Since the film Expendables is coming out soon which is going to feature the new action heroes of today and a few old ones I thought I would do an article on the action heroes of yesterday.

To begin with chuck Norris. I haven't seen loads of his films just clips. He was your typical action hero of the 80's. He was a great fighter and starred in a film with the legend Bruce Lee.



I haven't really seen many of Jackie Chan films either. Hes a great fighter and stunt man but I preferred more serious films. To me his films were more fun for an audience that just wanted to have a laugh while watching him kick ass which doesn't really appeal to me.



Since I put some martial heroes in the list I couldn't forget Bruce Lee and Bandon so Ive put them together. Both could have gone onto make more great films and a real shame they died young but they still made a big impact!




Mel Gibson hasn't starred in loads of action films and was most well known for his Mad Max and Lethal Weapon films which kicked ass. It would be nice if he made a fourth film which was going to be called Fury Road but got canceled.



Wesley Snipes was a great villain in Demolition Man and made a great hero in the first blade film. The second one was ok and third was awful in my opinion. He made some pretty good action films during the 90's.



Steven Segal films have grown on me I've always been a big Van Damme fan but I have to say he has that cool presence on screen and knows how to kick ass. Ive seen a few of his films and they were pretty good. Under siege 1 would have to be his best film and those earlier ones he did up to the mid 90's. He starred with Kurt Russel in Executive Decision which was a good action film but he died early in it.
Its a shame hes put on weight becuase he doesn't seem as threatening on screen now but obviously that's down to his age and everything. I think he could make a come back but in the odd film since hes older now and I think he prefers playing music which is fair enough.

Although Dolph has played heroes well I think he better off playing villains with his first big role as Ivan Drago fighting against Stallone in Rambo 4. I've always enjoyed Masters Of The Universe films even if it didn't have all the characters from the cartoon. He seemed like the perfect person to play He-Man back then.
He was great in universal soldier as the over the top Andrew Scott. He never really made it big as some of the action heroes or even Van Damme in my opinion during the 90's but he was still around. Carnt wait to see him in Expendables starring along side Stallone again.




Kurt Russell has done his fair share of action films. Probably most well know for his Escape films. The first one was a classic and felt darker than the sequel which was probably why it was better.
He also starred along side Stallone in the fun action flick Tango and Cash and the successful film Stargate which I really enjoy and Executive Decision. His last decent action film was soldier which was average.




Bruce Willis can play great action heroes mainly John McClane in Die Hard but does proper character roles as well which shows how good he is an actor. He recently made a fourth Die Hard film which was ok but nothing to shout about. I didn't really like the plot of an older cop fighting against criminals with hi-tech equipment. I would have preferred a more normal action flick like the first three which have worked better in my opinion. I also liked the original title which was Live Free Die Hard not the Die Hard 4.0.




I think Van Damme is one of the most underrated action heroes out there. He was one of my heroes growing up as well as Stallone and Schwarzenegger. Back in the day when he was becoming big he was the new kid on the block. To me he was like Schwarzenegger but cooler and had the kicks to go with it.
Like Segal he made his good films and bad films and I think he made a mark in the 90's as one of the best action heroes around. Its a shame as a big fan his career went down hill towards the end of the 90's. Hes even trying to make a comeback now which his latest film JCVD did quite well. I'm not too happy he turned down Stallone's film Expendables becuase its a big budget film which would help his career at the moment but he was unhappy with his character. Maybe he could star in the sequel if they make one. I think he has the potential to make a comeback but like allot of the older action heroes now age is against him.





Now to the best action heroes. I think these two are like Pacino and De Niro you carnt really say who's better since they've both made some of the best action films of the 80's and 90's. So are start with Stallone since I preferred Schwarzenegger just about.
Hes most well known for the Rambo and rocky films which are both huge franchises and both had sequels recently which shows you how big they are still. He starred in a few stinkers like allot of the action heroes have but made some great ones in the 90's. Cliffhanger was a good film and pretty intense and one of his better films. Judge Dredd although didn't do very well at the box office I think is quite underrated.
The hardcore Dredd fans of the comics hated the film becuase he removed his helmet which is understandable but I still think its a solid action film. I heard rumors they were remaking it but to tell you the truth I'm not too bothered although I think Ron Perlman would make a great Judge Dredd.
Moving on in my opinion was his best action film Demolition man. Snipes like I said played a great villain but this film was funny and had great action. The story was cool seeing Stallone freeze out in the future of LA were everything is peaceful. It sets up a perfect film for action and chaos when Snipes and Stallone start running riot blowing things up and trying to kill each other.

Like I mentioned above hes starring in his latest film Expendables which looks really fun even if it doesn't do very well. Its got loads of stars which is never really a good sign but I'm just going to watch it for the action and hopefully allot people will enjoy it just for that. I think its good that hes got some older actors in there as well like Dolph and Mickey Rourke and even a cameo from Schwarzenegger. So even if you don't like the new action heroes that are out now which I don't really atleast there's some older faces to see again.






Now to the greatest action hero which is of course the big man himself Schwarzenegger the king one liners. I was a big Schwarzenegger fan and watched his films all the time as a kid before any of the others above. The first Conan was the best and then his most famous role the Terminator. He went on to star in more great action films in the 80's such as the Running Man and then one of the best action films of the 80's Predator which hes up against an intergalactic alien which hunts man.
Terminator 2 was a huge hit and made some other great action films during the 90's such as Last Action Hero which I really enjoy watching and could relate to the kid in the film at the time.
He then teamed up with Cameron again in True Lies which did really well. He even done comedy such as Kindergarten Cop being the funniest and Twins. He was going to star in the film I am Legend which was originally going to be directed by Ridley Scott but the budget was too big or some other reason and canceled. Another film which would be great to see is King Conan which hes the perfect age for now. To me the Terminator films have ended now I don't understand why there making more becuase your never beat the first two but that's my opinion.
Since hes the governor now he carnt make films anymore but it would great to see him back kicking ass again and even star in another James Cameron film.




So there you have it my list of the best action heroes of the 80's and 90's. I didn't go further back becuase I don't really know the action heroes before that apart from Charlton Heston so I just focused on the ones I watched as a kid.