Best Movies to Watch in HD

You just dropped your next month’s mortgage payment at Wally World picking up a 4-foot wide plasma HD television. You know high definition is the best thing since… well, standard definition. You brought the TV home, set it up, and the popcorn is ready.

It’s time for a test drive.

It should be fairly obvious that action movies normally look the best in high definition — particularly those filled with explosions, gun fights, etc. While Pride & Prejudice (the one with Keira Knightly) does look fairly good on a HD television, it simply doesn’t hold up to The Matrix Revolutions.

That’s where we start our list of the top five best movies to watch in high definition.

5. The Matrix Revolutions – Calm down, we’re not rating the movies on quality here. We know the first Matrix was by far the best out of the series, but not for HD enjoyment.

4. Saving Private Ryan – Over 20 explosions — in the first 5 minutes of the movie. You don’t have to wait long to get a solid test on your television’s HD quality, as Hanks storms the beaches of Normandy and brings dozens of explosions with him.

3. Armageddon – While the visual “wow” moments are not as numerous as other movies, the ones that are present are massive. Watching a nuclear explosion on an asteroid and seeing another asteroid destroy Paris are sure-fire ways to check out your HD capability.

2. The Fifth Element – The entire environment the movie is set in is a stunning visual by itself. The movie also has a load of action with a great soundtrack to boot. While 300 fits into this category, particularly with the beautiful color visuals, it doesn’t look nearly as good in HD as The Fifth Element.

1. Independence Day - This movie was made for high-definition. Not only are there countless “small” explosions throughout the movie via dogfights with UFOs, but there are numerous incredibly long scenes of things being blown up — watching Los Angeles and New York City explode takes about 15 minutes.

There are many other notable mentions, particularly those in the family genre — like Titanic, The Incredibles, and Spiderman. Other action movies I’d recommend watching in HD include Die Hard I, Jurassic Park, and Transformers.

What are your favorite movies to watch in high-definition?