Kevin
Strap in, folks—because we’re doing this again. Not long ago, we rounded up five great movies that proved you don’t need an epic runtime to deliver the goods. We’re back with another batch, this time zeroing in on pure action. There are few things more satisfying than a lean, hard-hitting action movie, and the longer they run, the harder it is to maintain that kind of white-knuckle momentum.
Same rules as last time. 90 minutes or less. If it goes over by even a minute, it’s out.
Commando (1985) – 90 minutes
A retired special forces soldier wages all-out war on a private army after his daughter is kidnapped, transforming a straightforward rescue mission into a one-man assault.
Few movies understand the assignment as well as Commando. From the moment John Matrix’s daughter is kidnapped, the film abandons all pretense of restraint and becomes a nonstop exercise in forward momentum. There’s no tangled plot, no emotional detours, and no wasted scenes—just Arnold Schwarzenegger bulldozing his way through an ever-escalating series of gunfights, explosions, and one-liners. It’s the rare action movie that feels like it’s already in its third act for most of its runtime. And when it does get to the third act… oh boy.
Every scene either raises the body count or pushes Matrix closer to his goal, culminating in one of the most shamelessly entertaining finales of the 1980s as Matrix becomes a one-man army. It’s pure, undiluted action cinema. Plus, who can resist Schwarzenegger’s “Blow off some steam, Bennett!”
District B13 (2004) – 86 minutes
An undercover cop and a parkour-savvy vigilante race against the clock through a walled-off Paris slum to stop a stolen neutron bomb from levelling the city.
Working with a modest budget, District B13 was forced to go old-school—but with parkour founder David Belle leading the charge, flashy CGI was never required. Belle is a human highlight reel, pushing his body to the absolute limit as he vaults, sprints, and contorts his way through the concrete maze of the Paris ghetto. The movie turns walls, rooftops, and alleyways into part of the battlefield. Lean, aggressive, and refreshingly no-nonsense, it’s action-driven by raw physical ability rather than digital spectacle.
While the film wasn’t a significant hit in its native France, it found a much wider—and more influential—audience internationally. District B13 helped ignite the parkour boom that swept through the early 2000s, with its impact even felt in the opening chase of Casino Royale. Its success led to a sequel, District B13: Ultimatum, and an English-language remake, Brick Mansions, which saw Belle return to familiar terrain. That remake also marked Paul Walker’s final fully completed film role before his untimely death.
Flash Point (2007) – 88 minutes
A hot-headed inspector goes to war with a small but powerful Vietnamese-Chinese gang after their violent crimes leave an undercover cop and his girlfriend in grave danger.
Donnie Yen is an absolute legend, and Flash Point showcases some of his very best modern-era fight work. In fact, Yen and Collin Chou, who plays the film’s main villain, have both said that the climactic showdown was the most physically demanding shoot of their careers—and it shows.
Yen’s Inspector Ma Jun is a coiled spring of intensity, spending much of the film winding himself into a barely contained ball of rage before finally detonating in spectacular fashion. Director Wilson Yip resists the urge to come out swinging, keeping the opening grounded and grim while saving the heavy artillery for the back half, which is where Flash Point fully earns its reputation. When the action finally erupts, flashy wirework is tossed aside in favour of brutal, close-quarters, MMA-fueled combat. Every punch lands with nasty intent, every throw looks like it hurts, and the now-iconic finale stands as one of the great modern action brawls.
And it’s not just fists flying. The film also delivers some memorable gunplay, including an outrageous moment where Ma Jun uses a sniper rifle to take out a bad guy mid-air after he’s launched skyward by his partner (Louis Koo)—the kind of gloriously excessive beat that reminds you this is still a Hong Kong action movie at heart.
Shoot ‘Em Up (2007) – 86 minutes
A man named Mr. Smith delivers a woman’s baby during a shootout and is then called upon to protect the newborn from the army of gunmen.
Some action movies flirt with excess, and then there’s Shoot ’Em Up, which straps excess to a rocket and launches it into the stratosphere. This is a world where physics are optional, bullets are infinite, and Clive Owen somehow always finds time to gnaw on carrots between shootouts. Writer/director Michael Davis stages the mayhem like a Looney Tunes cartoon filtered through a hard-R lens, pushing every set piece past the point of reason. Is it stupid? Absolutely. But it’s also relentlessly entertaining, delivering wall-to-wall action and an endless parade of gloriously unhinged ideas.
Delivering a baby mid-gunfight and using a firearm to sever the umbilical cord? Check. Having sex with Monica Bellucci during a shootout? Check. Engaging in a firefight while free-falling through the sky after leaping out of a plane? Also check. Shoot ’Em Up doesn’t just go big—it goes all in. And then there’s Paul Giamatti, having the time of his life as the villain, chewing scenery so aggressively it feels like the very fabric of reality might tear under the strain.
Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991) – 79 minutes
Two L.A. cops with opposing views on what is the best way to uphold the law have to work together to bring down the Yakuza, while trying to protect a beautiful woman.
Showdown in Little Tokyo is a trashy blast of early-’90s action cinema—the kind of movie that knows precisely what it is. Loud, dumb, and gleefully violent, it runs on pure attitude, powered by peak-era Dolph Lundgren and the effortless charisma of the late Brandon Lee.
Lundgren plays Kenner, a stoic, Japan-obsessed cop raised overseas who speaks the language, reveres the culture, and absolutely demolishes anyone foolish enough to cross his path. Lee’s Johnny Murata is his polar opposite—quick, funny, and constantly needling his partner’s stone-faced intensity. Their chemistry is the film’s secret weapon: Lee supplies the charm and comic spark, while Lundgren brings the blunt-force authority, and together they form a buddy-cop pairing that crackles far more than the material probably deserves.
Dumped onto home video by Warner Bros. after a brief theatrical run, the film was largely dismissed by critics at the time. But following Lee’s tragic death on the set of The Crow, audiences began revisiting his earlier work, and Showdown in Little Tokyo found a second life as a cult favourite. Lee is flat-out excellent here, and the film ultimately plays like a reminder of what we lost. It’s hard not to walk away wishing we’d gotten a whole lot more of Brandon Lee tearing it up in roles exactly like this.
—
Sometimes all you want is an action movie that doesn’t overthink it—one that grabs you by the collar, empties the clip, and rolls credits before you’ve had a chance to check your phone. If you’re looking for proof that 90 minutes is more than enough to deliver unforgettable action, these movies have you covered. Let us know some of your favourite 90-minute action flicks in the comments!
