The Essentials: Underrated Action of the 1990’s

Watching the vast number of great action movies in the 90’s really makes one question the current state of the genre. It didn’t take much for me to come up with the list that you see below and I wasn’t even trying. Hell, I even left off a few of my favorites like Stone Cold, Rapid Fire, Sniper, and Firestorm. You also might notice that every single movie below was headlined by a different star. That was the depth of the action genre in the 90’s. Many of these guys were products of 80’s, no doubt, but there is great chance that a quick search on Netflix will show you that many of these fellows are still putting out decent to good action to this day.

Take a gander at my list and let me know what you think.

 

Speed

Although it was a massive hit, I feel that Speed is one of those movies that everyone forgets is cool as hell. Keanu proved that Point Break wasn’t a fluke and made old man Dennis Hopper a credible threat to kill a whole bunch of people. Still a little upset about Jeff Daniels, though. It might not be underrated but it’s damn sure underappreciated.

 

The Hunted

After the amazingness of Highlander, Christopher Lambert could do no wrong. There was a solid decade or so of good movies from Lambert and The Hunted is one of those ones that fit into that era and also didn’t get the love it deserved. Ninjas slicing people up with swords? Give me more. It might be time for you to take a trip back and watch this lesser known ninja movie and discover just how cool it is.

 

Cliffhanger

I consider this the best non-Rambo, non-Rocky Stallone movie of all time. The action is great, the villains are stereotypically amazing, and I can’t get enough of Stallone and Michael Rooker as buddies. Special shoutout to John Lithgow for being the perfect bad guy.

 

Hard to Kill

Steven Seagal was one of the best at his craft for about 10 years. In those 10 years he came out with a handful of excellent movies including this one where he just wouldn’t die. There are enough one-liners in this movie to make Arnold blush.

 

Men of War

Dolph Lundgren doesn’t have many movies in his back pocket that non hardcore action fans will love. He’s simply not had enough good roles. What Men of War does, though, is give him an excellent ensemble cast and some really good action scenes that will keep you utterly entertained throughout.

 

John Carpenter’s Vampires

I don’t expect many people to think of James Woods when they’re discussing their favorite action movies of the 90’s but you can’t talk about vampire killing without mentioning Woods’ Jack Cross. What a fantastic name for a vampire killer! I would have preferred to see more of his band of killers but the movie is still so cool and under appreciated I’ll watch it any day.

 

Dick Tracy

I don’t really know much about the character beyond what was in this movie. But seriously, how cool was Tracy in this movie?

 

Navy SEALs

One of the best action movies of 1990 and a continuation of the Michael Biehn legacy. This film should have turned him into the leading man that he should have been but it will instead be remembered mostly because of Charlie Sheen. There are worst things to be remembered for, I guess.

 

Surviving the Game

I never thought I would love seeing rapper Ice-T go up against Rutger Hauer and Gary Busey. The story is a classic and the action is solid and mostly believable. The villains mostly carry this movie but Ice-T is good enough to play the homeless hero in this 1994 flick.

 

Broken Arrow

Don’t pretend like you don’t enjoy John Travolta as a villain. If you’re reading this site, you have to at least appreciate the carny corniness of John Travolta playing a bad guy. It just screams 1960’s Batman series. Travolta backstabs Christian Slater and steals a devastating weapon from the good ole’ U.S. of A. It’s too bad that he did so with such a killable group of henchmen at his side.

 

Bird on a Wire

Mel Gibson is super charismatic and it’s impossible to watch this movie without falling in love with the man. Goldie Hawn looks great and even though she’s quite a bit older than Mel, it doesn’t seem weird that the two of them would have a past. The story is less important than the charisma of the two leads as they drag the plodding story to a fulfilling finish. I’ve heard that before…