Back in action: January 1991

This year, I’m taking a month-by-month look at the action movies released globally in 1991 and comparing them to those released in 2026, talking about the trends and individual titles that made the year in the genre. I’ve always been interested in projects that take a look at a year in film – taking a snapshot of a particular year, looking for patterns, what still remains today, what’s gone. There are many great similar projects out there, but this one is specifically inspired by the film critic Vern’s annual “Summer of” series.

Why action, and why 1991? I’ve spent much of the past few years covering and studying the action genre. It’s a genre with a lot of room for expression that breaks through language barriers, which makes it a good fit for a project with a global focus. As for 1991, it’s the year I was born, and since I wasn’t around to see most of these movies, I thought it’d be a nice excuse to catch up on what was going on in the genre.

One caveat for January: There is some best guessing on release dates throughout this project, but especially this month. There are close to 50 movies that are listed online as being released January 1 (a Tuesday), with over a dozen from Mexico specifically. That seems like a placeholder date for titles that were released in 1991 but don’t have an exact confirmed date. I found accurate dates for those movies when possible, but there are quite a few left. 

Some general caveats: I am relying heavily on existing databases like IMDB and TMDB, as well as box office data you can find online, but I am absolutely certain there have to be other movies that aren’t listed in any of those. I also had to decide what counts as an “action movie,” which isn’t always easy to define, so I made some judgment calls about the prominence of action within the movie.

Let’s dive into my takeaways from the state of action in January 1991 and January 2026, with expanded thoughts at the bottom for paid subscribers on the movies from each month I watched.

The numbers

From my research, January 1991 saw 23 feature-length action movies released globally, across 7 filmmaking countries. (Here’s a Letterboxd list.) 

January 2026 saw 34 feature-length action movies released globally, across 11 filmmaking nations. (Here’s another Letterboxd list).

That mostly checks out with my expectations coming into this – more action movies across more nations, with the explosion of streaming and the broader availability of filmmaking equipment worldwide. The shift from American domination of the genre to China and India will also check out to fans of the genre.

Other patterns I noticed: January 1991 action movies featured quite a few Vietnam War veterans as protagonists, motorcycle gangs as antagonists, family dramas as sites for action, and, of course, real squibs and explosions even in dirt-cheap projects. In terms of sub-genres, there’s been a movement from more sci-fi action movies in the ‘90s to more crime thriller action movies today. That also matches with my expectations – big superhero movies like the MCU have eaten up a lot of the sci-fi genre’s oxygen, while interest in true crime has likely contributed to the higher number of crime thrillers.

American releases

Most of the American action movies released in January 1991 were B movies, TV movies, or straight-to-video, including multiple Carradine-led action movies – one starring David (Dune Warriors), and one starring Keith (Payoff).

Lionheart is by far the most notable of the American releases, and the only one of the January 1991 action releases I’d previously seen – it’s a classic Van Damme underground fight ring movie, and one of my favorites of his. It had come out in Europe the previous summer, but released in the US January 11, 1991 and did quite well at the box office, helping solidify Van Damme’s status as a leading man who puts butts in seats.

The other American releases included multiple movies related to the Vietnam War – Flight of the Intruder, the final movie from Conan the Barbarian director John Milius, and Hangfire, with two Vietnam War veterans as its protagonists. Also of note in relation to world events: Firehead, a bonkers-looking movie with Christopher Plummer and Martin Landau about a Russian cyborg with super powers who defects from the Soviet Union but then starts blowing up American munitions factories.

Indian releases

Bollywood and Kollywood both produced action movies with strong family drama elements (Saugandh, Dharma Durai, and Mast Kalandar), with revenge drama being the other repeated sub-genre to come from Indian action movies that month. 

Dharma Durai was the biggest hit at the box office, marking the continual ascent into superstardom for lead Rajinikanth. An even bigger hit for Rajini came out in February – I’m excited to talk about that one next month. Elsewhere, future stars Akshay Kumar (Saugandh) and Anil Kapoor (Jigarwala) had early roles in their respective careers. Also of note: Mast Kalandar was the first Bollywood movie to include an openly gay character.

Japan and Hong Kong releases

Japan’s four action movies this month all came from their direct-to-video V-Cinema industry, with a John Woo homage (Blowback: Love & Death), a girls with guns movie (High Heels Gang), a crime caper (Scratched License), and a hitman revenge drama (Tuff Part II - Revenge).

As I expected, the Hong Kong industry’s action movies from January 1991 all look very enticing – there’s the fantasy adventure Bury Me High, an action drama about a Vietnam war veteran (Phantom War), and a Triad street racing movie starring Jacky Cheung called Off Track. I really, really wish there was some way to watch that last one, but I can’t find it anywhere – if you have a lead, let me know!

Everywhere else

In Nepal, the revenge drama Chino took the nation’s cinemagoers by storm, becoming the highest-grossing Nepali movie of the decade and the second-highest grossing Nepali movie ever (behind Kusume Rumal, another film by Chino director Tulsi Ghimire). There are conflicting reports as to whether it came out in 1989 and 1991 (from what I’ve found, it seems like 1991), and no version with English subtitles exists online, but Chino looks like an absolute blast. I’ve reached out to the Nepal Film Society for clarity on the first question (and a lead on the second), and will update this story if I hear back.

In Pakistan, director Nazar-ul-Islam released his final film, Kalay Chor, a political thriller with a story from left-wing poet and activist Habib Jalib. It was a hit in theaters, like most of ul-Islam’s movies. Meanwhile, the once very active Filipino film industry was starting to decline, but still regularly producing action movies, including Leon ng Maynila, starring actor and eventual politician Bong Revilla, Jr.

Best poster:

Some good ones this month. Firehead wins the award for “most ‘90s poster”:

While Scratched License and Hangfire have my favorite designs:

For paid subscribers, I’ve written some thoughts on all the movies I watched from January 1991 (Lionheart, Dharma Durai, Dune Warriors, Hangfire, and Phantom War) and January 2026 (The Rip, Back to the Past, and The Wrecking Crew). And here’s a preview of the movies I’ll be looking at for February 1991.