The 1990s had quite a few reliable action movie stars. Will Smith, Harrison Ford, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, Keanu Reeves, Nicolas Cage, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan, they were all very much a presence throughout the decade. In their league was the great Kurt Russell who, unlike Steven Seagal, succeeded not just because he kicked butt, but because he could also play someone who was out of his league in a situation and adapt to survive. In other words, Russell could always actually handle one of those pesky things known as character arcs. Not only that, but the likable Russell can also play a fearsome but charming villain, a shady government official type…and Santa Claus.
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What follows are the ten best action-focused movies of Russell’s career. If they were genre-blenders that’s fine, as long as action could very easily be considered one of the film’s main priorities.
10) Death Proof
It may be Quentin Tarantino’s weakest film, but it’s also more of a side project than it is one of the ten total films he has made/will make before supposedly calling it a day. But the fact remains, of the two halves of Grindhouse, Death Proof is far more uneven than Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror.
However, Russell’s work as Stuntman Mike is the best performance of the entire film. This is the ultimate proof of how Russell can play a villain yet make him someone where you can understand how a woman would accept a ride home in his suped-up car. He doesn’t seem like an evil man, until you’re locked in the car and about to go on the most high-octane and painful ride of your life.
Stream Death Proof on Starz.
9) Furious 7
The box office sensation that was Furious 7 was both a chance to say goodbye to Paul Walker and a chance to greet Kurt Russell into the IP’s ever-expanding roster of characters. And, as Mr. Nobody, it’s clear as day that Russell is having the time of his life.
Mr. Nobody was one of those characters who would pop in with information integral to keeping the plot going. He was to the “Family” what M. was to Bond. The difference is that Mr. Nobody always has a big smile on his face.
Stream Furious 7 on Peacock.
8) Backdraft
One of the ’90s more successful action-thrillers, Ron Howard’s Backdraft is a practical effects-driven blockbuster that really thrives thanks to its focus on a fractured family dynamic. Speaking of which, Russell actually plays two characters here.
The first is Captain Dennis McCaffrey, who dies while on the job, leaving behind his sons “Bull” (Russell) and Brian (William Baldwin). Compared to “Bull,” Brian is a bit of a screwup, but now they may have to work together to solve the mystery of a serial arsonist. Unfortunately, that serial arsonist may very well be someone close to home.
7) Stargate
With an inventive premise and perfect casting in James Spader and Russell, Stargate made for a perfect early showcase of how director Roland Emmerich was always adept at handling big special effects driven showcase scenes. But as integral as the movie’s special effects are in making the movie compelling and engrossing, it’s really the two lead stars who make it work.
Russell is given a tough role to play as Colonel “Jack” O’Neil, who is called into the Stargate project just in case the scientists succeed. However, the project’s scientists question why he was the one called in considering he has been distant and depressed ever since his son accidentally used Jack’s service pistol on himself. We get to see O’Neil regain some enthusiasm for life just as we get to see him share an at first contentious dynamic with Spader’s timid but brilliant Dr. Daniel Jackson.
Stream Stargate on fuboTV.
6) Big Trouble in Little China
One of John Carpenter’s more unique films, and the fourth of five collaborations with Russell, Big Trouble in Little China is a lot of fun if you can get on its wacky wavelength. It’s also the type of movie where everyone involved was clearly having fun making it.
Jack Burton may be the ultimate protagonist when it comes to a man thrown into an increasingly bizarre situation who looks at danger with a wise crack. He’s arrogant, but he’s also such a goofball we can’t help but love him.
Stream Big Trouble in Little China on The Criterion Channel.
5) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Leave it to Kurt Russell to turn one of the MCU’s most loathsome villains thus far into a real charmer. That loathsome but likable individual, of course, is Ego the Living Planet in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
All three Guardians of the Galaxy movies are solid, but Vol. 2 is the apex. Its action sequences flow even more naturally in the narrative, which is also the trilogy’s strongest considering it focuses on a father and son bonding only to have that pull a full 180 with a single spoken sentence.
Stream Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on Disney+.
4) Breakdown
Thus far, the other entries on this list have featured Russell in pretty straightforward tough guy roles. But Breakdown does not.
In this greatly underrated action-thriller, Russell plays Jeff Taylor, whose wife is kidnapped after their car breaks down en route to San Diego. Jeff is an everyman. We don’t ever learn what his job is, but we get a very strong sense that it’s not one that involves holding a gun. But as he’s further pushed to the brink and faced with a ticking clock, he becomes the type of man who will do anything to get his wife back.
Stream Breakdown for free on Kanopy.
3) Executive Decision
Like Breakdown, Executive Decision is one of the 1990s’ great underrated action movies. And, also like Breakdown, it features Russell in another timid role that gradually becomes more of an action hero role.
In the film, Russell plays Dr. David Grant, US Army Intelligence consultant who feels very comfortable behind his desk. Grant was an integral part of orchestrating a raid led by Lt. Colonel Austin Travis (Steven Seagal) which went south. Now, those that they were going after have stolen a plane, and both Grant and Travis are sent to stop the hijacking. Unfortunately, and quite unexpectedly, Travis gets sucked out while transferring from their sleek experimental aircraft and the hijacked airliner. Now it’s just Grant and some of the grunts, and Grant is going to have to adapt if he wants to see another day.
2) Escape from New York
There was plenty of speculation about an Escape from New York reboot at one point there, but it really is left as a product of its time. The movie coasts on its early ’80s bleak vibe and there’s no one who could play Snake Plissken better than Kurt Russell.
Plissken is quite possibly the most memorable character Russell has ever played, and he hardly says a word. In fact, that’s what makes him so good. We know all we need to know about him. If there’s a mission, he’ll give it his all (especially when someone has put an explosive chip in him), but he won’t go out of his way for anyone just to be nice.
Stream Escape from New York on Prime Video.
1) Tombstone
Technically, Kurt Russell was the true director of Tombstone, and he did an amazing job. The result has become many people’s favorite entry in the entire Western genre.
And, while Tombstone is of course primarily a Western, it also has plenty of shootout sequences. The most famous of these is the film’s impeccably staged rendition of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. If you haven’t seen Tombstone, everything positive you’ve heard about it is stone-cold accurate.
Stream Tombstone on fuboTV.
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