Best Action Movies of 1989

Batman must face his most ruthless nemesis when a deformed madman calling himself "The Joker" seizes control of Gotham's criminal underworld.

A civilian oil rig crew is recruited to conduct a search and rescue effort when a nuclear submarine mysteriously sinks. One diver soon finds himself on a spectacular odyssey 25,000 feet below the ocean's surface where he confronts a mysterious force that has the power to change the world or destroy it.

In the opening chase, Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh stumble across a trunk full of Krugerrands. They follow the trail to a South African diplomat who's using his immunity to conceal a smuggling operation. When he plants a bomb under Murtaugh's toilet, the action explodes!

If your enemy refuses to be humbled... Destroy him. Accompanied by his brother Kurt (Van Damme), American kickboxing champion Eric Sloane (Dennis Alexio), arrives in Thailand to defeat the Eastern warriors at their own sport. His opponent: ruthless fighter and Thai champion, Tong Po. Tong not only defeats Eric, he paralyzes him for life. Crazed with anger, Kurt vows revenge.

Ray Tango and Gabriel Cash are narcotics detectives who, while both being extremely successful, can't stand each other. Crime Lord Yves Perret, furious at the loss of income that Tango and Cash have caused him, frames the two for murder. Caught with the murder weapon on the scene of the crime, the two have no alibi. Thrown into prison with most of the criminals they helped convict, it appears that they are going to have to trust each other if they are to clear their names and catch the evil Perret.

After capturing the notorious drug lord Franz Sanchez, Bond's close friend and former CIA agent Felix Leiter is left for dead and his wife is murdered. Bond goes rogue and seeks vengeance on those responsible, as he infiltrates Sanchez's organization from the inside.

Scott Turner has 3 days left in the local police department before he moves to a bigger city to get some 'real' cases—not just misdemeanors. When Amos Reed is murdered, Scott sets himself on the case, but the closest thing to a witness to the murder is Reed's dog, Hooch, which Scott has to take care of—to avoid Hooch being 'put to sleep'.

Xixo is back again. This time, his children accidentally stow away on a fast-moving poachers' truck, unable to get off, and Xixo sets out to rescue them. Along the way, he encounters a couple of soldiers trying to capture each other and a pilot and passenger of a small plane, who are each having a few problems of their own.

The Double Deuce is the meanest, loudest and rowdiest bar south of the Mason-Dixon Line, and Dalton has been hired to clean it up. He might not look like much, but the Ph.D.-educated bouncer proves he's more than capable -- busting the heads of troublemakers and turning the roadhouse into a jumping hot-spot. But Dalton's romance with the gorgeous Dr. Clay puts him on the bad side of cutthroat local big shot Brad Wesley.

Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. However, in Japan he manages to escape, and as they try to track him down, they get deeper and deeper into the Japanese Mafia scene and they have to learn that they can only win by playing the game—the Japanese way.

Frank Leone is nearing the end of his prison term for a relatively minor crime. Just before he is paroled, however, Warden Drumgoole takes charge. Drumgoole was assigned to a hell-hole prison after his administration was publicly humiliated by Leone, and has now arrived on the scene to ensure that Leone never sees the light of day.

A team from the United States is going to compete against Korea in a Tae Kwon Do tournament. The team consists of fighters from all over the country--can they overcome their rivalry and work together to win?

A blind Vietnam vet, trained as a swordfighter, comes to America and helps to rescue the son of a fellow soldier.

Despondent over the closing of his karate school, Cobra Kai teacher John Kreese joins a ruthless businessman and martial artist to get revenge on Daniel and Mr. Miyagi.

In 17th century New England, witch hunter Giles Redferne captures an evil warlock, but the conjurer eludes death with supernatural help. Flung into the future, the warlock winds up in the 1980s and plans to bring about the end of the world. Redferne follows the enchanter into the modern era and continues his mission, but runs into trouble in such unfamiliar surroundings. With the help of a young woman, can Redferne finally defeat the warlock?

Experienced Green Beret sergeant Johnny Gallagher is escorting a prisoner, Airborne Ranger Thomas Boyette, back to the US, but Boyette escapes and Gallagher must risk life and limb to catch him.

The extravagant cop Michael Dooley needs some help to fight a drug dealer who has tried to kill him. A "friend" gives him a dog named Jerry Lee (Officer Lewis), who has been trained to smell drugs. With his help, Dooley sets out to put his enemy behind the bars, but Jerry Lee has a personality of his own and works only when he wants to. On the other hand, the dog is quite good at destroying Dooley's car, house and sex-life...

Underwater deep-sea miners encounter a Soviet wreck and bring back a dangerous cargo to their base on the ocean floor with horrifying results. The crew of the mining base must fight to survive against a genetic mutation that hunts them down one by one.

Truman Gates, a Chicago cop, sets out to find his brother's killer. Meanwhile, another of his brothers, Briar (a hillbilly) decides to find the killer himself.

Jessie is an aging career criminal who has been in more jails, fights, schemes, and lineups than just about anyone else. His son Vito, while currently on the straight and narrow, has had a fairly shady past and is indeed no stranger to illegal activity. They both have great hope for Adam, Vito's son and Jessie's grandson, who is bright, good-looking, and without a criminal past.

The crew of the Federation starship Enterprise is called to Nimbus III, the Planet of Intergalactic Peace. They are to negotiate in a case of kidnapping only to find out that the kidnapper is a relative of Spock. This man is possessed by his life long search for the planet Sha Ka Ree which is supposed to be the source of all life. Together they begin to search for this mysterious planet.

The avenging angel of Marvel Comics fame comes brilliantly to life in this searing action-adventure thriller! Dolph Lundgren stars as Frank Castle, a veteran cop who loses his entire family to a mafia car bomb. His ex-partner believes Castle survived the blast and became the Punisher, living in the sewers and exacting vigilante violence against mob bosses throughout the city. When the populace is caught in the midst of a gang war that he caused, Castle must again emerge from the shadows and save the innocent.

Jimmie Rainwood was minding his own business when two corrupt police officers (getting an address wrong) burst into his house, expecting to find a major drug dealer. Rainwood is shot, and the officers frame him as a drug dealer. Rainwood is convicted of drug dealing, based on the perjured evidence of a police informant. Thrown into a seedy jail, fighting to prove his innocence is diffucult when he has to deal with the realities of prison life, where everyone claims they were framed.

A bounty hunter helps out the wife of a bail-jumper after her child is kidnapped by neo-Nazi types.

Set in a futuristic world where the only sport that has survived in a wasted society is the brutal game known as jugging. Sallow, the leader of a rag-tag team, has played in the main Leagues before, but was cast out because of indiscretions with a lady. However now joined by a talented newcomer, Kidda, an ambitious young peasant girl he and his team find they have one last chance for glory

The crew of an experimental underwater nuclear base are forced to struggle for their lives when their explorations disturb a creature who threatens to destroy their base.

An Orange County teenager's carefree life of ditching class and skateboarding abandoned pools comes to a screeching halt when someone close to him dies. The cops rule the death a suicide, but the bereaved skater believes he was murdered. It's up to him to solve the case, with a skateboard.

A martial artist hunts a killer in a plague-infested urban dump of the future.

Crockett and Tubbs are recruited by the government to help a dictator escape from his war-torn country - with double-crosses at every turn. This is the series finale of Miami Vice.

It's 1649: Mazarin hires the impoverished D'Artagnan to find the other musketeers: Cromwell has overthrown the English king, so Mazarin fears revolt, particularly from the popular Beaufort. Porthos, bored with riches and wanting a title, signs on, but Aramis, an abbé, and Athos, a brawler raising an intellectual son, assist Beaufort in secret. When they fail to halt Beaufort's escape from prison, the musketeers are expendable, and Mazarin sends them to London to rescue Charles I. They are also pursued by Justine, the avenging daughter of Milady de Winter, their enemy 20 years ago. They must escape England, avoid Justine, serve the Queen, and secure Beauford's political reforms.

The Great American Bash (1989) was the fifth annual The Great American Bash professional wrestling event produced by WCW under the NWA banner and the second to be produced as a PPV event. It took place on July 23, 1989 at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. The main event was a standard wrestling match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Ric Flair defended the title against Terry Funk. Featured matches on the undercard were Road Warriors, Midnight Express and Steve Williams versus Fabulous Freebirds and Samoan Swat Teamin a WarGames match, Lex Luger versus Ricky Steamboat for the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship, Sting versus The Great Muta for the NWA World Television Championship, Steiner Brothers versus Varsity Club (Mike Rotunda and Kevin Sullivan) in a Texas Tornado match, Jim Cornette versus Paul E. Dangerously in a Tuxedo match, The Skyscrapers versus Dynamic Dudes and a Two-Ring King of the Hill Battle Royal.

WrestleMania V was the fifth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It took place on April 2, 1989 at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event was commentated by Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura. The main event was Hulk Hogan versus Randy Savage for the WWF Championship billed "The Mega Powers Explode" which Hogan won after a leg drop. Featured matches on the undercard were Rick Rude versus The Ultimate Warrior for the WWF Intercontinental Championship, The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) versus Greg Valentine and The Honky Tonk Man and Demolition (Ax and Smash) versus Powers of Pain and Mr. Fuji in a handicap match for the WWF Tag Team Championship.

Max Washington has just been released from prison after serving time for burglary. He returns to his old hangout, a hoofer club. His old girl friend, Amy, who still works at the club as a Tap instructor, is less than thrilled to see him. Her father, Little Mo, is happy to see him, because he has plans for a show involving Max. In addition, Max's old partners in crime have another job for him.

Pryde of the X-Men was a short-lived series about the X-Men, with the main character being Kitty Pryde (whose alias is Shadow Cat, though she never becomes Shadow Cat in the series), which is why the series is titled Pryde of the X-Men. The show was produced by Marvel Productions and Sunbow Productions, who made a pilot for NBC. The pilot aired, but for unknown reasons, it was never turned into a full-blown series. Despite it not becoming a full series, the pilot has aired in syndication, and was later released on video.

Los Angeles homicide detective Jerry Beck searches for the murderer who killed a police officer on Christmas Eve. The investigation takes Beck inside the violent world of hate groups and white supremacists, who are hatching a deadly plot to attack even more innocent people. Beck must also confront his own personal demons, including his growing problem with alcohol, if he wants to track down and stop the violent neo-Nazis before it is too late.

A movie director and his wanna-be actor/eccentric inventor nephew are filming a low-budget sci-fi movie. Things get interesting when the nephews' bizarro invention starts bringing visitors from other times, including Napoleon, Archimedes, and people from the future and cavemen from the past. Just when they are filming what they are convinced will be one of the greatest movies ever, the same machine sends an alien visitor to their set. Also includes a last-minute cameo from James Coburn, as the infuriated head of the studio.

The Bionic Woman and the Six-Million-Dollar Man reunite--with a few younger bionic assistants--and try to catch a bionic spy.

Police chief Xavier Quinn investigates the gruesome murder of Donald Pater, one of the wealthiest residents on a Caribbean island. He was found decapitated in his Jacuzzi. Although the local political establishment, especially crooked Governor Chalk, insists that small-time thief Maubee is responsible, Xavier has his doubts. This view is complicated by the police chief's personal history with Maubee: The men have been friends since childhood.

Directed by Jim Henson, this parody of film noir and gangster flicks takes us through the dangerous town of Dog City, teeming with colorful Muppet Dog characters. Rowlf the dog is your guide through the underside of canine life during the 1930s in Dog City. Our hero, Ace, enters the world of bulldog gangsters and terrier molls when he inherits a saloon from his late Uncle Harry. Unwilling to pay protection money, Ace finds himself the target of Bugsy, a bulldog bully who owns most of Dog City. Life can be ruff!

The Toxic Avenger is lured to Tokyo, Japan by the evil corporation Apocalypse Inc. So while the Toxic Avenger is fighting crime in Tokyo, Apocalypse Inc. spread evil in Tromaville.

Vietnam, 1968. Army Headquarters has written off Captain Fahey's men as Missing In Action after they were fighting deep over enemy lines. Cut off from their platoon, they must fight their way back, or die! A true story of bravery and courage set amidst the chaos of war, and witness the gripping conclusion to the bloodiest day in American war history

Chi-Town Rumble was a professional wrestling PPV event produced by WCW under the NWA banner. It took place on February 20, 1989 at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois. The main event was a standard wrestling match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Ric Flair defended the title against Ricky Steamboat. Featured matches on the undercard were Road Warriors versus Varsity Club (Steve Williams and Kevin Sullivan) for the NWA World Tag Team Championship, Lex Luger versus Barry Windham for the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship, Mike Rotunda versus Rick Steiner for the NWA World Television Championship, Midnight Express versus Original Midnight Express in a Loser Leaves NWA match, Sting versus Butch Reed and Michael Hayes versus Russian Assassin #1.

A Marine patrol stops at Firebase Gloria at the start of the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam war. With the firebase attacked, the patrol remains to help defend it. The Marines barely hold off the VC (Viet Cong), but in the end, hold the base.

After Faye and her psychotic boyfriend, Vince, successfully rob a mob courier, Faye decides to abscond with the loot. She heads to Reno, where she hires feckless private investigator Jack Andrews to help fake her death. He pulls the scheme off and sets up Faye with a new identity, only to have her skip out on him without paying. Jack follows her to Vegas and learns he's not the only one after her. Vince has discovered that she's still alive.

Lou Diamond Phillips and Fred Gwynne team up with a gang of professional criminals who have everything it takes to rob a bank. The only things they do have going for them are a cop and his partner, who are dumber than they are! By the time the gang hits the bank vault, it's a safe bet there's going to be organized insanity and disorganized crime!

The heirs to a major corporation are being brutally killed off one by one, and John Lee, the company's chairman, suspects that a mafia takeover is behind it. But, before he can uncover any evidence, he too is savagely murdered. Carol, his daughter and a friend, Brian Roberts, continue the investigation where he left off while police Captain Roberts follow up on a few suspicions of his own. The actions become explosive and deadly when they are attacked by ruthless, ninja assassins who try to prevent them from finding out who the maniacal, cold blooded killer is inside the company.

KAOS has invented a weather machine so Maxwell Smart and Agent 99 are called back into action to foil this evil plan.

After seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, three 12 year old friends, Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala and Jayson Lamb, began filming their own shot-by-shot adaptation of the Spielberg classic in the backyards of their Mississippi homes. After 6 years, the film was ready.

Ace returns to Perivale to visit her friends, only to find they have been abducted to an alien planet by a race called the Cheetah People who were shown the way to Earth by the Master. The Doctor must find a way off the planet before they all succumb to its savage influence.