8 Nostalgic Action Movies From The 80s And 90s That Haven't Aged A Day

We have collected for you action films from the 80s and 90s that delighted viewers then and continue to delight them now. From James Cameron's sci-fi classics to Jackie Chan's kung fu comedy action films.

It’s hard to imagine Hollywood action films of the 90s without the name of Shane Black, a screenwriter, master of buddy movies (that is, “movies about partners”) and a fan of turning famous movie cliches back. He is the author of the cult tetralogy “Lethal Weapon”, the postmodern “Last Action Hero” and the excellent “The Long Kiss Goodnight”.

The Last Boy Scout is another of Black's masterpieces that is often overlooked in the context of his other works. It is a brisk action comedy about a private detective who once became famous for saving the president and now - as is often the case with Black's characters - drags out a rather miserable existence.

Until the stripper he was supposed to be protecting dies: now he has to track down the killers, along with an aggressive drug-addicted athlete.

Behind the big names of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, we often forget about another great Hong Kong martial arts (and film) master – Jet Li.

Once Upon a Time in China is probably his greatest hit and a film that is constantly included in all lists of the best action films of all time. Here, Lee plays the Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung, who at the end of the 19th century tries to protect his native country from Western expansion. Specifically, he wants to save a girl who was sold to Western guests in a brothel by an enterprising merchant.

Once Upon a Time in China is a true monument to Hong Kong action cinema, a film with stunning choreography that simply could not become outdated: nothing like it is made nowadays, in principle.

Martin Brest is a multifaceted director. His two most famous works have little in common: on the one hand, he is the author of the cult comedy action film Beverly Hills Cop, on the other, he is the director of the Oscar-winning Scent of a Woman.

"Midnight Run" is somewhere between and a little in the shadow of its popular brothers. But it is also a cool movie, a dynamic buddy movie in the best traditions of the genre. The main character here (played by Robert De Niro himself, by the way) is a private detective specializing in catching fugitive criminals. He is offered to find a certain "Duke" who stole a decent amount from the mafia, and is promised a hundred thousand dollars for this.

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But there's a catch: "The Duke" is afraid of airplanes, so the hero has to transport a prisoner, who is being chased by gangsters, the FBI and other detectives, across America.

In parallel with martial arts films, another, very specific type of action cinema developed in Hong Kong. Director John Woo called it "gun fu": the name reflects the fact that the choreography in such films is adjacent to the active use of firearms (unlike the films of Bruce Lee).

Hard Boiled is perhaps the best example of this genre: a brutal action film about a policeman who decides to destroy criminal "triads" on his own, because the corrupt police are no longer able to cope with criminals. The highlight of the program is a great one-take action scene, where for several minutes in a row a pair of heroes beautifully destroy hordes of enemies.

Jackie Chan is not just one of the main faces of action movies of the 80-90s. He is not only a cool martial arts master, but also a very talented filmmaker: after all, it is not enough to do crazy stunts, you also need to be able to show them correctly on screen.

Chan does both in his directorial work. His style is perhaps closest to the geniuses of the silent era. Specifically, to Buster Keaton, another fan of death-defying scenes and physical humor (and, despite the abundance of action scenes, Jackie's films are also very funny).

On screen, he jumps from unimaginable heights, breaks his arms, legs and skull: all for the sake of the viewer in front of the screen being stunned by the elaboration and crazy choreography of the battle scenes.

Of all Chan's works, we chose "Police Story" - one of his most collected and impressive films. And then we can go through the entire filmography of the Hong Kong master. Where almost all of his early films are masterpieces to one degree or another.

Back to John Woo: he's one of the few Asian action filmmakers to have gone on to success in Hollywood. His most famous overseas work is obviously Face/Off with Cage and Travolta, but before that he had Hard Target.

An adrenaline-fueled action movie starring the then rising star Jean-Claude Van Damme, who plays a retired infantryman who is hired by a strange girl to investigate her father's disappearance. Soon the hero learns that some rich sadists in the area are hunting for living people (and the girl's father just happened to be their victim), and automatically becomes their new target.

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Believe me, no one in the world shoots action like John Woo — and certainly no one shoots explosions in slow-mo like John Woo. For that alone, Hard Target is worth watching.

In the case of The Music Man, it is especially surprising that the film has not aged a day, since it was not innovative at all by the standards of the time. Moreover, it was terribly cheap. Robert Rodriguez shot his debut for a paltry $7,000: in Hollywood, that is not enough for even five minutes of a work shift.

But it was precisely from the limitations that the magnificence of “The Musician” was born: here, every frame, almost literally, is worth its weight in gold (Rodriguez could not waste film in vain), here everything is solved in the most inventive way and not in the usual way - because the authors did not have the money for “the usual way”.

Even after 28 years, The Musician remains a shining example of how, even with a modest budget, you can make an excellent action movie that will not only make its author famous, but will also firmly enter the history of cinema.

A stunning action movie with an original concept.

Here the main characters find themselves in a very unusual trap - the bus they are in hides a remote-controlled bomb that will automatically explode if the vehicle's speed drops below eighty kilometers per hour. Accordingly, there is no time for reflection or pause. "Speed" is all about movement, adrenaline, and non-stop drive.

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Any stop means death, any dramatic delay is simply impossible. Jan de Bont's film launched a fashion for action films, the action of which takes place entirely in some kind of transport, but no one has been able to surpass the original. Not even de Bont himself - in the frankly disastrous sequel.