Top 54 Action Movies of the 1990s

By YPB TeamOct 31

Big-budget explosions, Hong Kong gunplay and sharp little thrillers all made the decade what it was. Rewatch value counts as much as box office.

1
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
James Cameron's 1991 sci-fi action sequel in which Arnold Schwarzenegger's T-800 protects young John Connor from the liquid-metal T-1000.
1000pts
2
Heat
Michael Mann's 1995 crime epic pitting Al Pacino's LAPD detective against Robert De Niro's master thief, famous for its downtown shootout.
800pts
3
Eraser
The 1996 action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a US Marshal who protects witnesses by erasing their identities.
560pts
4
Hard Target
John Woo's 1993 Hollywood debut, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as a drifter protecting a woman from hunters of homeless men in New Orleans.
559pts
5
Rumble in the Bronx
The 1995 Jackie Chan film set in New York that became his breakthrough hit in North America.
526pts
6
Last Action Hero
John McTiernan's 1993 action comedy in which a boy enters the movie world of Arnold Schwarzenegger's cop Jack Slater.
526pts
7
Armageddon
Michael Bay's 1998 blockbuster in which Bruce Willis leads a team of oil drillers sent to destroy an asteroid headed for Earth.
526pts
8
Hard Boiled
John Woo's 1992 Hong Kong action film starring Chow Yun-fat, famous for its extended hospital gunfight.
526pts
9
The Matrix
The Wachowskis' 1999 sci-fi action film starring Keanu Reeves as Neo, which popularised 'bullet time' and wire-fu fight scenes.
488pts
10
Total Recall
Paul Verhoeven's 1990 sci-fi action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a construction worker whose implanted memories lead him to Mars.
488pts
11
The Fugitive
The 1993 thriller starring Harrison Ford as a doctor wrongly convicted of murder, pursued by Tommy Lee Jones's US Marshal.
488pts
12
Ronin
John Frankenheimer's 1998 thriller with Robert De Niro and Jean Reno as mercenaries, celebrated for its car chases through Nice and Paris.
488pts
13
Fist of Legend
Gordon Chan's 1994 Hong Kong martial arts film starring Jet Li, with fight choreography by Yuen Woo-ping.
488pts
14
Mortal Kombat
Paul W. S. Anderson's 1995 film adaptation of the fighting video game, set at a deadly martial arts tournament.
488pts
15
Die Hard 2
The 1990 sequel in which Bruce Willis's John McClane fights terrorists who seize control of Washington Dulles Airport.
447pts
16
Lethal Weapon 4
The 1998 fourth Lethal Weapon film, with Mel Gibson and Danny Glover facing a Triad gang led by Jet Li in his Hollywood debut.
447pts
17
Under Siege
The 1992 action film in which Steven Seagal plays a Navy cook who fights terrorists who seize the battleship USS Missouri.
447pts
18
Predator 2
The 1990 sequel in which Danny Glover's LAPD lieutenant faces an alien hunter in a sweltering, gang-ridden Los Angeles.
447pts
19
Police Story 3: Supercop
The 1992 Hong Kong action film in which Jackie Chan teams up with Michelle Yeoh, known for its helicopter and train stunts.
447pts
20
Universal Soldier
Roland Emmerich's 1992 sci-fi action film in which Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren play reanimated soldiers.
400pts
21
Broken Arrow
John Woo's 1996 action film in which Christian Slater's pilot tries to stop John Travolta from stealing nuclear warheads.
400pts
22
Rush Hour
Brett Ratner's 1998 buddy action comedy pairing Jackie Chan's Hong Kong inspector with Chris Tucker's LAPD detective.
400pts
23
The Rock
Michael Bay's 1996 action film in which Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage break into Alcatraz to stop a rogue general's chemical attack.
400pts
24
La Femme Nikita
Luc Besson's 1990 French action thriller about a young criminal turned government assassin, played by Anne Parillaud.
400pts
25
The Mummy
Stephen Sommers's 1999 action-adventure starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, in which an ancient Egyptian priest is accidentally revived.
400pts
26
Independence Day
Roland Emmerich's 1996 alien-invasion blockbuster starring Will Smith, Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum.
400pts
27
The Long Kiss Goodnight
Renny Harlin's 1996 action film in which Geena Davis plays an amnesiac schoolteacher who learns she was a CIA assassin, with Samuel L. Jackson.
346pts
28
Cliffhanger
Renny Harlin's 1993 action film starring Sylvester Stallone as a mountain rescuer battling thieves in the Rocky Mountains.
346pts
29
Executive Decision
The 1996 action thriller in which Kurt Russell leads a team that boards a hijacked airliner in mid-flight.
346pts
30
Demolition Man
The 1993 sci-fi action film in which Sylvester Stallone's cryogenically frozen cop is thawed to stop Wesley Snipes's criminal.
346pts
31
Speed
Jan de Bont's 1994 thriller in which Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock must keep a bomb-rigged Los Angeles bus above 50 mph.
346pts
32
Face/Off
John Woo's 1997 action film in which John Travolta and Nicolas Cage play an FBI agent and a terrorist who swap faces.
346pts
33
GoldenEye
The 1995 James Bond film that introduced Pierce Brosnan as 007, facing the renegade agent Alec Trevelyan.
346pts
34
Once Upon a Time in China
Tsui Hark's 1991 Hong Kong martial arts epic starring Jet Li as the folk hero Wong Fei-hung.
346pts
35
Starship Troopers
Paul Verhoeven's 1997 satirical sci-fi war film about young soldiers fighting giant alien bugs.
346pts
36
Die Hard with a Vengeance
The 1995 third Die Hard film, with Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson racing around New York to solve a bomber's riddles.
285pts
37
Point Break
Kathryn Bigelow's 1991 action film with Keanu Reeves as an FBI agent going undercover among Patrick Swayze's surfing bank robbers.
285pts
38
True Lies
James Cameron's 1994 action comedy starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a secret agent hiding his double life from his wife, played by Jamie Lee Curtis.
285pts
39
El Mariachi
Robert Rodriguez's 1992 low-budget debut about a travelling musician mistaken for a hitman.
285pts
40
Timecop
Peter Hyams's 1994 sci-fi action film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as a police officer policing time travel.
285pts
41
Iron Monkey
Yuen Woo-ping's 1993 Hong Kong martial arts film about a Robin Hood-like masked hero, co-starring Donnie Yen.
285pts
42
The Fifth Element
Luc Besson's 1997 sci-fi action film starring Bruce Willis as a cab driver who must help save the world in 23rd-century New York.
215pts
43
Desperado
Robert Rodriguez's 1995 action film starring Antonio Banderas as a guitar-case-toting gunman seeking revenge on a drug lord.
215pts
44
Léon: The Professional
Luc Besson's 1994 film about a hitman, played by Jean Reno, who takes in a 12-year-old girl, played by Natalie Portman, after her family is murdered.
215pts
45
Con Air
The 1997 Jerry Bruckheimer production in which Nicolas Cage's paroled ex-Ranger is trapped on a prison plane hijacked by convicts.
133pts
46
Lethal Weapon 3
The 1992 third Lethal Weapon film, reuniting Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as LAPD partners, joined by Joe Pesci and Rene Russo.
133pts
47
Drunken Master II
Jackie Chan's 1994 kung fu film, released in the US as The Legend of Drunken Master, featuring his drunken-boxing finale.
133pts
48
The Crow
Alex Proyas's 1994 dark action film starring Brandon Lee as a murdered musician who returns from the dead for revenge.
133pts
49
Air Force One
Wolfgang Petersen's 1997 action film in which Harrison Ford's US president fights terrorists who hijack his plane.
133pts
50
Mission: Impossible
Brian De Palma's 1996 spy film that launched Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt franchise, remembered for its CIA vault heist.
0pts
51
Tomorrow Never Dies
The 1997 James Bond film in which Pierce Brosnan's 007 and Michelle Yeoh take on a media mogul trying to start a war.
0pts
52
Bad Boys
Michael Bay's 1995 debut feature, an action comedy starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as Miami narcotics detectives.
0pts
53
Blade
The 1998 Marvel film starring Wesley Snipes as the half-vampire vampire hunter Blade.
0pts
54
Sudden Death
Peter Hyams's 1995 action film in which Jean-Claude Van Damme fights terrorists during a Stanley Cup final game.
0pts