Action films are hard. They're simple in design and expectation, but pulling it off is complicated. The movie has to feel new and exciting and most of all, worth the time. Audiences tend to appreciate these movies differently than critics. Few action films merit much praise from critical circles, and a surprising number of films considered classics never did.
Some of the best action movies of all time only did ok with critics at the time of their initial release, and even today, they remain average in their reception. Fans still love them anyway.
Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon pioneered a franchise that eventually spawned a television series on Fox. It was possibly the apex of the cop action movie genre, which would be difficult to replicate today.
The movie made a huge star out of Mel Gibson and boosted the career of writer Shane Black who would go on to write a number of great movies. Most reviews at the time of its release in 1987 were only generally favorable to the movie, though. Despite this, the movie remains a classic in the action movie genre.
Die Hard
Die Hard is generally considered one of the best action movies of all time. The character of John McClaine became iconic in this movie, which pitted him against a team of opportunistic terrorists led by one of the all-time greats, Alan Rickman.
The movie was a huge success (spawning a number of sequels of varying quality) and even won Academy Awards for Best Film Editing among others, but critics generally didn't like it. Many critics praised Alan Rickman but were mixed on the performance of Bruce Willis and the amount of violence in the movie.
Commando
Arnold Schwarzenegger was one of the biggest action stars of the 80s (and really of all time). He had a run of big hits in the mid-to-late 80s, one of which was Commando.
The movie is pretty simple in terms of plot, which is maybe one reason why critics were meh on it. John Matrix (the best name of all time) is a retired Special Forces Colonel just wanting to chill out. Bad guys kidnap his daughter and he proceeds to kill all of them with all of the guns that have existed.
Predator
Predator is one of the best action films of the 80s, and certainly one of the best from Arnold Schwarzenegger, though critics didn't really think so. Reviews at the time of its release in 1987 were generally negative, with The New York Times calling it 'grisly and dull.'
The movie proved popular enough to spawn a long-running franchise which eventually merged into the Alien mythos, though most of the films since the original haven't been very good at all.
Rush Hour 2
Rush Hour 2 is the sequel to an often overlooked franchise from the early 2000s. The movie received mixed reviews on release with Roger Ebert only giving it one and a half stars out of four.
Despite this, the movie features outstanding and hard-hitting action and combat scenes. Jackie Chan continues to deliver amazing stunts in this movie (and proves how dangerous they are in the post-credits outtakes). Also delivering on all cylinders is Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon star Ziyi Zhang.
Point Break
Point Break is a quintessential action movie from the early 90s. It stars two of the biggest male leads of the time, Keanu Reeves and the late, great Patrick Swayze, and features one of the silliest plots imaginable.
Reeves is an FBI agent sent to infiltrate a group of surfers who moonlight as bank robbers and somehow that ends up with them jumping out of airplanes. Over the top in every way, most critics met it with indifference, though praised the directing of Kathryn Bigelow.
Face/Off
Face/Off is the first real foray into Hollywood by legendary director John Woo. His imprint is all over the film with its balletic action choreography and ubiquitous doves.
Not everybody liked the film, though audiences certainly did, grossing over $245 million worldwide. The exaggerated performances that have come to define the later career of Nicholas Cage arguably started here. His commitment to imitating the mannerisms and speech of John Travolta is something to see though.
Robocop
The original Robocop is one of the best movies from director Paul Verhoven and one of the best films in the genre. That wasn't immediately obvious to critics in 1987, who generally criticized it for its over the top violence. Roger Ebert was a rare exception. He emphasized that the film had a message and audiences since have appreciated it for its subtle themes on modern society.
Robocop is a classic action movie with big battles between robots, but it tackles heady sci-fi themes and also thinks forward to the future.
Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom
Critics and audiences alike go back and forth on Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom. The movie was generally faulted upon its release in 1984 for being too dark, though it's aged very well.
Some consider it to be the best movie in the franchise. It doesn't have the visceral joy of Raiders of the Lost Ark, but the prequel has an intensity that none of the films in the Indiana Jones films have ever really been able to match. The mine cart chase alone proved enormously fun and influential.
The Rock
Regardless of what critics or even audiences think, Michael Bay has left such a mark on modern action cinema that a word was invented to describe it: 'Bayhem.' A big factor in the evolution of his signature blow everything up style was pioneered in The Rock.
Most critics did not like this movie, though it did very well at the box office. At 66% on Rotten Tomatoes, it's just so-so even today and is actually his highest rated film. Still, it's a lot of fun with big set pieces and big, chewy performances by Sean Connery and Nic Cage.