10 Movies Like ‘Speed’ (1994)

“Pop Quiz, Hot Shot”

Even decades after its release, Speed is still an action-packed thrill ride that grabs a hold of the audience and doesn’t let go for nearly two hours. Released in 1994, it’s the movie responsible for making Keanu Reeves a solo action star. Speed lives up to the hype and remains infinitely rewatchable for many action movie lovers. It’s dramatic, it’s fun, and the fast-paced tension holds throughout the movie. It builds most of its characters well enough that you care about them, and even though it leans fairly hard into some definite action movie tropes, it plays them perfectly and makes them work.

If you loved this movie and find yourself looking for more (aside from Speed 2: Cruise Control), then here is a helpful list of 10 more movies to keep your 90s action/suspense binge going. Enjoy!

Harrison Ford as President Marshall in “Air Force One” (1997).

Air Force One (1997)

Long held as a gold standard of 90s action movies, Ace Force One delivers hijacking, terrorists, and Harrison Ford as President of the United States. When President Marshall delivered a speech on foreign soil, stating that the U.S. would no longer remain idle when it comes to terrorist activity around the world, he expected there would be consequences. But likely not so quickly.

Like most action movies, this story lays out goals that are very simple but are of life and death importance to our characters and the world. With several exciting twists and turns, the audience is left watching closely until the very end to see how it will all come out.

Wesley Snipes John Cutter in “Passenger 57” (1992).

Passenger 57 (1992)

It is questionable if “always bet on black” is a sound strategy for playing roulette, but John Cutter seems to think so. Wesley Snipes plays an airline security expert and guilt-stricken widower who finds himself on the wrong flight on the wrong day to avoid bloodshed. Fighting international terrorists to save a plane full of innocent civilians, Passenger 57 marks Snipes’s first outing as an action star.

This movie serves as a good transitional example between the established action movie style of the 80s and the emerging action elements of the 90s. As a result, there are times when the pacing feels somewhat uneven and others when the action doesn’t hit quite as hard as intended. Nevertheless, there is still plenty of action-packed fun to stay aboard for the 84-minute runtime.

Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage in “The Rock” (1996).

The Rock (1996)

When a rogue group of disgruntled U.S. Marines steals a number of chemical weapons, takes control of Alcatraz, holds the tourists on the island as hostages, and threatens to launch a catastrophic chemical attack on San Francisco there aren’t many options left on the table. It is down to a gifted FBI chemical weapons specialist and a disgraced and long-imprisoned British special forces captain to save millions of innocent people before time runs out.

Another definite milestone in 90s action, The Rock delivers the powerhouse talents of Sean Connery and Nicholas Cage as our would-be heroes with competing motivations. They play well off of each other and are compelling to watch. The stakes remain high, the action is good, and the pacing only slows down to have an occasional heartfelt or funny moment. If you haven’t seen The Rock, it should definitely be on your list.

Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson in “Die Hard with a Vengeance” (1995).

Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)

A bomb goes off in New York City and the terrorist’s first demand is to speak to John McClane. From there, McClane and a good samaritan who saved his life are pulled into a deadly game that has them and the rest of the police force racing around the city to find and disable more bombs before they can kill innocent civilians. It eventually becomes obvious that these threats are only a distraction for another plot entirely, with motivations that reach into McClane’s past.

While any of the first three Die Hard movies could easily find a home on this list, Die Hard with a Vengeance shares the most stylistically and tonally with Speed. As well as its similar fast-paced race against the clock. It would be difficult for anyone to find a single false note in the story or execution of this movie. Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson are great together as an on-screen duo. The tension remains constant throughout the movie and the action never gets stale. This is definitely not one to miss.

Nicolas Cage as Cameron Poe in “Con Air” (1997).

Con Air (1997)

Home from his tour of service, U.S. Army Ranger Cameron Poe accidentally kills a man while protecting his pregnant wife from being attacked outside a bar. He spends eight years in prison, dreaming of the woman he loves and exchanging letters with a young daughter he’s never met. After winning his parole, all he wants is to get home to his family. Unfortunately, the cons on his transport plane have different plans. Finding himself in the middle of an elaborate prison break, Poe has to stay alive long enough to make it home to his little girl.

Con Air is a classic by almost every action movie standard. A title you find on lists of movies that people just can’t believe you haven’t seen. And it mostly lives up to the hype. Great action sequences, suspenseful storytelling, explosions, gunfire, and carnage. The dialogue gets pretty bad at times and Cage’s accent can be a little tough to listen to. For fans though, all of this only adds to the charm and none of it stops Con Air from being an action favorite of many.

Kurt Russell and Halle Berry in “Executive Decision” (1996).

Executive Decision (1996)

When the lieutenant of a terrorist group (played by David Suchet) hijacks an airliner traveling from Athens, Greece to Washington, D.C., carrying 400 passengers and a bomb they’ve rigged with Soviet nerve agent, the only option is a highly experimental aerial procedure to get a rescue team onto the flight. When this risky plan breaks apart at the last second, it leaves the team without key personnel, vital equipment, or a way to contact their commanders.

Executive Decision has an ensemble cast, fronted mainly by Kurt Russell and Halle Berry. Some of the dialogue can come off a little corny or stale, and the story certainly plays directly into the Middle Eastern terrorist trope. But it’s still a very well-executed action/suspense movie with an effective ticking clock and a lot of human stakes that keep the tension up all the way until the end.

Nicolas Cage and John Travolta in “Face/Off” (1997).

Face/Off (1997)

What happens when the madman in your sights hasn’t hijacked a bus, a plane, or a building … but instead your life? Sean Archer is an FBI Special Agent who has spent six years rabidly hunting for a psychopathic killer and terrorist for hire, Castor Troy. Six haunted years since Troy inadvertently killed Archer’s son in a botched assassination attempt. Given the chance to end the Troy brothers’ reign of terror, Sean will have to face a risk unlike any other.

Face/Off is a pure 90s action movie with a truly unique concept that is just crazy enough to be really entertaining. Brought to life by legendary director, John Woo, this movie presents both Nicholas Cage and John Travolta with one of the most unique acting challenges of their careers. Even when the movie occasionally descends into cheesy action tropes, it usually does it with a twist and enough style that the viewer still enjoys the ride. Very worth the watch.

John Travolta and Christian Slater in “Broken Arrow” (1996).

Broken Arrow (1996)

Another John Woo entry for this list has John Travolta opposite Christian Slater this time as fellow U.S. Air Force stealth bomber pilots, secretly transporting two B83 nuclear bombs on a training exercise. A job that one of them loves and takes deadly seriously. But for the other, a disgruntled Air Force pilot looking for early retirement, those bombs represent a very lucrative payday. At least if the government wants them back before they kill anyone.

While this is one of Woo’s lesser-known and lower-rated entries, it is still a decently-paced chase across the Utah desert with a pretty well-executed premise, good action sequences, and better-than-average adversarial chemistry between Travolta and Slater. The story can be a bit formulaic and the dialogue could be better, but none of that stops it from being a good, straightforward action movie.

Clint Eastwood and Dylan McDermott in “In the Line of Fire” (1993).

In the Line of Fire (1993)

In the Line of Fire takes a different approach toward the structure of preventing a madman from committing a horrible act. It leans more on the side of a political thriller, but it has some high-intensity sequences that definitely keep the suspense elevated. The looming threat is a mentally disturbed former CIA operative whose overwhelming confidence and skill have him taunting the Secret Service as he plans to assassinate the President of the United States.

Clint Eastwood plays a Secret Service Agent who was part of the security team the day JFK was killed. A fact that the would-be assassin, played by John Malkovich, torments him with. Rene Russo and Dylan McDermott fill out the rest of the primary cast, but the main focus is the cat-and-mouse game between Eastwood and Malkovich. It is a unique and compelling hunt to watch play out.

George Clooney and Nicole Kidman in “The Peacemaker” (1997).

The Peacemaker (1997)

“I’m not afraid of the man who wants ten nuclear weapons. I’m terrified of the man who only wants one.” A number of nuclear weapons are stolen by a rogue Russian Army General who intends to sell them on the black market. While a mission is launched to intercept the hijacked weapons, there is a secondary plan for one of the bombs with much more direct and deadly intentions.

Peacemaker is part international thriller and part 90s action movie. Clooney and Kidman play off of each other with the classic hammer and scalpel dynamic. Their chemistry is good and improves over the course of the movie. The action is entertaining, the suspense is well maintained, and the movie does a good job of making the audience feel the real stakes and sympathies of what’s happening on screen. Primarily the horrors of terrorism, constant armed conflict, and nuclear war. It is an effective blend of its genres and a very worthwhile watch.