Long before you cut an eight-slice pizza with your bare hands, jump from a sky parachute firing hot dogs from a hot dog gun, or save a distressed young lady from bear to bear Using a hoagie in a Quicktrip snack ad, Chuck Norris was a box office action hero.
A kung fu superstar. At one time, some considered him “the most meanest man on the planet”. Yes, the man who has some of the most popular memes on the Internet is known as a martial arts legend.
Here are the top ten Chuck Norris movies, ranked by their IMDb ratings.
ten Hell (4.9)
Chuck Norris and his partner, Calvin Levels, are two Chicago detectives who, while investigating the murder of a rabbi, realize that they must stop the supernatural being, Prostanos.
A film B at its best, Hellbound was produced by, at the time, the film studio that was struggling to survive Cannon. He serves as a unique action superhero trying to save or restore his career by fighting a super demon played by film and television villain Christopher Neame.
It wasn’t that long after her television series, Walker, Texas Ranger, gained popularity and revitalized Norris’ career.
9 Firewall (5.1)
Get out of the heels of Romance the stone, The Cannon Group, wanting their own comic action / adventure, produces Fire walker with Norris and Louis Gossett Jr. as an unlikely comedy duo. They play soldiers of fortune trying to find an old gold mine in Central America with the help of a mysterious woman played by Melody Anderson.
Fire walker gained popularity due to a notable bar fight scene that enabled Norris to display his exemplary combat skills after being insulted in Spanish by a man of manifest size. Norris takes the gum out of her mouth and puts it in Gossett’s hand, telling him to hold it while he destroys everyone in the bar, even finding time to take a sip of beer.
8 Heroes and terror (5.3)
In a vintage action movie style, Norris plays a cop trying to stop serial killer Simon Moon (Jack O’Halloran), also known as “The Terror” because of the horrible way he kills women and takes them to his liar.
Norris adds more dimensions to her character than the stereotypical hot combat machine of her past films. Her role has many layers, especially the scenes involving her relationship with her girlfriend (Brynn Thayer).
Although Hero and terror was not well received, it cracks Norris’ stereotype as a kung fu guy making martial arts movies. This helped legitimize his credibility as an actor.
seven Missing in action (5.4)
Chuck Norris plays a Vietnam veteran who returns to Vietnam to rescue those who are missing.
Critics filmed the film stating that it was “riding ponytails” from the Rambo franchise, but it was a commercial success for the Cannon films and Norris’ most popular film. Exit Cannon Missing in action before Rambo First Blood II, and the film spawned two sequels with Missing in Action 2: The Beginning and Braddock: missing in action III.
Norris dedicated the films of this franchise to his brother killed in the Vietnam War.
6 An eye for an eye (5.5)
Norris and her partner (Terry Kiser) try to find a drug leader, described by Christopher Lee. When they meet someone who can help them resolve the matter, Norris’ partner eventually dies. Norris decides to leave the forces and take matters into his own hands.
Because audiences got used to Norris’s movies full of continuous action and hardcore violence, some were disappointed by An eye for an eye lameness. Some have wondered if Norris was trying to break away from pigeonhole status as a martial artist and legitimate actor.
5 The Delta Force (5.6)
The hijacking of flight TWA 847 in 1985, where hijackers detained dozens of hostages for several weeks, inspired The Delta Force. The film stars Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin (Dirty dozen and The man who shot Liberty Valance) as leaders of an elite group of special operations forces dispatched to resolve a disaster after terrorists flew.
Two interesting facts about the film franchise (Delta Force 2 was released four years later, while the third episode went straight to the video) is that Charles Bronson was the original choice to co-play alongside Norris, but he refused. And Alan Silverstri’s theme music was later used by ABC Sports when the Indy 500 opened between 1988 and 1998.
4 Forced revenge (5.7)
Although relatively low on this list, Forced revenge has one of the most recognizable intros in the history of Kung Fu cinema.
The silhouettes of Chuck Norris with two ladies and a striker as well as a neon sign from Hong Kong serve as a backdrop for a piece of heavy synthesized ballad. Man approaches Norris, who gives his hat to one of the ladies, and the two men fight in slow motion until finally, Norris kicks the opponent over the ramp staircase.
Try to improve the film he released the year before, A An eye for an eye, Norris made sure that Forced revenge had a ton of action and violence. While the number of bodies is high, the play and the scenario are low.
3 Code of silence (6.1)
This film is a departure from Norris’ traditional martial arts films. Although it has a lot of action, Code of silence focuses more on guns, car chases and explosions rather than the hand-to-hand combat the public has grown accustomed to.
Norris plays a Chicago cop trapped between a rock and a hard place when he has to stop a gang war while having to take down a reckless cop who has caused a division in the department.
2 Lone Wolf McQuade (6.4)
Lone Wolf McQuade stars Chuck Norris and Kung FuDavid Carradine, alongside a team of stars including Barbara Carrera and Leon Isaac Kennedy. Norris plays a Texas Ranger who must stop a drug lord who has the same martial arts skills as him, while they also compete for the same woman.
The final fight scene between Norris and Carradine, while very good and avoided by using stunts, is not as historic as his epic battle scene of 1973 with Bruce Lee in The way of the dragon. But it’s very fascinating to see Norris fighting the man who beat Lee for the role of Kwai Chang Caine in the TV series, Kung Fu.
Lone Wolf McQuade raised Norris to a true action star and also served as inspiration for his television show ten years later, Walker, Texas Ranger.
1 The way of the dragon (7.3)
Yes Lone Wolf McQuade brought Chuck Norris (the first westerner to hold the rank of 8th degree black belt in Taekwondo) into the mainstream as a certified action star, and then The way of the dragon put it on the map as America’s answer or the equivalent of Bruce Lee.
The way of the dragon talks about Tang Yung (Bruce Lee), who visits his relatives in Italy and must defend them against the gangsters in the neighborhood. After beating all the local gangsters, the crime boss hires goons from abroad, including Colt, represented by Chuck Norris.
When making his cinema debut, the sight of Norris leaving the airport with long favorites, big shades with golden rims, a long colorful shirt with a beautiful big bronze belt buckle and a briefcase is quite emblematic.
Norris and Lee’s epic fight scene is considered by many to be the greatest movement fight of all time.