Summary
The 1990s produced plenty of brilliant action movies with ridiculous plots, but the absurdity often gives the movies some extra charm. Action movies don’t always need to have the most grounded and believable plots, as long as they have compelling characters and convincing action set pieces. In some cases, a dash of absurdity can make things even more exciting and frenetic, since the story becomes harder to predict.
Many of thebest action movies of the 1990sask their audiences to believe in ludicrous concepts, but they don’t necessarily push all the way into the territory of sci-fi. Even when they don’t start out with absurd premises, many 1990s action classics quickly escalate into ridiculous action sequences and overblown theatricality. Many of these movies have become cult classics, beloved for their bold strangeness.
10 Harsh Realities Of Rewatching ’90s Action Movies
Action movies from the 1990s are easy to love, but after decades of ever-improving technology and changes in society, they don’t rewatch the same way.
10Sudden Death (1995)
Jean-Claude Van Damme Fights Terrorists At The Stanley Cup Finals
Jean-Claude Van Damme has always been a master of ridiculous action movies, and he produced many of his biggest crowdpleasers in the 1990s.Sudden Death’s plot can best be described asDie Hardat a hockey game, with Van Damme playing a fire marshal who must stop an extortionist terrorist from setting off a bomb at game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals.
By combining sports and violence,Sudden Deathsignals its intentions as a guilty pleasure movie of little substance from the beginning.
Sudden Deathbegins with a ludicrous premise, but its execution kicks things up a notch. By combining sports and violence,Sudden Deathsignals its intentions as a guilty pleasure movie of little substance from the beginning. Fortunately, it delivers the goods, with Van Damme’s martial arts prowess and a healthy dose of enormous explosions. Also, Van Damme kills a man in a giant penguin suit.
Following the success of Michael Keaton’s time as the Caped Crusader, Val Kilmer took over forBatman Forever,with Joel Schumacher replacing Tim Burton as director. These changes created a wildly different Batman movie, as Burton’s dark, dystopian Gotham suddenly took on a colorful, campy vibe.Kilmer’s Batman always has a pun or two at the ready,which is something that Keaton avoided.
Batman Forever’s big swings have been divisive, and how someone interprets the tone will largely inform their appreciation of the movie.
Batman Foreverisn’t usually listed among thebest Batman movies, but it certainly has its moments, especially in the action scenes.Batman Forever’s big swings have been divisive, and how someone interprets the tone will largely inform their appreciation of the movie. Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones' gloriously overblown performances as the two villains are fun to watch, even if they mark a jarring shift from Burton’s style.
Face/Offmay exemplify the 1990s trend of ridiculous action thrillers better than any other movie. It takes an implausible sci-fi concept, throws in some flimsy reasoning, and delivers a ludicrously entertaining ride for its audience. Nicolas Cage and John Travolta star as a terrorist and an FBI agent who undergo experimental facial transplant surgery. This also somehow changes their voices.
Face/Offmay exemplify the 1990s trend of ridiculous action thrillers better than any other movie.
Face/Offis the most ridiculous of Nicolas Cage’s 1990s action movies, but he also hasCon AirandThe Rockto his credit.Face/Offgives Cage a chance to play John Travolta, and vice versa. There’s a lot of humor in the way the two performers interpret each other’s quirks to go with the entertaining action scenes. Even thoughFace/Off’s absurd concept seems like it was reverse-engineered from a clever title,John Woo’s flair for action helps the movie soar.
7Dark Angel (1990)
A Narcotics Cop Stumbles Onto An Alien Conspiracy
Also known asI Come in Peace, Dark Angelstars Dolph Lundgren as a renegade cop tracking down a group of white-collar heroin dealers.Dark Angelcomes with an incredible explosions-per-minute rate, and that’s before it reveals that the real masterminds behind the drug racket are powerful aliens extracting endorphins from the brains of drug users to sell as recreational drugs back on their home planet.
None of the plot makes much sense, but with so many enjoyable action scenes, it doesn’t really have to.
As if this initial isn’t already absurd enough,Dark Angelthrows in some bizarre alien technology, like a spinning disk which can cut people’s throats by keying into their unique bioelectrical patterns. None of the plot makes much sense, but with so many enjoyable action scenes, it doesn’t really have to.Dark Angel’s other big strength is that it maintains a rapid pace that doesn’t allow much time for asking questions.
Jackie Chan had a long and successful career in Hong Kong before ever transitioning to Hollywood cinema, andRush Hourplays on the culture shock between the two nations. Chan is paired with American comedian Chris Tucker as two cops who must rescue the kidnapped daughter of a Chinese diplomat in Los Angeles. While the concept is fairly straightforward, the action and the plot both get increasingly absurd.
Jackie Chan had a long and successful career in Hong Kong before ever transitioning to Hollywood cinema, andRush Hourplays on the culture shock between the two nations.
Rush Houris at its best when it can contrast the different styles and cultures of its two leads. This includes some jokes about the language barrier and the gulf in professionalism between the two men, but it extends to Tucker’s slapstick attempts to replicate Chan’s incredible stunt work.Rush Hourfinally abandons all semblance of believability in its action-packed climaxas Chan’s character transcends from a skilled fighter into some kind of superhuman.
Mahershala Ali will be leading anewBlademoviein the MCU in 2025, but it will be tough to top the 1998 version starring Wesley Snipes. The reboot has been hit by repeated delays, which may suggest some hesitancy in Marvel’s approach. 1998’sBladeis supremely self-confident and stylish. Trying to recapture this swagger while fitting into the pre-established tone of the MCU could be difficult.
The nightclub scene, complete with writhing, lustful vampires beneath sprinklers of blood, is what committing to absurd action looks like.
Snipes is perfectly cast inBlade.He’s given the chance to deliver plenty of memorable one-liners, but when the time comes to slay some vampires, he is the embodiment of cool. The nightclub scene, complete with writhing, lustful vampires beneath sprinklers of blood, is what committing to absurd action looks like. In many ways, it captures the essence of what makes 1990s action movies so enjoyable. It’s an unusual premise, but it’s delivered with brave sincerity.
Point Breakstars Keanu Reeves as an FBI agent who goes undercover to infiltrate a gang of bank robbers drawn together by their love of surfing. Johnny Utah is a famous college football star, but he’s a relatively grounded character, especially when compared to Patrick Swayze’s enlightened spiritualist thief Bodhi. Somehow,Bodhi slowly convinces Johnny, and the audience, of his own peculiar worldview.
A large portion of Bodhi’s new age mindset is based on his desire to indulge his twin loves of surfing and sex.
It’s hard not to be taken in by Bodhi’s brand of anti-establishment philosophy. However, taking a step back reveals that a large portion of his new age mindset is based on his desire to indulge his twin loves of surfing and sex.Point Breakis one of thebest heist movies ever, not just for its action scenes and its interesting characters, but also for the way it creates the illusion that surfing is noble and vital enough to make an FBI agent question all his life choices.
Point Breakisn’t the only absurd action movie Keanu Reeves made in the 1990s. InSpeed,he and Sandra Bullock take control of a bus rigged with a bomb that will detonate if it drops below 50 miles per hour.Despite the plot having no basis in real life,Speedis an undeniably effective action thriller. Even when it delivers utterly implausible stunts, like a bus load of passengers making a jump over a section of missing road.
For both the bus and the narrative, there will inevitably come an explosive finale, and this makes the ride even more thrilling.
The bus is prevented from slowing down, and this gives the movie a frenetic pace too. For both the bus and the narrative, there will inevitably come an explosive finale, and this makes the ride even more thrilling.Speedhas been trashed by bomb experts, although it isn’t necessarily meant to be the most realistic action movie.Speed 2is even more ridiculous, as it tries to repeat the same narrative with a boat instead of a bus.
Men in Blackis a buddy cop movie bristling with strange aliens, as Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones team up to keep the people of New York City safe, regardless of their planet of origin. The concept ofMen in Blackis rooted in conspiracy theories about government agents who are deployed to silence any noise about alien activity on Earth. In another movie, these characters might be the villains, butMen in Blackmakes them the charming protagonists.
Men in Black’s ending provides its most absurd moment of all, as it reveals that the entire galaxy is being tossed around in an alien game of marbles.
Men in Blackuses Will Smith’s character as a conduit for the audience. He is the one who is introduced to a fantastical world that he didn’t know existed, while Tommy Lee Jones plays the wise older professional.Men in Blackis filled with funny quotesand relatable human details to flesh out its strange world, and this means the action scenes feel surprisingly weighty.Men in Black’s ending provides its most absurd moment of all, as it reveals that the entire galaxy is being tossed around in an alien game of marbles.
Total Recallis based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, but it changes the narrative to the point that it’s barely recognizable by the end. The first half of the movie is relatively close to Dick’s story, albeit with the musclebound Arnold Schwarzenegger in place of his meek protagonist. However,the movie quickly runs out of material to adapt, and it takes a turn into a wholly original fantasy.
Casting Arnold Schwarzenegger inevitably changes the tone of the sci-fi story, and it becomes much more action-heavy.
Total Recallretains a lot of the core themes of Dick’s story, especially the tension between objective reality and the subjectivity of human memory. But casting Arnold Schwarzenegger inevitably changes the tone of the sci-fi story, and it becomes much more action-heavy. Paul Verhoeven’s endlessly inventive action sequences keep things moving at an exciting pace, which means that the movie can take some of its weirdest moments in its stride.
