Best Chuck Norris Movies: Five of the late bearded one’s best

And just like that, another icon is gone. Like probably most of you reading this article, I was sad to read earlier this morning that one of the biggest legends of eighties action cinema, Chuck Norris, has passed away. Indeed, to many of us, Norris seemed indestructible (hence why “Chuck Norris Facts” became a thing), but like all of us, he couldn’t beat Father Time. That said, he lived a long, robust life and was kicking ass as recently as his eighty-sixth birthday—only just over a week ago.

With that in mind, a lot of us are going to be marathoning Chuck Norris movies this weekend. While many of his films have a reputation for being B-movies, some of them are really good and might actually surprise you.

Lone Wolf McQuade (1983)

While Norris had already made a bunch of hit movies by this point, Lone Wolf McQuade was the first really high-end Chuck Norris flick. It was important in a lot of ways. For one thing, his role as a Texas Ranger here was a rough draft for what would eventually become Walker: Texas Ranger, which is still the show most people remember him for. But in this one, Chuck wears a beard for the first time, and he was rarely seen without it afterward.

In this, Norris’s title character faces off with gunrunners led by David Carradine, and in the end, he’s pitted against the former Kung Fu star in a mano-a-mano fight (the movie works hard to convince us Carradine would have a prayer against Norris). While a bit overwrought (the soundtrack hilariously echoes Ennio Morricone’s Sergio Leone scores), it’s entertaining and iconic.

Missing in Action (1984)

This was the movie that kicked off Norris’s run of films with Cannon. In it, he plays Braddock, a former POW in Vietnam who goes back into the jungle to rescue MIA soldiers, tapping into the popular belief at the time that American prisoners of war were still captive in Vietnam. It beat Rambo: First Blood Part II to theaters, although many still say it was a rip-off, as Cannon reportedly got hold of a leaked copy of the Rambo II script and rushed out a knockoff.

Norris is cool as the defiant, tough Braddock, with the movie followed by a prequel (which was actually shot first and is pretty boring) and a crudely made sequel. This is by far the best of the three.

Invasion USA (1985)

While many will say The Delta Force is Chuck Norris’s best Cannon movie, I’ve always found that one a little cringe-worthy and long-winded in a contemporary context (it also takes way too long for the action to kick in). Don’t get me wrong—it’s worth watching—but the best Norris Cannon movie, by a long shot, is Invasion USA.

They gave Norris a killer budget, and it has some amazing action set pieces, with the mall shootout being a classic. Norris is like a heroic Jason Voorhees in the way he silently stalks and wipes out invading Russian soldiers who make the mistake of trying to take over America on Chuck Norris’s watch. It also famously helped inspire the Romanian Revolution (look up that wild story).

This was also followed by a pretty good spin-off, Avenging Force, but Norris bowed out of that one, with Michael Dudikoff taking over.

Code of Silence (1985)

For my money, this is by far the best movie Norris ever made. Freed from the budgetary shackles of Cannon, Norris made this studio film for Orion, and it’s a cracking police thriller with a surprisingly modern storyline.

In it, he plays a Chicago cop who refuses to back up a fellow officer embroiled in a racially motivated killing. On his own, he’s left with no support in his war against a drug lord, played by a menacing Henry Silva. The film features some killer action, with Andrew Davis directing this before Above the Law, Under Siege, and The Fugitive.

The fight sequence on top of the L train is a classic, as is a scene where he has to take on a pool hall full of tough guys. It also surrounds him with a great cast of Chicago character actors, including Dennis Farina as his loyal partner and John Mahoney. The movie was one of his biggest hits, but sadly it would be the last time Norris worked with a mainstream studio, as he became locked into a long-term Cannon contract.

Sidekicks (1992)

As a kid studying martial arts, I absolutely loved this movie and deeply related to it. In it, the late Jonathan Brandis plays a bullied boy who fantasizes about kicking ass alongside Norris, who encourages him in his training and helps him stand up to bullies.

In the finale, Brandis, at a martial arts competition and needing an adult partner, actually convinces the real Norris to participate—and he proves to be just as encouraging in real life as he was in the fantasy sequences.

From what I know about Norris’s interactions with fans, that’s pretty close to who he actually was in real life. He always disliked bullies (he famously turned down the role of Kreese in The Karate Kid because he found the character repellent) and wanted to be seen as a positive role model.

Which Chuck Norris movie is your favorite? Let us know in the comments.

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