In the 80s and 90s, we moviegoers were blessed with an abundance of action stars and the many different-but-same, balls-to-the-wall bullet ballets with fists and kicks also flying about. Never have people been so happy to watch so many people die. With all these movies came a bunch of stars known for their action prowess and some dramatic actors were able to crossover into some cops and robbers/good guy vs bad guy mayhem.
While Schwarzenegger and Stallone were in competition with their films, we never truly got them to do a project together as rivals at their peak. Eventually, they would work together in The Expendables films and Escape Plan in the 2010s. However, back in the 90s, there were some notable match-ups with established actors and the marketing usually involved their names at the top of the movie poster as if it were a fight poster.
We rank 5 movies of the 90s where audiences were treated to a “Star vs Star” action movie. However, something like Under Siege wouldn’t quite qualify as Tommy Lee Jones was not really a box office draw until afterward. The movies we list are ones that had audiences salivating at the notion that two big movie names are paired together in a rivalry in a film.
Release Year: 1996
Director: John Woo
Genre: Action / Thriller
Match-Up: John Travolta vs Christian Slater
Action Style: Explosive military action thriller
Major Legacy: Helped establish John Travolta’s 1990s villain persona following Pulp Fiction
Cultural Legacy: Became a cult-favorite cable action movie thanks to its over-the-top action sequences and John Woo’s stylish direction
John Travolta was known primarily as a dramatic actor (with some comedy) in the 70s and 80s, but his big 90s re-breakout in Pulp Fiction gave the star a new kind of swagger. He would capitalize on his charismatic but antagonistic persona with a starring role as the villain in Broken Arrow. Meanwhile, Christian Slater would wield guns in roles in like Young Guns II, Kuffs and True Romance. Pit these two against each other in a John Woo film from the writer of Speed and you have an explosive, fun time. The movie even gives us a main event with the stars squaring off in a brutal fist fight.
Release Year: 1992
Director: Roland Emmerich
Genre: Science Fiction / Action
Match-Up: Jean-Claude Van Damme vs Dolph Lundgren
Action Style: Military sci-fi action
Major Legacy: Successfully paired two major international action stars in one franchise-launching film
Cultural Legacy: Remains one of the defining sci-fi action films of the early 1990s and a fan-favorite showcase for Van Damme and Lundgren
Jean-Claude Van Damme was a big star and had recently broken free of his residency at Cannon Films to do some proper big-budget action at some of the bigger movie studios. Dolph Lundgren broke out as the memorable Ivan Drago, who faced Sylvester Stallone in Rocky IV, and since then, Lundgren made a name for himself in the action genre with Masters of the Universe and Showdown in Little Tokyo. Roland Emmerich had both stars face off against each other in his action sci-fi film Universal Soldier. The movie started with Lundgren having gone psychotic while both their characters were serving in Vietnam. His rampage in the film is probably some of Lundgren’s best work as an actor as he surprising plays unhinged well in this. Meanwhile, Van Damme becomes a baby-faced hero as a killing machine learning to regain his humanity and you can’t wait for that final encounter when both men finally come to a head with their tension.
Release Year: 1993
Director: Marco Brambilla
Genre: Science Fiction / Action / Satire
Match-Up: Sylvester Stallone vs Wesley Snipes
Action Style: Futuristic buddy-cop rivalry
Major Legacy: Blended action, satire, and science fiction into one of Stallone’s most enduring cult hits
Cultural Legacy: Frequently quoted and referenced for its dystopian future concepts, Wesley Snipes’ performance, and inventive world-building
There’s so much going on with Demolition Man. It’s a satire on a futuristic society that’s a hilarious dystopian utopia. It’s got a ton of neat sci-fi concepts. But at its core, it’s anchored by the rivalry between John Spartan and Simon Phoenix. A rivalry that transcends eras. Wesley Snipes broke out into a bunch of tough guy roles in New Jack City and Passenger 57, so it was exciting to see him face off against one of the genre’s most famous heroes. There’s a saying that “an action movie is only as good as your villain,” and Snipes has a f*cking blast as Simon Phoenix. It’s almost as if he knows he’ll never be cast as The Joker, so he’ll make Phoenix his own. Sylvester Stallone is an old-school cop who has a reputation as a “demolition man” and these two stars have such a fun chemistry as enemies that it is one of the many aspects that make this film endlessly enjoyable.
Release Year: 1997
Director: John Woo
Genre: Action / Crime Thriller
Match-Up: John Travolta vs Nicolas Cage
Action Style: Operatic gun-fu action
Major Legacy: Elevated body-swap storytelling into blockbuster action spectacle while showcasing peak Nicolas Cage insanity
Cultural Legacy: Widely regarded as one of the greatest action films of the 1990s thanks to its emotional stakes, stylized violence, and iconic performances
Now here’s a movie that hinges its story on the characters’ rivalry. The story is motivated by their hatred of each other and it’s such a fun ride. Travolta reunites with John Woo and he gets to elevate his villain persona from Broken Arrow. What’s great about Face/Off‘s conflict is that it gets incredibly personal. It’s a cop and robber story at its roots, but the outrageous plot helps us to humanize both hero and villain with an exploration of their family and personal lives. John Woo’s mayhem is given depth with some emotion as both men know so much about each other that they can actually become each other for a short time. The movie truly lives up to its name. Both ways. And the finale is a glorious, ongoing 20-minute gunfight/chase/fist fight — everything that you would want to cap off such a deep-seated quarrel.
Release Year: 1995
Director: Michael Mann
Genre: Crime Drama / Thriller
Match-Up: Al Pacino vs Robert De Niro
Action Style: Grounded crime epic
Major Legacy: Finally united Al Pacino and Robert De Niro onscreen in a shared narrative confrontation
Cultural Legacy: Considered one of the greatest crime films ever made, influencing countless heist movies, thrillers, and action dramas
Ok, this one may be cheating since it’s not an action movie per se. It’s more of a crime drama. One that happens to have some of the best shootouts in cinema. But this is one of the biggest events of the 90s as, much like Schwarzenegger and Stallone, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro have been the best in their game and had yet to do a movie together outside of appearing in different stories in The Godfather Part II. Some people argue that you’re still cheated by not truly getting to see both their faces in the same frame, leading some to think they didn’t even film together. But Michael Mann’s crime epic is the first time the two actors got to play off each other and naturally, it would become a collision. While the two butt heads throughout the film, the ending shows the ultimate symbol of respect both have for each other, despite their positions in life.
Many fans consider Heat the greatest 1990s rivalry because it brought together Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in a legendary cops-and-robbers conflict directed by Michael Mann.
Face/Off combines emotional storytelling, outrageous action sequences, John Woo’s signature visual style, and unforgettable performances from Nicolas Cage and John Travolta.
Wesley Snipes’ Simon Phoenix in Demolition Man is often considered one of the decade’s most entertaining action villains because of his charisma, unpredictability, and comedic energy.
Yes, both actors appeared in The Godfather Part II, but they never shared scenes together onscreen until Heat in 1995.
The film united Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren — two of the era’s biggest physical action stars — in a high-concept sci-fi action movie.
John Woo popularized stylized “gun-fu” action featuring slow motion, dual pistols, dramatic standoffs, emotional storytelling, and elaborate shootouts.
The movie blends action, satire, comedy, and science fiction while featuring strong chemistry between Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes.
The best match-ups combine:
Many fans prefer 1990s action movies because they emphasized practical effects, larger-than-life stars, memorable villains, and distinctive directorial styles.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone famously competed throughout the 1980s and 1990s but did not properly face off against each other onscreen during their peak years.