Film critic William Smith has compiled a list for Collider naming ten action thrillers he considers flawless from start to finish, distinguishing "action thrillers" from action films more broadly by their focus on tension and vulnerable, human protagonists rather than invincible heroes. The piece is a curated, opinion-based ranking rather than a news report, reflecting the writer's personal criteria for what makes an action film genuinely thrilling.

Among the films highlighted are Steven Spielberg's 1971 debut feature "Duel", a tense road thriller about a salesman terrorised by a menacing lorry driver, and Walter Hill's 1978 neo-noir "The Driver", a minimalist getaway-driver thriller starring Ryan O'Neal that was poorly received on release but has since been reassessed as influential. The full list runs to ten films in total, each chosen for combining sustained tension with strong action set pieces throughout.