I’ve made a recent discovery – action movies from the 90’s were ridiculous. I know, I know, it’s not the most original take, but I’ve been watching more recently and enjoyed every single one. I’ve been making my through the catalogue on Disney+, but I wanted to find even more from the decade. Everything from unlikely heroes, scenes which defy the laws of physics (and common sense) and bad wigs… Let me know in the comments which should definitely be added to the list!
Face/Off (1997)
An FBI agent undergoes face-swapping surgery to impersonate a terrorist, who then steals his identity in return. Nicolas Cage and John Travolta deliver unhinged performances in a film that treats medical science like magic and slow-motion like gospel. Gunfights, mirror metaphors, and identity crises explode in operatic fashion.
Demolition Man (1993)
Frozen in the 90s and thawed in a utopian future, Stallone’s rogue cop must hunt down a chaotic killer played by Wesley Snipes in a world where swearing is fined and all restaurants are Taco Bell. The future is squeaky-clean and completely insane, right down to its use of seashells in the bathroom. Violent ballet meets social satire in a neon-wrapped fever dream.
Virtuosity (1995)
A serial killer AI, stitched together from history’s worst villains, escapes virtual reality and takes human form as a technicolour-suited Russell Crowe. Denzel Washington is the only ex-cop with a dark past who can stop him, with outdated tech and massive firepower. Reality bends to accommodate this pixelated menace on a destruction spree.
Timecop (1994)
In a future where time-travel crime is a daily concern, Jean-Claude Van Damme splits and kicks his way across timelines to stop temporal terrorists. The logic is loopy, the hair is greased, and the paradoxes are plentiful. Time itself takes a backseat to high-kicking justice.
Total Recall (1990)
Arnold Schwarzenegger buys a memory implant vacation to Mars and maybe discovers he’s a rebel leader in disguise – or maybe it’s all a dream. Three-breasted aliens, exploding heads, and a taxi-driving robot make this one deliriously excessive. Mars has never looked more like a construction site and felt more like a hallucination.
Con Air (1997)
A planeload of psychotic prisoners hijacks their transport, only to be opposed by one soft-spoken, long-haired ex-Army Ranger who just wants to see his daughter. The action is sky-high, the one-liners are airborne, and John Malkovich delivers villainy with velvet menace. Even the stuffed bunny has a dramatic arc.
The Rock (1996)
A chemical weapons crisis on Alcatraz brings together Nicolas Cage as a twitchy chemist and Sean Connery as a possibly-not-James-Bond ex-spy. It’s high-octane patriotism filtered through Michael Bay’s exploding lens. Every line is shouted, every explosion operatic.
Broken Arrow (1996)
Nuclear weapons are stolen during a training exercise, and John Travolta gleefully smirks his way through a desert-set detonation fest. Christian Slater is the square-jawed good guy who fights fire with helicopter explosions. Somewhere between the mushroom clouds, there’s a plot about loyalty – kind of.
Speed (1994)
When a city bus is rigged to explode if it drops below 50 mph, Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock take the wheel of the most stressful commute imaginable. The premise defies infrastructure, physics, and common sense, yet somehow sticks the landing. Dennis Hopper’s villain is all wires, bombs, and mad logic.
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995)
A hijacked train barrels through Colorado while a disgruntled tech genius uses a stolen satellite to unleash chaos. Steven Seagal, formerly just a cook, slices, shoots, and stares his way through it all with stone-faced conviction. The film derails reality and runs straight into action absurdity.
Johnny Mnemonic (1995)
Keanu Reeves plays a courier with a data drive in his head that’s over capacity and could kill him, and the only solution lies with cyber-dolphins and laser-whip assassins. The future is corporate, grimy, and deeply confusing. Hacking the human brain has never looked more like a grunge music video.
Double Team (1997)
Jean-Claude Van Damme joins forces with basketball icon Dennis Rodman to stop a flamboyant terrorist while dodging tigers and landmines in a Roman coliseum. Logic is outpaced by neon, explosions, and wardrobe choices. Somehow, it’s both spy thriller and action circus.
Tank Girl (1995)
In a post-apocalyptic desert run by a water-hoarding corporation, a punk heroine teams up with mutant kangaroo soldiers to spark a revolution. Lori Petty is an unfiltered force of chaos, wisecracks, and rocket launchers. It’s Mad Max meets Lisa Frank on a sugar rush.
The Lawnmower Man (1992)
A dim-witted gardener is turned into a digital demigod through virtual reality experiments that spiral wildly out of control. Pierce Brosnan plays the scientist who thinks this is all a good idea, while cyberspace becomes a glitchy hellscape. Reality and software collide in a swirl of early CGI hubris.
Steel (1997)
Shaquille O’Neal moonlights as a DIY superhero in a homemade metal suit complete with a hammer launcher. The bad guys use video game weapons to rob banks, and somehow no one questions the 7-foot vigilante. Equal parts comic book and community theatre.
Street Fighter (1994)
Jean-Claude Van Damme, as all-American hero Guile, leads a UN strike force against Raul Julia’s overacting villain General M. Bison. The dialogue is bananas, the costumes are arcade-accurate, and the plot barely pretends to make sense. A fighting game adaptation where every punch is pure melodrama.
Judge Dredd (1995)
Sylvester Stallone enforces the law with an iron jaw in a dystopian mega-city, until he’s framed for murder by his own clone. The uniforms are shiny, the motorcycles defy physics, and Rob Schneider somehow tags along. It’s the kind of justice best served with shouting and explosions.
The Phantom (1996)
Billy Zane dons a purple bodysuit and channels jungle justice through mystical rings to battle sky pirates and colonial ghosts. The film swings between Indiana Jones homage and full-blown pulp nonsense. Adventure never looked this vividly violet.
Barbed Wire (1996)
Pamela Anderson plays a bounty hunter in a war-torn America where fashion, firearms, and fog machines reign supreme. Casablanca is loosely referenced, but mostly it’s leather, slow-mo, and sultry side-eyes. Resistance never looked so pneumatic.
The Crow (1994)
Brandon Lee returns from the grave, face painted and vengeance-fueled, to take out a gang of cartoonishly evil criminals. The city is soaked in rain, fire, and poetic rage. Death is temporary; eyeliner is forever.
Cliffhanger (1993)
High above the Rockies, Sylvester Stallone dangles from icy cliffs to recover stolen cash from airborne criminals. The stunts are gravity-defying and the scenery breathtaking, even as logic slides off the mountain. Guns, grappling hooks, and mid-air battles all feature in this muscular vertical odyssey.
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
Geena Davis stars as a suburban mum with amnesia who rediscovers her past life as a lethal assassin when enemies come calling. Samuel L. Jackson helps her rediscover her inner killer across snowy explosions and sarcastic gunfights. It’s equal parts spy thriller and reinvention fable with a sharp tongue.
Ricochet (1991)
Denzel Washington’s cop puts away a madman, only for the psycho to return years later with a twisted revenge plan involving public humiliation and ruin. John Lithgow is utterly unhinged as the villain orchestrating his downfall from behind bars. It’s a psychological vendetta wrapped in cop drama excess.
Executive Decision (1996)
Terrorists hijack a passenger plane with nerve gas onboard, and the only people who can stop them are elite commandos plus an unprepared analyst played by Kurt Russell. Tension builds at cruising altitude with real-time decision-making and mid-air boarding tactics. What begins as airport thriller becomes action chaos at 30,000 feet.
The Substitute (1996)
A former mercenary goes undercover as a high school teacher to clean up a gang-ridden inner-city school with military precision. Tom Berenger hands out detentions with fists and flashbangs. What it lacks in realism, it makes up for in explosive discipline.
Out for Justice (1991)
Steven Seagal stomps through Brooklyn as a rogue cop avenging a murdered partner, using pool cues and mysterious past connections. Every bar brawl turns into a philosophical street sermon. It’s a vengeance tale wrapped in tank tops and growls.
Eraser (1996)
Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a U.S. Marshal who “erases” high-profile witnesses by faking their deaths and blowing up large chunks of city infrastructure. The enemies wield railguns that can see through walls and shoot through steel. Explosions, alligators, and skydives combine in this precision-crafted frenzy.
Chain Reaction (1996)
Keanu Reeves and Rachel Weisz uncover a revolutionary energy source, only to be framed for terrorism and chased by shadowy forces. Science is secondary to helicopter escapes and snowmobile chases. Somewhere in the chemistry is a reason for a lot of running.
Hard Target (1993)
Jean-Claude Van Damme, in a mullet and duster coat, becomes the prey of wealthy hunters tracking homeless veterans through New Orleans. Directed by John Woo, the film is all slow-motion pigeons and explosive spin-kicks. Subtlety is hunted down and eliminated early.
Drop Zone (1994)
Wesley Snipes plays a U.S. Marshal tracking skydiving cyber-thieves who pull off heists mid-air. The plot jumps between stunts with reckless abandon, rarely landing on logic. Freefall fistfights and midair hacking take precedence over physics.
Terminal Velocity (1994)
Charlie Sheen is a thrill-seeking skydiver pulled into a conspiracy involving ex-KGB agents and mid-flight betrayals. There are plenty of leaps, literal and narrative, as the story dives headlong into absurdity. Gravity is a playground, not a rule.
Only the Strong (1993)
A former soldier teaches troubled teens the art of Brazilian capoeira, using martial arts choreography and motivational speeches to clean up the streets. Fights break out in classrooms and schoolyards with rhythmic, shirtless elegance. Discipline arrives in a backflip.
Marked for Death (1990)
Steven Seagal battles Jamaican drug gangs who seem to be half warlords, half sorcerers. The plot is part action thriller, part fevered nightmare, with limbs snapping at regular intervals. It’s voodoo versus vengeance in leather jackets.