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Action Movie SUBGENRES
ADVENTURE
| ALL
FOR LOVE
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ARNOLD MOVIES
| BOND
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BUDDY
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CHASE
| FIGHT
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GRRRL
POWER
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HEIST
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RUN FOR COVER!
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TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. ROBOCOP
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The
French Connection
(9 Oct 1971)
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Dirty
Harry
(23 Dec 1971)
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(Thanks to AllOuttaBubbleGum.com's YouTube Channel KillCount video for this screencapture.) |
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This is one of the 1980s cop movies where the good guy has a hard time doing his job, is on the right track when no one else is, and works for a Department Head/Police Chief who is a dick. It got the the point where it became comical when they would introduce the screaming Dept. Chief in these movies. Cobra has incredible car chases, and if you've ever wanted to stand up in the back of a moving pick-up truck and mow down a motorcycle gang with a machine gun, this movie's for you! Did I mention Stallone actually gets thrown out of a moving truck? Well, it's more like a jump and roll, but you go Bad Ass! Brian Thompson as the "Night Slasher" does a really good job of making you hate him. |
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This movie always makes me feel like a kid again. It's part of why we love The Terminator: that robot-as-a-pet feeling. We would love to have a robot to make it do what we wanted, and Robocop is a super-sized cyborg version of that. The back story is really touching and can be credited to Peter Weller's performance. So much of it is in his voice and his face (without the helmet). The bad guys are so bad, you're just itching for them to be blown away. This movie is fun every time you watch it. |
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Above The Law
(22 Apr 1988) There's lots of Action here: Many gunfights, falls from a height, riding on the top of a car, almost driving out a high floor on a parking garage, violence in a church, torture scenes. Seagal does a lot of running in this movie, but he doesn't break as many bones, nor do as much trash talking as expected. "Whenever you have a group of individuals who are beyond any investigation, who can manipulate the press, judges, members of our Congress, you're always going to have, within our government, those who are above the law." Drinking Game: Whenever they say "Mother Fucker" or "Nico". Look for Michael Rooker (you know, the blue guy from GOTG) as a wiseass at the bar. This would be a very different movie if it wasn't Seagal. But it is, who else could it be? There's no one like him: Spike's "Top Seven Awesome Things You Didn't Know About Steven Seagal"
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Die Hard
(15 July 1988) What a great series! The first is the best and features probably everyone's favorite action movie quote. John McClane's cowboy cop antics during his cat and mouse with the 'Euro trash' personify the American Hero spirit: "We're Americans and we don't take no shit". The off-duty cop who's never off duty. It's partly a Buddy movie in that we get emotionally invested in whether John McClane will meet Reginald VelJohnson's character Sgt. Al Powell (Powell helps McClane out and talks him through the rough patches) and we root for them to meet when it's over. Plus, it leaves you all warm and fuzzy imagining they will be buddies and invite each other's families over for backyard barbeques with Twinkies, but it's McClane all by himself in that tower. He's determined, resourceful, and recklessly fearless. At times you wonder whether he just believes in himself that completely, or whether he's just going for it, living in the moment and making it up as he goes along. The main reason we like this character so much is that he's the average man, and that makes us all feel like we could be heroes if we were in his shoes (or bare feet).
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Hard to Kill
(9 Feb 1990) |
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(aka "Die Hard 2: Die Harder") Another Christmas, another airport! John McClane can't catch a break from his cop instincts. This movie is still so satisfying every time you watch. The cast of supporting characters adds a lot to the chemistry. Now, McClaine's an L.A. cop (!) fighting a team of terrorist psychos trying to liberate a dictator headed for prison via Washington Dulles airport, where McClane places a call on a "Pacific Bell" telephone (LOL) to his wife who is due in for the holidays. Ooops. Other funny: An old lady passenger on the 'plane brought onboard a taser. One thing I love about McClane, the on-spot instincts. He's going to ask the right 'wrong' question, but he's ready with his weapon when he gets the 'wrong' right answer. The stakes are really high on this one, as McClane is fighting to save his wife. In the meantime, he has to put up with opposition from the local yokel Airport Police Captain played by Dennis Franz. And boy is it satisfying when he gets his comeuppance.
This
movie is most remembered for the ejector seat scene. Don't think
anything's topped that since for sheer Action Movie mayhem/fun.
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Death Warrant
(14 Sept 1990) |
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Dark Angel
(28 Sept 1990) |
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Marked For Death (5 Oct 1990)
"Put your hands
where I can see 'em or I'm gonna blow your head off."
Violence! You remember: the Jamaicans and
the jewelry store scene . . . all old-school Action and plenty
of it. Every kind of weapon, awesome chase. Never gets old! |
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Out
for Justice
(12 Apr 1991) How Action Movie Freaks love this movie. We can't get enough of Steven Seagal fucking everybody up. From the credits when he throws a pimp through a windshield, to the end when he shoots the bad guy that he's already just killed, he's the definition of large and in charge. Everywhere he goes he leaves a trail of missing teeth, broken bones, injuries, and deaths. It doesn't matter how many men are in the room or what kind of weapons they have. He's strutting in and he's strutting out. Before you can manage a snappy comeback, not only has he insulted you, but it's likely you're headed for the emergency room. A one-man wrecking machine, it never gets old because even though he takes the occasional hit, he's one up, in y our facing, and making it look easy. All that Aikido training has him using the bad guys' own momentum against them. It's so much fun to watch. |
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Patriot Games (5 June 1992) |
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Passenger
57
(6 Nov 1992) This movie keeps it simple and gets it right. Wesley Snipes is great in this. They set it up well, and then he plays a total Bad Ass (it launched his Action Movie career). This was Elizabeth Hurley's first big movie, and although her role was small, it was impactful. Everyone in it is good, especially the bad guy, Bruce Payne, which makes it all the more satisfying when he finally gets taken down. The set up is interesting, and there's lots of tension—I think the script is underrated because the movie is typical cheesy Action fun and the pace is good. Looking back at it, it's a little short (1 hr. 24 min.) and I wish it were longer. I think it would have been more appreciated because we'd have been more invested. If it wasn't for Wesley, though, the movie would not be as popular. Every Action Movie Freak knows this movie. What makes it so enjoyable is watching Wesley literally kick the crap out of everyone. |
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Demolition Man (8 Oct 1993) |
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On Deadly Ground (18 Feb 1994) |
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Timecop
(16 Sep 1994) |
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Clear and Present Danger (3 Aug 1994) |
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Speed (10 June 1994) |
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Judge
Dredd
(30 June 1995) Oh how we miss movies like these (like Blade Runner, Escape from New York, Robocop, Total Recall) that portray a dystopian future in incredible detail and with a creative flair from wardrobe to weaponry, often exaggerating current issues with hilarious results (like requiring full-body xrays at security checkpoints—considered so ridiculous when Total Recall aired in 1990, and now commonplace in airports.) |
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Walking
Tall
(2 April 2004) |
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Live Free or Die Hard
(27 June 2007) |
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Sinners and Saints
(2010) What a great movie! Part II is on the way. Read my review from Action Fest 2012. If you loved the gun battle in the street in Heat (1995), this is a must-watch. |
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The Gray Man
(2022) Review and link. |
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Action Movie SUBGENRES |