Fun Action Movies

by joshuawilliamharris | created - 06 Jan 2012 | updated - 17 Jan 2012 | Public

These enjoyable action movies are good and they don't take themselves too seriously. What is this list missing?

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1. Total Recall (1990)

R | 113 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

60 Metascore

When a man goes in to have virtual vacation memories of the planet Mars implanted in his mind, an unexpected and harrowing series of events forces him to go to the planet for real - or is he?

Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside, Rachel Ticotin

Votes: 354,130 | Gross: $119.39M

2. Commando (1985)

R | 90 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

51 Metascore

A retired Special Forces colonel tries to save his daughter, who was abducted by his former subordinate.

Director: Mark L. Lester | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rae Dawn Chong, Dan Hedaya, Vernon Wells

Votes: 174,708 | Gross: $35.10M

3. Predator (1987)

R | 107 min | Action, Adventure, Horror

47 Metascore

A team of commandos on a mission in a Central American jungle find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.

Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Kevin Peter Hall, Elpidia Carrillo

Votes: 454,260 | Gross: $59.74M

4. Die Hard (1988)

R | 132 min | Action, Thriller

72 Metascore

A New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.

Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson

Votes: 944,508 | Gross: $83.01M

5. Sudden Death (1995)

R | 111 min | Action, Crime, Thriller

A former fireman takes on a group of terrorists holding the Vice President and others hostage during the seventh game of the NHL Stanley Cup finals.

Director: Peter Hyams | Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Powers Boothe, Raymond J. Barry, Whittni Wright

Votes: 36,987 | Gross: $20.35M

6. Timecop (1994)

R | 99 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi

48 Metascore

Max Walker, an officer for a security agency that regulates time travel, must fend for his life against a shady politician who's intent on changing the past to control the future.

Director: Peter Hyams | Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Mia Sara, Ron Silver, Bruce McGill

Votes: 64,118 | Gross: $44.85M

7. Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins (1991)

Not Rated | 86 min | Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

An evil alien searches the Earth for seven "Dragon Pearls" which can grant him ultimate power. A gang of misfit adventurers band together to stop him.

Director: Chun-Liang Chen | Stars: Chi-Chiang Chen, Jeannie Hsieh, Tung-Chuan Cheng, San Peng

Votes: 1,342

8. The Thing (1982)

R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi

57 Metascore

A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.

Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David, Richard Masur

Votes: 465,977 | Gross: $13.78M

9. Alien (1979)

R | 117 min | Horror, Sci-Fi

89 Metascore

The crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.

Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright

Votes: 949,269 | Gross: $78.90M

10. Aliens (1986)

R | 137 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

84 Metascore

Decades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.

Director: James Cameron | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn, Paul Reiser

Votes: 762,205 | Gross: $85.16M

11. College Kickboxers (1991)

PG-13 | 89 min | Action

A college freshman who trains in martial arts is beaten up at work by a racist gang. His co-worker, a Chinese cook, beats the gang up and trains the young man in kung fu. When a tournament ... See full summary »

Director: Eric Sherman | Stars: Ken McLeod, Tak-Wing Tang, Matthew Ray Cohen, Marc D. Williams

Votes: 268

12. No Retreat, No Surrender (1985)

PG | 85 min | Action, Comedy, Crime

30 Metascore

Jason, a Bruce Lee fan, sees his karate instructor/dad beaten by martial art thugs. They move to Seattle where, after humiliations, he trains with Bruce Lee's ghost so he can defend himself and others against thugs.

Director: Corey Yuen | Stars: Kurt McKinney, Jean-Claude Van Damme, J.W. Fails, Kathie Sileno

Votes: 18,756 | Gross: $4.66M

13. Super Mario Bros. (1993)

PG | 104 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family

35 Metascore

Two Brooklyn plumbers, Mario and Luigi, must travel to another dimension to rescue a princess from the evil dictator King Koopa and stop him from taking over the world.

Directors: Annabel Jankel, Rocky Morton | Stars: Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper, Samantha Mathis

Votes: 62,927 | Gross: $20.92M

14. Enemy Mine (1985)

PG-13 | 108 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

59 Metascore

During a long space war, the lives of two wounded enemies become dependent on their ability to forgive and to trust.

Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Dennis Quaid, Louis Gossett Jr., Brion James, Richard Marcus

Votes: 51,390 | Gross: $4.27M

15. Snake Fist Fighter (1973)

R | 80 min | Action, Comedy, Drama

A old beggar from the woods secretly teaches Chien Fu kung fu as he can't afford regular classes and his "dad" doesn't want him fighting. He grows up, works as waiter and ends up fighting men from his town's crime syndicate.

Directors: Mu Chu, Hai-Feng Wei | Stars: Jackie Chan, Siu-Tin Yuen, Hung-Lieh Chen, Dean Shek

Votes: 2,136

16. Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978)

PG | 90 min | Action, Comedy

An orphan who has been raised at a kung fu school, where he is treated as little more than a dogsbody and practice target for the students, has a life-changing experience after helping an old peripatetic beggar.

Director: Woo-Ping Yuen | Stars: Jackie Chan, Siu-Tin Yuen, Jeong-lee Hwang, Dean Shek

Votes: 12,863

17. Bloody Monkey Master (1977)

Not Rated | 95 min | Action

Iron is the son of a rebel leader, but prefers to spend his days gambling and getting into fights. When his father's group is arrested and executed, Iron is forced to flee and hide in the ... See full summary »

Director: Kuan Tai Chen | Stars: Kuan Tai Chen, Kuan-Chun Chi, Chia-Lin Sun, Kang Chin

Votes: 436

18. 3 Ninjas Kick Back (1994)

PG | 93 min | Action, Comedy, Family

39 Metascore

Young martial artists face their grandfather's foes when they accompany him to Japan to deliver a priceless dagger.

Director: Charles T. Kanganis | Stars: Victor Wong, Max Elliott Slade, Sean Fox, J. Evan Bonifant

Votes: 9,912 | Gross: $11.78M

19. The Karate Kid (1984)

PG | 126 min | Action, Drama, Family

60 Metascore

A martial arts master agrees to teach karate to a bullied teenager.

Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, Martin Kove

Votes: 244,239 | Gross: $90.82M

20. Escape from New York (1981)

R | 99 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

76 Metascore

In 1997, when the U.S. president crashes into Manhattan, now a giant maximum security prison, a convicted bank robber is sent in to rescue him.

Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence

Votes: 157,274 | Gross: $25.24M

21. Supergirl (1984)

PG | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy

41 Metascore

After losing a powerful orb, Kara Zor-El, Superman's cousin, comes to Earth to retrieve it and instead finds herself up against a wicked witch.

Director: Jeannot Szwarc | Stars: Helen Slater, Faye Dunaway, Peter O'Toole, Mia Farrow

Votes: 24,001 | Gross: $13.60M

22. Masters of the Universe (1987)

PG | 106 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy

35 Metascore

The heroic warrior He-Man battles against the evil lord Skeletor and his armies of darkness for control of Castle Grayskull.

Director: Gary Goddard | Stars: Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella, Meg Foster, Billy Barty

Votes: 44,262 | Gross: $17.34M

23. The Running Man (1987)

R | 101 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller

45 Metascore

In a dystopian America, a falsely convicted policeman gets his shot at freedom when he must forcibly participate in a TV game show where convicts, runners, must battle killers for their freedom.

Director: Paul Michael Glaser | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso, Yaphet Kotto, Jim Brown

Votes: 167,484 | Gross: $38.12M

24. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991)

PG | 88 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

45 Metascore

The Turtles discover their origins while they endeavour to save New York City from the evil Shredder and his Foot Clan.

Director: Michael Pressman | Stars: Paige Turco, David Warner, Michelan Sisti, Leif Tilden

Votes: 60,960 | Gross: $78.66M

25. RoboCop (1987)

R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi

70 Metascore

In a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.

Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox

Votes: 282,775 | Gross: $53.42M

26. Surf Ninjas (1993)

PG | 87 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

Two boys learn from a mysterious warrior that they are the heirs to the throne of Patusan and set out to overthrow the current monarchy.

Director: Neal Israel | Stars: Ernie Reyes Sr., Rob Schneider, Ernie Reyes Jr., Nicolas Cowan

Votes: 8,736 | Gross: $4.92M



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