Growing up in the 80s and 90 even if you weren’t a fan of martial arts movies. You couldn’t help but see Chuck Norris movies all over the place. Made famous for his role in The Way of the Dragon for having an epic end fight with Bruce Lee and what an entrance. Chuck Norris went on to become an action star in his own right. And why not, he had the moves, acted better than most of his fellow action stars and had the king of all beards. Most of his stuff is very dated and cheesy now but back in the day, they were awesome. So what are the best Chuck Norris movies?
Let’s take a look at the top 10 best Chuck Norris movies. These will only be movies where Norris is the main star so movies like The Expendables and The Way of the Dragon don’t count.
10. HellBound
An ancient evil trying to resurrect is dark god is locked away by non-other than Richard the Lionheart during the crusades. Thousands of years later his crypt is unearthed by looters and he is set loose. Cut to the modern-day, Frank Shatter (Norris) and partner Calvin Jackson (Calvin Levels) witness the murder of a prostitute and venture into the apartment she was thrown from. What Shatter encounters is a dead rabbi with his heart ripped out and a supernatural being. Shatter pumps two bullets into him but they seem to have no effect as he gets taken out. They are summoned to Israel for questioning and they continue their investigation into the supernatural being. Hellbound is kind of like End of days but not as good.
9. Forced Vengeance
Former serviceman John Randall moves to Hong Kong and gets a job as security at the Dragon Casino. He gets on well with the owner who treats him like a son. When he is approached by the local mob who intend to take over the business, Randall refuses and the casino owner is killed in retaliation. This sets Randall on the warpath to find those responsible all the while avoiding the police and protecting his daughter. Being one of Norris’s earlier movies, there’s a lot more fighting in this than his more modern stuff.
8. Silent Rage
When sheriff, Dan Stevens played by Norris investigates a disturbance which turns out to be murder. He comes across a homicidal maniac who’s still in the house. After attacking Dan and also trying to murder him, he fails and is subdued by Dan. Upon trying to escape he is shot and killed. For reasons unknown to anyone, the killer’s body is taken to a mental institute, operated on and given an experimental formula. This brings the killer back to life and makes him near indestructible. Dr Tom tries to stop the killer but is killed. I mean what did they expect? Resuming his sociopathic serial killing ways, the murderer goes on a rampage for the remaining doctors and their relatives. Once again, it’s up to Stevens to stop him but this time he’s unstoppable. This is pre-beard Norris sporting his famous cowboy hat.
7. Firewalker
A rare comedy/action role for Norris. Two adventures Max Donigan played by Chuck Norris and Leo Porter played by Louis Gossett Jr are on a quest for treasure. They get a treasure map from new partner Patricia. It has car chases in the desert, gun battles, bar fights, caves and ruins, Norris dressed as a priest and of course the Firewalker who is the guardian of the treasure they seek. Think Chuck Norris meets Romancing the Stone meets King Solomon’s mines. Indiana Jones, eat your heart out.
6. The Hitman
Chuck Norris is a cop, Cliff Garrett. He is betrayed by his partner who’s gone dirty, shot in the chest twice and left for dead. 3 years later we see Garrett working for the local mob undercover. I’m not quite sure why it’s called The Hitman as Garrett is more of an enforcer/2nd in command for the mob. Trying to bring down two rival mob families from within the Armenian mob get involved. Being an undercover cop, you’d think Garrett would have some rules to follow but nope, he has no problem gunning down gangsters in cold blood even if they aren’t armed.
Naturally, his ex-partner hadn’t really gone anywhere and makes a return for a final confrontation of course.
5. The Delta Force
Based on the real-life special force’s unit Delta Force. The US’s answer to the British SAS. Starring Chuck Norris as captain Scott McCoy and Lee Marvin as Colonel Nick Alexander.
Inspired by the real-life hijacking of Trans world airlines flight 847. A Boeing 747 is hijacked by terrorists. It’s up to McCoy and Alexander to mount a mission to rescue the hostages. Problems arise when the plane makes multiple stops and transports the hostages to a terrorist stronghold. Queue McCoy and the Delta Force mounting an all-out assault on the stronghold with armoured dune buggies that have heavy machine guns mounted and motorbikes with rockets on. Eagle eye viewers might spot an early Liam Neeson as one of the Delta Force soldiers.
Delta Force 2 also starred Norris who returns as McCoy to take on a ruthless South American kingpin, Ramon played awesomely by Billy Drago. He always plays great bad guys. The DEA has been trying to catch Ramon for years and after a failed operation they enlist the help of McCoy and his best friend Bobby. They capture Ramon but the US courts prove ineffective at locking him up and release him. Seeking revenge, he kills Bobbies wife and son and then Bobby all the while capturing some DEA agents. This sets McCoy on the warpath for Ramon.
4. Hero and the Terror
Bit of a weird name for a movie but it’s one of Chuck Norris’s best. Danny O’Brien (Norris) and his partner are on the trail of serial killer Simon Moon. A Near 7-foot behemoth of a man, the media refer to as The Terror. Instead of waiting for backup, Danny goes in alone and barely escapes with his life but manages to apprehend Moon. In all honesty, Danny got lucky and he knows it. Traumatised for life by his encounter with Moon. 3 years pass. Moon manages to escape the asylum he is being kept at, crashes a stolen laundry van off a cliff and is presumed dead. When victims once again start showing up with even more missing persons, the thought of Simon Moon being at large once again terrifies Danny but he knows deep down there can be only one culprit. Once again Danny and the police force need to catch The Terror before he kills even more. A slight change of pace for Norris as he seems a bit more human than his normal, fearless bad-arse self.
3. Missing in Action Trilogy
All the missing in action are great. The 1st was the most popular but I enjoyed them all as much as each other. Norris plays Col James Braddock a Vietnam vet who spent 10 years in a prisoner of war camp. Braddock accompanies a government investigator team on reports of US soldiers still being held prisoner in Vietnam. During the conference the Vietnamese officials including the evil warden of the camp Braddock was held at, deny there are any prisoners. Braddock’s suspicions are confirmed and he goes on a one-man mission to rescue the POWs. Queue a violent and brutal rescue as Norris channels his inner Rambo with his friend Tucker helping out, a fellow veteran. Spoiler alert but there’s a great scene at the end where the Vietnamese officials are just done denying there are any prisoners once again and they consider this matter closed when Braddock burst threw the doors carrying injured POWs. In your face. See if you can spot none other than Jean Claude van Damme in an uncredited role as a US soldier.
The sequel Missing in Action: The Beginning is a prequel to the 1st movie. Its shows Braddock first getting captured and his 10 years in a POW camp before his escape. The funny thing is it’s not the camp and warden from Braddock flashbacks in the first movie but a completely different evil Warden and camp. I guess it’s not too farfetched to believe the POWs were moved from camp to camp. Naturally, they mount their escape and there’s a one on one face-off with Braddock and the evil warden.
The 3rd movie titled Braddock: Missing in Action 3 see’s Braddock returning to Vietnam after hearing his long-lost love who he thought was killed in the fall of Saigon is alive and he has a son who’s 10 years old now. This movie is far more Rambo like as it sees Braddock rescuing kidnapped orphans from a Vietnamese camp and escorting them through the jungle towards the border of Thailand all the while fighting and evading the evil general after him. This movie also has the most fight scenes. There was hardly any in the previous movies.
2 . Code of Silence
Code of Silence marks a departure from Norris’s traditional martial arts movies and focuses more on gunfights and car chases. Kind of like an early Steve Seagal movie. Norris plays Eddie Cusack, a tough Chicago cop caught in the middle of a drug gang war. During a deal gone bad, an old inept cop kills a kid by mistake and plants a gun on him to cover up his mistake. Norris hears of this and is the only one to testify against the cop breaking the code of silence. This leads to him being shunned by his comrades leaving him to battle the drugs gang by himself. There’s a great scene where Cusack is heading to a bar to arrest the gang’s leader. He calls for backup by everyone ignores his call so he heads there by himself. He kicks as much arse as humanly possible for one main against 20 but ultimately the odds are too much even for Norris. A great watch with classic 80’s Fletch style music.
1. Lone Wolf McQuade
What else could be number one other than the movie that inspired his hit series? Walker Texas Ranger. Chuck Norris was born to play this role. Norris is once again a tough cop, a lone wolf Texas Ranger who’s straight out of a western. He even has a pet wolf to add to his bad arse-ness. When I think Chuck Norris, I think of a tough Texas Ranger. No other action star could have played the part better. David Carradine is equally a great bad guy as he goes toe to toe with McQuade from killing many of his friends and family to literally burying walker alive in his supercharged Dodge Ram-charger. This all leads to an epic final showdown between Norris and Carradine. Norris karate kickboxing style vs Carradine’s kung fu. This was Norris at the height of his fame and in his prime. You won’t see a better Chuck Norris movie.
