Whether it’s a secret agent threading the needle through narrow city streets, or a heist spiralling into a high-octane pursuit, moviegoers have been addicted to the thrill of the chase for over a century.
From Bond to Batman, Hunt to Hobbs, the best car chases don’t just thrill; they choreograph action with precision. Every screeching turn, every near miss, every perfectly-timed explosion makes you feel the ride in your chest. But among the dozens of iconic Hollywood car chases, which delivers the ultimate adrenaline rush?
At Canstar, we help customers cut through the noise when comparing financial and household products. Using that same rigour, we tapped the science to reveal the most heart-pounding, thrilling car chases in cinematic history.
From BPM to HRV: the metrics behind movie magic
In 2025, we recruited over 150 volunteers to watch some of cinema’s most iconic car chases, curated from global critics’ lists, Reddit suggestions, and our own personal favourites.
For each screening, viewers were fitted with a heart monitor tracking beats per minute (BPM) and heart rate variability (HRV), to find out which scenes sent pulses racing based on the changes from their average resting heart rate.
BPM is one of the simplest ways to judge how fast your heart is beating. We compared viewers’ average heart rate during chase sequences to their resting BPM. The bigger the jump, the more thrilling the scene.
HRV tracks the milliseconds between each heartbeat.. When we’re relaxed, we generally have a high variance between beats; however, when we’re stressed or anxious, the variance drops and our heart beats more consistently. Scenes that caused the biggest HRV dip were the ones that had viewers literally holding their breath.
We combined these metrics with peak BPM spikes to calculate a total “excitement score” out of 100. So, strap in—here are cinema’s most scientifically heart-racing chases.
The most exciting movie car chases – according to science
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Australia’s own Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) tops our list as the most scientifically exciting car chase, raising average heart rates by a whopping 25 BPM (37%). One of three franchise entries to make the list , George Miller’s post-apocalyptic masterpiece feels like one continuous car chase with HRV dropping 21%—the steepest dive of all films tested.
Second place goes to 1998 thriller Ronin, starring Robert De Niro—the oldest film to make the top 10. Tearing through the narrow streets of Paris, this meticulously choreographed chase raised pulses by 23 BPM (34%) proving that precision and realism can be just as electrifying as CGI and explosions..
Rounding out the top five were Edgar Wright’s stylish getaway film Baby Driver, Tom Cruise’s jaw-dropping Mission: Impossible – Fallout, and 007’s high-octane opener from Quantum of Solace.
Franchise ‘horsepower’
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Of all the films screened, car chases from five franchises landed multiple appearances in our top 25 list: James Bond, Mad Max, Mission Impossible, The Bourne Identity, and Fast & Furious.
It’s no surprise that the Fast & Furious franchise, famed for its gravity-defying stunts and exaggerated chase scenes, features more than any other movie (or franchise) on our list, with four separate appearances. Led by Vin Diesel, the series lives up to its name, delivering spectacle after spectacle.
But when it comes to average excitement scores, George Miller’s Mad Max franchise claims king of the car chase. With an average score of 70/100, it proves that post-apocalyptic mayhem can get hearts racing like nothing else.
James Bond follows in second place, with Daniel Craig’s Quantum of Solace and Spectre scoring an average of 63, while Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible series scored an average excitement rating of 59.
Behind the wheel, Vin Diesel tops the actor leaderboard with four appearances, placing him firmly in pole position. George Miller and Christopher McQuarrie are tied at three apiece.
Gone in 60 Seconds – and why you shouldn’t try this at home
Fun fact: more than 300 cars were written off during the filming of The Matrix: Reloaded. A bill Hollywood directors can afford, but that kind of real-world recklessness would leave you with bills, demerit points, and inflated premiums of cinematic proportions.
High-speed thrills are best enjoyed from the safety of the sofa or cinema seat. In real life, attempting any type of high-speed pursuit or street race isn’t only extremely dangerous, it will likely also invalidate your car insurance.
To find out more of the impact speeding demerits can have on your policy premiums, visit our dedicated demerit guide page. For more information on Australia’s best car insurance policies, view Canstar’s 2025 Award Winners.
