We journey back 40 years (yes… really) with the essential action movies of 1986…
In an era when a half-decent action film is becoming rarer than the dodo, and practical stunts and effects even more so, I often find myself venturing back to action films of yesteryear. Some of the very best of years gone by stand majestic like cinematic deities. Even the ones once considered average in execution and content now look like masterworks compared to the production line formula many streamers deliver.
It’s hard to believe that 1986 is now 40 years ago, but push that existential thought to the back of your mind for a moment and instead think back to the glorious action cinema of that year. If you need a helping hand on a nostalgic trip back to 1986, then worry not, because we’re here to bring you the essential action movies of the year…
Aliens
The idea of delivering a sequel, based on another director’s breakout film, might seem daunting to most. It’s something we see plenty of these days, with the vast majority being ill-conceived and cynically produced tripe. Whether those are direct sequels, reboots, remakes, retcons, or whatever you want to call them.
In 1986, it was far less common, but James Cameron followed up his own breakout movie (The Terminator) with a sequel to Ridley Scott’s Alien. Scott’s grippingly tense chamber horror, set aboard a dank and dark ship, crewed by everyday Joes (and Janes), gives off the grit and world-weary feel of rig workers or crews on some kind of blue-collar union gig. It was the beauty of it. Cameron throws that out the window, replacing them with caricatures and broad depictions of Marines. Larger than life grunts and a subtle as a hammer depiction of the sleazy office exec thinking about bottom lines and numbers at the expense of everyone.
Still, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) remains a grounding force, alongside a more stoically and casually heroic Marine played by Michael Biehn. Despite the big tonal shift and emphasis on big-scale action in confined settings, Cameron did something remarkable. He made a film markedly different from its predecessor, more expansive in scale, whilst retaining sweaty-palmed tension when needed. All whilst expanding on Ripley’s character and giving Weaver plenty to sink her dramatic chops into, even beyond the immediacy of survival horror. I still prefer Alien for its grit, earthiness and grounded horror, but Aliens is also a masterpiece and almost perfectly executed in its set pieces.
Raw Deal
Speaking of Cameron and The Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger had taken the momentum gathered from playing Conan and the T-800 and ran with it. Following two Conan flicks and The Terminator, as well as Commando, it felt like Raw Deal was a comparatively generic backward step.
Yet in its own right, it’s a pretty damn solid as all hell action film, even if it can’t decide whether to have a gritty Eastwoodian approach, or lean into the theatricality of pull the pin on subtlety action that the likes of Norris and Bronson (via Cannon) were delivering. When it’s going for darker and more restrained, it doesn’t quite work. When it’s going for Schwarzenegger on the loose, taking out bad guys whilst driving and shooting to a Rolling Stone’s needle drop, it’s ace. John Irvin’s direction is ruthlessly efficient, and the score by Chris Boardman is great.
Cobra
Much like Raw Deal, Stallone’s Cobra didn’t feel like it hit par with his box office behemoths of 1985 (Rambo 2 and Rocky 4). However, this film by George P. Cosmatos is rip-roaringly cheesy, with cartoonish character quirks and even more cartoony villains.
Stallone is so busy posing and doubling down on his stoic, monosyllabic badassedness (in his Ray Ban Outdoorsmans) that he forgets to even try to offer some humility to Cobretti. The much-maligned Brigitte Nielsen isn’t nearly as bad as critics made out in the film and actually gives the film its rare streak of humanity. However, we’re here for pizza cut with scissors, the souped-up Mercury Monterey, the soundtrack and maniacal biker gang leader played with spittle-heavy aplomb by Brian Thompson.
Wanted: Dead or Alive
Rutger Hauer was great. Didn’t matter what he was in. Masterpiece? Hauer was great. Atrocious Z level made for cable action movie? Hauer was great. In fact, Hauer was rarely anything less than the scene stealer of whatever film he starred in. In the 80s and early 90s, in a slight shift away from playing predominantly villains, Hauer was pushed forward as a potential action star to rival the likes of Stallone et al.
It never quite happened for him as the leading man, but he still made (and elevated) some doozies. Wanted: Dead or Alive was one such, with Hauer taking on a nefarious villain, as played by Gene Simmons. It’s rock solid and a lot of fun, and like others from this era, packed with impressive in-camera stunts and practical VFX. It’s not as good as The Hitcher, although more action-centric than his horror-tinged road movie.
The Delta Force
Chuck Norris was a busy boy during the period, with studios like Cannon and Orion keeping him busy. The Delta Force would prove to be one of his biggest hits as a leading man (especially on video), with Norris sharing the screen with ageing tough guy Lee Marvin and taking on a (now) regrettably cast Robert Forster as Abdul, a Middle Eastern terrorist.
The bizarre casting also extends to a role for Shelley Winters as a hijacked passenger, along with Robert Vaughn and George Kennedy. Initially, it all feels rather restrained in comparison to the over-the-top exploits of Norris in Invasion USA (for example), but that’s before a grand and explosive finale with a jacked-up motorbike with built in bazooka. It’s pure, unadulterated, internet meme-level Norris.
A Better Tomorrow
John Woo made a firm transition into heroic bloodshed, guns and gangsters with A Better Tomorrow, and also kicked off a very fruitful partnership with Chow Yun Fat.
It’s got everything you’d come to expect from Woo, with some familial melodrama between the frequent and dazzling gun duals. The late, great Leslie Cheung, another Hong Kong stalwart well utilised by Woo, is also in excellent form here. Though Woo would refine his blending of visceral gun battles and drama by the time he fired out The Killer and Hard Boiled, A Better Tomorrow (now available in 4k no less) is still absolutely essential.
Righting Wrongs
Yeun Biao never quite managed to hit the heady heights of his brethren, Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung when flying solo, but he made a number of incredible films as the leading man. Righting Wrongs sees him team up with Cynthia Rothrock, who’d already been launched as a major Western starlet of Hong Kong cinema by this point.
Corey Yuen’s expert direction and Sammo Hung’s choreography bring the best out of all involved. Rothrock, in particular, and to this day, did incredible work unmatched by female action stars of the west. You had to be a badass to work in Hong Kong action in the crazy 80s heyday, and she stood out where even many of the Western male stars struggled against the intensity and pace. As a duo, particularly when scrapping, Rothrock and Biao had great synergy.
Big Trouble in Little China
John Carpenter’s career has been eclectic to say the least. Whilst so synonymous with horror, Carpenter showed plenty of chops in other genres like action and Sci-fi. Big Trouble in Little China was his wild, unapologetic B-movie fusion of action, fantasy, martial arts and comedy.
For many growing up in the 80s, it was a childhood staple and with the charismatic Kurt Russell front and centre, it had star power to burn. Add to the mix a who’s who of Asian-American stuntmen, Dennis Dun (who should have been a bigger star), a villainous James Hong and Kim Cattrall and this film delivers entertainment in hefty, relentless doses. It looks incredible, too. All rocketing along in a perfectly lithe blast of unbridled fun.
The Wraith
Take a little dash of Pale Rider and then throw a sleek, near supernatural sports car into the grinder, and out comes a beautiful ground beef seasoned with Charlie Sheen. Okay, that makes no sense, but for large chunks, neither does this film.
Still, Sheen is a man on a revenge mission against a gang of punks (led by Nick Cassavetes), and he’s got the Dodge Turbo interceptor to help him carry out his mission. As you’d expect with a film centring on a car, it has plenty of vehicular stunts and action, and it’s masses of fun that barely drops under top gear. In terms of unstoppable show-stopping cars for the year, this one narrowly beats out Tommy Lee Jones and Black Moon Rising.
Armour of God
Jackie Chan was in his pomp in the mid 80s, busy redefining and revolutionising action cinema. At this stage, he’d begun riffing a lot on Hollywood pictures, moving away from traditional kung-fu or wuxia films in favour of contemporary action films or comedy hijinks (taking a leaf out of Buster Keaton’s book).
Armour of God saw Chan have a stab at globe-trotting, Indiana Jones-esque tomb raiding, but still packed with his trademark fight sequences and death-defying stuntwork. This film has everything, and Chan is a walking, talking, kicking, punching, jumping, rolling, gravity-defying special effect.
Honourable Mentions:
Avenging Force, Murphy’s Law, Running Scared, Black Moon Rising, SILK, Highlander, F/X, Hands of Steel, The Golden Child, Royal Warriors, Top Gun, Firewalker.
What’s your favourite action movie from 1986? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Tom Jolliffe
