Some of the most iconic and greatest movies in the history of cinema has been made with the adventure genre. Fans have been enjoying this genre for a long time, courtesy of their dynamic storytelling and characters. Let’s get to the list of the best adventure movies of all time.
This genre has been so popular that many of the adventure movies receive reboots and sequels, with a lot of them coming in the next few years. Since this kind of movies usually take place in the past or a new, unusual world, the stories they deliver have become timeless for the audiences. Moreover, when it is mixed with action sequences, an adventure movie has a potentially great story. TechTrends, therefore, put together a list of the best must-see adventure movies of all time, packing a world of such thrills. They are ordered based on their ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. In addition, the list also has the IMDb ratings. Keep reading to find out which one your favorite is.
Best Adventure Movies of All Time
Mixing adventure and action can give you a quite interesting and special movie. These are the few best adventure movies of all time, with entertaining plots. They are the ultimate escape as you can leave your life behind and escape to another place. Here are the best adventure movies of all time.
11. Interstellar 2014
- Genre: Sci-fi/Adventure
- Director: Christopher Nolan
- Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Timothee Chalamet, Anne Hathaway, Mackenzie Foy, Michael Caine, Matt Damon
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 72%, IMDb 8.6
Interstellar is a space epic directed by Christopher Nolan. Moreover, the imagery is breathtaking to look at, and the scientific theories are brought to life in the movie. Matthew McConaughey is the main character of the movie, and he is an astronaut. He is sent into space to find a new planet that can be suitable for sustaining human life. Jessica Chastain plays her daughter’s role as an adult. She is able to accomplish a lot, notwithstanding the fact that her father left them when she was a child to go on a mission through a wormhole in space. Her character is Murphy Cooper, who works for the NASA project, but she is dealing with unspeakable grief of his father’s departure. This sci-fi film has earned a lot of critical acclaim and became one of the best adventure movies of all time.
Read more: Best Timothee Chalamet Movies of All Time
10. Dune 2021
- Genre: Sci-fi/Adventure
- Director: Denis Villeneuve
- Stars: Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 83%, IMDb 8
One of the best adventure movies of all time and the most recent one Timothee Chalamet starred in as the lead actor is the movie Dune. Aside from the eye-catching cinematography, this movie has been named the best sci-fi film in years. One of the reasons behind it is how intense and layered Chalamet’s performance was. In the movie, which is based on Frank Herbert’s fiction novel, he plays the role of Paul Atreides, who is the heir to a powerful house in space that becomes the victim of a series of unfortunate political challenges and betrayal. Paul is a gifted and brilliant man, whose destiny is beyond his understanding. He then realizes that he has to travel to one of the most dangerous planets for his people and family.
It is a masterpiece visually with amazing shots of the landscapes and breathtaking visual effects. Don’t miss this as it is one of the best must-see adventure movies ever.
Read more: Best Sci-fi Movies of 2022
9. King Kong 2005
- Genre: Fantasy/Adventure
- Director: Peter Jackson
- Stars: Peter Jackson, Jack Black, Naomi Watts, Andy Serkis, Adrien Brody
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 84%, IMDb 7.2
Another one of the best adventure movies of all time is King Kong. This is Peter Jackson trying to remake the 1993 classic, which follows director Carl Denham, played by Jack Black. He and his crew are on a journey from NYC to the Skull Island in order to film a new film. Playwright Jack Driscoll and actress Ann Darrow, played by Adrien Brody and Naomi Watts, respectively, are his accompany. He gets whisked awat by the ape named Kong. They come across dinosaurs and other monsters since they are going to rescue Ann. However, the actress and her simian captor apparently form a bond with one another. We highly recommend this as one of the best adventure movies of all time. Don’t miss it.
8. Life of Pi 2012
- Genre: Drama/Adventure
- Director: Ang Lee
- Stars: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Gautam Belur, Tabu, Vibish Sivakumar, Gérard Depardieu
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 86%, IMDb 7.9
Santosh and Gita Patel decide to sell their zoo in India in order to movie to Canada and board a freighter with the rest of the animals and their sons. They come across a tragedy when a horrible storm sinks their ship, with the Patels’ teenage son, Pi, played by Suraj Sharma, being the only survivor. However, he is not alone as there is a fearsome Bengal Tiger is with him on the lifeboat, finding refuge. Weeks go by and they turn into months, with the two, Pi and the tiger, learning to trust one another to be able to survive. Life of Pi is one of the best adventure movies of all time.
Read more: Best Drama Movies of All Time
7. The Avengers 2012
- Genre: Adventure/Action
- Director: Joss Whedon
- Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Stan Lee, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 91%, IMDb 8
Another one of the greatest and best Robert adventure movies of all time is The Avengers. In this movie, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D, Nick Fury, recruits superheroes to try and fight Loki when he gets access to the unlimited power of the energy cube. The Avengers is also one of the best Marvel movies, bringing together the most iconic superheroes.
Downey Jr. plays the character Stark quite effortlessly, with his charm and charisma shining brightly. The movie was quite a success, earning more than $1.5 billion worldwide. Moreover, it got many awards and nominations. There were other sequels released after the first one was very successful.
Read more: Best Robert Downey Jr. Movies of All Time
6. Jurassic Park 1993
- Genre: Sci-fi/Adventure
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Stars: Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, Ariana Richards, Richard Attenborough
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 91%, IMDb 8.2
The sixth one of the best adventure movies of all time is Jurassic Park, which is a massive Steven Spielberg blockbuster. The movie revolves around paleontologists Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler and Mathematician Ian Malcolm, portrayed by Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum, respectively. They tour the island theme park that has dinosaurs made from prehistoric DNA. John Hammond, the mastermind of the park, makes sure that the whole thing is safe. However, they find out that it is anything buy safe as the predators break free and start to hunt.
Read more: Best Horror Movies of All Time
5. Wonder Woman 2017
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Director: Patty Jenkins
- Stars: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Connie Nielsen
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 93%, IMDb 7.4
Wonder woman goes all the way to show what makes a protagonist a hero and then tests that heroism. The movie begins with Wonder Woman, played by Gal Gadot, thinking about mankind in the abstract, but because of her relationship with Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) and the horrors of war, she realizes what she is supposed to fight for. Her innocence is pushed to the limits in the movie, which wants her to see that although Ares might bear the war’s responsibility, human weaknesses also play a role. However, she has to choose to save mankind anyway. It is an extremely uplifting and mature message. Moreover, there are many explorations of the horror of war. Wonder Woman is considered as one of the best Gal Gadot movies of all time. We strongly recommend it.
Read more: Best Gal Gadot Movies of All Time
4. Black Panther 2018
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Director: Ryan Coogler
- Stars: Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o, Michael B. Jordan, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 96%, IMDb 7.3
It is not surprising that Black Panther is so high on the list as it made serious waves in the movie world. Chadwick Boseman played his most well-known character Black Panther in this movie and starred opposite Michael B. Jordan’s villain. Black Panther is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, one of the best adventure movies of all time. Boseman became an icon, and the director of the movie paid his tribute to the late actor saying that Boseman wanted Wakandans to speak the native African language of Xhosa, and he was keen on playing his role with an African accent. The movie is quite entertaining and we highly recommend it.
Read more: Best Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies of All Time
3. Mad Max: Fury Road 2015
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Director: George Miller
- Stars: Charlize Theron, Tom Hardy, Nicholas Hoult, Mel Gibson, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Zoë Kravitz, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Abbey Lee, Courtney Eaton
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 97%, IMDb 8.1
Mad Max: Fury Road has won six Academy Awards and is one of the best adventure movies of all time. If our list was in the order of being the best, this movie was definitely either the first or the second best movie Theron has played in, with the other impressive movie being Monster. She plays the role of a war captain who turns against her leader and flees with his five wives, one of who is pregnant. As Imperator Furiosa, one of her most badass characters, she leads a mission to go to her childhood homeland. In her two-hour chase sequence, she aligns with another rebel named Max Rockatansky, played by Tom Hardy. Theron is undeniably amazing in this movie, and she shaved her head for this role. Theron got a whole new career as an action hero after playing in this movie.
Read more: Best Charlize Theron Movies of All Time
2. Pirates of the Caribbean (2003, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2017)
- Genre: Adventure/Action/Comedy/Fantasy
- Director: Gore Verbinski, Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg, Rob Marshall
- Stars: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush
One of the greatest adventure movies of all time is Pirates of the Caribbean series, starring Johnny Depp. Depp literally captured lightning in a bottle when he decided to model his pirate Jack Sparrow. Disney executives thought Depp’s bold approach to be a flop if continued. However, it was far from a flop, with Depp’s now iconic pirate being in the center of a five-film franchise. For the first film in the series called “The Curse of the Black Pearl”, Depp received the Best Actor award and was nominated for the Oscar and the Golden Globe.
Captain Jack Sparrow, portrayed by Johnny Depp, acts in a sweeping action-adventure story that takes place in an era when villainous pirates scavenged the Caribbean seas. These series of movies are indeed some of the best Johnny Depp movies ever.
Read more: Best Action Movies of 2022
1. The Lord of the Rings 2001 – 2003
- Genre: Fantasy/Adventure
- Director: Peter Jackson
- Star: Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Cate Blanchett, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom
Peter Jackson’s incredible trilogy is the greatest fantasy film of all time. The sets and costumes are intricate, battle scenes are vast, the score is brilliant, and the acting is phenomenal. This beloved series from J. R. R. Tolkein is a once in a lifetime film series. This fantasy movie rules them all, and it is an adaptation of one of the best fantasy novel series ever. The writers at IndieWire believe: “Jackson’s approach to ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is so unforgettable: He takes fantasy and grounds it on such a human level and from such a human perspective that, suddenly, magical creatures and beasts feel tangible to the viewer.”
Read more: Best Fantasy Movies of All Time