• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

I am re-watching 90s Action movies and they are leagues ahead of movies released in 2010s

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
2010s will mostly be remembered for Comic Book adaptions. Pretty much every big budget action movie was either a Nolan movie or a Marvel or DC movie. There were some mediocre Transformers movies from Bay, but when it comes to blockbusters, it was Marvel and DC.

The 90s had some great franchises. Jurrasic Park, Terminator 2, Mission Impossible, The Matrix. What I miss the most ere the excellent one off movies we used to get in the 90s. No sequels. Original ideas. Big budget movies that relied mostly on special effects. I am talking about movies like:

- Con Air - Nicolas Cage stops Jon Malcovich from hijacking a plane carrying criminals.
- The Ghost And The Darkness - Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer team up to kill two man eating Lions.
- Face/Off - John Travolta and Nicolas Cage switch faces and fuck each other's wives.
- True Lies - James Cameron and Arnold Team up again. This time to kill terrorists.
- The Rock - Sean Fucking Connery and Nicolas cage break into Alcatraz.
- Armagaddeon - Oil Drillers become astronauts and save the world by nuking an asteroid.

And there are many many more. I look at the past decade and everything feels like a samey comic book movie. Even the DC movies. They are all about saving the world but somehow lack the epicness of movies like the Rock and Con Air. I dont even mind CG, but it's great to go back and see movies filled with hundreds if not thousands of extras. Only Michael Bay and Nolan care about that kind of spectacle nowadays and it fucking sucks.

And while I dont want this to be a lets shit on Disney thread, I will just say that Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King were far better than the trash they have produced even with the Marvel, Lucas Films and Pixar acquisitions.

So whats everyone's favorite 90s movies? Pulp Fiction, Saving Private Ryan, Shawshank Redemption, Titanic are obvious choices, but every decade has great dramas. What I miss the most are those one-off action movies.
 
Last edited:

Cyberpunkd

Gold Member
1990s were god-tier Cage:

Nicolas Cage Reaction GIF
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
Lol 90's.

80's is where It's at my friend
Yeah, but everyone loves the 80s. Especially most of us 80s kids who grew up in the 90s watching both 80s and 90s movies at the same time since we were too young to watch them in the 80s. We didnt appreciate just how good those 90s action movies were because the 80s were so damn good in comparison.

90s dont get enough love is what Im trying to say.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
Every action movie nowadays attempts to be a franchise, it's pretty lame.

The Long Kiss Goodnight is a super underrated 90s action flick to add to your list.
Never even heard of it. Written by Shane Black? Im in. The cast looks amazing too.

I forgot to mention Tony Scott's 90s output. Crimson Tied and Enemy of the State are two of my favorite action movies. Crimson Tied is more of a drama but its so fucking tense from beginning till end.
 

22•22

NO PAIN TRANCE CONTINUE
Yeah, but everyone loves the 80s. Especially most of us 80s kids who grew up in the 90s watching both 80s and 90s movies at the same time since we were too young to watch them in the 80s. We didnt appreciate just how good those 90s action movies were because the 80s were so damn good in comparison.

90s dont get enough love is what Im trying to say.

Hahaha, fair enough my friend

Even without nostalgia etc I still prefer the 80's.. Matter of taste I suppose.

Didn't mean to piss on your thread premise, I'm happy you made it! <3
 
Last edited:

22•22

NO PAIN TRANCE CONTINUE
It's weird.. when I was in my twenties I felt the 80's were to trippy and bizarre.. I really appreciate it now but instead feel the same about the 90s instead. Something about apreciating a certain time relative to your age? Weird.
 
Never even heard of it. Written by Shane Black? Im in. The cast looks amazing too.

I forgot to mention Tony Scott's 90s output. Crimson Tied and Enemy of the State are two of my favorite action movies. Crimson Tied is more of a drama but its so fucking tense from beginning till end.
Yup, if you like Shane Black stuff, you'll love Long Kiss Goodnight. Also, (not 90's, I know) Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is supremely underrated.

Actually just recently watched Enemy of the State recently for the first time in at least 20 years. It's actually kinda creepy how on the nose it is considering it was pre 9/11/Patriot Act.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
If you liked Face Off I suggest you check out any of John Woo's work with Chow Yun Fat from the 80s/90s
Yeah, i watched a lot of John Woo's stuff after Face/Off and Broken Arrow. IIRC, he also did Hard Target with Van Damme. One of my favorite movies growing up.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
What I like of that era is the willingness to embrace the dumb and cheese.
Now they either try to be overly serious or it's that Marvel mix of "cool" with comedy.
Not gonna lie. When BB and TDK came out, I was all for it. Hell, i still prefer overly serious takes on Batman and Superman than whatever Marvel tries to do with comedy, but I did get tired of fluff in the 2000s and wanted something more engaging. So I welcomed Watchmen, TDK and the latter Harry Potter movies, but now I miss those light hearted movies. They still had heart, but didnt try to be comedies or oscar winning dramas.

The final scene in Con Air when he meets his daughter got to me just the other day. The flashback sequence at the end of Armageddon when Bruce Willis relives his favorite moments of his daughter is still incredible even if the rest of the movie comes across as ludicrous. The ending of Face/Off also hits the right notes. They knew how to have fun with the cheese without ruining the important moments with humor like Marvel tries to do with every single scene.
 
Last edited:

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
best scene from Con Air



It's true OP, lately I am doing the same and re-watching movies which I haven't seen in a long time , 80s and 90s action movies are much much better.

Pretty sure this was the same clip that got recommended to me on youtube a few weeks ago that made me go back and start rewatching all these movies. My wife hadnt seen it, and loved the Cyanora bit. I mostly just love the reaction shot of Ving Rhames.
 

Null Persp

Member
Pretty sure this was the same clip that got recommended to me on youtube a few weeks ago that made me go back and start rewatching all these movies. My wife hadnt seen it, and loved the Cyanora bit. I mostly just love the reaction shot of Ving Rhames.
Yeah this scene is gold, I also love the reaction from Cage running in slow motion then jumping and rolling perfectly under the car.
 

Hinedorf

Banned
As far as action movies go, they were always better than what we get now
my favorites
Arnold: Conan the Barbarian, Predator, Terminator
JCVD: Bloodsport

Give me montages with 80's cheese music all day....Bloodsport is currently on HBO, I've watched it like 3 times this week and I think I might watch it again
 
10's have great action movies. they just aren't constantly talked about.

the Bond movies, Mission Impossible, John Wick, Equalizer.
Mmmhmm

Fury Road (2015)
Snowpiercer (2013)
John Wick (2014)
Drive (2011)
Upgrade (2018)
Kingsman (2014)
Inception (2010)
The Night Comes For Us (2018)
Pacific Rim (2013)
Elysium (2013)
Edge Of Tomorrow (2014)
Nobody (2020)
The Raid 2 (2011)
Destroyer (2018)
Revenge (2017)
 
The last good Mission Impossible was 2, directed by John Woo.

Latest movies seem to get a lot of praise for the stunts and action, but I'm pretty sure Tom Cruise is riding motorcycles on cg sets.. or at least around cg cars/obstacles.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
Mmmhmm

Fury Road (2015)
Snowpiercer (2013)
John Wick (2014)
Drive (2011)
Upgrade (2018)
Kingsman (2014)
Inception (2010)
The Night Comes For Us (2018)
Pacific Rim (2013)
Elysium (2013)
Edge Of Tomorrow (2014)
Nobody (2020)
The Raid 2 (2011)
Destroyer (2018)
Revenge (2017)
Oh man, I really love edge of tomorrow, Kingsman, Pacific Rim and Fury Road. Maybe I was a bit too harsh on the 2010s. ;p
 

BadBurger

Is 'That Pure Potato'
Die Hard with a Vengeance was, at the time, the worst Die Hard movie - and it's still better that most action films of the 2010's.
 
I watches Die Hard with a vengeance recently, and I was struck by the no longer familiar feelinf of edge of my seat excitement.

Haven't felt that in years. Shit felt real back then. Befoee you knew it was all cg.
on channel 7? was trying to stream it but no dice

Hard Target is a classic Van Damme movie. Ice T also did something similar but can't remember the name


Rumble in the Bronx wasn't Jackie Chan at his peak but still a fun, goofy 90's time capsule


Thought Lethal Weapon 4 was pretty good too.
 

pauljeremiah

Gold Member
Lack of cgi is why
This. Plus the majority of the people in the films, especially martial arts films, could actually do martial arts. So you get shots that are wide-angle and you can see everything instead of everything in close up and edited on every hit to hide that the actor can't fight. Check out the films of Cynthia Rothrock, she was in some fantastic action films in the 80s and early 90s.
 
Top Bottom