Folly has something salutary and disarming about it action movies, despite how armed to the teeth and violent the protagonists are. These films turn extreme violence into a meaty spectacle in which we want the hero to succeed with a corny one-liner. These kinds of movies work great for viewing parties because there’s usually no complicated plot to pay attention to or heady themes to appreciate. They are something you can just put on and have a normal conversation while they play, enjoying the feast of violence ahead. When watching action movies, the crazier they are, the more entertainment value they will provide. Here are ten of the best silly action movies to spice up your next viewing party with your group of friends.
10 Commando (1985)
For starters, we have the macho action party Command. Command is a 1985 hostage recovery film distributed by 20th Century Fox. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as a retired army commando named John. John is enjoying a quiet retirement with his daughter in the mountains when he receives word that his former army unit has been knocked out and that he may be next. John is subdued by the mercenaries and his daughter is kidnapped by a dictator who had previously helped John remove power in his homeland. John must re-equip his military gear and inflict ruthless macho violence on all the mercenaries responsible for this ordeal to save his daughter Jenny.
The film goes to great lengths to spectacularly depict its testosterone-fuelled action sequences. This earnestness causes the film to cross the line into campy and silly territory at times. Your group of friends are in for a fun time when you put on this movie. You’ll be treated to noisy explosions, epic gunfights and over 80 brutal on-screen kills. The film tries not to take itself too seriously, but the sense of humor makes you feel like you’re watching a cartoon. It wastes no time getting straight to the action. A rocket launcher is used within a minute of the movie starting. The special effects are also top notch. Command received a Saturn Award nomination for its special effects, only to lose the price Back to the future.
9 Blood Sports (1988)
Next is the martial arts Jean-Claude Van Damme feature Blood sports. This movie was released in 1988 and distributed by Warner Bros. The movie follows a young martial artist named Frank Dux who is just the coolest guy ever. He has an impressive acrobatics routine in the morning, is popular with the ladies and is allowed to kick boys in the street whenever he wants. Frank decided to leave his military career behind when he found a taste for martial arts competitions in Kong Kong. Here he meets a master who gives him a hard and often hilarious training.
At one point, Frank has to kick a tree to death in perhaps the most brutal tree murder ever filmed. Frank enters a martial arts competition and is pushed to the limit in each fight against the greatest warriors in the area. To raise the stakes even further, this tournament features fights to the death, providing excellent excuses for violent chaos in the ring. In an interview with Yahoo Entertainment, Jean-Claude Van Damme described how the film was his last chance to become a star, and how this passion inspired filmmaking. Because of this, he quickly became an acting sensation.
8 Wreckman (1993)
Another fan-favorite action movie that delves into some wacky territory is the 1993 film Demolition man. The movie was distributed by Warner Bros. and stars Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes. This feature is a sci-fi action combo with a unique, if a little silly, premise. In the near future, crime has become so bad that society will undergo a complete transformation to become as non-violent as possible. A cop named John lives in the violent era and was nicknamed “Demolition Man” for his tendency to collateral damage. After a confrontation with his criminal nemesis, they are both frozen and emerge in a non-violent future.
The movie has a surprisingly solid foundation for world building and makes a lot of fish out of water jokes with its characters. In the future, people will listen to commercial jingles because everything is so corporate, and using swear words will result in a fine. The action in the film is just as bizarre as the premise, resulting in a viewing experience that is ridiculously fun.
7 Crank 2: High Voltage (2009)
Tap 2 is the next movie on the list. The film starred Jason Statham and was distributed by Lionsgate in 2009. The premise follows the absurdity of the original Crane but set it to 11, no pun intended. Main character Chev wakes up in an unknown place full of Chinese gangsters, where doctors remove his heart and replace it with an artificial one. In the previous film, Chev had to keep himself alive by constantly pumping his adrenaline after being poisoned. In this sequel, Chev’s artificial heart can only sustain itself for an hour, forcing Chev to constantly recharge it through intense electric shocks and things like jumper cables. Chev’s heart is “heartbreaking”, and he must find who kidnapped it and find someone who will put it back. The film’s strengths are mindless action and crazy screenplays. To say the movie is over the top is, ironically, an underestimation of how wacky the movie can get.
6 Gamers (2009)
Gamer is a sci-fi action movie that was distributed by Lionsgate and released in 2009. Gerald Butler stars as a gaming avatar named John, who is a top player in a video game known as “Slayers”. This game is developed through technology that allows people to control the actions of other people as their avatars in a virtual simulation game. Controlled against his will by a 17-year-old gamer, John must survive 30 matches in the game to win his freedom. Intending to stop John’s winning streak, the game designer begins introducing unfair elements so that the game’s mind-controlling nature is not exposed. The movie has solid action, but the direction and editing make it hard to follow.
5 Face / Off (1997)
Face/Off has arguably the dumbest action premise on this list, and is a top contender for the craziest action premise ever. The film was released in 1997 and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film stars John Travolta and Nicolas Cage as police officers and criminal rivals whose living human faces were swapped with each other. The FBI agent hopes to use the criminal’s face to infiltrate the crime underworld in an experimental procedure, but the criminal also gets his hands on the FBI agent’s face. This results in a sort of Crazy Friday situation where they have to pretend to live the other person’s life. There’s no shortage of jailbreaks, plane explosions, and boat chases in the movie. While the premise is outrageous, it ultimately works in the movie’s favor, making for an epic action viewing experience.
4 Broken Arrow (1996)
Broken arrow is an action film distributed by 20th Century Fox and released in 1996. John Travolta plays a rogue American pilot who stole two nuclear devices from the military. This action soon devolves into an elaborate cat-and-mouse game that delivers high-level cheesy action.
3 True lies
Next on the list is the action spy thriller True lies. It was directed by James Cameron and released in 1994. The film was distributed by 20th Century Fox and starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger plays a secret agent named Harry, who pretends to be an ordinary man with an average life. After suspecting his wife is cheating, he goes overboard and kidnaps his own wife and the man and discovers his wife wants adventure and offers her a secret spy mission. The outrageous special effects make for laughable action sequences, making it an enjoyable action movie.
2 Last Action Hero (1993)
Last action hero is an action comedy film released in 1993 by Columbia Pictures. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as a fictional action hero conjured up by the imagination of a young boy with a magic ticket. In the fictional movie world, the boy must team up with the action hero when the movie’s villains get the ticket and use it to get back to the real world. It’s an underappreciated gem that delivers hilarious moments, though not always intentionally.
1 Raw Power (1982)
Rounding out the list is the 1982 film, Raw power. Distributed by CAV Distribution, the film followed a group of martial arts students who had to face a Hitler lookalike and his band of slave traders. These two groups engage in epic battles involving zombies, cannibals, and other wacky plot elements. This is an outrageous action movie that has an endearing charm if you let the logic go out the window.