As far as action movies go, the 90’s were kind of a last hurrah. In this decade, green screens hadn’t yet completely taken over. CGI was in its early stages, and not completely leaned on as a crutch. It was also the era of the all mighty action star. In fact, action movies were pretty much the equivalent of today’s super hero film. Names like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, and Tom Cruise ruled the box office. We also got to see the emergence of new action heroes like Keanu Reeves and Will Smith. There’s plenty of movies to choose from in this genre that are definitely worth watching. Nevertheless, here’s our picks for the best action movies of the 90’s.
We could pretty much populate the entirety of this list with action movies Schwarzenegger starred in that were actually really good. Between the Terminator movies, Total Recall, and The Last Action Hero, Arnie was churning out quality action flicks. True Lies earns the spot for being awesome, and totally underrated. Schwarzenegger is a top secret government agent, and has been having to keep his real job a secret to from his wife. Desperate for some excitement in her life, his wife begins to seek thrills elsewhere. Let’s just say everything soon tumbles down and makes for a wild ride. Though it’s an action movie at its heart, it’s also genuinely funny. Check out the trailer below.
The Fifth Element, another action movie starring Bruce Willis, almost took this spot. But, when it comes to quintessential 90’s action movies, this Willis outing reigns supreme. Sequels are always a dangerous game. Even though this flick is the third Die Hard movie, it is arguably the best. The franchise did drop off after this unfortunately. But, Vengeance is the character of gutsy New York City Cop John McClane at his finest. Plus, adding Samuel L Jackson as his partner in fighting crime was genius. It has thrills, it has stunts, and it has comedy. Definitely worth a night in to watch.
This is one 90’s action movie that you might not have even heard of, until now. Which is a shame because it’s a really good flick. It starts Geena Davis as a middle class mom who slowly begins to regain her memory after a bout of amnesia. At first, she is thrilled with the small bits of memory returning. But soon, things take an alarming turn. Davis used to be a trained assassin before her foray into suburbia with kiddos. With her memories, trouble also returns. This has some great plot twists in it, as well as plenty of fantastic action to keep you on the edge of your seat. There’s also copious humor. See, moms totally kick butt.
Can’t aliens just be nice in movies? Will Smith was just starting to come into his own in the action film genre in the 90’s. Bad Boys was definitely a solid flick. But, Independence Day, in all its cheesy glory is pretty iconic. It was some of the best CGI we’d seen up until that point. The cast was just quirky and earnest enough to make it a lot of fun. We’re not even going to talk about the abomination that was the follow up movie decades later.
This movie really needs no introduction. Keanu Reeves had enjoyed major action success earlier in the decade with the film Speed. But The Matrix would catapult his career into the stratosphere, as well as elevate the entire action movie genre. Released in 1999, this movie saw a decade of great 90’s action flicks off with one helluva bang.
