Adventure movies have served as one of the most enduring, successful and versatile corners of cinema since the earliest days of swashbuckling, campy heroes like Zorro and Robin Hood. Ever since, the genre has gone on to house some of the best stories and characters in cinema, with Indiana Jones and Jack Sparrow headlining the genre. However, as with any genre of film, some films go overlooked or are left with negative reputations they don’t always deserve.

Adventure offers moviegoers family-friendly treks into distant lands, often following heroes in their quest to recover ancient relics or lost treasures. Following in the footsteps of the genre’s most iconic heroes and stories, the major studios are always producing copycats and new tales of adventure in the hopes of becoming the next big thing. Despite the efforts of filmmakers and the studios, some fantastic adventure movies simply don’t catch on with fans — but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth a watch.

10 Doc Savage Is Campy Fun

Doc Savage began as the face of pulp adventure magazines throughout the 1930s, being something of a prototypic template for later heroes, such as Indiana Jones and Batman. Accompanied by his friends, the Fabulous Five, the hero finally received a feature-length film in 1975, where he was played by Ron Ely. The film follows him and his companions as they head down to South America to solve the death of Savage’s father, as well as an assassination attempt upon Savage himself. Along the way, they encounter the ruthless international criminal, Captain Seas, who is involved in the plot against Savage.

Doc Savage is very much a film that was targeted at the younger viewers of the 1970s, never taking itself too seriously with a script full or irony, cheeky humor and campy fights. While adults may find it too cheesy to watch in the modern day, kids will enjoy its silly story and adventurous hero. The movie has many flaws that prevented it from earning cult status, but it is worth a watch for people who want a look at one of adventure’s most influential characters.

9 Jungle Cruise Didn’t Deserve The Hate It Got

Jungle Cruise follows two sibling adventurers, Lily and McGregor Houghton, during the First World War as they present a theory of the mythical Lagrimas de Cristal Tree to the Royal Society. Lily believes that the tree holds the secret to revolutionizing medicine. Despite being denied permission to pursue the tree, the Houghtons set off on a quest to find it. They are rivaled by Prince Joachim of Germany, who seeks the tree for his own nation’s victory. After arriving in Brazil, the Houghtons meet Frank, a tour guide with a cheesy sense of humor who agrees to take the pair into the heart of the jungle.

Jungle Cruise makes for an entertaining Disney adventure movie and, for kids, is a fun experience — which is exactly what the movie was meant to be. It may have fallen short of expectations, with viewers quickly comparing it to the likes of Pirates of the Caribbean, but it’s worth a second look. While Dwayne Johnson’s constant cheesy dad jokes in the movie took away its seriousness, it was a fun jungle adventure, one that played into some of the genre’s best tropes. The film isn’t without its problems, but remains worth a watch for the whole family.

8 Journey To The Center Of The Earth Adapted Jules Verne’s Classic

Journey to the Center of the Earth begins when a boy, Sean Anderson, visits his uncle, Trevor. While spending time together, the pair look through a box of items belonging to Sean’s father Max, who disappeared a decade prior. When they find his copy of Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth, they find some of Max’s notes inside, indicating that the novel may be more than fiction. The pair set off for Iceland, where they hire a local guide, Hannah, who is the daughter of a scientist who believed the same theory as Max. When they get trapped inside some caves, they descend into a hole and find themselves at the center of the Earth.

Journey to the Center of the Earth was surpassed by the popularity of its sequel, Journey 2 the Mysterious Island, but remains a fun movie. As one of the last films to feature Brendan Fraser headlining an adventure story, the film is a must-watch for fans of the charismatic actor. The movie follows Sean, Hannah and Trevor as they use their wits to survive the perils of the center of the Earth, including a dinosaur.

7 The Lone Ranger Is A Great Example Of Bloated Budgeting

The Lone Ranger was once a popular TV hero who, along with his Native American friend, Tonto, brought vigilante justice to the Old West. In 2013, the duo received an origin story. Disney’s The Lone Ranger begins with the arrival of John Reid in his hometown of Colby, Texas. A well-meaning but naive lawyer, Reid joins his Texas Ranger brother Dan to track down local outlaw Butch Cavendish. However, when the villain and his gang kill the rest of the posse and murder Dan, John assumes the identity of the Lone Ranger to avenge him. Joined by Native American outcast Tonto, the hero works diligently to uncover a plot involving a corrupt industrialist, and rescue Dan’s widow and son.

Despite being an excellent kids’ movie,The Lone Ranger is also a great example of how overspending on a movie can lead to its failure at the box office. In fact, the film remains one of the most expensive flops in movie history. As a result of both its box office woes and obscurity for the new generation, the Western adventure fell by the wayside for moviegoers and received a negative reception from audiences and critics alike. That said, it’s an exciting movie that should be enjoyed as the kid-friendly Western adventure-comedy that it is.

6 Secret of the Incas Helped Inspire Indiana Jones

Secret of the Incas revolves around the life of Harry Steele, an American living in Peru who works as a tour guide. Steele does the job in the hopes of one day finding a lost treasure of the Incas — a precious sunburst relic. In possession of a clue that will lead to the artifact’s location, the American explorer meets a Romanian defector, Elena, and steals a plane for her under the false pretense of taking her to Mexico. Instead, he brings her along to Machu Picchu, where he continues his hunt for the relic.

Secret of the Incas and Harry Steele are both obvious inspirations for Indiana Jones, but both the movie and character have faded into obscurity. However, for audiences who want to see a movie that provides the roots for several modern classic adventure films, this 1954 film is a must-watch.

5 Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Shouldn’t Have Bombed

Indiana Jones is, without a doubt, the king of cinematic adventure, especially thanks to the original trilogy. After a much-derided fourth movie, Harrison Ford’s tenure as the hero concluded with 2023’s Dial of Destiny, which followed Indy hunting for Archimedes’ Antikythera device, which is believed to have time-based powers. Pursued by the federal government and racing against a group of Nazis led by the ageless Dr Voller, he teams up with his adventurous goddaughter to find the device.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny may not have been on par with the original trilogy, but it did make for a far superior film to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. In fact, the film is arguably the best adventure movie of the 2020s, and honored the tone of the original movies, throwing in Nazis and a reverence for history. Nonetheless, the film flopped at the box office, becoming one of Disney’s most expensive failures. The film is perfectly enjoyable, but it’s understandable that many fans had checked out after the disappointment of the fourth film.

4 The Rundown Is A Modern Adventure Romp

The Rundown tells the story of Beck, a bounty hunter who works for a gangster. When his employer sends him to Brazil to find his son, Travis, Beck heads to the town of El Dorado. There, he is confronted by a tyrant, Hatcher, who is also looking for the gangster’s son, so he can find a lost golden idol. When Travis shows up, he and Beck are forced to team up to escape Hatcher and his henchmen, fleeing into the jungle for cover.

The Rundown was one of Dwayne Johnson’s first forays into the action-adventure genre and makes for a great action shooter as well as a treasure hunt. In Hatcher, the film has a great antagonist, one who ruthlessly pursues his enemies and rules his town with an iron fist. When Travis and Beck recover the idol, they take on Hatcher directly in a final showdown that cemented the movie’s status as a woefully overlooked adventure.

3 The Phantom Merges Superhero And Adventure

Based on Lee Falk’s comic strip hero, The Phantom tells the story of its titular hero, Kit Walker, the protector of a small African nation, Bengalla. The mantle of the Phantom was first adopted by Walker’s ancestor and has been passed down between father and son ever since, ensuring the country always has a protector. The hero is responsible for safeguarding the nation’s treasures from looters, its creatures from poachers, and its people from criminals and oppressors. The movie follows the hero as he sets out to face the Sengh Brotherhood, a band of pirates who have been an enemy of the Phantom from the start.

The Phantom is a fun action-adventure movie that works well for fans of superhero movies as well as people who enjoy a good adventure story. The film cast Billy Zane in his most heroic role, following Kit Walker as he sets out on a journey to America, where he rekindles an old romance and hunts for the man who murdered his father. The movie is an upbeat tale of old-school heroism, one that honors the character’s pulpy origins.

2 Firewalker Turns Chuck Norris into an Adventurer

Firewalker tells the story of two treasure-hunting friends, Max and Leo, who, despite their endless searches, keep coming up short. When the pair are handed a treasure map by a psychic woman, Patricia, that leads to a Native American reservation, they walk into danger, and must contend with kidnappers and would-be assassins. When they head into the jungle, the trio discover an ancient temple that they believe houses the treasure. There, they are confronted by their rival, El Coyote.

Firewalker is a good combination of buddy comedy and adventure, focusing on the starpower and charisma of Chuck Norris and Louis Gossett Jr in the leading roles. The film borrows from Indiana Jones, buddy cop movies and old-school pulps to deliver a fun, cross-country adventure that follows its heroes deep into the jungle. Due to its low budget, the movie isn’t known by most, but it is more than worth a watch.

1 The Librarian Franchise Offers Fun Escapism

The Librarian tells the story of Flynn Carsen, a perpetual college student with around twenty degrees, but no girlfriend or job, who interviews for a position working at the prestigious Metropolitan Library. After taking the job, Flynn is charged with the protection of a treasure trove of artifacts from history, mythology and science fiction.The first movie follows the Librarian as he heads out on a quest to recover a stolen piece of the fabled Spear of Destiny from a cult.

The Librarian is a great, low-budget adventure franchise styled after Indiana Jones for the modern age, leaning more on comedy than special effects. An overlooked gem from the 2000s, the original trilogy of films follows Flynn in his missions to recover a variety of relics, fight off spies and explore faraway lands.