8 Best Modern Action Movies With 90s Vibe, Ranked by IMDb
These projects are fueled by nostalgia and skillfully recreate the magic of the golden age of action films.
The 1990s was an era when action movies were on the rise with impressive practical effects and daring stunts. Though that time has passed, modern directors often pay homage to it by creating projects that capture the essence and aesthetic of the 90s.
8. 'Silent Night', 2023
IMDb Score: 5.3/10
On Christmas Day, Brian Godlock's son is killed in a gang war. Godlock was wounded in the neck and could no longer speak.
After leaving the hospital, Brian decides to take revenge. After preparing for a year, he takes up arms and begins destroying criminals.
After a long break, the director of Hard Boiled and Hard Target, John Woo, returned to Hollywood and made a classic revenge film. Woo used a twist with the neck wound to reduce the dialogue to a minimum and focus on action.
7. 'Free Fire', 2016
IMDb Score: 6.3/10
Boston, 1978. Justine brokers a weapons deal between two Irishmen and arms dealers Vernon and Ord in an abandoned warehouse.
When the deal goes wrong, the warehouse becomes a battlefield. The prize is a suitcase full of money.
The deal quickly turns into a full-blown massacre with the first shot, and the woman who decided to take on a part-time job finds herself drawn into the bloody game of survival.
6. 'Avengement', 2019
IMDb Score: 6.6/10
Professional fighter Cain Burgess escapes custody after learning of his mother's death. He storms into a pub, threatens people, and tells his dark story. It turns out that Cain was sent to prison because of his brother's betrayal, who was involved in the criminal underworld.
The main role is played by famous martial artist Scott Adkins, known for the Undisputed franchise.
5. 'Hardcore Henry', 2015
IMDb Score: 6.7/10
Henry wakes up in a military laboratory where cyborgs are created. The only thing he knows about himself is that he was once happily married to Estelle, who just brought him back to life.
Before he has time to figure out his past, Henry is forced to enter a war with Akan, who has kidnapped Estelle. In search of his beloved, Henry destroys everything in his path.
Ilya Naishuller's Hardcore Henry is a movie shot entirely from a first-person perspective. The POV style creates an immersive experience that is reminiscent of a video game.
4. 'Dragged Across Concrete', 2018
IMDb Score: 6.9/10
Police officers Brett and Anthony arrest a dangerous criminal. Footage of the arrest ends up on the internet, and people believe the officers were too rough.
They are suspended from duty and decide to make money in the criminal world. However, they encounter a very cruel gang of robbers.
Since his first movies, Bone Tomahawk and Brawl in Cell Block 99, director S. Craig Zahler has demonstrated that he doesn't shy away from brutal violence. He proves this once more in Dragged Across Concrete, where bloody showdowns seem to have come straight out of a 90s movie.
3. 'The Night Comes for Us', 2018
IMDb Score: 6.9/10
A killer named Ito decides to spare a girl he was supposed to kill. This noble choice leads the man into a war with the mafia, where old friends and new enemies quickly join in.
Rather than relying on the story, director Timo Tjahjanto focuses on the choreography of the fights. This is precisely why The Night Comes for Us makes you want to watch it again – for the sake of rough, honest action flavored with the aesthetics of Asian VHS action films.
2. 'Nobody', 2021
IMDb Score: 7.4/10
Hutch is an unremarkable family man who lives a boring life until robbers break into his house one day. They would have gotten away with it if they hadn't stolen his young daughter's bracelet.
Hutch sets out to find the thugs and, on his way back, gets into a fight with drunk men who were bothering a girl on a bus. It turns out, however, that one of them is the brother of an influential gangster.
In his second feature film, Ilya Naishuller revisits the classic plot of old action movies: a quiet man with a hidden past turns out to be a killing machine.
1. 'The Raid: Redemption', 2011
IMDb Score: 7.6/10
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A special forces unit secretly storms a thirty-story building in the slums of Jakarta. The building is now home to an influential drug lord and many criminal groups. The security forces are immediately exposed, and their escape routes are blocked.
The Raid: Redemption is an exemplary action movie, one long action scene with short breaks in between. Gareth Evans made his movie in the style of Hong Kong action films and John Woo crime thrillers.
