Those who grew up in the 1980s closely followed the emergence and consolidation of large-scale entertainment cinema – affectionately called blockbusters today. And if the 1970s saw them emerge (specifically Shark and Star Wars) and the 1980s consolidated them, the following decade changed the game again, raising the bar with the addition of computer-generated visual effects. It was in this decade, the 90s, that the sky became the limit for the imagination of filmmakers and producers. For those mentioned who grew up in the 80s, in the 90s they entered adolescence and could taste first hand this revolutionary change that occurred in their beloved productions. Only those who were children or teenagers at the time know, for example, what it was like to witness Jurassic Park (1993) on the big screen and see the dinosaurs come to life. It was to be alive in the midst of a technical revolution that brought what we have today in films of the kind. Action cinema also received a new look and great doses of adrenaline in the change from the 80s to the 90s. And it is precisely this genre that we will address in this new nostalgic article. Here we will remind you with some of the most unforgettable action movies of the 90s – and the best: all available on the platform Star Plus for you to taste. Check it out below.
It all started here, in this film that mixes action and suspense from 1996. Or almost, since Mission Impossible originally appeared as a 1960s TV series and then got a reboot in the 1980s. In the following decade, the star Tom Cruise bought the rights to the brand and, alongside Paramount, brought the first film version of the premise. And really, this first film directed by the master Brian De Palma it kept the spirit of the series alive, being both a thriller and an action blockbuster. Something that would change with the sequels, all more inclined towards the visual spectacle of truly stunning scenes. Star Plus has all six films in the franchise, starring Cruise, available on its platform. Remembering that the seventh film will be released next year.
Before John Wick and even before Matrixthe star Keanu Reeves he had already demonstrated that he knew how to command the action very well in electrifying films. It all started actually, we can say, in 1991 with the cult Thrill Seekers, when the actor was 27 years old. But what really consolidated him as a star was the resounding success of Maximum speed – action movie that also added thriller elements to its plot, released in 1994. The film stole the spotlight in its respective year, proving to be the most welcome surprise hit of that era. And at the same time, it served to present to the world the beauty and talent of Sandra Bullock, also making the actress a star. In the plot, a maniac (role of the late Dennis Hopper) places a bomb on a bus, which cannot slow it down or it explodes. Three years later, the filmmakers pulled a sequel out of their hats, swapping the bus for a cruise. Reeves refused to return, but Bullock is there running the show. Both are available in Star Plus, but view the second at your own risk.
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Clint Eastwood is a true world treasure of the seventh art, and was also one of those responsible for the consolidation of the action and police genre as we have them today. It was thanks to its westerns and also in particular to the series Dirty Harry, in which he plays an incorrect cop, which iconic productions from the 80s and 90s would mirror and draw from many of their influences. Thus, it was only natural that Eastwood also took advantage of the genre he helped to shape. Here, we have one of the few jobs in the period in which the veteran acts and does not drive. Who commands is the German Wolfgang Petersenin (The Boat: Hell at Sea). This was the first film Clint released after his sweeping Oscar win for the unforgivables. In the plot, the actor plays a secret service agent, assigned to protect the president of the USA. He has a great trauma in his life, as he was the security guard for the assassinated President Kennedy. Now, a psychopath threatens the life of the nation’s leader and he must stop him.
Every movie is always better when it has good actors. And that’s true whatever the genre, even in action movies. And here we have not one, but two great actors, considered two of the best of their generations: Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro. The pair participated in The Godfather 2 (1974), but had not shared a single scene. Considered “rivals”, here the stars share a small scene, in this film that is a true colossus. Directed by Michael Mann (an action specialist), the plot brings De Niro at the head of a gang of highly trained criminals who carry out cinematic bank robberies. On his tail, the dogged detective lived by Pacino. In addition to the frenetic action, the highly praised feature is an excellent character study, showing how the obsession of both ends up affecting their personal lives. In the cast, the presence of Val Kilmer and a small Natalie Portman in one of his first career jobs.
Master of action cinema in China, the director John Woo walked through the front door in Hollywood brought by Jean-Claude Van Damme in The target (1993). His next job in the US was this broken arrow (in the original title), in which he demonstrated that he could turn any actor into an action star. That’s what Woo did with John Travolta and Christian Slater in this electrifying feature. In the plot, the duo plays super sonic plane pilots on a secret government mission. It turns out that Travolta betrays the mission for money, steals nuclear warheads, and leaves his ex-partner for dead. Now the guy is on the cheater’s tail. After Quentin Tarantino reshaped Travolta’s career with a mobster and drugged character, who was not necessarily the hero that the actor always played, many other roles of the type were appearing for him. Here, he plays his first outspoken villain.
speaking of John Travolta and the director John Woothe duo repeated the partnership the following year, bringing with them Nicolas Cage in tow. The Last Threat was released in 1996, and in 1997, Woo and Travolta delivered an even bigger and better action blockbuster with The other face. And what makes it better is that in addition to the more elaborate action scenes and leaving you on the edge of the armchair, the film’s story is very attractive and well-crafted. The idea plays with a universal question – and fundamental to any good guy and bad guy movie – which is: “what if the hero and villain switched places?”. In the plot, Travolta this time starts as the hero, a police officer obsessed with capturing the terrorist played by Cage. Through a complex plot, but very well detailed, the two end up changing faces, assuming the identity of the other. Seeing is believing, or reviewing for fun.
And if we present two adrenaline-fueled films with John Travolta playing the action hero above, now it’s time to recommend another production with your co-worker. The other face to balance things out. And the chosen one was this The rockthe first film of its kind that Nicolas Cage participated and which also served to shape his career in this type of film – today something common for the actor. Until then, Cage was used to making comedies, dramas and even romances, but he was the director Michael Bay that would turn him into an action star – as he said at an award show. In The rock, Nicolas Cage plays an FBI agent specializing in chemistry, who works much more with the technical and bureaucratic part than in the field. Yet he is recruited for an almost impossible mission to stop a renegade high-ranking military man who has taken the island of Alcatraz hostage. For the task, he will be partnered with none other than James Bond himself – the veteran star Sean Connery – who actually plays an older version of spy 007 here.
You can’t talk about action movies from the 1990s without mentioning one of its true kings. In the 90s, we gained other actors taking risks in action movies, and even doing very well, like Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves, John Travolta and Nicolas Cage – all shown in the list. But you can’t beat the expert Sylvester Stallone. The actor helped redefine genre cinema in the 1980s, and for the next decade he was in full swing. Here we selected a film towards the end of the 90s, 1996, where Stallone decided to mix his usual action with the catastrophe cinema that had returned to popularity. In the plot, the tunnel that connects New Jersey to Manhattan collides and begins to flood, putting a countdown to those trapped there. But if there’s one person who can save them, or at least try to, that someone is Kit Latura (Stallone), one of the most human and tragic characters in the actor’s career.
Many may think that you can’t make a good action movie recommendation list without the brucutu Sylvester Stallone. Many others, who even in action like to find, let’s say, more substance, will say that the post of the unmissable goes to the star. Harrison Ford. Anyway, here we have something for all tastes and I recommend both. imagine a Hard to kill spent inside the US presidential plane known as Air Force One, and you can get an idea of what this feature is that bears the name of the plane in the title. Harrison Ford plays the president of the USA. But he is not just any president. He is a president who acts on his own when his plane is hijacked by Russian terrorists and his family threatened. The 1997 film was a huge success at the time, appealing to American patriotism.
At the end of the article, we have a film starring the comedian Eddie Murphy. Well, you might think that Murphy’s name isn’t that popular for movies of the genre, but you would be solemnly wrong. Just remember that two of the first films of the actor’s career mixed action and comedy: 48 hours (1982) and A Heavyweight Cop (1984). The first had a sequel in 1990, and the second had two, one in 1987 and one in 1994 – plus a fourth movie on the way from Netflix. And here, in 1997, Eddie Murphy returned precisely to the vibe of A Heavyweight Cop mixing police action and a lot of humor. We can even say that this film is even more intense than those mentioned. In the plot, Murphy plays a police hostage negotiator. He becomes the target of a dangerous bandit, who swears revenge on him, and puts his mate equally on target. This film was sandwiched between the hits of The Nutty Professor (1996) and Dr. dolittle (1998), ending up eclipsed by them – but deserves another chance.
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