Chuck Norris names his favourite Chuck Norris movies: “That’s a tough one”
It’s easy to forget that Chuck Norris was ever actually in movies.
Given that he’s far more famous as a meme these days and hasn’t regularly made films in a little while, it takes a moment or two to remember that he was once one of the most pre-eminent action stars of his generation.
He first burst onto the scene in the late 1970s, thanks to his connections gained through teaching martial arts to Hollywood’s great and good. The 1980s were his true golden years, however. This is when he started making a name for himself as a movie tough guy, appearing in a number of action and action-adjacent films that would go on to become cult classics. He cemented his legacy in the 1990s with his recurring role on Walker, Texas Ranger, which is probably what he’s best remembered for today.
When you’ve got a filmography as deep and rich as Norris’, picking a favourite can be a Herculean task. Black Belt knew he was up to it, though. They put this exact question to him in a 2023 interview and got some great answers.
“I have to say I’m proud of them all,” he said, diplomatically. “My favourite? That’s a tough one because each has a special [meaning] to me. The Missing in Action films were very special because they were really the ones that [took] me to a higher level [where I was] more in demand. They helped spearhead my career. Of course, Code of Silence is special because it was a critical success. And Lone Wolf McQuade was a fun film.”
The first Missing in Action movie premiered in 1984, starring Norris as Colonel James Braddock, a Vietnam vet who returns to the country to track down any US soldiers who might have been left behind. It wasn’t a critical darling – as was the case with most of Norris’ work – but it did well enough to spawn two sequels, even though Braddock: Missing in Action III was so unashamedly terrible that it killed the franchise stone dead, with no chance of being rescued this time, even if the opening scene is pretty good.
Lone Wolf McQuade was the film Norris made immediately before Missing in Action. Prefiguring his role as Walker by several years, he plays a Texas Ranger who, if you haven’t figured it out already, prefers to work alone. In true Norris fashion, he has a pet wolf. The man really is a parody of himself. As for Code of Silence, that started life as a potential addition to the Dirty Harry series.
Directed by Andrew Davis of The Fugitive fame, Norris stars as a Chicago cop pushed out by his corrupt department and forced to take on a dangerous gang alone, and in a rare twist, the film was a commercial and critical success!
While it’s a shame not to see any of his work with Bruce Lee make his list, the picks the great man made offer a great starting point for any Norris novice. As long as you skip the third Missing in Action, you should be alright.
