1. JAMES DALTON / ROAD HOUSE (1989).
A tough bouncer (“cooler”) trained in martial arts is hired to tame a dirty roadside bar.
Played by: Patrick Swayze
Famous quote: “Take the biggest guy in the world, shatter his knee and he’ll drop like a stone.”
2. MARION ‘COBRA’ COBRETTI / COBRA (1986).
A merciless, tough-on-crime street cop has to protect the only surviving witness to an unrelenting, murderous cult with far-reaching plans.
Played by: Sylvester Stallone
Famous quote: “You’re the disease, and I’m the cure.”
3. JOHN MATRIX / COMMANDO (1985).
A retired elite Black Ops Commando launches a one-man war against a group of South American criminals who have kidnapped his daughter.
Played by: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Famous quote: “I eat Green Berets for breakfast. And right now, I’m very hungry.”
4. FRANK DUX / BLOODSPORT (1988).
The film is based on the life of Frank Dux, an American martial arts expert and U.S. soldier, who competes in the Kumite, an illegal and underground fighting competition in Hong Kong.
Played by: Jean-Claude Van Damme
Famous quote: “Aren’t you a little old for videogames?”
5. SNAKE PLISSKEN / ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (1981).
In 1997, when the US President crashes into Manhattan, which is now a giant maximum-security prison, a convicted criminal is sent in to rescue him.
Played by: Kurt Russell
Famous quote: “You wanna see him sprayed all over that map, baby? Now where’s the President?”
6. MARK GOR / A BETTER TOMORROW (1986).
A reforming ex-gangster attempts to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former past are difficult to break.
Played by: Yun-fat Chow
Famous quote: “If you don’t stop pointing that gun, you’ll have to use it.”
7. MARTIN RIGGS / LETHAL WEAPON (1987).
A veteran cop, Murtaugh, is partnered with a young, suicidal cop, Riggs. They must learn to work with one another to stop a gang of drug smugglers.
Played by: Mel Gibson
Famous quote: “When I was 19, I did a guy in Laos from a thousand yards out. It was a rifle shot in high wind. Maybe eight or even ten guys in the world could have made that shot.”
8. DUTCH / PREDATOR (1987).
A team of commandos, on a mission in a Central American jungle, find themselves being hunted by an extra-terrestrial warrior.
Played by: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Famous quote: “You’re one… *ugly* motherfucker!”
9. JOHN MCCLANE / DIE HARD (1988).
John McClane, a police officer of the NYPD, attempts to save wife Holly Gennaro and several others who have been taken hostage by German terrorist Hans Gruber during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.
Played by: Bruce Willis
Famous quote: “Nine million terrorists in the world and I gotta kill one with feet smaller than my sister.”
10. JOHN RAMBO / FIRST BLOOD (1982).
A mentally unstable Vietnam veteran, when abused by a small town’s police force, begins a one-man war with it – all hell breaks loose.
Played by: Sylvester Stallone
Famous quote: “I could have killed ‘em all; I could’ve killed you. In town you’re the law; out here it’s me. Don’t push it! Don’t push it or I’ll give you a war you won’t believe. Let it go. Let it go!”
