Top 10 Movie Motorcycle Chases

Top 10 Movie Motorcycle Chases

Also in:

Top 10 On-Foot Movie Chases

Try to keep up, because this one’s speeding by fast. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Motorcycle Chases in movies. For this list, we’re taking a look at pulse pounding motorcycle chases that leave us on the edge of our seats. These high-intensity, lightning quick runs are full of some of the wildest stunts and slickest getaways. Whether running from Nazis or aggressive agents, these chases pack a two-wheeling punch.

#10: Jackie’s Motorbike Escape “Armour of God II: Operation Condor” (1991)

Also in:

Top 20 Greatest Jackie Chan Stunts

In this early ‘90s action sequel, Jackie Chan plays a treasure hunter named “Jackie” hired to recover long-lost gold from the Sahara desert. It seems a shady group of individuals is also interested in the gold, if not just aggressively following Jackie during his quest. It culminates in a chase where Jackie has to hop on a motorcycle and flee for his life as several black cars pursue him through the city streets. As he nimbly evades capture, it’s easy to see how the motorbike has the advantage.

This sequel to the 1980s hit picks up where the original left off. And while the graphics may have changed, the game is still the same. “Tron: Legacy” follows Sam Flynn, Kevin Flynn’s son and heir to the ENCOM fortune, as he tries to discover what happened to his missing father. This lands Sam smack dab in the middle of a light cycle race. Similar to the first film but with a CGI-heavy shot, Sam navigates a dangerous motorcycle game that utilizes walls of light as a weapon. It doesn’t get much cooler or slicker than this.

Arguably one of the best scenes in the entire film, this chase sequence in the “Matrix” follow-up finds Morpheus, Trinity, and the Keymaker on the run. Even in the Matrix, there’s highway traffic, which makes evading both the agents and the deadly Twins hot on their tail not so easy. While Morpheus dispatches of the dynamic murdering duo, Trinity and the Keymaker commandeer a motorcycle strapped to the top of an eighteen-wheeler for their escape. And what an escape it is! As the pair deftly weaves in and out of traffic with the agents careening through cars behind them, it is everything you want a motorcycle chase to be.

#7: Mid-air Collision “Mission: Impossible II” (2000)

Also in:

Top 22 Movie Car Chases of Each Year (2000 - 2021)

Tom Cruise has made an entire career of running from things as quickly as possible onscreen, so a high-speed motorcycle chase is par for the course. In this film, he reprises his role as super secret spy agent Ethan Hunt, and this time around, he must recover a deadly virus before it falls into the wrong hands. Naturally, the bad guys want to stop him from doing so, and it leads to a dangerous motorcycle chase with Hunt on the run from the lead villain. They swerve in and out and around cars and trucks before finally facing off in a game of motorcycle chicken that ends in a mid-air embrace.

It’s in no way surprising that everyone’s favorite British spy frequently finds himself on the run from people trying to kill him. This is occasionally complicated by the fact that he has company, and in this late ‘90s installment in the “007” franchise, James Bond finds himself literally tied to a beautiful woman. More specifically, he’s inconveniently handcuffed to Michelle Yeoh’s character in a way that makes their motorcycle escape a little tricky. Normally, having two people attempt to operate one motorcycle while trying to avoid machine gun fire could prove a little difficult. But since this is Bond we’re talking about, he just makes motorcycle parkour look easy.

Nothing screams “father-son bonding” like a motorcycle chase with murderous Nazis. In this 3rd installment of the “Indiana Jones” franchise, Sean Connery joins Harrison Ford as Indy’s estranged father on a hunt for the Holy Grail. When Henry Jones, Sr. finds himself tangled up with some dangerous people, his son sets out save his life - but not before also getting caught up in the Grail hunt. This leads up to a motorcycle chase that features Jones Sr. sitting primly in a sidecar while his son attempts to elude the Nazi squadron hot on their heels.

There’s nothing like a motorcycle chase through the streets of Manila to test your skill set. Continuing the “Bourne” series, this fourth installment follows Aaron Cross, a genetically modified black ops agent on the run for his life from the U.S. government. He links up with a doctor who can help him locate the meds he needs to maintain his altered state, but their mission is not without its complications. When they break into a lab to locate the meds, security leads them on a dangerous motorcycle chase that leaves the streets and heads up stairs, down sidewalks, and even on staircase railings.

#3: Bond’s Rooftop Motorcycle Run “Skyfall” (2012)

Also in:

Top 20 Greatest James Bond Moments of All Time

It wouldn’t be a Bond movie if we didn’t get to see a high-speed chase of some sort, and this one has our motors running right from the start. Daniel Craig is the dashing MI6 agent who returns from obscurity to thwart an assassination attempt. The adventure begins when his target straddles a motorbike in Istanbul, resulting in Bond stealing one for himself. The architecture of the city serves as an obstacle course as Bond gives chase, following his adversary through tunnels, across narrow rooftops, and through marketplace windows.

Most boys don’t have to worry about being assassinated by a homicidal robot sent from the future to kill them, but John Connor isn’t your average boy. As an adult, he’s destined to lead the resistance against the machines in a future war, so the future machines want him dead. They dispatch another killing machine, the T-1000, to target him as a child, and it makes no delay in its efforts. As John attempts to flee on a motorcycle, the T-1000 pursues him in an 18-wheeler through an aqueduct as the T-800, now John’s protector, follows behind on his own chopper. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:- - Tight Squeeze “Escape to Athena” (1979) - Let ‘Em Have It “Knight and Day” (2010) - Ski Chase “For Your Eyes Only” (1981) - Fire and More “Hard Target” (1993) - Chased by the Cops “First Blood” (1982)

#1: Last Dash for Freedom “The Great Escape” (1963)

Also in:

Top 10 Disney Movie Moments That Would Make Great Rides

Based on a true story, this film tells the tale of an escape attempt from a POW camp in Nazi Germany. Undertaken by most of the prisoners in the camp, the grand scheme has them devise ways not only to escape the camp itself, but also to make their way out of Germany entirely. After successfully tunneling their way out of the camp, many of the men are recaptured while trying to find their way to safety. But Captain Virgil Hilts, played by Steve McQueen, decides to go on a balls-to-the-wall, cross-country motorcycle chase against the Nazis as he speeds to the German-Swiss border. The result is a chase that reaches a fever pitch as he goes all out on a daredevil jump attempt over a barbed wire fence for his freedom. Do you agree with our list? What do you think is the best movie motorcycle chase? For more entertaining Top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.