Top 10 Action Movies of the 1990s

Jackie Chan is in NY for his uncle’s wedding; but that’s just the set-up to get him face-to-face with a biker-gang for some good old-fashioned street fights. Making Jackie Chan a household name in America, this flick features Jackie doing his own stunts and taking on wave-after-wave of thugs in many vibrant locations and ridiculous situations. Plus, it shows he’s an expert at using anything as a weapon, be it his hands, his jacket or even a ski.

John Woo’s “Face/Off” sees Nicolas Cage play notorious criminal Castor Troy, who trades places with John Travolta’s upstanding FBI agent, Sean Archer. How, you ask? By swapping faces! We witness the fiery battle between good and evil as Archer ends up in a futuristic prison and Cage has free reign to do whatever he wants. Aside from the epic action, it’s Castor Troy’s explosive mood swings that add real anarchy to this flick.

Steven Seagal goes nautical in this action film, playing an ex-Navy Seal-turned-cook. When the vessel he resides on is overtaken by terrorists, his old skills kick in so he can kick ass. Along with his totally nonchalant manner comes brutal force with his fists, knives and a semi-automatic machinegun. Not only do we as viewers benefit from Seagal’s action star pedigree; we also get to see some new action skills – like improvised microwave bombs.

Alcatraz and its occupants, including a group of tourists, are taken hostage and San Francisco becomes the target of a chemical weapon. Sounds like a job for a desk-jockey biochemist and an experienced escapee of the prison! We’re taken from the runway to the water, to the sewers to the city as our unlikely heroes attempt to traverse the labyrinthine prison in order to save the day… and they make some wicked moves along the way.

The ‘90s were packed with timeless Arnie action classics like this. After Douglas Quaid pays for a virtual vacation to become a secret agent on Mars, everyone is out to kill him – even his own wife. From pulling trackers out of his nose to tangling with strange alien life forms, Quaid’s life becomes a non-stop, visually-stunning fight for survival. But is he really in a virtual world? Is this so-called dream real life?

This airborne performance sees John Malkovich, as prisoner Cyrus ‘The Virus’ Grissom, take over a plane of convicts. On the same aircraft, however, is Nic Cage’s Cameron Poe, who’s on his way to freedom. Wanting desperately to get home to his family, Poe must tread carefully around the violent personalities. With an electric atmosphere in the air and on the ground, “Con Air” has tension and action aplenty – and arguably some humor.

With he assignment of bringing down a terrorist organization, Harry Tasker – family man and secret agent – must risk the safety of his loved ones as well as his own, all for the good of his country. When he’s not scaring the hell out of the guy who’s having an affair with his wife, he’s partaking in horseback chases and bathroom brawls, and shooting stuff from a fighter jet.

This Oscar-winning action flick sees young cop Jack Traven become the pawn of a psychotic bomb expert, who rigs a city bus to blow if it goes below 50mph. Once on the doomed bus, Traven has to deal with the various passengers and follow the bomber’s rules to keep everyone alive. Aside from deliciously tense scenes featuring Dennis Hopper’s baddie, this flick has some iconic action sequences that’ll have you jumping outta your seat.

This movie made philosophy, dressing in long black coats and fighting kung-fu midair awesome. After being stuck in a fake world of computer-generated illusion, Keanu Reeves’ Neo is awoken to the real world, only to find that robots have enslaved the human race. To put an end to the synthetic veil of the Matrix, Neo must face notoriously deadly agents, defeat rooms full of machinegun-packing bad-guys and – of course – dodge bullets.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are some of our honorable mentions:
- “Air Force One” (1997)
- “Demolition Man” (1993)
- “Point Break” (1991)
- “The Fugitive” (1993)
- “Die Hard with a Vengeance” (1995)

Taking hold of the Skynet reigns once again, “T2” sees Schwarzenegger return in all of his monosyllabic glory. Only this time, he’s here to protect future resistance leader, John Connor. In addition to giving us the slang-talking robotronic Arnie, “Terminator 2” is also full of awesome motorbike chases, eye candy stand-offs and freaky improvised weaponry, thanks to some very advanced special effects and a regenerating liquid T-1000 made of Mimetic Polyalloy.

Do you agree with our list? What 1990s action movie made you jump out of your chair? For more fiery Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.