The myth, the martial artist, the meme, the man, the legend, Chuck Norris has a reputation that precedes him to the point where, even if you've never seen one of his movies, you'd know what to expect if you did sit down to finally watch one. Chances are, your expectations would be proven correct, as he's specialized in having both supporting and leading roles in a variety of over-the-top action movies. They're not exclusive to the 1980s either, though that probably was the decade where he was at his peak, at least as far as films were concerned.

What follows are some of the best action movies starring Chuck Norris, starting with some that could be described as guilty pleasures and ending with those that are surprisingly good. His filmography isn't defined by flawless classics by any means, but these movies have their charms, and they often deliver no-nonsense action, benefiting from Norris's unique screen presence. The following will only include action movies, though, so you won't see a series like Walker, Texas Ranger or a comedy like Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (where Norris had a memorable cameo) below... sorry!

10 'Silent Rage' (1982)

Director: Michael Miller

Okay, so admittedly, most of the time when you watch a Chuck Norris movie, you more or less know what to expect. This is somewhat true for Silent Rage, because it’s a movie that does deliver on showing Chuck Norris getting involved in action sequences and doing his thing. However, what proves less expected when it comes to this film is the fact that it throws some sci-fi and horror elements into the mix, with these more or less hijacking what would otherwise be standard Norris fare.

Case in point, the film is set in a small town in Texas, and Chuck Norris plays the town’s sheriff. So far, so normal. However, much of the conflict in the film comes from the fact that a recently deceased killer is experimented on, brought back to life, and then continues his murderous rampage, with the sheriff the only one who can stop him. Silent Rage is more than a bit goofy and ridiculous, but there’s an undeniable novelty to seeing Chuck Norris involved in a film such as this.

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9 'An Eye for an Eye' (1981)

Director: Steve Carver

San Francisco is a surprisingly good city to set crime and/or action movies in, as demonstrated by the likes of Bullitt, Dirty Harry, and The Rock. While An Eye for an Eye might not reach quite the same level as those films, it does share a central setting and it proves decently fun to watch, following a cop who’s forced to step down from service before then going on to combat drug traffickers as something of a lone wolf.

Beyond the setting, An Eye for an Eye does have a surprisingly good supporting cast, including the likes of Christopher Lee, Richard Roundtree, and Mako, and the poster is also great because it makes Chuck Norris look like a kaiju who’s trying to kick the Golden Gate Bridge into oblivion. Overall, it does the job for an action movie starring Chuck Norris, and sometimes, that’s all one really needs.

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8 'Forced Vengeance' (1982)

Director: James Fargo

Of all the Chuck Norris action movies released in the 1980s (and there were quite a lot), Forced Vengeance might well be the most underrated. Narratively, it’s naturally quite slim, but that fits the nicely trimmed-down runtime of 90 minutes well, with the movie being about a security guard ambitiously taking on a group of Hong Kong mobsters after those close to him get intimidated and threatened.

It stands out for featuring some cheesy narration courtesy of Norris, as well as for unleashing the action star within Hong Kong, which is an admittedly fairly novel setting, considering how quintessentially American both Chuck Norris and his movies are. Those who don’t worship at the Church of Chuck will not be persuaded to join by Forced Vengeance; it’s not quite that good, but it’ll prove entertaining for his fans and those who like down-and-dirty ‘80s action.

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7 'Missing in Action' (1984)

Director: Joseph Zito

A film that proves to be far more bombastic than most other prisoner-of-war movies, Missing in Action is peak excessive 1980s cinema, and marked one of several times that Chuck Norris starred in a title produced by Cannon Films. Norris stars as a US military officer who escaped from a Vietnamese prison camp during the Vietnam War, and is tasked with returning to the country a decade later to locate and rescue soldiers who were declared missing in action during the conflict.

With such a main character and basic premise, there are connections to be made here to the Rambo sequels, ensuring that Missing in Action doesn’t really score points for originality. However, it delivers on showing viewers plenty of explosions and gunfights, and there are some great supporting actors here complementing Norris doing his typical thing, including the likes of M. Emmet Walsh and James Hong (who were both, funnily enough, in Blade Runner).

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6 'The Delta Force' (1986)

Director: Menahem Golan

The Delta Force kicks off with a rock-solid premise for a thriller, given it revolves around a 707 aircraft jetliner getting hijacked, and the individuals in an elite squad sent in to eliminate the terrorists responsible. As one might’ve guessed, a key member of that anti-terrorist team is played by Chuck Norris, paired here with Lee Marvin in the other lead role (the former playing the squad’s deputy commander, and the latter playing its commander).

It ended up being Marvin’s final film role, as he passed away the year after The Delta Force’s release, with this action film being explosive enough to ensure his filmography went out with a bang. It’s a movie that’s quite gleeful when it comes to never slowing down, and it’s best to just get swept up with the ridiculous action on offer and not think about anything too hard, when watching something dumb – but fun – like this.

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5 'The Expendables 2' (2012)

Director: Simon West

No one’s ever going to call the Expendables series a masterful one by any means, but of the four movies contained within it so far, it’s pretty clear that The Expendables 2 is the best of them. The first movie was solid for what it was, but let down by the fact that it was visually murky and some of the biggest names in the cast were only there for cameos. In the second film, the production value is upped, the action is clearer and better shot, and the big-name cameos become supporting roles.

In The Expendables 2, you get the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis doing more than they did in the first (alongside returning cast members like Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, and Jet Li), plus you also get some scene-stealing Chuck Norris in here for good measure. The humor relating to his role here is very on-the-nose, playing on the whole “Chuck Norris is beyond invincible” meme, but everything he does here still proves entertaining, and he helps the film be the most memorable in the Expendables series.

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4 'Invasion U.S.A.' (1985)

Director: Joseph Zito

Sure, Chuck Norris can work well as part of an ensemble cast, but some of his most beloved roles see him playing a one-man-army/force of nature, especially because these led to various memes surrounding the actor that were popular in the late 2000s/early 2010s. Invasion U.S.A. pushes this kind of Chuck Norris movie to its limits, as here, he takes on a small army of guerrilla forces attempting to invade the U.S.

Invasion U.S.A. is noteworthy for the fact that Chuck Norris was also one of the credited writers here, and because it goes particularly big when it comes to some of its action scenes; lots of destruction and explosions are on offer here. And sure, if you want to compare it to other war movies, it can feel a little silly, but as an excessive and bombastic ‘80s action movie, it hits all the notes it needs to.

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3 'Code of Silence' (1985)

Director: Andrew Davis

Another Chuck Norris 1980s vehicle, Code of Silence has the sort of action movie premise that might be starting to sound a little familiar. Here, Norris once again plays an authority figure (a cop in Chicago) who’s taking on both criminals and the corrupt system he’s found himself a part of, considering his heroic endeavors also put him at odds with another cop who frequently skirts the law (and then some).

Code of Silence doesn’t mess around, much like the character at its center, and it all plays out a bit like a Dirty Harry sequel if Harry Callahan kicked a lot more people than usual. It’s a film that moves pretty fast, provides solid action, and also benefits from having a good director helming it, as Andrew Davis is also known for being the filmmaker behind 1993’s The Fugitive.

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2 'Lone Wolf McQuade' (1983)

Director: Steve Carver

Besides Walker, Texas Ranger (which Chuck Norris starred in for eight seasons), 1983’s Lone Wolf McQuade might well provide the action star’s most noteworthy lead role. This film takes on a distinctly Western feel, thanks to its location (Norris also plays a Texas Ranger here), its stylistic touches (like the font in the opening credits), and even its music, which is reminiscent of what Ennio Morricone composed for the Spaghetti Westerns of Sergio Leone.

David Carradine (of Kill Bill fame) plays a wonderfully sleazy and hateable villain here: a drug lord who Norris’s character already wants to take down, and then feels even more compelled to combat once the stakes start getting personal, too. Each action scene is bigger and a little more ridiculous than the last, all building up to a showdown where Norris and Carradine go head-to-head. It’s an entertaining time, and for better or worse, feels like peak Chuck Norris, when all’s said and done.

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1 'The Way of the Dragon' (1972)

Director: Bruce Lee

Though Lone Wolf McQuade is the best movie Chuck Norris had the lead role in, the best action movie he was ever featured in would have to be The Way of the Dragon. This isn’t quite the best martial arts movie starring Bruce Lee, but it’s certainly a good one within the actor’s tragically brief yet consistent filmography.

In The Way of the Dragon, Bruce Lee plays a man who stands up to a group of criminals who are pressuring his cousins to sell their property, with increasingly fearsome antagonists thrown in the lead character’s direction as the movie goes on. Things culminate with Bruce Lee fighting Chuck Norris, which is a showdown for the ages and easily the best part of what’s still a pretty good crime/action movie. Norris does shine here surprisingly well in an antagonist role, and the final one-on-one fight in The Way of the Dragon is as great as you'd hope it would be.

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