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The Dad Thrillers That Defined The ’90s
Posted on 3/20/25 at 10:24 am
Posted on 3/20/25 at 10:24 am
Man, I loved these movies. Definition of a dad thriller:
Den of Geek put together an essential list of 90's dad thrillers, got any you want to add? Or a personal favorite?
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
JFK (1991)
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
A Few Good Men (1992)
The Firm (1993)
In The Line of Fire (1993)
The Fugitive (1993)
Rising Sun (1993)
Clear and Present Danger (1994)
Disclosure (1994)
Crimson Tide (1995)
Heat (1995)
The Rock (1996)
Twister (1996)
Air Force One (1997)
Kiss the Girls (1997)
Enemy of the State (1998)
LINK
Enemy of the State is crazy underrated, it might be my favorite Will Smith movie. I think you could also add Primal Fear (1996) and Breakdown (1997) to the list.
Barely missed the 90s, but Sum of All Fears also falls into this category.
quote:
A term popularized by the brilliant Max Read a few years ago, the dad thriller is a subgenre of thriller movies that was largely designed to appeal to older male viewers or otherwise featured thematic elements associated with that demographic. Dad thrillers pitted crusaders of truth against staggering odds in a slow-burn narrative. They typically featured lawyers, law enforcement officers, military personnel, and dads in other thoroughly professional fields who were very good at their jobs.
Den of Geek put together an essential list of 90's dad thrillers, got any you want to add? Or a personal favorite?
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
JFK (1991)
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
A Few Good Men (1992)
The Firm (1993)
In The Line of Fire (1993)
The Fugitive (1993)
Rising Sun (1993)
Clear and Present Danger (1994)
Disclosure (1994)
Crimson Tide (1995)
Heat (1995)
The Rock (1996)
Twister (1996)
Air Force One (1997)
Kiss the Girls (1997)
Enemy of the State (1998)
LINK
Enemy of the State is crazy underrated, it might be my favorite Will Smith movie. I think you could also add Primal Fear (1996) and Breakdown (1997) to the list.
Barely missed the 90s, but Sum of All Fears also falls into this category.
This post was edited on 3/20/25 at 10:32 am
7
Posted on 3/20/25 at 11:02 am to Kinderman
Seems like you would have to have Falling Down on that list.
Posted on 3/20/25 at 11:09 am to Seldom Seen
Good list, but Twister seems out of place. That was a typical summer blockbuster, general audience type movie.
Posted on 3/20/25 at 11:09 am to Kinderman
Someone put this together. They must have had a lot of time on their hands. 
Posted on 3/20/25 at 12:16 pm to Kinderman
Posted on 3/20/25 at 1:16 pm to Kinderman
quote:
Dad Thrillers
Today years old when I heard this term for the first time.
Posted on 3/20/25 at 1:58 pm to tigerfan84
Ransom is a hell of a choice. I love that movie, should be in over Twister which doesn’t really fit
But I guess if you can’t have Twister, The Rock and Air Force One may not fit either depending on the definition.
All are great though
But I guess if you can’t have Twister, The Rock and Air Force One may not fit either depending on the definition.
All are great though
This post was edited on 3/20/25 at 2:01 pm
Posted on 3/20/25 at 2:20 pm to Proximo
The Rock and Air Force One are definitely great movies, but they are just straight up action movies. Maybe "Dad Action Flicks"? although that sounds vaguely pornographic haha. if you've got The Rock, you've got to have Con Air
Posted on 3/20/25 at 2:22 pm to nes2010
i cant make any sense of what all the arrows mean on the timeline.
Posted on 3/20/25 at 3:18 pm to VoxDawg
quote:C'mon man, didn't you follow the link?
Today years old when I heard this term for the first time.
quote:
'90s Dad Thrillers: a List
Notes toward a theory of the Dad Thriller
Max Read
Nov 09, 2021
quote:
Their themes are functions of the global political economy of the 1990s, and reflect Hollywood's interpretation of the major male socio-political anxieties of the era: the breakup of the Soviet Union; the rise of "non-state actors" including terrorists, paramilitaries, militias, and NGOs; the growth of the internet and surveillance networks; the aging into political and economic power of the Baby Boom generation; women unfairly suing you for being a sex pest; velociraptors; and so on.
Not just anything with explosions or spies counts as a Dad Thriller: The Dad Thriller is adjacent to, but distinct from the blockbuster action, science-fiction, or disaster movie, specifically due to the veneer of political or moral sophistication attached to the Dad Thriller. (Admittedly, this can be a subtle distinction. As an example: While Deep Impact is a Dad Thriller, Armageddon likely isn't.) While there are many independent and foreign movies that share themes and concerns with Dad Thrillers, the Dad Thriller is specifically a product of Hollywood studios and the attendant culture machine.
https://maxread.substack.com/p/90s-dad-thrillers-a-list
This guy made it up in 2021.
ETA: Devotion (2022) is a recent movie that would fit into this general category, but isn't from the 90's.
This post was edited on 3/20/25 at 3:29 pm
Posted on 3/21/25 at 5:24 pm to Kinderman
Ya gotta add Last Of The Mohicans
Rob Roy (criminally underrated)
Saving Private Ryan
Rob Roy (criminally underrated)
Saving Private Ryan
Posted on 3/21/25 at 8:04 pm to nealnan8
quote:
Rob Roy (criminally underrated)
I feel like it just got steamrolled by braveheart? But Rob Roy is indeed criminally underrated.
Posted on 3/21/25 at 8:49 pm to Kinderman
quote:
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
One of my favorite movies. Very quotable.
Posted on 3/21/25 at 8:53 pm to Kinderman
I fricks with all dat…except for twister.
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