Favorite Action Movies of the 1990s
by monkeysgalore | created - 10 Nov 2019 | updated - 3 months ago | PublicAll of my favorite 90s action movies.
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1. Die Hard 2 (1990)
R | 124 min | Action, Thriller
John McClane attempts to avert disaster as rogue military operatives seize control of Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C.
Director: Renny Harlin | Stars: Bruce Willis, William Atherton, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson
Votes: 382,971 | Gross: $117.54M
2. Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)
R | 128 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
John McClane and a Harlem store owner are targeted by German terrorist Simon in New York City, where he plans to rob the Federal Reserve Building.
Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson, Graham Greene
Votes: 408,033 | Gross: $100.01M
3. Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)
R | 118 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh pursue a former LAPD officer who uses his knowledge of police procedure and policies to steal and sell confiscated guns and ammunition to local street gangs.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo
Votes: 178,457 | Gross: $144.73M
4. Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)
R | 127 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
With personal crises and age weighing in on them, LAPD officers Riggs and Murtaugh must contend with deadly Chinese triads that are trying to free their former leaders out of prison and onto American soil.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo
Votes: 172,190 | Gross: $130.44M
5. Bad Boys (1995)
R | 119 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Two hip detectives protect a witness to a murder while investigating a case of stolen heroin from the evidence storage room from their police precinct.
Director: Michael Bay | Stars: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Lisa Boyle, Michael Taliferro
Votes: 286,226 | Gross: $65.81M
6. Con Air (1997)
R | 115 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Newly-paroled ex-con and former U.S. Ranger Cameron Poe finds himself trapped in a prisoner-transport plane when the passengers seize control.
Director: Simon West | Stars: Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, John Malkovich, Colm Meaney
Votes: 319,144 | Gross: $101.12M
7. The Rock (1996)
R | 136 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A mild-mannered chemist and an ex-con must lead the counterstrike when a rogue group of military men, led by a renegade general, threaten a nerve gas attack from Alcatraz against San Francisco.
Director: Michael Bay | Stars: Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris, John Spencer
Votes: 358,022 | Gross: $134.07M
8. Face/Off (1997)
R | 138 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
To foil a terrorist plot, FBI agent Sean Archer assumes the identity of the criminal Castor Troy who murdered his son through facial transplant surgery, but the crook wakes up prematurely and vows revenge.
Director: John Woo | Stars: John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Alessandro Nivola
Votes: 400,754 | Gross: $112.23M
9. Point Break (1991)
R | 122 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
An F.B.I. Agent goes undercover to catch a gang of surfers who may be bank robbers.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Lori Petty
Votes: 202,143 | Gross: $43.22M
10. Broken Arrow (1996)
R | 108 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
Terrorists steal nuclear warheads from the U.S. military but don't count on a pilot and park ranger spoiling their plans.
Director: John Woo | Stars: John Travolta, Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, Delroy Lindo
Votes: 105,202 | Gross: $70.77M
11. The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
R | 121 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Samantha Caine lives in a small town with her daughter. Eight years ago she emerged, two months pregnant, from a nearby river with no memory of her past or who she is. However, she's getting closer to finding out about her past.
Director: Renny Harlin | Stars: Geena Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, Yvonne Zima, Craig Bierko
Votes: 85,650 | Gross: $33.33M
12. Air Force One (1997)
R | 124 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
Communist radicals hijack Air Force One with the U.S. President and his family on board. The Vice President negotiates from Washington D.C., while the President, a veteran, fights to rescue the hostages on board.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, Wendy Crewson
Votes: 210,055 | Gross: $172.96M
13. The Fugitive (1993)
PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Dr. Richard Kimble, unjustly accused of murdering his wife, must find the real killer while being the target of a nationwide manhunt led by a seasoned U.S. Marshal.
Director: Andrew Davis | Stars: Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Sela Ward, Julianne Moore
Votes: 318,525 | Gross: $183.88M
14. Hard Boiled (1992)
R | 128 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A tough-as-nails cop teams up with an undercover agent to shut down a sinister mobster and his crew.
Director: John Woo | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Teresa Mo, Philip Chan
Votes: 54,002
15. True Lies (1994)
R | 141 min | Action, Comedy, Thriller
A fearless, globe-trotting, terrorist-battling secret agent has his life turned upside down when he discovers his wife might be having an affair with a used-car salesman while terrorists smuggle nuclear war heads into the United States.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton
Votes: 280,798 | Gross: $146.28M
16. Speed (1994)
R | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A young police officer must prevent a bomb exploding aboard a city bus by keeping its speed above 50 mph.
Director: Jan de Bont | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Joe Morton
Votes: 391,760 | Gross: $121.25M
17. Cliffhanger (1993)
R | 113 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A botched mid-air heist results in suitcases full of cash being searched for by various groups throughout the Rocky Mountains.
Director: Renny Harlin | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, John Lithgow, Michael Rooker, Janine Turner
Votes: 139,911 | Gross: $84.05M
18. Sudden Death (1995)
R | 111 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A former fireman takes on a group of terrorists holding the Vice President and others hostage during the seventh game of the NHL Stanley Cup finals.
Director: Peter Hyams | Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Powers Boothe, Raymond J. Barry, Whittni Wright
Votes: 37,002 | Gross: $20.35M
19. The Big Hit (1998)
R | 91 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Socially anxious hitman Melvin Smiley, an expert in his lucrative field, goes on a job and falls in love with his kidnapping victim, turning his world upside down.
Director: Kirk Wong | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christina Applegate, Avery Brooks
Votes: 31,511 | Gross: $27.05M
20. Striking Distance (1993)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Mystery
Coming from a police family, Tom Hardy ends up fighting his uncle after the murder of his father. Tom believes the killer is another cop and goes on the record with his allegations. Demoted then to river duty, the killer taunts Tom.
Director: Rowdy Herrington | Stars: Bruce Willis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dennis Farina, Tom Sizemore
Votes: 45,506 | Gross: $23.80M
21. Mercury Rising (1998)
R | 111 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Shadowy elements in the NSA target a nine-year old autistic savant for death when he is able to decipher a top secret code.
Director: Harold Becker | Stars: Bruce Willis, Miko Hughes, Alec Baldwin, Chi McBride
Votes: 77,553 | Gross: $32.94M
22. GoldenEye (1995)
PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
Years after a friend and fellow 00 agent is killed on a joint mission, a secret space based weapons program known as "GoldenEye" is stolen. James Bond is assigned to stop a Russian crime syndicate from using the weapon.
Director: Martin Campbell | Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco, Famke Janssen
Votes: 270,167 | Gross: $106.60M
23. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
PG-13 | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
James Bond sets out to stop a media mogul's plan to induce war between China and the UK in order to obtain exclusive global media coverage.
Director: Roger Spottiswoode | Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh, Teri Hatcher
Votes: 204,638 | Gross: $125.33M
24. The World Is Not Enough (1999)
PG-13 | 128 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
James Bond uncovers a nuclear plot while protecting an oil heiress from her former kidnapper, an international terrorist who can't feel pain.
Director: Michael Apted | Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle, Denise Richards
Votes: 209,937 | Gross: $126.94M
25. The Hard Way (1991)
R | 111 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
An action movie star researching a role is allowed to tag along with a hardboiled New York City policeman, who finds him superficial and irritating.
Director: John Badham | Stars: Michael J. Fox, James Woods, Stephen Lang, Annabella Sciorra
Votes: 22,281 | Gross: $25.90M
26. Virtuosity (1995)
R | 106 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
When a virtual reality simulation created using the personalities of multiple serial killers manages to escape into the real world, an ex-cop is tasked with stopping its reign of terror.
Director: Brett Leonard | Stars: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Kelly Lynch, Stephen Spinella
Votes: 32,382 | Gross: $24.05M
27. One Good Cop (1991)
R | 114 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An NYPD Detective (Michael Keaton) and his struggle for justice, while taking care of his late partner's three little girls after he is killed in the line of duty.
Director: Heywood Gould | Stars: Michael Keaton, Rene Russo, Anthony LaPaglia, Kevin Conway
Votes: 4,530 | Gross: $11.28M
28. Hard Rain (1998)
R | 97 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The partner and nephew of an armored-truck driver tries to prevent three million dollars from being taken by a gang during a catastrophic flooding caused by a severe storm.
Director: Mikael Salomon | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater, Randy Quaid, Minnie Driver
Votes: 37,287 | Gross: $19.82M
29. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
R | 137 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A cyborg, identical to the one who failed to kill Sarah Connor, must now protect her ten year old son John from an even more advanced and powerful cyborg.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick
Votes: 1,173,511 | Gross: $204.84M
30. Rush Hour (1998)
PG-13 | 98 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A loyal and dedicated Hong Kong Inspector teams up with a reckless and loudmouthed L.A.P.D. detective to rescue the Chinese Consul's kidnapped daughter, while trying to arrest a dangerous crime lord along the way.
Director: Brett Ratner | Stars: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Ken Leung, Tom Wilkinson
Votes: 294,517 | Gross: $141.15M
31. Surviving the Game (1994)
R | 96 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
A homeless man is hired as a survival guide for a group of wealthy businessmen on a hunting trip in the mountains, unaware that they are killers who hunt humans for sport, and that he is their new prey.
Director: Ernest R. Dickerson | Stars: Rutger Hauer, Ice-T, Charles S. Dutton, Gary Busey
Votes: 13,155 | Gross: $7.73M
32. The Matrix (1999)
R | 136 min | Action, Sci-Fi
When a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding underworld, he discovers the shocking truth--the life he knows is the elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence.
Directors: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving
Votes: 2,052,020 | Gross: $171.48M
33. Blown Away (1994)
R | 121 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An Irish bomber escapes from prison and targets a member of the Boston bomb squad.
Director: Stephen Hopkins | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Tommy Lee Jones, Suzy Amis, Lloyd Bridges
Votes: 33,675 | Gross: $30.16M
34. Eraser (1996)
R | 115 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A Witness Protection specialist becomes suspicious of his co-workers when dealing with a case involving high-tech weapons.
Director: Chuck Russell | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vanessa Williams, James Caan, James Coburn
Votes: 118,336 | Gross: $101.30M
35. Last Action Hero (1993)
PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
With the help of a magic ticket, a young movie fan is transported into the fictional world of his favorite action movie character.
Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, F. Murray Abraham, Art Carney, Charles Dance
Votes: 163,721 | Gross: $50.02M
36. Another 48 Hrs. (1990)
R | 95 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Jack Cates once again enlists the aid of ex-con Reggie Hammond - this time to take down The Iceman, a ruthless drug lord operating in the San Francisco bay area.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Nick Nolte, Brion James, Kevin Tighe
Votes: 44,503 | Gross: $80.82M
37. Passenger 57 (1992)
R | 84 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
An airline security expert must take action when he finds himself trapped on a passenger jet when terrorists seize control of it.
Director: Kevin Hooks | Stars: Wesley Snipes, Bruce Payne, Tom Sizemore, Alex Datcher
Votes: 50,702 | Gross: $44.07M
38. Drop Zone (1994)
R | 101 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A tough cop teams up with a professional skydiver to capture a renegade computer hacker on the run from the law.
Director: John Badham | Stars: Wesley Snipes, Gary Busey, Yancy Butler, Michael Jeter
Votes: 21,563 | Gross: $28.72M
39. Hudson Hawk (1991)
R | 100 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A cat burglar is forced to steal Da Vinci works of art for a world domination plot.
Director: Michael Lehmann | Stars: Bruce Willis, Danny Aiello, Andie MacDowell, James Coburn
Votes: 60,315 | Gross: $17.22M
40. Desperate Measures (1998)
R | 100 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Frank Conner is an honest police officer who desperately needs to save his son's life. However, after losing all hope, he finds out that a criminal Peter McCabe in jail is his only savior.
Director: Barbet Schroeder | Stars: Michael Keaton, Andy Garcia, Brian Cox, Marcia Gay Harden
Votes: 17,850 | Gross: $13.81M
41. Executive Decision (1996)
R | 133 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
When terrorists seize control of an airliner, an intelligence analyst accompanies a commando unit for a midair boarding operation.
Director: Stuart Baird | Stars: Kurt Russell, Halle Berry, Steven Seagal, John Leguizamo
Votes: 61,540 | Gross: $56.57M
42. The Peacemaker (1997)
R | 124 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A US Army colonel and a civilian woman supervising him must track down stolen Russian nuclear weapons before they're used by terrorists.
Director: Mimi Leder | Stars: George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Marcel Iures, Aleksandr Baluev
Votes: 62,355 | Gross: $41.26M
43. Rage (1995)
R | 94 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A corrupt right-wing militia group chooses a California teacher as the ideal specimen to clone for its army.
Director: Joseph Merhi | Stars: Gary Daniels, Kenneth Tigar, Fiona Hutchison, Jillian McWhirter
Votes: 805
44. Beverly Hills Cop III (1994)
R | 104 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Axel Foley, while investigating a car theft ring, comes across something much bigger than that: the same men who killed his boss are running a counterfeit money ring out of a theme park in Los Angeles.
Director: John Landis | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Jon Tenney, Joey Travolta, Eugene Collier
Votes: 87,511 | Gross: $42.61M
45. The Last Boy Scout (1991)
R | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A private detective's protected female witness is murdered, prompting him and the victim's boyfriend to investigate the crime that leads to a corrupt politician and a crooked football team owner.
Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Bruce Willis, Damon Wayans, Chelsea Field, Noble Willingham
Votes: 112,022 | Gross: $59.51M
46. Total Recall (1990)
R | 113 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
When a man goes in to have virtual vacation memories of the planet Mars implanted in his mind, an unexpected and harrowing series of events forces him to go to the planet for real - or is he?
Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside, Rachel Ticotin
Votes: 354,408 | Gross: $119.39M
47. The Jackal (1997)
R | 124 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An imprisoned I.R.A. fighter is freed to help stop a brutal, seemingly "faceless" assassin from completing his next job.
Director: Michael Caton-Jones | Stars: Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, Sidney Poitier, Diane Venora
Votes: 124,105 | Gross: $54.93M
48. The Siege (1998)
R | 116 min | Action, Thriller
The secret U.S. abduction of a suspected terrorist leads to a wave of terrorist attacks in New York City, which leads to the declaration of martial-law.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Denzel Washington, Bruce Willis, Annette Bening, Tony Shalhoub
Votes: 78,069 | Gross: $40.98M
49. Ricochet (1991)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A District Attorney is terrorized by the criminal he put away years ago when he was a cop.
Director: Russell Mulcahy | Stars: Denzel Washington, John Lithgow, Ice-T, Kevin Pollak
Votes: 20,374 | Gross: $21.76M
50. Demolition Man (1993)
R | 115 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A police officer is brought out of suspended animation in prison to pursue an old ultra-violent nemesis who is loose in a non-violent future society.
Director: Marco Brambilla | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Sandra Bullock, Nigel Hawthorne
Votes: 193,244 | Gross: $58.06M
51. The Rookie (1990)
R | 120 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A veteran detective is assigned a rookie partner after his previous partner is killed by a car theft gang. He is determined to apprehend those responsible for his friend's death but his new partner isn't really up to the task.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Charlie Sheen, Raul Julia, Sonia Braga
Votes: 29,317 | Gross: $21.63M
52. Predator 2 (1990)
R | 108 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
The Predator returns to Earth, this time to stake a claim on the war-torn streets of a dystopian Los Angeles.
Director: Stephen Hopkins | Stars: Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Kevin Peter Hall, Rubén Blades
Votes: 182,443 | Gross: $30.67M
53. Deep Cover (1992)
R | 107 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A uniformed police officer is recruited by the DEA to infiltrate a drug smuggling ring looking to expand its operation.
Director: Bill Duke | Stars: Laurence Fishburne, Jeff Goldblum, Lira Angel, René Assa
Votes: 14,037 | Gross: $16.64M
54. U.S. Marshals (1998)
PG-13 | 131 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard and his team of Marshals are assigned to track down Sheridan, who has been accused of a double-murder.
Director: Stuart Baird | Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Wesley Snipes, Robert Downey Jr., Joe Pantoliano
Votes: 113,355 | Gross: $57.17M
55. Bulletproof (1996)
R | 84 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Two criminals, Keats and Moses, end their friendship, when Keats turns out to be an undercover cop. Many years later, the two are forced to work together when Keats is assigned to protect Moses as a witness.
Director: Ernest R. Dickerson | Stars: Damon Wayans, Adam Sandler, James Caan, Jeep Swenson
Votes: 40,102 | Gross: $21.16M
56. Metro (1997)
R | 117 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A Hostage Negotiator teams up with a Sharpshooter to bring down a dangerous jewel thief.
Director: Thomas Carter | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Michael Rapaport, Kim Miyori, Art Evans
Votes: 29,071 | Gross: $31.99M
57. Enemy of the State (1998)
R | 132 min | Action, Thriller
A lawyer becomes targeted by a corrupt politician and his N.S.A. goons when he accidentally receives key evidence to a politically motivated crime.
Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Lisa Bonet
Votes: 258,849 | Gross: $111.55M
58. The Assignment (1997)
R | 115 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
An American naval officer is recruited for an operation to eliminate his lookalike, the infamous terrorist Carlos The Jackal.
Director: Christian Duguay | Stars: Aidan Quinn, Donald Sutherland, Ben Kingsley, Claudia Ferri
Votes: 9,977 | Gross: $0.54M
59. Entrapment (1999)
PG-13 | 113 min | Action, Crime, Romance
An insurance agent is sent by her employer to track down and help capture an art thief.
Director: Jon Amiel | Stars: Sean Connery, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ving Rhames, Will Patton
Votes: 123,888 | Gross: $87.70M
60. Money Train (1995)
R | 110 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A vengeful New York City transit cop decides to steal a trainload of subway fares. His foster brother, a fellow cop, tries to protect him.
Director: Joseph Ruben | Stars: Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Lopez, Robert Blake
Votes: 43,182 | Gross: $35.32M
61. Boiling Point (I) (1993)
R | 92 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A pair of sociopath killers take on the police and the mob in order to make one last big score.
Director: James B. Harris | Stars: Wesley Snipes, Dennis Hopper, Lolita Davidovich, Viggo Mortensen
Votes: 6,563 | Gross: $10.06M
62. Live Wire (1992)
R | 85 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
After A US senator is killed, A Bomb Disposal Expert is brought in to investigate the deadly explosive and must uncover the terrorists plan.
Director: Christian Duguay | Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Ron Silver, Ben Cross, Lisa Eilbacher
Votes: 3,948
63. Hard Target (1993)
R | 97 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A woman hires a drifter as her guide through New Orleans in search of her missing father. In the process, they discover a deadly game of cat and mouse behind his disappearance.
Director: John Woo | Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lance Henriksen, Yancy Butler, Chuck Pfarrer
Votes: 56,239 | Gross: $32.59M
64. The Crow (1994)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A man brutally murdered comes back to life as an undead avenger of his and his fiancée's murder.
Director: Alex Proyas | Stars: Brandon Lee, Michael Wincott, Rochelle Davis, Ernie Hudson
Votes: 202,960 | Gross: $50.69M
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