bridge.....The destroyer
21. Iron Man (2008)
PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
After being held captive in an Afghan cave, billionaire engineer Tony Stark creates a unique weaponized suit of armor to fight evil.
Director: Jon Favreau | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges
Votes: 1,123,643 | Gross: $318.41M
Tony Stark industries explosion
22. Iron Man 2 (2010)
PG-13 | 124 min | Action, Sci-Fi
With the world now aware of his identity as Iron Man, Tony Stark must contend with both his declining health and a vengeful mad man with ties to his father's legacy.
Director: Jon Favreau | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle
Votes: 867,686 | Gross: $312.43M
Monaco racetrack
23. Superman Returns (2006)
PG-13 | 154 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Superman returns to Earth after spending five years in space examining his homeworld Krypton. But he finds things have changed while he was gone, and he must once again prove himself important to the world.
Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Brandon Routh, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, James Marsden
Votes: 291,238 | Gross: $200.08M
Plane malfunction
24. The A-Team (2010)
PG-13 | 117 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
A group of Iraq War veterans look to clear their name with the U.S. Military, who suspect the four men of committing a crime for which they were framed.
Director: Joe Carnahan | Stars: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley, Jessica Biel
Votes: 268,838 | Gross: $77.22M
Ship at the end
25. Black Hawk Down (2001)
R | 144 min | Action, Drama, History
The story of 160 elite U.S. soldiers who dropped into Mogadishu in October 1993 to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord, but found themselves in a desperate battle with a large force of heavily armed Somalis.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Eric Bana
Votes: 423,151 | Gross: $108.64M
Entire war zone
26. The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
PG-13 | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Jack Hall, paleoclimatologist, must make a daring trek from Washington, D.C. to New York City to reach his son, trapped in the cross-hairs of a sudden international storm which plunges the planet into a new Ice Age.
Director: Roland Emmerich | Stars: Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Emmy Rossum, Dash Mihok
Votes: 475,637 | Gross: $186.74M
Tornado's in Hollywood
27. The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
PG-13 | 104 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
A remake of the 1951 classic science fiction film about an alien visitor and his giant robot counterpart who visit Earth.
Director: Scott Derrickson | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Kathy Bates, Jaden Smith
Votes: 178,434 | Gross: $79.37M
Gort
28. Death Race (2008)
R | 105 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Ex-con Jensen Ames is forced by the warden of a notorious prison to compete in our post-industrial world's most popular sport: a car race in which inmates must brutalize and kill one another on the road to victory.
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson | Stars: Jason Statham, Joan Allen, Tyrese Gibson, Ian McShane
Votes: 218,772 | Gross: $36.32M
Car crashes
29. Hancock (2008)
PG-13 | 92 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
Hancock is a superhero whose ill-considered behavior regularly causes damage in the millions. He changes when the person he saves helps him improve his public image.
Director: Peter Berg | Stars: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman, Jae Head
Votes: 511,229 | Gross: $227.95M
When he stops the train
30. Independence Day (1996)
PG-13 | 145 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
The aliens are coming and their goal is to invade and destroy Earth. Fighting superior technology, mankind's best weapon is the will to survive.
Director: Roland Emmerich | Stars: Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell
Votes: 605,051 | Gross: $306.17M
The White House
31. Jurassic Park (1993)
PG-13 | 127 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A pragmatic paleontologist touring an almost complete theme park on an island in Central America is tasked with protecting a couple of kids after a power failure causes the park's cloned dinosaurs to run loose.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough
Votes: 1,065,711 | Gross: $402.45M
Tyrannosaurus-Rex
32. King Kong (2005)
PG-13 | 187 min | Action, Adventure, Romance
A greedy film producer assembles a team of moviemakers and sets out for the infamous Skull Island, where they find more than just cannibalistic natives.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann
Votes: 446,372 | Gross: $218.08M
On Kong's island
33. Knowing (2009)
PG-13 | 121 min | Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi
M.I.T. professor John Koestler links a mysterious list of numbers from a time capsule to past and future disasters and sets out to prevent the ultimate catastrophe.
Director: Alex Proyas | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Chandler Canterbury, Rose Byrne, Lara Robinson
Votes: 247,363 | Gross: $79.96M
Plane, Train and the end of the world
34. Next (2007)
PG-13 | 96 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A Las Vegas magician who can see into the future is pursued by FBI agents seeking to use his abilities to prevent a nuclear terrorist attack.
Director: Lee Tamahori | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel, Thomas Kretschmann
Votes: 166,281 | Gross: $18.21M
Bomb going off
35. Paul (2011)
R | 104 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Two English comic book geeks traveling across the U.S. encounter an alien outside Area 51.
Director: Greg Mottola | Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen, Mia Stallard
Votes: 265,943 | Gross: $37.41M
Paul and house explosion
36. Skyline (2010)
PG-13 | 92 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Strange lights descend on the city of Los Angeles, drawing people outside like moths to a flame where an extraterrestrial force threatens to swallow the entire human population off the face of the Earth.
Directors: Colin Strause, Greg Strause | Stars: Eric Balfour, Donald Faison, Scottie Thompson, Brittany Daniel
Votes: 92,146 | Gross: $21.37M
Helicopter crash
37. Battle Los Angeles (2011)
PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A squad of U.S. Marines becomes the last line of defense against a global invasion.
Director: Jonathan Liebesman | Stars: Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan, Ramón Rodríguez
Votes: 185,096 | Gross: $83.55M
Entire film pretty much
38. Terminator Salvation (2009)
PG-13 | 115 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In 2018, a mysterious new weapon in the war against the machines, half-human and half-machine, comes to John Connor on the eve of a resistance attack on Skynet. But whose side is he on, and can he be trusted?
Director: McG | Stars: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood
Votes: 377,053 | Gross: $125.32M
Nuke at end
39. Planet Terror (2007)
R | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Horror
After an experimental bio-weapon is released, turning thousands into zombie-like creatures, it's up to a rag-tag group of survivors to stop the infected and those behind its release.
Director: Robert Rodriguez | Stars: Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodríguez, Josh Brolin, Marley Shelton
Votes: 223,069
The gory makeup
40. The Other Guys (2010)
PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Two mismatched New York City detectives seize an opportunity to step up like the city's top cops, whom they idolize, only things don't quite go as planned.
Director: Adam McKay | Stars: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Derek Jeter, Eva Mendes
Votes: 288,074 | Gross: $119.22M
The opening sequence
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