Slam, Bang, Crash, Thud-90’s Action Movies
Slam, Bang, Crash, Thud. Car chases, shootouts, cloak and dagger stuff, femme fatales, bad ass guys and kick ass action. As a movie lover i may have somewhat evolved and gone to some what more esoteric stuff like Euro cinema or the Iranian classics or Japanese art house movies. Much the same way a hard core pub goer, who loves his draft beer graduates to wine drinking in a posh atmosphere.
But like the very same pub goer, who just loves to chill out with a beer, i guess at the end of the day, i still get my thrills from a good old action movie. My love for actioners has been from childhood, when i would revel in the slam bang stuff. Even in Tolly, Bolly masala, i would still prefer the maar dhaad stuff over more sentimental dramas. While i love watching a Shawshank or Cast Away, end of the day, i still prefer to get my adrenaline from Die Hard or Lethal Weapon.
My favorite French movie to date remains not one of Truffaut or Goddard’s flicks, but Luc Besson’s Nikita, seriously one of the best kick ass actioners i have seen. And yes i love the 70’s action flicks of Charles Bronson and Jean Paul Belmondo. And of course the Hong Kong action movies, a genre of which i am a big fan. Action movies have their own language, their own sub culture, their own sensibility which might not really appeal to all. Another factor is that most of my 90’s movie viewings was in my home town of Vizag, which is kinda small city, so most of the movies we used to get were action, horror, sci fi genre. Also considering that there was no Net those days, we did not get a chance to actually sample some of the Award winning dramas or critically acclaimed movies. So we would end up discussing a Terminator or Die Hard, than a Forrest Gump or Schindlers List.
Anyway making a list of my favorite action movies would prove to be a huge ask, since it would be quite a long one. So as of now i am sticking to my favorite 90’s action movies. Also please note that since 90’s Bollywood movies are already being discussed in a separate post of mine, this would concentrate only on non Bollywood stuff. Also some of my favorite action movies, are those which have been dissed by critics too, but honestly when i watch a movie, i just follow my heart. Please note that is not an exhaustive list, but a random sampling, hoping to see more from you folks in the comments section.
Assasins(1995)- Sly Stallone is a veteran assasin, who wants to get out of the business, but he has to deal with a competing assasin played by Antonio Banderas. Things take an interesting turn when Stallone has to eliminate a computer hacker, played by Juliane Moore, and Banderas is also after her. Watch out for the climax in a cathedral. Pretty stylish thriller.
Crimson Tide(1995)- Solid performances from Gene Hackmann and Denzel Washington, elevate this submarine thriller. A kind of Mutiny on the Bounty, set on a US nuke submarine, the movie has Washington as a Lt.Commander, who revolts against his Capt, played by Hackmann, when the latter refuses to heed his advice against launching a nuclear strike. The face off scenes between Hackmann and Washington are the best part of the movie, as also the issues it raises about experience vs gut feeling, coupled with some excellent under water shots.
Mexico Trilogy( El Mariachi, Desperado, Once Upon A time in Mexico)- One of my favorite action series. Mariachi is a kind of musical group in Mexico, and its the hero Antonio Banderas dream to be one. In fact this had a strong Sergio Leone’s Man with No Name series influence, as Banderas is referred to as El Mariachi all through. In El Mariachi, he is drawn into a world of crime, after he kills gangsters in self defence. Desperado sees him taking revenge on Bucho, the drug lord who has killed his earlier love, Domino. This movie also introduced Salma Hayek to Hollywood. Johnny Depp stars in Part III, which is Once Upon a Time in Mexico, as a CIA agent who recruits Banderas to kill a corrupt Mexican general. Loved the series for its stylish action scenes, and the slow motion shoot outs.
Die Hard Series(Die Hard, Die Harder and Die Hard with a Vengenance)- WHile the 1988 Die Hard, still remains my eternal favorite, i did like the 2nd and 3rd versions. Generally never like sequels much, but this is one of my favorite series, though Die Hard 4 was disappointing. Die Harder sees Bruce Willis battling the bad guys this time in an airport, when a group of desperadoes take control, demanding that their leader, a Mexican drug lord is released. The movie had good action scenes, interesting script, but the climax was totally Prabhuji , blowing up a flight, by lighting it’s leaking fuel, sheesh. Not many liked the 1995 version, Die Harder with a Vengenance, but i somehow found it interesting. Especially the cat and moust game between Willis and Jeremy Irons, and the Simon Says stuff.
Enemy of the State(1998)- Again a very interesting action movie, featuring the concept of the man on the run. Will Smith plays a lawyer, who gets a tape from his friend that shows rogue NSA agents killing a senator. Smith’s life is turned upside down, when NSA agents begin to track him, he is fired from his job, his credit cards are cancelled. He takes the help of an ex NSA agent played by Gene Hackmann. Movie has got some great action scenes, plus excellent performances from Smith and Hackmann.
Con Air- Another favorite action movie of mine, though not much liked by critics. Nicholas Cage is a man released from prison, and returning home to his wife and daughter. The trouble begins when the flight on which he is travelling is hijacked by prisoners, who want to make a getaway. The only person he can trust on ground is John Cusack, a U.S. Marshal, who knows Cage. The criminal cast of Cyrus the Virus, Diamond Dog, Marietta Mangler, Johnny 23, makes one of the best collection of Bad ass guys ever seen. Add to it some fab performances from Cage, Cusack, John Malkovich and Steve Buscemi, with some kick ass action scenes.
Face Off- Ah vintage John Woo stuff here. The concept of two guys having a face transplant does sound bizzare, but you just forget it once the movie starts. Also helping it are the performances from John Travolta as Sean Archer and Nicolas Cage as Castor Troy. While Cage does well in both roles, the scene stealer is Travolta when he assumes the persona of Castor Troy. Not many can play the baddie with such coolness and such relish as Travolta does. Put Travolta in a suit, give him a gun, make him mouth some smart ass dialogues, and boy you have magic on the screen. And yes the action scenes are vintage Woo. But my favorite is the final shoot out scene in an abandoned cathedral, John Woo rocks.
Hard Boiled(Hong Kong)- Again another John Woo classic. This was the last movie Woo directed in Hong kong, before he moved to Hollywood. Chow Yun Fat is a cop, who teams up with Tony Leung, an undercover agent to crack a Hong Kong triad gang. Just watch that scene, where both Chow Yun Fat and Tony Leung, battle the baddies in a hospital, in a 2 minute scene, shot by using a single hand held camera. John Woo at his best. Watch this
Heat- A clash of the titans with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, facing off on screen, as men on opposite sides of the law. The restaurant scene is a classic by itself, as also the shoot out on a busy road. What i loved about that shootout scene, is that director Michael Mann does not use any background score, just the sounds of gunfire and cars, making it so realistic. One of my favorite action scenes for sure.
The Rock- Fantastic performances from Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage and Ed Harris in this action thriller. Ed Harris is a renegade army officer, who threatens San Francisco with chemical weapons, unless they agree to his demands. He takes a group of tourists hostage at the Alcatraz prison, to show his intent. Cage playing a chemical weapons expert, who has to take the assistance of Connery, who has been a prisoner on Alcatraz and remains one of the few persons to have escaped from there. Kick ass action again, with some great dialogue. Oh btw there was a very pathetic desi version of this Qayamat.
Ronin- This in fact was a totally old school 70’s thriller shot in the 90’s. Unlike most of the action flicks of the 90’s, that relied on SFX and imagery, Ronin harked back to the good old kick ass action genre. The movie has everything, a bunch of bad ass guys on a mission, a mysterious femme fatale and some breathtaking car chases. Plus enough plot twists and double crossing to keep you totally hooked. And above all Robert De Niro.
The Fugitive- One of my favorite actioners again, featuring the theme of a man on the run. Based on the TV series of that name, Harrison Ford is Dr. Richard Kimble, a succesful Chicago surgeon, who is arrested for the murder of his wife. Ford breaks free from prison, but he has to contend with Tommy Lee Jones, a US Marshal, who is after him. Two action scenes are brilliant, one is when Ford makes his escape from the prisoner’s van, and another is a chase in a subway station.
Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs- Well just can say one word about them both. AWESOME. Saying more would mean a separate post.
Some Honorable mentions
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Cliffhanger
Air Force One
Executive Decision
Broken Arrow
Hard Target
Speed
The Hunt For Red October
I have not included thriller movies, because then again it would be a huge list, as of now, i am just sticking to action movies. Intending to come out with posts on my favorite action movies of 70’s and 80’s also. So get the adrenaline flowing folks.
Tags: 90's movies, Action Movies, Die Hard Series, El Mariachi, Ronin
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hard boiled has more body bags than saving private ryan.
Wow…nostalgic…some of them seen in college. some of them seen when working for the first job ( had lots of money and free time – for there was no girlfriend :-( )
Used to flock the Alka Theatre in Pune, which showed only/mostly English movies. Some names I remember clearly ( though cannot remember the stories of the few, in details )
Anaconda
bad Boys
Beverly Hills Cop
Braveheart
Edge
Independence Day
Jurassic Park
Men In Black
The Crow
The Fifth Element
The Last Action Hero
The Mask
Ace Ventura series
A few Jackie Chan movies
One movie of the 90’s that I saw recently and loved : Leon
Not big on action films but trying to watch them one by one for study sake. Saw Enemy of the state recently and thought it was pretty well done.
Whatever one might question action films on, at the end of the day, you do need them in good quantity and quality(DVD-HD-Blu Ray) to enjoy all those hi-fi systems and film players.
I still go back to classic war films(Apocalypse Now, Thin Red Line, Full Metal Jacket etc) or The Matrix, Rocky films etc. when I want a good audio-visual kick.
Me too a draft beer guy but I have some wine days as well.
Hmm, I would not classify Mask or Ace Ventura as action flicks.
Rush Hour was kick ass and so was Lethal Weapon 4 both released in 90s. Yup Die Hard rules, even the fourth one is superb.
I liked Golden Eye, Tomorrow Never Dies, good bond movies, both 90s I think.
Terminator 2, No words to describe, one of my fav action flicks.
Matrix, though I saw in 2000 but again an awesome movie.
I loved Sly’s Cliff Hanger. Much better than his lousy Judge Dredd and Demolition Man. Haven’t watched Daylight.
@ Dabba- Yes one of the most violent flicks ever, but vintage John Woo.
@ KCP- Loved most of the movies u put up, though Mask and Ace Ventura are more like Action Comedies. But then i am a big time fan of Jim Carrey.
Braveheart was really good, but The Patriot was like a Sunny Paaji movie made in Hollywood. Leon is a great movie, there was a trashy Hindi version called Bichoo.
@ Tushar, yeah i know Action movies are generally placed at lower end of scale, compared to dramas, but i feel they have a sensibility and sub culture of their own.
BTW there is a Saturn Awards, which is like an Oscar for sci fi, horror and action flicks, genres generally overlooked by the Academy.
@ Vishesh
Well i too liked Lethal Weapon series, but the first one was the best, very dark and very edgy.
Terminator 2 is ultimate one, mind blowing.
Matrix is in a league of it’s own.
Broken Arrow was another John Woo action film with Travolta playing the cool villain. Loved the final action scene shot on a moving train.
Ratnakar-
I like all the movies in your list.But how about Terminator-2?its among my all time favourite list.
Hvae seen it on numerous occastions.
BTW have you seen Athadu, a telugu version of Assasins?- even the climax was more or less made in a similar fashion!!!
Yes, Liked Con Air even tho the ending was as expected…But what happens on the plane especially with such perfectly cast inmates it did make for an interesting watch…
Face off…Hmmm..ya…
You mention Nikita. It just came on World Movies this Friday as part of Sriram Raghavan’s fav films.
Somehow Shawshank Redemption, its good but somwhow felt it went overboard, felt I was taken for a ride types…somewhat tho…
@Arthi
Well Shawshank is one of my favorites, but again am not sure it would come in action flicks category, its more of a dramatic movie.
Both Leon and Nikita are Shriram Raghavan’s favorites. Nikita is very stylish, very violent.
Con Air, yeah loved that assorted set of loonies, and my favorite quote
” Define Irony? A bunch of idiots singing a song on a plane, made famous by a band that died in a plane crash”.
Just put it in bcz I saw the name. Nothin more…True @ that dialogue in CA…esp the way JM says it..He can be so mean n nasty…the way he portrays these roles with ease….
@Sethu
T2 is one of my all time favorites. In fact i even liked Terminator 1, where Arnie plays the villian in it.
But the Graphics and SFX in T2 were mind blowing. In fact when the movie released in Vizag, the theater would give away booklets in English and Telugu, explaining the story of the movie, as also the background of the Terminator.
Athadu was quite slickly made, yeah the climax was taken straight from Assasins, but Mahesh is one of the few young Telugu heroes whom i like. I find him much better than Jr.Ntr or Pawan Kalyan. He is an actor, who speaks with his eyes and expressions.
BTW Mahesh’s Dad Krishna, did a totally rubbish adaptation of Face Off in Telugu called Maanavudu-Daanavudu. As expected it was a major flop, because Face Off was a big hit in Andhra, when it was released.
Hey Arthi that dialogue in Con Air, is not by John Malkovich, it is by my other favorite actor Steve Buscemi, who plays the Garland Greene, the pedophile, child abuser. He is one really underrated actor i feel. John Malkovich is Cyrus the Virus.
Is it..wait…NC and JM are sitting in the first row when he turns to say it…Oh yes got it…It is SB…JM is moving about taking control …sorry..correct u r…
@ Raj, yeah liked Broken Arrow, but only for John Travolta’s cool villian act. He is one of the best baddies for sure. Christian Slater was a waste however.
But my favorite is Face Off, the stunts are just amazing in it. Typical John Woo style.
Actually even I loved Broken Arrow – John Travolta was damn cool.
And yes Ratnakar- I agree with you about Mahesh Babu.He also has a truly Indian looks- can easlily pass off as a NI also unlike most of the other telugu ( and also other south Indian) heroes!!!
Mahesh and Surya i think are the few South Indian actors, who don’t indulge in over the top histrionics. Both of them are very subtle and understated.
Ratnakar, Sethu,
On the topic of Mahesh, I liked him a lot in Okkadu. The tamil version, Gilli, I thought was pretty bad. Didn’t enjoy that one.
@ Raj
I think Mahesh is more like Surya, very restrained and understated. Expresses a lot with his eyes, than loud dialogues. Vijay on the other hand is typically OTT. In fact Mahesh was much better in the Telugu version of Pokiri compared to Vijay in the Tamil version. Incidentally from what i heard Vijay’s latest flick Kuruvi seems a real Torture flick.
Ratnakar,
Yeah man! Kuruvi is the ultimate torture film, better than even the 80s torture flicks. I guess majority of Vijay’s (or for that matter most of the tamil films where the hero plays action super-hero) will qualify for the torture series.
Ratnakar
You are right about Kuruvi- one hell of a torture it was.First half is like Roman Holiday/Pyar to hona hi tha & the 2nd half is more or less a rip off from a telugu movie -chatrapati which had Prbahas & Shriya in it.It had OTT screaming.
Yes Mahesh is completely restrained & loved him in most movies like Pokiri,Okkadu,Athadu etc!!!Same is with Suriya.In fact though Ajit is on the same league as Vijay in terms of star power he is still not that OTT unlike Vijay!!!
BTW what about the Jackie Chan & Jet Li films of the 1990’s?
@ Sethu, if i go into Jackie Chan, Jet Li territory that will be a separate topic by itself. I am a big time fan of the HK movies. Anyway here is my list of them, not very exhaustive though.
Armor of God II:Operation Condor- This has that famous scene, where Jackie Chan, escapes from the baddies in a zorb.
But Armor of God, was much better, it had that famous scene, where Jackie takes on a room full of monks.
Once Upon a Time in China Series- One of Jet Li’s best movies.
Fong Sai Yul- another Jet Li classic.
Iron Monkey- Pretty good one.
Rumble in the Bronx- Jackie Chan.
Black Mask-Jet Li
Who Am I- Jackie Chan flick based on Bourne Identity. Look out for the car chase scene in it.
But for me Jackie Chan and John Woo, gave their best movies during the 80’s.
Ratnakar
Agree with you that John Woo & Jackie Chan gave their best movies in the 80’s.But all said & done the movies mentioned by you are all good.
I would also add Rush Hour ( Jackie Chan,Chris Tucker) to this list!!!
Finally a topic on the action movies of the 90s. This is what drove me towards cinema first and I really dig them (”critics” can go fly a kite). Here are my favourites (of the 90s and 80s as well):
T2- The first actioner I watched…and it rocked!! “I’ll be back” still gives me goosebumps.
Jackie Chan movies.
Broken Arrow/Face Off – Travolta – Bad guy – cool dialogues – Awesome John Woo style fun. Thinking of petitioning Woo to make at least one film with Travolta.
Commando/Eraser – Some of the most illogical movies worked because of Arnie. He rocked
Matrix – Cannot say anything about it which has not been said. However do want to point out that it marked the end of the old fashioned guns, muscles and explosions action film era.
Con Air – The ultimate disaster/action movie combination. John Malkovich as the bad guy rocked.
The Rock – “Welchome to ja vrock”. Connery and Cage made a great combination.
@Dhananjay
T2 was the ultimate flick.
John Travolta really makes villiany seem so cool. That final shootout scene in a cathedral between Travolta and Cage was awesome. But i feel John Woo’s movies post Face Off were not too great.
Commando was fine, though my all time fav Arnie movie after T2, wud be Predator.
Con Air- The best collection of bad ass guys on the planet. And what actors? John Malkovich, Ving Rhames, Steve Buscemi, John Cusack. But somehow i felt Nicholas Cage character was kinda bland, seemed out of place in the whole thing.
I loved Ronin too, very old school thriller, but the car chases rocked.
Not sure if the old school genre is over, i felt the Bourne Series, was pretty much old school kind. As was American Gangster.