97 Commando
Arnold Schwarzennegger was probably the undisputed King of the action genre throughout the eighties and nineties and movies like Commando are why. In Commando, Arnie is almost supernaturally strong, almost inhumanly resilient. You know from the second the bad guys f**k with him by swiping his young daughter that carnage will ensue and that it does in heaps so big theyre in danger of suffocating you beneath their awesomeness. Commando is a non-thinker sure, its not the most intelligent actioner on the market but it never actually attempts to be. What does attempt to deliver is a comic book movie that isnt actually based on a comic and in that respect its a resounding success. Commando is action purism; it doesnt concern itself with metaphor or commentary, it just sets up its premise quickly before allowing Arnie to do his thing. Sold!
96 - Hot Shots Part Deux
Sending up a lot of the films on this list, you would be forgiven in thinking that Hot Shots Part Deux offers nothing but the laughs. You would be wrong. Yes, everything is cartoonish and played for the comedy, but there are as many crazy stunts, fights and explosions as the films it mocks. Charlie Sheen is at his best (and buffest) doing remarkably well in the underground fight scene and while the most memorable moments are the bangs, the comedy would have fallen flat if the parody wasn't so close to the source material.
Best bit: Knee to the balls. Guy spits out two wall nuts.
95 - Minority Report
Ahh Tom Cruise. Probably the shortest action hero on the list, which is saying something when there are a fair few Asians poking around. What he lacks in height he makes up for in toothy smiles and a penchant for the melodramatic. Minority Report is one of the rare films where his moody/energetic tendencies pay off. As a cop who arrests people for 'going to kill' people, he finds himself on the wrong side of the predicted law. Rather than quietly succumb to the vomit inducing sticks and a life of sedated sleep he decides to have his eyes replaced and go on the run. In a world of vertical traffic and pre-cognition you would expect this futuristic tale to take you to new and exciting places and that is just what Spielberg does. Yes, Spielberg's first entry on this list is a blast from start to finish. They even manage the extraordinary feat of making Colin Farrell almost likeable. Almost.
Best bit: The short but sweet 'Sick Stick' fight scene. Chunderous.