There's nothing like a good adventure film, with its suspense, action, and often faraway places.
Rotten Tomatoes has compiled the reviews, and come up with the following movies as some of the best modern adventure stories.
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"Up" (2009)
The animated film "Up" tells the story of an adventure decades in the making as Carl (Edward Asner), at age 78, finally fulfills the lifelong dream he shared with his now deceased wife Ellie. A retired balloon salesman, Carl attaches dozens of helium balloons to his house to make it fly. The ensuing adventure, which includes the young accidental stowaway Russell (Jordan Nagai), heads to the wilds of Venezuela where the pair battles with a renowned adventurer gone bad.
While the action is exciting, there is a deeper story unfolding. As
Roger Ebert pointed out in his review of this modern adventure movie, "there are stakes here, and personalities involved, and two old men battling for meaning in their lives. And a kid who, for once, isn't smarter than all the adults."
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" (2011)
In this final installment of the Harry Potter series, the war between good and evil culminates with a final epic battle between Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). Hogwarts is in ruins, and Harry and friends continue their race to destroy the horcruxes that would enable Voldemort to live forever.
Describing the film as "entertaining, beguiling, charming and exciting," Peter Bradshaw at
The Guardian wrote, "It reminded me of the thrill I felt on seeing the very first one, 10 years ago. And Radcliffe's Harry Potter has emerged as a complex, confident, vulnerable, courageous character - most likeable, sadly, at the point where we must leave him forever."
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"WALL-E" (2008)
Another animated adventure, "WALL-E" takes us 700 years into the future to an earth overrun with waste where we meet a robot programmed to clean up the mess. When the humans exiled in space send a new robot, EVE (Elissa Knight), to look for signs of plant life, WALL-E (Ben Burtt) finds new meaning for his existence. EVE returns to space with WALL-E and his small plant, a robot rebellion ensues, and eventually the humans return home to repair their damage.
In his review of this modern adventure movie, Ebert reflected on the ideas behind the movie's "enchanted storytelling," stating that, "it involves a little work on the part of the audience, and a little thought, and might be especially stimulating to younger viewers."
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