90) Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985)

MISSING IN ACTION, Chuck Norris, 1984, (c) Cannon

Director: Lance Hool

Writers: Steve Bing, Larry Levinson, Arthur Silver

Stars: Chuck Norris, Soon-Tek Oh, Steven William

Action Sub-genre: War, Special Forces

Synopsis: “Prequel to the first Missing In Action, set in the early 1980s it shows the capture of Colonel Braddock during the Vietnam war in the 1970s, and his captivity with other American POWs in a brutal prison camp, and his plans to escape.”

UAMC Ranks the Chuck Norris ‘Missing in Action’ Movies

89) In Hell (2003)

Director: Ringo Lam

Writers: Eric James Virgets, Jorge Alvarez, George Alvarez

Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lawrence Taylor, Lloyd Battista

Action Sub-genre: Martial Arts, Cop, Prison

Synopsis: “A man must survive a prison where hardened criminals battle to the death for the wardens’ entertainment.”

In Hell: Celebrating the ‘Shawshank Redemption’ of Van Damme Movies

88) Bullitt (1968)

Director: Peter Yates

Writers: Alan Trustman, Harry Kleiner

Stars: Steve McQueen, Jacqueline Bisset, Robert Vaughn

Action Sub-genre: Cop, Classic

Synopsis: “An all guts, no glory San Francisco cop becomes determined to find the underworld kingpin that killed the witness in his protection.”

Bullitt (1968): the Quintessential Classic Hollywood Action Movie

87) The Last Dragon (1985)

Director: Michael Schultz

Writer: Louis Venosta

Stars: Taimak, Vanity, Christopher Murney

Action Sub-genre: Kung Fu, Martial Arts

Synopsis: “In New York City, a young man searches for a Master to obtain the final level of martial arts mastery known as the Glow.”

The Last Dragon: How to Remake a Martial Arts Classic in 6 Ultimate Steps

86) Blind Fury (1989)

Director: Phillip Noyce

Writers: Ryôzô Kasahara, Charles Robert Carner

Stars: Rutger Hauer, Terry O’Quinn, Brandon Call

Action Sub-genre: Martial Arts, Comedy, War

Synopsis: “A blind Vietnam vet, trained as a swordfighter, comes to America and helps to rescue the son of a fellow soldier.”

The 5 Most Ultimate Moments from Blind Fury

85) Taken (2008)

Director: Pierre Morel

Writers: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen

Stars: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen

Action Sub-genre: Vigilante, Rescue

Synopsis: “A retired CIA agent travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been kidnapped while on a trip to Paris.”

Liam Neeson in ‘Taken’: A Study of a Modern Action Hero

84) Face/Off (1997)

Director: John Woo

Writers: Mike Werb, Michael Colleary

Stars: John TravoltaNicolas Cage

Action Sub-genre: Cop, Sci-Fi, Shoot ’em Up

Synopsis: “In order to foil an extortion plot, an FBI agent undergoes a facial transplant surgery and assumes the identity and physical appearance of a terrorist, but the plan turns from bad to worse when the same terrorist impersonates the FBI agent.”

Nicolas Cage in ‘Face/Off’ – The 90s Action Hero We Never Knew We Needed (Part 3)

83) Starship Troopers (1997)

Director: Paul Verhoeven

Writers: Edward Neumeier, Robert A. Heinlein

Stars: Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, Dina Meyer

Action Sub-genre: Sci-fi, War

Synopsis: “Humans in a fascist, militaristic future wage war with giant alien bugs in a satire of modern world politics.”

Starship Troopers: A Hilarious (Yet Low-Key Chilling) Action Satire

82) American Ninja 2: The Confrontation (1987)

Director: Sam Firstenberg

Writers: Gary Conway, James Booth, Gideon Amir, Avi Kleinberger

Stars: Michael DudikoffSteve James, Larry Poindexter

Action Sub-genre: Ninja, Martial Arts

Synopsis: “On a remote Caribbean island, Army Ranger Joe Armstrong investigates the disappearance of several marines, which leads him to The Lion, a super-criminal who has kidnapped a local scientist and mass-produced an army of mutant Ninja warriors.”

UAMC Interview: Behind the Scenes of American Ninja 2 (1987)

81) Air Force One (1997)

Director: Wolfgang Petersen

Writer: Andrew W. Marlowe

Stars: Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close

Action Sub-genre: Die Hard, Thriller

Synopsis: “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.”

Air Force One: When a Fictional American President Became Ultimate

1 COMMENT

  1. wow this is one screwed up list, cobra #1 really? this movie never even got a sequel because it was one of stallones worst ever, picking it over terminator and die hard, again WOW

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