The 1980s marked the beginning of the end of the Cold War between Soviet Russia and the West. The 1990s brought fundamental changes to the world in the spheres of politics, finance, technology, and global pop culture.
The end of the Cold War left its mark on the action movies at the time. Join us for a cinematic walk down memory lane where we look at the most iconic action movies from the 1980s and 1990s that are still popular today.
The Terminator (1984)
The first Terminator movie is, without a doubt, one of the most iconic action/science-fiction movies from the early 1980s. Arnold Schwarzenegger emerged as one of the most popular action heroes of all time.
The year is 2029 and the supercomputer Skynet rules the world. Humanity’s only hope to regain its freedom is the resistance leader John Connor. The Skynet computer sends the cybernetic assassin Terminator back to 1984 in Los Angeles to kill Connor’s mother Sarah before her son John is born.
The human resistance sends the soldier Kyle Reese to rescue John Connor and his mother from the evil robot assassin. The Terminator is an iconic dystopian action movie. It explores the darker sides of the interaction between humans and computers.
The movie has received critical acclaim and an impressive audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
GoldenEye (1995)
The movie Golden Eye, with Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, brought the iconic British agent 007 into the post-Cold War era. The Soviet empire is gone and a new lawless and corrupt Russia is emerging. Our Cold War warrior hero James Bond is facing the Janus crime syndicate in post-Soviet Russia.
Agent 007 encounters the Janus gang member Xenia Onatopp in the elegant casino in Monte Carlo. This and other glamorous European destinations are far from US shores. It is therefore challenging for many Americans to visit those beautiful European destinations. However, American Bond fans can experience the magical European-style casino atmosphere virtually at the safe Playstar casino.
The chase for the mysterious Janus syndicate brings James Bond to the new Russia. 007 is confronted with a ghost from his past. Golden Eye is an enjoyable action movie from the 1990s with the characteristic elegance and action that you would expect from a James Bond movie.
Die Hard (1988)
The 1980s classic Die Hard movie is often hailed as one of the best action movies of all time. Bruce Willis plays the tough police officer John McClane who is struggling to rescue his collapsing marriage. Armed terrorists led by the German Hans Gruber seize the Nakatomi Corporation skyscraper in Los Angeles.
All the people in the tower are taken hostage except McClane who succeeds in running away from the terrorists. Gruber’s plan is to steal 640 million dollars in untraceable bearer bonds. With Gruber’s gang threatening to kill McClane’s wife and other hostages, McClane decides to take the law in his own hands to stop the terrorists.
Using his wits and unconventional methods, McClane successfully eliminates one terrorist after another. Die Hard became a blockbuster success story and eventually paved the path for no less than five Die Hard action movies.
Conclusion
The world underwent tremendous political, technological, and social changes in the 1980s and the 1990s. This period also produced some of the most iconic action movies of all time such as The Terminator, Goldeneye, and Die Hard.
