The 80s and 90s were the golden age for action movies. We had stars like Arnold, Keanu, Cruise, Harrison, Seagal, Stallone, and so many more! But which ones are the best? It's time to vote!
1 Die Hard 2 v 16 The Last Starfighter
Yippee-Kay-Ay! It’s the quintessential Action Movie, and a Christmas Movie too! Bruce Willis’s NY cop John McClane and Alan Rickman’s perfect villain battle their way through Nakatomi Tower in one of the greatest action movies of all time.
In this family sci-fi action flick, young Alex is a video game pro, especially at the game Starfighter. When Alex learns that the game isn’t just a game, but a test to find out who has the chops to save the world, he’s thrown into a galaxy of danger. The Last Starfighter shines as one of those 80s movies you’ll watch over and over.
8 Independence Day v 9 Point of No Return
Aliens have come to claim the Earth as their own, and it’s up to Bill Pullman, Will Smith, and Jeff Goldblum to figure out how to defeat them and win the planet’s independence. “Up yours!”
Bridget Fonda gets reinvented as a deadly assassin in this action thriller where the tagline says it all, "The Government gave her a choice. Death. Or life as an assassin. Now, there's no turning back."
5 First Blood v 12 Armageddon
John Rambo is a returned Vietnam Green Beret is forced to become a one-man army in a war he didn’t want, and Stallone build surprising empathy for the character that would become a franchise. “They drew first blood….”
When an asteroid the size of Texas is headed straight toward Earth, NASA quite sensibly recruits a team of deep oil drillers to bore a hole in the asteroid and drop a nuke in it to break it apart, deflecting it from the planet. The star-studded cast includes Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Billy Bob Thornton, Steve Buscemi, Owen Wilson, and Aerosmith’s only #1 hit single in the U.S.
4 Lethal Weapon 2 v 13 Total Recall
From the opening car chase Lethal Weapon 2 shows that it has upped the ante in both action and laughs compared to the original. While Murtaugh is still “too old for this sh*t”, he and Riggs prove they still have plenty left in the tank to take on South African drug dealers who have had an ax to grind with Riggs for a very long time. Add to everything the exploding toilet and you have an instant classic.
Yet another entry from Arnold in the bracket, Total Recall took the man who would become The Governator all the way to Mars. This movie is a mind-bending sci-fi flick where Arnold can’t figure out if his memories are real or implanted. Is he really a secret agent? Or is it all in his head? Michael Ironside and Sharon Stone co-star in this Paul Verhoeven flick.
6 Men in Black v 11 Ronin
The 90s were peak Will Smith. In this fast-paced, witty movie based on a Marvel comic book, he and Tommy Lee Jones investigate and interview aliens across New York City in order to find the alien who crash-landed in upstate New York and stole the galaxy, which, coincidentally, is small enough to fit on a cat’s collar.
Sure, there’s DeNiro and an outstanding cast, and a classic McGuffin, but it’s the car chases that make this one great. 300 stunt drivers destroyed 80 automobiles to give you what many consider the best chases ever on film.
3 Speed v 14 Midnight Run
Is Speed the best action movie with the most ridiculous premise? The bus will explode if it goes below 50 miles per hour. Regardless of the insanity of the plot, this movie built the foundation of the careers of Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. But it’s also the supporting performances from Dennis Hopper and Jeff Daniels that take this story and elevate it from the ridiculous to the wonderful.
Robert De Niro shines in one of his first comedic roles alongside Charles Grodin in this action/comedy. Midnight Run features a bounty hunter (De Niro) who collars a mafia informant (Grodin) and has to bring him across the country to testify against his former bosses. It's a cop movie, a buddy comedy, and a road trip flick featuring two of the greatest actors of the decade.
7 Heat v 10 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Directed by Michael Mann, Heat is best remembered for one thing – being the movie where De Niro and Pacino shared a scene. It’s a magnificent moment in film, but this movie is so much more than that. It’s possibly the greatest heist movie ever. And it has unbelievable gun battles, double-crossings, car chases, and more. It’s legendary.
This take on the classic Robin Hood tale may star big names like Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman, but Alan Rickman’s villainous, over-the-top, and self-aware take on the Sheriff of Nottingham brings this film to lasting notoriety.
2 Aliens v 15 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Aliens expertly combines edge-of-your-seat tension with non-stop thrills—plus, it’s hard to beat the sight of Sigourney Weaver blasting aliens while also finding time to teach a group of marines that being overconfident is a really bad idea. With its flawless balance of heart-pounding action and memorable one-liners, it’s basically the ultimate tutorial on how to handle extraterrestrial threats with a touch of humor and a lot of firepower.
As bad as “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” was, that’s how brilliant the sequel was. Ricardo Montalban’s Khan is a classic, and the death and funeral of a beloved character are emotionally powerful. “I have been… and always shall be… your friend.”
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