Action films based on actual events

Braveheart is a 1995 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Mel Gibson, who portrays Scottish warrior William Wallace in the First War of Scottish Independence against King Edward I of England. The film also stars Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Catherine McCormack and Angus Macfadyen. The story is inspired by Blind Harry's 15th century epic poem The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace and was adapted for the screen by Randall Wallace.

Shootout at Wadala is a 2013 Indian action-crime film written and directed by Sanjay Gupta. The film stars Anil Kapoor, John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee, Tusshar Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut and Sonu Sood. It is a prequel to the 2007 film Shootout at Lokhandwala. In the film, Manya, a diligent student, lands in prison for killing a gangster who attacked his brother, Bhargav, who eventually dies. Soon, Manya escapes jail and forms his own gang to seek revenge.

Pain & Gain is a 2013 American action comedy film, directed by Michael Bay and written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. It is loosely based on a 1999 series of Miami New Times articles by Pete Collins about the activities of the Sun Gym gang, a group of bodybuilding ex-convicts convicted of kidnapping, extortion, torture, and murder in Miami in the mid-1990s. It stars Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, and Anthony Mackie. The title is a play on the fitness adage "no pain, no gain".

Lawless is a 2012 American crime drama film directed by John Hillcoat. The screenplay, by Australian singer-screenwriter Nick Cave, is based on Matt Bondurant's historical novel The Wettest County in the World (2008). The film stars Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, and Guy Pearce.

Tombstone is a 1993 American Western film directed by George P. Cosmatos, written by Kevin Jarre (who was also the original director, but was replaced early in production), and starring Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer, with Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn, and Dana Delany in supporting roles, as well as narration by Robert Mitchum.

Shootout at Lokhandwala is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed and co-written by Apoorva Lakhia and co-written and co-produced by Sanjay Gupta, with Ekta Kapoor serving as producer and Suresh Nair serving as writer. Based on the 1991 Lokhandwala Complex shootout, a real-life gun battle between gangsters and the Mumbai Police, it stars Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, Vivek Oberoi, Arbaaz Khan, Tusshar Kapoor, Rohit Roy, Aditya Lakhia, and Shabbir Ahluwalia in pivotal roles.

Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set in 1944 in Normandy, France, during World War II, it follows a group of soldiers, led by Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks), on a mission to locate Private James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon) and bring him home safely after his three brothers have been killed in action. The cast also includes Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore, Barry Pepper, Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Adam Goldberg and Jeremy Davies.

Public Enemies is a 2009 American biographical crime drama film directed by Michael Mann, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ronan Bennett and Ann Biderman. It is an adaptation of Bryan Burrough's 2004 non-fiction book Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933–34. Set during the Great Depression, the film chronicles the final years of the notorious bank robber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) as he is pursued by FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale), Dillinger's relationship with Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard), as well as Purvis' pursuit of Dillinger's associates and fellow criminals John "Red" Hamilton (Jason Clarke), Homer Van Meter (Stephen Dorff), Harry Pierpont (David Wenham), and Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham).

Kingdom of Heaven is a 2005 epic historical drama film directed and produced by Ridley Scott and written by William Monahan. It features an ensemble cast including Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, Marton Csokas, and Liam Neeson.

Alexander is a 2004 epic historical drama film based on the life of the ancient Macedonian general and king Alexander the Great. It was co-written and directed by Oliver Stone and starred Colin Farrell. The film's original screenplay was derived in part from the book Alexander the Great, published in 1973 by the University of Oxford historian Robin Lane Fox. After release, while it performed well in Europe, the American critical reaction was negative. It grossed $167 million worldwide against a $155 million budget, thus making it a commercial failure.