Action remakes are a funny thing—how valuable can a 40-year-old property really be to studios to justify a flashy, A-list modernization? The language of action filmmaking changes drastically over time, but these remakes seem motivated by cashing in on recognizability rather than earnestly updating genre thrills. In fact, many of these remakes divert entirely from their original plots and characters, motivated by a desire to revamp a story that’s only a few decades old. Does anyone really find the original Road House or Point Break broken and inaccessible to watch today?
The common remake retort of “Who asked for this?” reveals the dissonance between the desires of algorithmic programming and an understanding of how films become organic hits. A Jake Gyllenhaal Road House remake is a buzzy concept, but no-one seems too concerned that its buzz-worthiness isn’t because the film actually deserves an audience. Road House (2024) is “first look still” first, real movie second.
The 2010s remade action classics from the ‘90s, and the ‘90s remade thrillers from the ’70s… actually, every decade has remade action movies from the ‘70s—it seemed like a real treasure trove of explosive American violence. With Doug Liman’s streaming-exclusive retread of the Patrick Swayze classic out now, we looked back on the rough-and-ready remakes of American action classics.
Disqualified Honorable Mentions
Like any good fight club, this list has rules we need to stick by. Here are a bunch of action remakes disqualified from the ranking. American remakes of international action films were barred, sorry True Lies, Oldboy, or Get Carter. Even though there’s a couple of heist, thriller, and sci-fi films on this list, we felt that Western and fantasy action films belonged too strongly to other genres, so there’s no Conan the Barbarian, Clash of the Titans, or 3:10 to Yuma. (This also disqualifies both Magnificent Seven movies.) As much as we’d like to be cheeky and include Heat as a remake of the TV movie LA Takedown, or Tony Scott’s Man on Fire as a redo of an obscure straight-to-VHS version in 1987, these wouldn’t be in the spirit of mapping Hollywood’s cynical IP fever. So, let’s move on to the real entries!
Here are the best American action remakes ranked:
12. Red Dawn (2012)
A deeply evil remake of a fairly evil original, Red Dawn certainly lives up to its predecessor by being an underwhelming movie and a troubling political statement. When America is invaded by North Korea (it was China until a major post-production overhaul digitally replaced all the dialogue and insignia, even though the actors are still clearly not Korean), a group of high schoolers and veterans stage guerrilla warfare in their hometown. America is so prolific at brutalizing local resistance in countries they have invaded that they have to resurrect the Reagan fantasies that make them scrappy underdogs rather than one of the most aggressive imperial powers on the planet. Making this incompetent remake 10 years into the war on terror is maddening.
11. Point Break (2015)
Point Break is only included on this list of best action remakes because of how truly slim the pickings are for quality qualifiers. The 2015 Point Break leans into the extreme sport angle of Kathryn Bigelow’s original, with breathtaking photography of skydiving, snowboarding, and surfing that can’t help feeling like Adventure Filmmaking sizzle reels. The remake abandons Bigelow’s sensitive depiction of unspoken, somewhat-spiritual (read: romantic) bonding between an undercover fed and career criminal, with Luke Bracey and Édgar Ramírez making disastrous replacements for Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. Worthless stuff.
10. Walking Tall (2004)
Walking Tall starts promising—yes, it’s still a conservative’s wet dream for a stacked special forces vet to clean up a wholesome small town with brute force and menace—but this remake of the ‘70s vigilante film, based on a true story, peaks with a casino brawl in the first half and veers into unrealistic noise thereafter. The Rock actually works as a symbolic action archetype, and it’s a shame that he only starred in small action flicks like this a few times again. But as soon as Walking Tall loses the plot and explodes into fascist action in the second half, it starts feeling like every empty, noisy blockbuster (Rockbuster?) Dwayne Johnson has been in over the last decade.
9. The Jackal (1997)
The ‘90s were a golden era for Hollywood thrillers with intelligent action instincts, so it’s a shame that The Jackal wastes a committed Bruce Willis on such an uncreative thriller. A remake of the nimble, measured The Day of the Jackal by landmark Austrian-American director Fred Zimmerman, Willis’ version sees him star as a Russian hired killer intent on killing the FBI director (instead of Charles de Gaulle—it doesn’t hit the same!) and in the process trying on many goofy disguises. Sidney Poitier injects a bit of class in his final film role, while the usually dependable Richard Gere flattens his performance with an appalling Irish accent. It should feel electric, but The Jackal tests your patience.
8. Total Recall (2012)
What if Total Recall wasn’t adapted in Paul Verhoeven’s heightened, outlandish style but instead looked exactly like Minority Report? Alas, this 2012 remake pales in comparison to both its main influences—it doesn’t even match the slick propulsion of a more recent visual influence, JJ Abrams’ Star Trek, nor the other Paul Verhoeven remake on this list. But this film does have Colin Farrell, who tries to explore the entirety of the emotional spectrum that Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t able to access. He potters about the cool, if derivative sci-fi world accompanied by a rock-solid cast of people trying their best—it’s decent enough to make this the platonic ideal movie for your dad to catch on TV.
7. RoboCop (2014)
Yes, the RoboCop remake is toothless, bloodless and weightless—but in what world would a remake of Paul Verhoeven’s take on futuristic American fascism actually honor the Dutch filmmaker’s skepticism of Reagan-era law and order? The thing about action remakes is that you have to keep expectations low—For All Mankind and The Suicide Squad’s Joel Kinnaman doesn’t have the juice of Peter Weller doing a robot voice, but this is a good testing ground for his later exploits in heightened genre stories. Plus, everyone’s here for Michael Keaton, Gary Oldman and Samuel L. Jackson, anyway—let them chew the scenery of the robot cop movie!
6. Road House (2024)
Road House is the best remake of a Patrick Swayze movie, but looking at the competition, that’s not saying much. Doug Liman isn’t known for action films that feel like a slog, but then again I haven’t seen any of the consistently panned films he’s made since Edge of Tomorrow. Gyllenhaal is up for the task in fight scenes loaded with zippy, neck-break camera moves, and the film has the good sense to have a loony climax. But Road House replaces the earnestness of the original with overwritten ironic humor that undermines its inherent cheesy nature. Road House knows it should have fun, it just can’t figure out how.
5. Death Race (2008)
Behold, the first Jason Statham film on this list! Remaking a Roger Corman classic, this is as broad as a political dystopia can get, as inmates in a maximum security prison island must play a Grunge version of Mario Kart for the viewing pleasure of America. The digital gunk of a 2000s Paul W.S. Anderson film is a bit of an eyesore, but there’s something charming about how sincerely cool the film finds the metal edge rather than recognizing how deeply unserious the tight tees and oiled-up scowlers are. It may not be for everyone, but we are a poorer moviegoing audience for not having a film that looks exactly like this in our theaters at least three times a year.
4. The Mechanic (2011)
If for some reason there are Simon West defenders out there, let it be known that The Mechanic is one of his better ones. Remaking a Charles Bronson flick from 1972, the measured procedure of being a clandestine assassin-for-hire is abandoned for Jason Statham being able to do his highly skilled job super easily and effectively. (Can someone beat him in a fight for once, please?) But this remake also repeats the plot of “the mechanic” taking the directionless son of his late boss under his wing, and when paired with a live-wire Ben Foster, Statham’s limited acting chops get to shine (well, maybe not shine…more like softly glow). It’s not excelling by any means, but at a neat 92 minutes and featuring plenty of solid sequences, The Mechanic spends our time wisely.
3. Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)
John Carpenter has had the worst luck with his innovative genre movies being remade—that said, he loves money, so he doesn’t seem too upset about it. (He even gets paid for movies that aren’t remakes!) Assault on Precinct 13 was the first of four of his films to be remade, and is confidently the best one—French filmmaker Jean-François Richet (Mesrine, Plane) has good action instincts and the co-leads, Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne, are exactly the right actors to cast for an action movie with lots of suspense and drama. The film shifts the urban anxiety of Carpenter’s B-movie original into something more cynical around systemic corruption, but its directness actually dulls the original’s moody, insidious power.
2. The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)
You know how you know this New York subway hostage movie has been updated for the modern era? Because it changed the “One Two Three” from the 1974 original title to “123.” In 2009, the kids were all down with mathematical symbols in movie titles. Denzel Washington makes a compelling replacement for Walter Matthau (who wasn’t known for his white-knuckle action films in the ‘70s), playing a dispatcher charged with negotiating the release of John Travolta’s subway hostages. Tony Scott captures a frenetic energy (to no-one’s surprise) and Washington and Travolta are a great match—it’s only hampered by the fact that the original’s “men talking on phones and walking between rooms” energy has been compromised.
1. Gone in 60 Seconds (2000)
Coming from the turn-of-the-millennium sweet spot of Jerry Bruckheimer films, this Nicolas Cage vehicle updates low-budget king H.B. Halicki’s 1974 car heist original with sterling results. The thrills are robust, the ‘90s/‘00s verve is in overdrive, and Cage leads an eclectic cast with the off-kilter charisma that makes you wish he was still valued as a blockbuster leading man. Could a non-franchise heist film made today gather an ensemble with the combined star power of Robert Duvall, Angelina Jolie, Delroy Lindo, Christopher Eccleston, Timothy Olyphant and Vinnie Jones? They simply wouldn’t dare. There’s an art to making a solid action movie remake, and Gone in 60 Seconds comes out on top with shockingly few missteps.
Rory Doherty is a screenwriter, playwright and culture writer based in Edinburgh, Scotland. You can follow his thoughts about all things stories @roryhasopinions.