Chuck Norris started his movie career with a role of a villain in the famous Bruce Lee movie The Way of the Dragon (1972). If we are talking about the best Chuck Norris movies in a non-lead/support role, then this was certainly the best. Norris’ first starring role was 1977’s Breaker! Breaker!. It was a low-budget movie that turned out to be very successful, grossing over 48 times more than it was invested in. He starred in a few other movies during the 70s, including A Force of One and Good Guys Wear Black, which Norris considers to be his first significant lead role. He became an action film star. The 80s were a golden decade for Chuck Norris’s movie career. He made all of his best movies in this decade and became an international celebrity. Almost all the best Chuck Norris movies in the list below are from the 80s, including Lone Wolf McQuade, Code of Silence, and Mission in Action trilogy.
1. Missing in Action (1984)
Missing in Action is one of the most popular Chuck Norris’s movies. He plays Colonel Braddock who spent seven years in a North Vietnamese camp. Now, 10 years after the escape, he will return to post-war Vietnam to find and free the American soldiers who are still held captive. The film is the first installment of the Mission in Action franchise.
2. Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985)
Missing in Action 2: The Beginning is a prequel to the first installment. It is set in the 70s during the Vietnam war. It tells the story about Colonel Braddock’s captivity in a brutal camp run by the sadistic Colonel Yin. After being tortured for years, Braddock and his fellow prisoners will plot to escape and destroy the camp in the process.
3. Firewalker (1986)
You don’t really get to see Chuck Norris in comedies. If you want to, this is the one. In fact, besides the Top Dog made later, in 1995, it’s the only other comedy in his filmography. He plays Max Donigan who is on a quest for a treasure hunt. He teams up with his friend Leo (Louis Gossett Jr) and a newly-acquired partner Patricia (Melody Anderson), who has actually provided the treasure map. In this adventure, they will encounter obstacles like bar fights, coyotes, and of course, the Firewalker, who is the guardian of the treasure.
4. Braddock: Missing in Action III (1988)
Twelve years after the Vietnam War ended, Colonel Braddock finds out from a Reverend that his Asian wife is not dead, but alive in Vietnam and that he has a son. Braddock decides to go and fight his way to save them, but there are some orphans held in a prison camp that he also must save. A sadistic Vietnamese general is on his way.
5. The Delta Force (1986)
The In 1980, Operation Eagle Claw is aborted after a fatal helicopter crash, with the U.S. Delta Force evacuating to their C-130 transports. Among them is Captain Scott McCoy, who, against orders, rescues his wounded comrade, Peterson, from the burning helicopter before the team finally evacuates. McCoy expresses his disgust for the politicians and the military hierarchy that forced the mission to launch despite the risks, and announces his resignation.RELATED:
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6. Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection (1990)
In a sequel to the 1986 film, McCoy and his Delta team are heading to the fictional country of San Carlos to rescue hostages and stop the drug kingpin from importing cocaine to the United States.
7. Invasion U.S.A. (1985)
During the Cold War era, a group of Latin American communist mercenaries led by a Soviet operative invades the unprepared United States from the sea and makes it a war zone. Martial law is declared and one-man army Chuck Norris is the one who will stop them.
8. Hero and the Terror (1988)
Danny O’Brien is a cop who manages to track down a serial killer Simon Moon known as Terror. After they engage in a fight, O’Brien is almost killed, but luckily for him, Moon falls from the ladder and knocks himself unconscious. He is arrested and Danny gets called a Hero. Now, three years later, Moon has escaped from prison and started killing again. Now O’Brien needs to find and face him once more.
9. The Hitman (1991)
Chuck Norris is a cop who has survived an attempt on his life by a corrupt partner in a drug bust. Now, with the new identity as a hitman, he infiltrates a criminal organization to bring down the mob boss and his rival. On this quest, he will run into his ex-partner who is working with the mob.
10. Code of Silence (1985)
Chuck Norris is a Chicago cop who gets trapped in the middle of a gang war and he needs to face them alone. Nobody in the police force wants to help him because he broke the code of silence by testifying against another cop. The only help he gets is a police robot called “Prowler”. There are many fans that consider this to be the best Chuck Norris movie.RELATED:
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11. Lone Wolf McQuade (1983)
Chuck Norris is a respected Texas Ranger McQuade known as the Lone Wolf because he prefers to work alone. When the weapon dealer Wilkes (David Carradine) kidnaps his daughter he will go to war against him. The final showdown between the criminal and the ranger, both martial arts masters, is inevitable. The film was a worldwide hit and it’s the best-rated Chuck Norris movie in a lead role on IMDb. Apparently, the movie was later the inspiration for the popular TV show Walker, Texas Ranger.
12. Silent Rage (1982)
In a secret experiment, three scientists have created a maniacal murderer who has the ability to self-heal. He starts to kill everyone who crosses his path. The town sheriff (Chuck Norris) must stop him somehow. It’s the first horror film in Chuck Norris’s filmography. He later made two more, but they were not as successful as this one.
13. The Octagon (1980)
In his first movie of the 80s and fourth starring role, Chuck Norris plays a martial arts expert who needs to stop a group of terrorists trained in the ninja style by his half-brother. 13 years later, the word “Octagon” is used as the name of the cage in Mixed martial arts organization UFC.
14. Forced Vengeance (1982)
Josh Randall is the man responsible for security at Dragon casino in Hong Kong. The owner treats him like a son. When he is approached by a mob to take over the business, the offer is refused and the casino owner is killed. Now Randall is determined to track down the people who killed his boss. Along the way, he must protect his daughter and avoid the police.