The adrenaline fuel of a fist fight, car chase, or mass warfare feeds audiences with infectious fervor. These are the 25 greatest action films of all-time.
25. Heat
Original Release — December 15, 1995
Though not an action film in totality, Michael Mann’s crime epic not only brought together acting legends Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, but gave its audiences one of the greatest shootouts in the history of action filmmaking. When De Niro’s master thief plunders a bank, Pacino’s detective is immediately on his tail. As the robbery becomes more and more botched, the firefight spills out onto the streets of Los Angeles.
Pitch perfect sound design lets the bullets ring in your ear, the sound waves ricocheting off the downtown skyscrapers. Just like any great action scene, the battle builds upon itself — just as more officers show up, De Niro’s gang pulls out bigger and more dangerous weapons. Escalation is a motif long forgotten in Hollywood — most action films are now content to let the same bullet duel rage back and forth without a chance in stakes.
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24. Ben-Hur
Original Release — January 29, 1960
Similar to the aforementioned Heat, Judah Ben-Hur’s battle for revenge against former friend and Roman commander Messala is not strictly all action, but culminates in one of cinema’s most astonishing sequences ever committed to film — the Judean chariot race. The ten-minute action scene took three months to shoot and a full year to plan — and the results are astonishing.
While most films today would rely on frantic editing and excessive CGI, Ben-Hur’s preparation was able to account for and capture every on-screen element. A massive arena was built and filled with thousands of extras while actual four horse chariots raced in nine grueling laps. The films of this era didn’t have the accessible technology we do now — if they wanted their audiences to see something, they needed to create it. Audiences had never seen a film dare, achieve, and soar to such heights since Gone With the Wind.
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23. The Mummy
Original Release — May 7, 1999
Before Tom Cruise attempted to launch the Universal franchise into the 21st century in a disastrous retelling, this Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz starrer knew the heart of this story lied in its origins — 1920s Egypt. With tongue-in-cheek humor and dashing, old school action, 1999’s The Mummy constantly treats its audience to a rip-roaring good time.
With a famous franchise name behind it, it would be easy for the film to slog to a grinding halt, churning out the same type of action beat again and again — but director Stephen Sommers continues to give the tomb plunderers new and exciting ways to face down their formidable, undead foes. It is popular to comment that Hollywood doesn’t make ‘em like they used to — The Mummy nearly proves that right, showing that digging into the yesteryear of Tinseltown can produce incredibly exciting results.
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22. Fast and Furious (Franchise)
Original Release — June 22, 2001
This uproarious franchise has delighted in ever increasingly physic-altering stunts. What originally began as a group of street racers moonlighting as thieves has evolved into outrageous action sequences that you can’t help but grin and cheer at. Though critics have often scoffed at their quality and attempts at drama over the years, there is no denying the effect it has had on the action landscape.
The late-Paul Walker, Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson led series clearly seems driven — full pun intended — by filmmakers who willingly choose to embrace the giddiness that corrals audiences into a summer blockbuster season. Movies have long existed as the place to see things that sometimes could never physically exist in our world, and this long-standing series continues to go full throttle in the pursuit of bigger and badder things to put on the silver screen.
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21. The Great Escape
Original Release — July 4, 1963
While cheerier among the war film genre for the most part, The Great Escape remains a fixture of classic Hollywood cinema. As American and British forces are dumped into a Nazi prison, the Allies band together to dare escape after escape. Notorious among the Germans for his uproarious escapes, Captain Hilts’ — a perfectly cast Steve McQueen — typically showy one-man efforts are the perfect distraction for the larger group of Allies to plan a month’s long escape using the most classic of methods — digging a hole and coming out the other side.
Their fervent preparation under the domineering Nazi eye creates grating tension throughout the film — the same tension that celebrates the heroism of these men who never give up the hope of escaping. Hope in the face of impossible is what makes The Great Escape such a rousing experience. Despite all the efforts of the Allies, they are all recaptured or executed by the time the credits roll. But with a pep in his step and a whistle on his lips, Captain Hilts happily begins to plan his next escape attempt. Film heroes are rarely celebrated for patience, but these brilliant men — successful or not — are all given their time to shine.
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20. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
Original Release — December 21, 2011
The Mission: Impossible franchise — much like the Fast and Furious films — has grown into itself with each successive entry. What started as spies using gadget trickery to infiltrate a villain’s swanky party now demands major dangerous stunts from living-crash test dummy Tom Cruise. The current framework of the films truly began with the fourth entry — Ghost Protocol. With nearly every summer tent-pole getting an extended IMAX release, few truly deserve it.
But showing Cruise’s Ethan Hunt scale the Burj Khalifa puts the word “awesome” to shame. With each desperate grab at the massive building’s glass panels, your heart begins pumping in an insane succession — once because you’re relating to Hunt, and twice because of just how connected you realize you are feeling. Film has long strove to bridge the gap between screen and viewer — 3D gimmicks continue to stick around in a trendy sort of way, but well-crafted sequences have always done the trick best.
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19. Dirty Harry
Original Release — December 23, 1971
In continuing his rebellious hot streak of characters, Clint Eastwood gave us arguably his most recognizably grizzled performance as a cop with a perennial chip on his shoulder. Moving the action away from the typical mean streets of New York, director Don Siegel focuses on the shining city by the sea, San Francisco. Its cleaner atmosphere makes Inspector Harry Callahan the one that stands out as rough and tough. More suited in the lawless Old West than modern society, Harry believes justice can only be carried out through blazing gunfire rather than the slow procession of bureaucratic paperwork.
Fully embracing the handheld camera style of the 70s and infusing it with the grit and grime of real life, Harry patrols the streets like a wolf keeping his pack in line, and Eastwood’s trademark grimace isn’t just for show in this ultimate cop classic. Harry is a fuse that could explode at any moment — his superiors seem to treat him with greater hostility than the suspects he is chasing (and frequently gunning) down. Imbued with the institutional cynicism of the 1970s, this ultimate cop film still remains an action-packed cool as ice classic to this day. Job well done, Inspector Callahan.
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18. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Original Release — April 4, 2014
Superhero films have completely co-opted the action genre through definition alone. While the stunts are impressive, it is less about the film itself and more about the hard work of a dedicated stunt team and VFX supervisors adding in all the firestorm details — but The Winter Soldier is the exception to the rule. With Cap firmly in the 21st century, the Russo Brothers waste no time showing how history’s ultimate freedom fighter has adapted his superhuman skills to today’s needs. The opening sequence on the Lemurian Star shows Cap in his prime — his brutal attacks are perfectly calculated and waste no time to save the day.
And furthering its nearly perfectly structured screenplay, the midpoint has Marvel’s best hand-to-hand fight to date — with both titular characters duking it out while their respective allies use ingenuity to enhance your typical shootout. The choreography is stunning and the cinematography lets the action play in wide shots for long enough so you know who your combatants are. Jumping from one combatant to the next and using only one move to disarm then, Cap’s abilities elevate this film from standard hero-fare from nearly frame one.
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17. The Bourne Supremacy
Original Release — July 23, 2004
Once known as one of Hollywood’s most boyish actors, it was originally a hard gamble to imagine Matt Damon as a stoic, amnesiac assassin that took no prisoners. Having nailed the role and securing a large box office haul, a sequel seemed imminent — and when it arrived, it upped the ante on story and pulse pounding action. The constantly seething and brooding assassin is locked in a conspiracy that plays like a chase from beginning to end.
From brutal hand-to-hand combat to a glass-smashing climactic car chase, this film has it all with cinematography style to spare. Though the shaky, docucam style may prove nauseating to some, the stark use of such realism grounds the film in an almost uncomfortable sense of constant tension and paranoia. Supremacy’s true strength lies in the fact that the action never seems to stop — even as Jason Bourne rounds the corner of a building, the synth drums of the soundtrack tease potential danger. Execution in filmmaking is an art, making the most mundane actions the most frightening of experiences.
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16. Gladiator
Original Release — May 5, 2000
The sword-and-sandal genre had all but disappeared from Hollywood — until director Ridley Scott and star Russel Crowe let it roar back onto the big screen with Gladiator, a film that returned to the pure triumphant spectacles of filmmaking. Former Roman general Maximus (Russell Crowe, in his most powerfully understated role) is thrown into slavery by the scheming Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) after the latter assassinates his father — Rome’s emperor.
Maximus’ pursuit of vengeance against Commodus — through winning battles in the Colosseum and winning the hearts of the Roman public — is quiet, and seething, but no less brutal. Maximus’ focused rage is representative of the film itself. Maximus sees the barbaric world for what it is, both on the frontlines and in the fighting pits. He believes in what Rome represents — truth, justice, and peace. He is the harbinger of those ideals and fights with ferocity to restore those tenants to Commodus’ twisted governance — resulting in perfectly executed, spectacular battles.
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15. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Original Release — January 12, 2001
Going from a fantasy in Life of Pi to intense drama in Brokeback Mountain, Ang Lee seems to be a master of whatever genre he touches — and action is clearly no exception. Imbuing high-flying fantasy stunts with lightning speed sword work allows the film to play as almost a live-action anime. Combatants fly through the air with ease, landing on the tree branches as if these warriors were as light as a feather — and ingeniously, the style is never commented on. Much like the romance subplot in the film, the action is grand and tinted with the right amount of melodrama.
We always like to see character’s struggling in films, but there is something so wonderfully operatic at watching these figures battle — they are all masters of the martial arts, the unstoppable force and immovable object metaphor in full effect. Until the finale, almost all the duels are stalemates, a testament to how difficult it is for one master to best another. Such flamboyance in less capable hands could have been a lot in its own scope, but Lee brings the best of Eastern cinema onto the screen with perfect precision.
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14. The Fugitive
Original Release — August 6, 1993
Though two roles appropriately dominate our mind when we think of actor Harrison Ford, The Fugitive stands as one of the finest works from the action veteran. A tightly woven plot and a frantic lead performance gives us one of the best examples of a pure thriller, which seem to have all but disappeared from Hollywood. Wrongfully accused of murdering his wife, Ford’s Richard Kimble must maintain his innocence while on the run.
A massive manhunt ensues, with set piece after set piece narrowing, allowing Kimble to escape with exhilarating tension — the film’s most famous sequence is Kimble leaping off a dam, down into the raging waters below. That type of filmmaking is almost a lost tenant of action filmmaking in this era — before superheroes dominated action, normal everyday people were the ones facing seemingly insurmountable challenges. The Fugitive perfectly uses Kimble as an audience surrogate, injecting us with that same horrid tension.
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13. Lethal Weapon
Original Release — March 6, 1987
The buddy cop sub-genre of action has been tackled time and time again — but one of its earliest entries continues to define it, undisturbed as king of the hill. The dynamic duo of Murtagh and Riggs (Danny Glover and Mel Gibson, respectively) were as horrible a mix as you could imagine — where one was a dedicated officer, the other was typically off the handle about police procedure. But despite all their differences, it is a partnership and friendship that grows organically — and with the drug dealing challenges they face, they need each other a heck of a lot more than they know.
A character’s skill set in an action film is among one of the core places a screenplay must start — it guides the filmmakers with what situations to throw their characters into and to get them out of. When you have such a stellar partnership in Murtagh and Riggs, the film is able to make both men deficient in certain areas, allowing the other one to pick up the slack. Though we like the heroes to win, audiences don’t love invincible characters — and having an equally out-of-depth friend by your side certainly helps the tension.
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12. Seven Samurai
Original Release — November 19, 1956 (USA)
America’s earliest forays into filmmaking were defined by the dusty Old West. The Westerns of the late 1950s and 60s have become eternal and iconic, but the genre’s greatest inspiration and achievement came from Japan. Cited as their main inspiration by filmmakers like George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola, director Akira Kurosawa crafted an epic tale of a handful of warriors tasked with protecting a village from an onslaught. Its depiction of bravery in the face of near impossible odds not only brought to the life the rigorous code that Samurai lived by, but gave its richly flawed characters plenty to argue about as they approach the defining battle of their lives.
Fantastic and focused fight choreography — all the more impressive given that the film was made in 1954 — give us sword fights with equally sharp dialogue and characterizations. These lone figures, all with their own moral code, live a life away from corrupt and unjust institutions — but that same code is what always draws them to fight for the greater good. It is the strongest foundation of all Westerns and no film has done it better than Seven Samurai.
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11. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
Original Release — May 17, 2019
With a narrative that parallels the rejuvenation of the actor’s career, Keanu Reeves roared back into big screen action as the greatest assassin in the world. It is tempting to see the first film as the ultimate revenge film — that for killing a puppy — but Chapter 3 is the true crown jewel of Reeves’ newest franchise. Parabellum’s greatest strength is its continual reinvention of itself, frame after frame. No two action scenes are exactly alike — viewers enjoy a sword-swinging motorcycle chase in one scene, and a gun blazing melee in the next.
Just like any type of repeated experience, on-screen action can frequently become stale — on multiple behind the scenes features of films, you will hear the masters of cinema discussing “battle fatigue” and the need to plan around and consolidate your action. John Wick creators Chad Stahelski and Derek Kolstad began their careers as Hollywood as stuntmen and stunt coordinators — who would better understand that a routine 90-minute shootout can become insanely boring?
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10. First Blood
Original Releases — October 22, 1982
Although Stallone’s increasingly bloody and musclebound approach to the franchise kept bringing audiences back, First Blood is a far more stoic entry — and doesn’t lack a single bit of the tension or ingenuity that would define the series. A lonely and misunderstood veteran is blamed as the cause of town trouble, leading to the police hunting him down. Not realizing who they are going up against, the squad encounters a labyrinth of successively elaborate traps made only by a man who has experienced the horrors of war.
It soon becomes clear that the hunters have become the hunted — and John Rambo is unwillingly stuck in the center of it. The mistrust and misunderstanding at the center of the film makes it a far cry from your typical action fanfare — and an element that the sequels lacked. Nearly an entire genre of films was dedicated to the highlighting the horrible effects the Vietnam War had on its veterans, and First Blood should not be discounted from that pantheon.
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9. Aliens
Original Release — July 18, 1986
When James Cameron took the reins from Ridley Scott for the sci-fi sequel, how do you top one of the most fearsome creatures of all-time? Well, you add in more of them. Just when Ellen Ripley thought she was rid of the Xenomorphs, a human colony has been overrun by the acid-blooded monstrosities. Where the original had its crew scurrying through vents and frightened of dark passageways, Aliens has Ripley and her team of Space Marines riddling their alien foes with unmitigated laser fire.
On top of its all too human story of motherhood and redemption, its action elevates the narrative to be far more cathartic than we could imagine. The Xenomorphs have no motive but to kill and reproduce — we don’t begrudge their actions. So given the narrative, they are more these horribly inky black demons of biblical horror, allowing us to inject our own terror and victory into each scenario. Simply put, Aliens is bloody good action for the sake of bloody good action.
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8. Predator
Original Release — June 12, 1987
Only the fiercest hunter in the cosmos would dare to take on Arnold Schwarzenegger. It’s hard to imagine the pitch for this action/sci-fi classic was anything less than that. Perfectly establishing in the first act just how elite Dutch’s (Schwarzenegger) commando team is, it would seem nothing on Earth could take them down — so something from the black vastness of space descends on them to take on the challenge.
Able to outwit and outgun the team at the destructive actions they are best at, the alien menace forces Dutch to take increasingly primal methods of battle. There is something revolutionary about its visuals — seeing these muscle bound best-of-the-best warriors cower in fear at every twig snapping in the jungle makes us as uneasy as they are. The perfectly executed tension and blistering bullet-spraying of the commandos facing off against an intergalactic trophy hunter should be necessary viewing for all aspiring filmmakers.
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7. The Raid
Original Release — April 13, 2012 (USA)
Marketed to the United States as a sleeper Indonesian hit, its limited release is a near tragedy — because every action junkie should see this film. A successor of sorts to the marvelous choreography of Jackie Chan and Jet Li releases, The Raid retains all the flair and ups the brutality with sickening and exciting results. When a strike force smashes its way into a drug lord’s holdout, the team is quickly cut down — save for one lone soldier. Rama (Iko Uwais) takes each level and its multitude of villains down in increasingly bone-crunching ways.
Video game films have yet to truly take off in Hollywood, but should they demand a hit, director Gareth Evans is a must. The Raid’s narrative is bare boned for a simple reason — more time to throw Rama into the lion’s den. As he rises from level to level, it’s as if he is tackling another chapter in a video game. The enemies are different, use different weapons, until he reaches the Boss at the top. The Raid may prove too stomach churning for some, and the perfect delight for those who never back away from a challenge.
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6. Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2
Original Release — October 10, 2003 – April 16, 2004
Quentin Tarantino’s signature penchant for violence has always been prevalent, but the egregious blood spewing didn’t truly begin until the release of Kill Bill Vol. 1. Using all the tropes of classic kung-fu, samurai, and western movies made this two-part film the ultimate revenge experience. Vol. 2 continues the Bride’s (Uma Thurman) pursuit of vengeance against those who left her and her unborn daughter for dead. While Vol. 1 embraces the bloody gallon-squirting violence of Japanese cinema, Vol. 2 elects to evoke the calm teachings and patient dialogue exchanges — which is similarly reflected in its sharper, quicker use of deadly force in its action sequences.
Tarantino’s trademark dialogue is as sharp as ever, showing audiences that vengeance against someone you hate is difficult enough, and vengeance against someone you love is a road that no one should have to travel. The Bride travels down both roads through the course of this film, but her resolve remains as steely as ever. It is cathartic violence at its best, and no one but Tarantino could have delivered it.
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5. Mad Max: Fury Road
Original Release — May 15, 2015
To most, on-screen action is a great way to fill time and keep the audience slobbering over drops of blood or fancy camera work. Movie critics tend to ignore its artistry, just as plenty of filmmakers choose to not embrace its potential. When George Miller returned to the franchise he created, he crafted a film that fills the frame with stunt work so visceral and game-changing, not even The Matrix could have dreamed it up.
As Max and Furiosa (Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron, respectively) protect a warlord’s enslaved brides, the dusty wind-swept excitement is always shot wide enough to clearly set the stage for the upcoming onslaught. Dizzying action should be an on-screen mood, not a description of its visual style. The battles reveal key insight into characters, the same way well-crafted dialogue would. Fury Road treats its violence and perilous stunts as a means of heightening the tension, framing the world’s context, and uproariously challenging what can be achieved on screen.
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4. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Original Release — July 3, 1991
Arnold Schwarzenegger has never been better than in this sci-fi sequel, a film draped in a blue color pallet, reminding audiences of the dour future that might await its lead characters. Director James Cameron ups the ante with adrenaline fueled nonstop action, but Judgment Day remains a cinematic fixture because of the beautifully developed friendship between Schwarzenegger’s T-800 and the young John Connor (Edward Furlong). Beyond its awe-inspiring stunt work and gunplay, the film becomes a tale of parental roles and responsibility, and how those figures shape the youth and therefore the future.
When Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) begins to notice that the Terminator is a better protector and father figure to John than most have ever been, she questions if the machines she hates more than anything can learn the value of human life. With profound questions regarding the nature of emotions and the ability to change our fate, the one-liners and cooler-than-cool actions of Schwarzenegger perfectly function as the beaming and wondrous cinematic cherries on top. So — can a machine learn the value of human life? The T-800’s final goodbye to young John and the tears that typically flow with it would say yes.
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3. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
Original Release — June 12, 1981
Among cinema’s most iconic character silhouettes, few can truly top the rugged simplicity of a whip and a hat. The minds behind Jaws and Star Wars combined to bring us media’s greatest adventure of all of time. Archaeologist Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) traverses the globe for rare and dangerous antiquities that time has forgotten, with each heroic snatch-and-grab pursuit more difficult than the last.
The film’s rolling bolder that caps its opening scene can easily be viewed as a metaphor for the film’s whole runtime — the story moves with such constant danger and excitement that you’re constantly wondering what new challenge waits behind each undiscovered corner for Indy.
Yet, while modern media’s adventure films feature Terminator-type indestructible leads, Raiders gave us a somewhat sloppier, more relatable hero. Indy is certainly a talented brawler and unquestionably brave, but at the end of the day he is still closer to our own reflection — he’s typically in over his head and always has a bump or bruise to show for his exploits. Yet for all that, Ford’s Indiana Jones keeps smirking his way to the next adventure — movies simply don’t get more exciting than this.
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2. The Matrix
Original Release — March 31, 1999
With a genre as popular as action films, one scratches their head when they realize how long it took to bridge the high flying and graceful eastern kung-fu with the western gunplay of America — but 1999 finally brought us The Matrix, and fans of on-screen fighting have been praising it ever since. The Wachowski siblings not only turned Keanu Reeves into an action icon, but used its stylistic approach to adrenaline fueled battles to change the fight choreography landscape forever.
A masterful blend of on-set wire work and computer-generated imagery brought slow motion and physic-altering stunts to the big screen for the first time for audiences in Western Hemisphere. The beauty of this style of action is not just in the visuals and fights themselves. It is part of the soul of the film — that is when action hits the hardest and is the most resonant.
In a film where all of humanity is plugged into a computer, why wouldn’t you be able to suspend yourself in the air while pummeling your enemies? Action in films is so often an irritating cacophony, but The Matrix remains one of cinema’s most important films because of its necessary usage of it.
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1. Die Hard
Original Releases — July 20, 1988
Is it the ultimate action film? The ultimate Christmas film? Categorization may be difficult, but all can agree that Die Hard is a truly rousing and nail-biting cinematic experience. The 1980s gave us indestructible bruisers like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Jean-Claude Van Damme. Bruce Willis’ John McClane is far from Superman. He’s fit — a cop needs to be ready for action — but his muscles aren’t exploding through his shirt. He’s talented with whatever firearm he’s utilizing, but he also forgets to put his shoes on before running into action.
This action-packed hostage crisis was a breath of fresh air for audiences looking to find a more relatable action icon. John doesn’t blaze through his enemies with a torrent of firepower — he uses his wits, the environment, and just enough luck to get him through the current crisis he is facing. Its multitude of sequels may have somewhat forgotten why its initial characterization of McClane was so fresh, but this action classic is still pleasing serious and casual movie viewers alike.
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