Remus is a writer, editor, journalist, and author with an eye for detail and an extremely active imagination. He is an enthusiast of everything to do with the graphic medium, whether it's Western comics and their adaptations or manga and anime. Remus is also the author of the sci-fantasy novel Once Upon a Time in Hyperspace and several works of short fiction in the mystery, comedy, and horror genres.
The 1990s were a decade that produced many of the most iconic movies ever made -- films that defined many of the genres that are still highly popular with audiences today. Action was certainly one of them. The action movies of the '90s started as an extension of the '80s' one-man army formula, but as the decade progressed, so did its action filmmaking, embracing new technologies to create greater, more spectacular movies than ever before.
Now, to be fair, not all the action movies of the '90s were that great, and many of them have aged quite poorly. But the true masterpieces of the decade are all still widely respected and have had a significant impact on modern cinema. So, without further ado, here's a look at some of the '90s action movies that can be considered true masterpieces, including some of the most memorable blockbusters of all time.
1 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day' (1991)
A sequel to 1984's The Terminator, directed by James Cameron, Terminator 2: Judgement Day continues the story of the war between the evil artificial intelligence Skynet and the human resistance, with Skynet sending a new and advanced killing machine to 1995 to kill a young John Connor. In response, a future John Connor reprograms the cyborg T-800 and sends it back to the same year to protect his younger self. Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as the titular machine, alongside Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor, with Robert Patrick, Edward Furlong, Earl Boen, and Joe Morton in supporting roles.
While The Terminator was a groundbreaking sci-fi action thriller, the sequel re-established both Cameron's filmmaking genius and Schwarzenegger's action hero image, turning the films into a worldwide action phenomenon that continues through the 21st century. Terminator 2 is memorable for its high-end action pieces designed with practical stunts and cutting-edge CGI, which make the second film an even better experience than the first. With bigger stakes, high-octane action, and explosive battle scenes, Terminator 2 is easily one of the best action sequels ever made.
2 'Speed' (1994)
Directed by Jan de Bont in his feature film debut and written by Graham Yost, Speed follows a city bus full of passengers rigged with a bomb, which is set to explode if the speed drops below 50 miles per hour or if the passengers are offloaded. Jack Traven, an LAPD officer, sets out to stop the impending disaster, while Annie, a passenger on the bus, rushes to help him. The film stars Keanu Reeves as Jack and Sandra Bullock as Annie, with Jeff Daniels, Dennis Hopper, Joe Morton, and Alan Ruck in supporting roles.
True to its title, Speed delivers a high-speed, high-tension virtual ride that is sure to keep the adrenaline rushing. The film's core premise, action sequences, and elements like the runaway vehicle and bomb-on-board, are largely inspired by 1985's Runaway Train and 1975's The Bullet Train, swapping the train-based thrills with a bus on the streets of Los Angeles. Speed is not only a perfectly-made action film but also a quintessential '90s blockbuster that has had a lasting impact on pop culture.
3 'Heat' (1995)
Written and directed by Michael Mann, Heat follows LAPD detective Vincent Hanna on a mission to catch career criminal Neil McCauley, who is planning one last big heist before he retires. As Hanna and McCauley go head-to-head in a battle of wits and tricks, it starts to take a toll on their professional lives and personal relationships. Al Pacino stars as Vincent and Robert De Niro as Neil, with Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Amy Brenneman, Ashley Judd, Mykelti Williamson, and Ted Levine in supporting roles.
Heat is a genre-defining '90s classic boasting some of the best action scenes seen in 20th-century films, featuring thunderous shootouts and realistic fight sequences. The film is also noted for De Niro and Pacino's first-ever on-screen appearance together, which resulted in some intense moments between the two stalwarts of Hollywood, making Heat a masterpiece in both action and character drama at the same time. The film has since become a major influence on crime action thrillers, setting new standards for tactical action and fight choreography.
COLLIDER
Collider · Quiz
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong -- or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you'd actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
TEST YOUR SURVIVAL →
QUESTION 1 / 8INSTINCT
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
APull on every thread until I understand the system -- then figure out how to break it. BStop asking questions and start stockpiling -- food, fuel, weapons. Questions don't keep you alive. CKeep my head down, observe carefully, and trust no one until I know who's pulling the strings. DStudy the patterns. Every system has a rhythm -- learn it, and you learn how to survive it. EFind the people fighting back and join them. You can't fix a broken galaxy alone.
NEXT QUESTION →
QUESTION 2 / 8RESOURCE
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
AKnowledge. If you understand the system, you don't need resources -- you can generate them. BFuel. Everything else -- movement, power, escape -- runs on it. CTrust. In a world of fakes and informants, a truly reliable ally is rarer than any commodity. DWater. And after water, information -- the two things empires are truly built on. EShips and credits. The galaxy is big -- you survive it by being able to move through it freely.
QUESTION 3 / 8THREAT
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data -- if you're honest about what you're actually afraid of.
AThat reality itself is a lie -- that everything I experience has been constructed to keep me compliant. BA raid. No warning, no mercy -- just the roar of engines and then nothing left. CBeing identified. Once someone with power decides you're a problem, you're already out of time. DBeing outmanoeuvred -- losing a political game I didn't even know I was playing. EThe Empire tightening its grip until there's nowhere left to run.
QUESTION 4 / 8AUTHORITY
04
How do you deal with authority you don't trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
ASubvert it from the inside -- learn its rules well enough to weaponise them against it. BIgnore it and stay out of its reach. The further from any power structure, the better. CAppear to comply while doing exactly what I need to do. Visibility is the enemy. DManoeuvre within it carefully. You can't beat a system you refuse to understand. EResist openly when I have to. Some things are worth the risk of being seen.
QUESTION 5 / 8ENVIRONMENT
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn't just tactical -- it's physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
AUnderground bunkers and server rooms -- cramped, artificial, but with access to everything that matters. BOpen wasteland -- brutal sun, no shelter, constant movement. At least the threat is honest. CA dense, rain-soaked city where you can disappear into the crowd and nobody asks questions. DMerciless desert -- extreme heat, no water, and something enormous living beneath the sand. EThe fringe -- backwater planets and busy spaceports where the Empire's attention rarely reaches.
QUESTION 6 / 8ALLIANCE
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
AA tight crew of believers who've seen behind the curtain and have nothing left to lose. BOne or two people I'd trust with my life. Any more than that and someone talks. CNobody, ideally. Alliances are liabilities. I work alone unless I have no choice. DA community bound by shared hardship and mutual survival -- people who need each other to last. EA ragtag team with wildly different skills and total commitment when it counts.
QUESTION 7 / 8MORALITY
07
Where do you draw the line -- if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they're actually made of.
AI won't harm the innocent -- even the ones who'd report me without hesitation. BI do what I have to to protect the people I've chosen. Everything else is negotiable. CThe line shifts depending on who's asking and what's at stake. DI draw a long-term line -- nothing that compromises my people's future, even if it'd help now. ESome lines, once crossed, can't be uncrossed. I know which ones they are.
QUESTION 8 / 8PURPOSE
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
AWaking others up -- dismantling the illusion so no one else has to live inside it. BFinding somewhere -- or someone -- worth protecting. A reason to keep moving. CAnswers. Understanding what I am, what any of this means, before time runs out. DLegacy -- shaping the future in a way that outlasts me by generations. EFreedom -- for myself, for others, for every world still living under someone else's boot.
REVEAL MY WORLD →
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You'd Survive In...
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago -- probably before anyone offered it to you. You're a systems thinker who can't help but notice the seams in things.
* You're drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
* You'd find the Resistance, or it would find you -- your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines' worst nightmare.
* You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
* The Matrix built an airtight prison. You'd be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn't reward the clever or the well-connected -- it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That's you.
* You don't need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
* You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it -- and you're good at all three.
* You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough -- just barely -- to be something more than another raider.
* In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You'd survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
* You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
* In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
* You're not a hero. But you're not lost, either.
* In Blade Runner's world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe -- and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
* Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths -- and on Arrakis, they're survival tools.
* You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
* Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You'd learn its logic and earn its respect.
* In time, you wouldn't just survive Arrakis -- you'd begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval -- and you wouldn't have it any other way.
* You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself -- a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
* You'd gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire's grip can be broken.
* You fight -- not because you have to, but because standing aside isn't something you're capable of.
* In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
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4 'Mission: Impossible' (1996)
Starring and produced by Tom Cruise, Mission: Impossible is an espionage thriller directed by Brian De Palma and based on the 1966 TV series that follows Ethan Hunt, an Impossible Missions Force (IMF) spy, who is framed for the murder of his team members. Ethan then embarks on a high-stakes solo mission to prove his innocence and bring the truth to light. Besides Cruise as Hunt, the film also stars Jon Voight, Henry Czerny, Emmanuelle Béart, Jean Reno, Ving Rhames, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Vanessa Redgrave.
Mission: Impossible launched the titular film series, which has since evolved into a three-decade-spanning multimedia action franchise that redefined Tom Cruise's image as an action superstar. While the film received mixed reviews for its plot and narrative in its day, it was highly praised for the action choreography and stunts, many of which were performed by Cruise himself. The film's high-tension action sequences, like the CIA vault heist and the spectacular train tunnel climax scenes, are considered iconic of the genre, and the movie has been an inspiration to many subsequent spy action thrillers.
5 'Independence Day' (1996)
A landmark sci-fi film directed and written by Roland Emmerich, Independence Day explores a worldwide attack by an alien race, destroying major civilizations with advanced weaponry and tactics. A disparate group of people, including the President of the United States, assemble in the Nevada desert in the aftermath to launch a counterattack on the titular day to save mankind. The film boasts an ensemble cast, featuring Bill Pullman, Will Smith, Vivica A. Fox, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Margaret Colin, and Randy Quaid in lead roles.
Independence Day is a legendary disaster film that cemented Emmerich's mastery of the genre, and it's considered a major turning point in the history of action blockbusters. With its high-stakes action spectacles (especially the aerial dogfights), large-scale destruction, and maverick heroes, it led to a resurgence of sci-fi disaster thrillers in the mid to late '90s. The award-winning special effects and action choreography of Independence Day were groundbreaking for its time, surpassing the popularity of other successful films like Twister and Mission: Impossible.
6 'Face/Off' (1997)
A '90s cult classic action thriller directed by John Woo, Face/Off follows FBI agent Sean Archer as he obsessively hunts for a terrorist named Castor Troy after Troy inadvertently kills Archer's son. When Troy is injured and goes into a coma, Archer undergoes an experimental surgery to look like Troy and takes his identity to infiltrate his life and criminal network. John Travolta stars as Archer and Nicolas Cage as Troy, with Gina Gershon, Alessandro Nivola, Colm Feore, Thomas Jane, and CCH Pounder in supporting roles.
Face/Off is an archetypal action blockbuster of the '90s, defined by its gun-fu action and explosive fight sequences. The movie is stylish, campy, and high-octane all at once, remembered and lauded for Woo's signature style of action choreography and stunts. Despite all its absurdity and impossibility of plot, concept, and narrative, Face/Off has aged surprisingly well as an action classic, and it's often noted as one of John Travolta and Nicolas Cage's best films of their respective careers.
7 'Rush Hour' (1998)
A buddy cop action-comedy directed by Brett Ratner, Rush Hour follows Lee, an inspector of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force, who arrives in Los Angeles to rescue the kidnapped daughter of a Chinese diplomat and is forced to partner with fast-talking LAPD detective James Carter. The two cops navigate their cultural and personality differences in the most hilarious ways while trying to save the girl. Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker star as Lee and James, respectively, with Tzi Ma, Ken Keung, Tom Wilkinson, Chris Penn, and Elizabeth Peña in supporting roles.
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A '90s comedy classic, Rush Hour is an electrifying blend of high-stakes action set pieces and authentic buddy humor arising from Lee and James' opposites-attract chemistry, which is also the biggest highlight of the film. The movie is also considered to be one of Jackie Chan's best Hollywood projects, especially since he also did the action choreography and performed many of the dangerous stunts himself. While it's not a rich cinematic or narrative work, Rush Hour remains an iconic action masterpiece that defined the late '90s.
8 'The Matrix' (1999)
Written and directed by The Wachowskis, The Matrix is a cyberpunk action classic set in a dystopian future where most of humanity has been trapped inside the titular simulation. A computer hacker named Thomas Anderson, aka Neo, learns of this secret when he's recruited by a group of rebels led by the mysterious Morpheus, joining their rebellion against the machines to free humanity from the Matrix. Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano star in the main roles.
The Matrix was a highly innovative film for its time, blending hard-core action, science fiction, philosophy, and mythology, and it cemented Keanu Reeves' status as an action star. The film is a definitive example of cutting-edge visual effects and action choreography that remarkably blends Hong Kong cinema-style choreography, martial arts, and gun-fu. With inventive techniques like "bullet time" and groundbreaking practical and CGI effects in action sequences, The Matrix revolutionized the genre, becoming a benchmark for sci-fi action and cyberpunk films of the future.
8 10
Like
R
Action
Science Fiction
Release Date March 31, 1999
Runtime 136 minutes
Director Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski
Writers Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
Producers Andrew Mason, Barrie M. Osborne, Bruce Berman, Erwin Stoff
Cast
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