Hollywood action films of the 1980s were big and their stars were bigger. The decade that patented the slow-motion run from an explosion wasn’t afraid to spend the money to get as many car crashes, gun battles, and explosions they could. 80s cinema was full of action extravaganzas, and they spent a fortune on stars such as Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis and on films such as Rambo, Rocky III, and Die Hard.
In the 90s, the big action stars of the 80s fell out of favor, as the films were never again good enough to fit their personas and Hollywood action was changing due to the sloppy and headache-inducing cutting styles of Michael Bay and Simon West. But the “big dogs” of 80s action cinema have seen a resurgence in the past decade. Here is a list of 10 great modern films featuring the box office kings of 80s cinema.
10 Creed II – Dolph Lundgren
Creed II continued in the steps of Creed and brought an exciting and well-directed character-driven boxing drama to the screen. Dolph Lundgren reprised his role as Ivan Drago from Rocky IV.
Lundgren received critical praise for his older and more mature performance as the wiser Drago. It is a performance full of regret, pain, and personal forgiveness and Lundgren pulled off the soulful role with ease.
9 The Foreigner – Jackie Chan
While not a huge star in the U.S. at the time, action film fans knew of Jackie Chan’s massive star power in his native Hong Kong. Kung-fu film fans already considered him one of the greats and Chan was a cult star in America, thanks to home video. He became a big star in America in the 90s and continues in popularity to this day.
While American action films have gone down in quality over the past decade, there have been some good ones and Chan found a solid role in Martin Campbell’s 2017 thriller, The Foreigner. Chan was the father of a daughter who died in a terrorist bombing. Being a former special forces officer, he goes on a quest to uncover the truth about the killers. Chan’s role gave him the chance to do solid action scenes while balancing a very realistic and character-driven performance.
8 The Professor And The Madman – Mel Gibson
The story of two men who compiled the words for the Oxford Dictionary’s first edition doesn’t seem like an interesting subject for a film but 2019’s The Professor and the Madman is quite the captivating character study that received good notices from critics.
Mel Gibson and Sean Penn do great work as the two men, with Gibson receiving much praise for doing some of the most subdued acting of his career.
7 Aftermath – Arnold Schwarzenegger
While his films haven’t touched the box office gold they once did, Arnold Schwarzenegger has been doing some good character work in some fine films. One that slipped through the cracks is 2017’s Aftermath. Arnold played a father who loses his family in a plane crash and tries to uncover who the pilot was and why this happened.
This is no action film. It is more of a drama with thriller elements. Schwarzenegger gave what is perhaps his best performance as the grief-stricken father, and while not many people saw the film, the critics that did praised the actor for reaching deep.
6 Rambo: Last Blood – Sylvester Stallone
2019’s Rambo: Last Blood was, arguably, unfairly destroyed by critics, as the film was described as a “right-wing” gun fantasy. What it truly is, is a tough and violent revenge film that is an exciting and fitting end to the popular film series.
Rambo’s niece is killed by the Mexican Cartel and he goes down to seek his revenge. Stallone gave it his all and brought about the deepest performance yet as the iconic character. He had heart and soul in this one. And yes, there is violence. Extreme violence. Fans seemed to enjoy it but it turned out to be the lowest-grossing film of the series.
5 Escape Plan – Sylvester Stallone & Arnold Schwarzenegger
Two giants of 80s action films were together for a prison break-out film. 2013’s Escape Plan was an exciting film that saw Stallone and Schwarzenegger fighting a sadistic warden (Jim Caviezel) and trying to escape a high tech futuristic prison.
The film was somewhat of financial success and faired okay with critics. The two actors had great chemistry and proved that each star could play well off of one another.
4 Maggie – Arnold Schwarzenegger
Schwarzenegger did more great character work in 2015’s Maggie, the tale of a loving father whose daughter becomes infected and slowly turns into a zombie.
The actor was critically praised once again for his ability to show something more than just a one-man army. The film received good reviews and is considered to be both a welcome departure for Schwarzenegger and one of his very best films.
3 Blood Father – Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson proved he still had the action and acting chops within him with 2016’s Blood Father. Gibson played a father who helps his estranged daughter fight off dangerous drug dealers.
In this one, Gibson was a shotgun shooting, motorcycle riding, tattooed-up, tough guy delight. While the film received mixed reviews, Gibson found praise in his realistic turn as a father in crisis. It had been a while since the actor had done a good character role and critics took notice of how good he could be amongst all of the action and bloodletting.
2 Motherless Brooklyn – Bruce Willis
2019’s Motherless Brooklyn was directed by Edward Norton and was a throwback to the gritty detective thrillers of the 1950s. Bruce Willis had the supporting role of “Frank Minna,” the head of a private detective agency who is mentor and friend to Norton’s character.
While only a small role, Willis proved he could calm down his popular smirking persona and do a realistic character befitting his talents. Willis and the film entire were showered with critical praise.
1 Dragged Across Concrete – Mel Gibson
Directed by S. Craig Zahler, 2019’s Dragged Across Concrete was a tough and violent character study of two burnt-out cops (Vince Vaughn and Mel Gibson) who try to steal from criminals after they are suspended from the force.
Both actors do career-best work and were praised by critics for their efforts. Mel Gibson uses his face like never before. His blue eyes still shine but his face shows the weariness of years of street police work. His desire to provide for himself and his family drives every choice he and his partner make, right or wrong, and the actor allows the soul of his character to bleed through with each passing scene.
