1) Skyfall (2012), Motocross

Robbie Maddison is the king of motocross at the minute. The madman has jumped everything from massive ski jumps to London’s Tower Bridge, and he also happened to be Daniel Craig’s stunt double in the most recent James Bond entry.

That’s right, the most impressive man on a motorcycle also happens to have Skyfall scribbled messily on his CV. It’s probably one of the only times you’ll read ‘Maddison’ and ‘fall’ in the same sentence.

2) Mission: Impossible 2 (2000), Rock Climbing

The opening to Tom Cruise’s second outing as Ethan Hawke has become the stuff of legend.

There’s that outrageous ledge jump, the insane hang time that follows, and of course, the ridiculous recovery, all set to some sexy samba music that seems wildly out of place. It’s pretty irresponsible climbing if we’re being honest.

On top of all that, shortly after Ethan hits the summit, a dude with a rocket launcher shoots him a pair of rad sunglasses – which incidentally is also the way we receive mail at Mpora towers – and these then explode shortly after. It’s about as badass as it gets.

3) Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015), Parkour

From parkour to parachuting to the completely unrelated fact that Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Caine are in it, Kingsman looks like it’s going to be a damn fine film.

“You need to solve problems under pressure,” the would-be agents are told, before being launched out of a plane. “Like what to do when one of your group has no parachute.”

It’s certainly a stricter way to screen new candidates than a cheeky Facebook stalk and a peek at LinkedIn.

8) Charlie’s Angels (2000), Skydiving

There are various problems with the legitimacy of this scene, but where else would you get to see Lucy Liu defuse a bomb mid-air before skydiving safely into a speed boat manned by Cameron Diaz?

Yeah, we didn’t think so. Now quiet down and stop pretending you didn’t secretly enjoy Charlie’s Angels.

9) Top Secret! (1984), Surfing

For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of seeing ‘Top Secret!’, it’s a parody of World War Two spy films which sees a singer join a rescue team dropping into East Germany.

What do you mean that doesn’t make the clip above seem any more relevant? Oh well. We tried…

10) Point Break (1991), Surfing

To say that ‘Point Break’ isa more realistic take on a spy-meets-surfing film than ‘Top Secret!’ is to tell you more about the latter than the former. ‘Point Break’ is still ridiculous. But it’s ridiculous in the best possible way. The original is a timeless classic.

11) The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Skiing

The pièce de résistance of espionage badassery, this unbelievable ski-to-skydive cliff drop was filmed on Baffin Island, Canada, where stuntman Rick Sylvesters took the big leap.

This clip will always hold a place in skier and snowboarders’ hearts for the way it inspired the legendary Shane McConkey to not only give it a shot himself, but to re-enact the full scene in this entirely awesome tribute:

And if that’s not enough comedy for you, here’s Alan Partridge narrating the entire opening of the film so we can end on a bit of a laugh… You’re more than welcome.

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