When we look back at ’90s cinema, it’s apparent that we were absolutely spoiled with great action flicks. For this month’s roundtable, we asked the team to pick three of the best of the best of the 1990s:

Al: True Lies: This one doesn’t seem to have lasted in the cultural consciousness, but it’s a terrific Arnold performance, a terrific Jamie Lee Curtis performance, a terrific Tom Arnold performance (?!) and a lot of stellar action set pieces done with class and humor.

Speed: The perfect action movie that is nonstop adrenaline right some the get-go. It knows exactly how to ratchet up the tension and when it defuse it. It’s got great characters who only feel tropey because other movies have copied Speed so many times. It’s funny, tense, and it made movie stars out of Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock.

The Matrix: I haven’t watched this in years, only because I watched it SO many times in the decade after it came out. The Matrix redefined the action genre and influenced everything from stunt work to fashion to college philosophy classes. The franchise The Matrix sprouted is… uneven… but that first movie is a masterpiece.

Sitting Duck: Hunt for the Red October: Unlike most Tom Clancy adaptations, this one is reasonably faithful to the source material. The fact that it’s arguably the best movie based on a Clancy novel should be a big old clue hammer to the face. Yet Tinseltown hacks can be remarkably obtuse when deep in the process of “making improvements” to a property from another medium.

Sneakers: While the ending is a huge disappointment, up to that point it’s a wild ride with plenty of twists and turns as befitting a caper movie. And thankfully the casting of so many big names provide an acting tour de force rather than a disastrous clashing of big egos.

The Fugitive: Unlike most TV shows that get a film adaptation, the premise of The Fugitive is such that it can be applied to a one-off story as easily as to a series. The strong performances from Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones (one of which garnered an Oscar) are also a plus.

Justin: To approach this task, I made a list of all the action movies that impressed me in the ’90s… and quickly got overwhelmed. There are too, too many. Seriously, so many. And so many good ones, too, which makes pulling just three out of that list almost impossible. But here goes — and just know that I’ll probably second-guess all these soon afterward.

Vying for Speed as the most perfectly made action movie of the decade has to be Terminator 2: Judgment Day. It was an amazing sequel that upped the stakes, had a heart to it, and threw in so many incredible action setpieces that it enthralled me start to finish. After that, I’m going with Tombstone for a rare ’90s western with great quotes, characters, and gunfights. And for my last pick… Die Hard with a Vengeance. It’s a seriously underrated sequel that uses all of NYC as a board game for a psychotic terrorist, and I love all but the last five minutes of it.

ZombieDog: This is quite challenging because a lot of action movies today that have numbers after them began in the ’90s. If the ’80s was experimental, the ’90s knew exactly what it wanted, especially with action.

Total Recall: This one has to be first on the list. Not only does it have Arnold Schwarzenegger as its main character, one of the actors who basically redefine the action genre, but it has awesome cool storyline that is pure adrenaline-laced fun. This movie knows it doesn’t have the budget to match up with some of the big boys of the time, yet it still manages to pull off one iconic scene after another. The movie itself is based on a Philip K Dick book, “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale.” And lest we forget this is the same author who wrote the storyline for Blade Runner. There was an attempt at a remake, however even though the remake was done well it misunderstood why the original movie was so good. Total Recall is a thrill ride and one of those movies that defines the ’90s.

The Hunt for Red October: I would be hard-pressed to come up with an action movie that has a better story, acting cinematography, casting… basically the whole shebang. Red October is easily on my Top 10 list of best movies of all time. Sean Connery is at the top of his game in this movie, and I couldn’t think of a better example of being perfectly cast. Combine that with the young Alec Baldwin, and I would argue one of the best combos for an action thriller. The movie itself is actually more than a movie because it tapped into the emotion of the time. Using Tom Clancy book as source material and we have yet another example of great writing being made into a great movie.

Face/Off: I actually had a bit of trouble choosing my third movie, because the 1990s is filled with awesome action movies. I decided to pick a movie that would honor two stars who came of age in the ’90s and thrilled us with constant original material. Face/Off has Nicolas Cage and John Travolta pulling double duty as they pretend to be each other. The insane concept for the film is basically just an excuse for each actor to let loose and do crazy. Directed by John Woo who only encourages them to push the boundary in the name of action. I also wanted to point out, like already said, that these actors are responsible for basically setting the tone of the ’90s. John Travolta gave us Pulp Fiction and Broken Arrow, while Nicolas Cage delivered Con Air  and The Rock. A decade where they weren’t afraid to take chances and it paid off!

Beat that, 2000s movies!

Drake: I have to admit, it was harder narrowing it down to three than I thought. The ‘90s had some fun action flicks and I’m certainly leaving some worthy films off the list. But the word from on high is that the number of the counting shall be three, and who am I to argue with a Head Mutant who keeps the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch on his desk? So with that said, here’s my trio:

Desperado: I reviewed this one recently, and it’s one that I recommend to anyone looking for a modern-day (at least as of 1995) Western. Desperado is an energetic tale of revenge told by a young filmmaker who had nothing to lose by cutting loose and letting the lead fly. Antonio Banderas epitomizes cool as he wades through scores of bad guys, twin .45’s blazing, and Salma Hayek made many a heart go pitter-pat as the indefatigable heroine. Just don’t get too attached to Steve Buscemi…

Stone Cold: If you like your heroes big and your explosions loud, then Stone Cold is right up your alley. An ‘80s action flick that somehow sneaked its way into the early ‘90s, this one features bikers, the Boz and big booms, all stuck into a blender by director Craig Baxley and churned into an adrenaline-fueled 95-minute rollercoaster ride through a stunt-inspired theme park. There’s no subtlety here, but there are an astonishing number of explosions, flying bodies and quotable lines.

Hard Boiled: Action auteur John Woo’s masterpiece, and the culmination of his work with legendary actor Chow Yun-fat, Hard Boiled is peak Hong Kong action cinema. This is both men at their best, going out in impeccable style in a film chock full of pathos, betrayals and blazing guns. Highly influential both then and now, Hard Boiled isn’t just one of the best action movies of the ‘90s, it’s an all-time great.