I love crazy action B-movies. The Resident Evil and Underworld series are perfect examples. These types of movies typically have a mid-range budget, goofy plot, hot girls, great action and gory violence.
I’m struggling to find other good movies in this genre that I’ve not already seen.
Do you guys have any recommendations? :)
QT3s Uber Awesome Action B-Movies List: English language
A great one I saw recently was Universal Soldier: Regeneration, which was directed by Peter Hyams son who is currently producing a limited-series adaptation of Maniac Cop with Nicholas Winding Refn. Despite being a direct-to-video production, the stunt coordination, action setpieces, and inspired location (it all takes place around the abandoned Chernobyl powerplant) elevates it above the moribund series it’s attached to.
Another silly flick I had a good time with during the short-lived Sam Elliott renaissance was the odd-couple buddy movie Shakedown (1988), which saw a burnt-out hippie cop teaming up with a post-Robocop Peter Weller as a slick lawyer tackling police corruption. Was clearly greenlit just to get some of that Lethal Weapon money, but it’s very well made and the performances are great.
The Substitute is a ridiculous flick by Live Entertainment (Reservoir Dogs and King of New York) with an over-the-top performance by Tom Berenger, which is really saying something, as a soldier going undercover to a inner-city school to take down a gang of students. It’s a violent, campy take on the Dangerous Minds formula. “Power perceived is power achieved!”
Fury Road’s definitely a blockbuster-budgeted flick. It also received stellar reviews with many arguing it elevated the genre, netted ten Oscar nominations, and ended up on nearly every cinephiles “best of” the decade list. It’s an awesome action film, but I don’t think it’s very ‘B’.
Things I have watched recently that fit this catergiry:
Drive Angry - closer to a C-movie, but hey, Nicolas Cage!
Primal - See above
The Bad Batch - great, but you’ll need a strong stomach for the opening 30min or so.
The sex scene shootout is super memorable, but William Fichtner steals the show. Apparently it’s one of Axl Rose’s favorite films which seems weirdly appropriate, haha!
