01 The vault heist scene alone justifies the whole franchise that followed.
15 Best 90s Action Movies
By Vlad Zakh · February 24, 2025
Die Hard with a Vengeance and Speed show the decade’s peak “one impossible situation, ninety tense minutes” formula, while The Matrix closed out the era by rewriting what action choreography could look like. In Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991): The rare sequel that’s more ambitious and more emotional than the original. Just as strong is Heat (1995): A cops-and-robbers epic anchored by one legendary diner scene.
01 
02 Harrison Ford as the President, personally fighting off hijackers.
03 Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, buddy-cop chemistry at its loosest.
04 Paul Verhoeven's gleefully violent, genuinely strange sci-fi actioner.
05 The Bond reboot that introduced a generation to Pierce Brosnan and N64.
06 Alcatraz, nerve gas, and two mismatched leads carrying the whole thing.
07 Peak absurd 90s action, and it knows exactly what it is.
08 James Cameron's spy-comedy hybrid, bigger and funnier than it needed to be.
09 Surfing bank robbers, somehow one of the most purely fun action films made.
10 A cops-and-robbers epic anchored by one legendary diner scene.
11 Completely unhinged premise, played with total sincerity by both leads.
12 John McClane back in New York for the loudest entry in the trilogy.
13 A bus that can't slow down, and ninety minutes of real, sustained tension.
14 The rare sequel that's more ambitious and more emotional than the original.
15 Redefined action choreography and mainstream sci-fi in the same two hours.
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