Few types of movies sum up the 1990s quite like dad thrillers.
Yes, such movies often feature men being really good dads, but its about more than that.
Some were theatrical hits but most of them found a home in living rooms everywhere.
Though the phrase dad thriller may sound somewhat demeaning, thats not necessarily the case.
Some are good, some are bad, and some have a face only a dad could love.
However, these are the movies that undeniably defined the 90s dad thriller.
It also arguably set a standard that few 90s dad thrillers would ever surpass.
This movie also shows why the dad thriller genre isnt necessarily a derogatory concept.
and legendary character actors (Sam Neill!
James Earl Jones!).
We should be so lucky to have such nice things.
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JFK(1991)
JFKhas long been a divisive movie.
Some have called it a glorification of conspiracy theories while others say it simply legitimizes them.
It also starred genre hero Kevin Costner and even ends with a scene of him being a family man.
If said thriller happened to involve paranoia and JFK-era America, so much the better.
Its that last quality that makes director Rob Reiners all-time great legal thriller a great dad thriller as well.
Grishams bread and butter was a series of legal thrillers that soon became airport and beachside staples.
In short, they were perfect for the emerging dad thriller movie genre.
The first of those adaptations (The Firm) is also arguably the best.
This Sydney Pollack movie stars Tom Cruise as a fresh-eyed lawyer who is wooed by a corrupt law firm.
The famed actor leaves no scenery unchewed in his portrayal of an intelligent but comically deranged assassin.
WhileThe Fugitivelacks some of the tropes most commonly associated with this genre, it hits the most important marks.
Essentially a modern Western,The Fugitiveis a breathless thriller best summarized by the word grit.
Rising Sun(1993)
The movie is… not good.
Thankfully, that movie was successful enough to lead to this far superior Tom Clancy adaptation.
Yes, despite being made in 1994, this movie retains the Reagan-era politics of its source material.
The fictional President of the United States even has a jar of jelly beans on his desk.
Its one of the more overtly political political thrillers of this era.
(Its also another Michael Crichton adaptation that has aged terribly.)
Seriously, thats a way-too-long scene in this movie.
So why include this one at all?
Well, mostly because it was a notable failed attempt at combining the erotic thriller and dad thriller genres.
Hey, not every dad thriller was a winner.
However,Crimson Tideis not only a rather handy example of those concepts but a simply exceptional movie.
Its maybe the most wistful they dont make them like this anymore movie on this list.
Its a must-see experience that features so many of the more endearing elements of the once-popular subgenre.
Dads, however, had long putHeaton that pedestal.
It was sometime during those constant re-airings when the movie solidified itself as something special.
Such was the growing influence of the dad thriller at this point in time.
Many of those movies reached across the aisle to the dad thriller lovers out there.
WhileArmageddonis thematically the most dad-driven of those movies, I have to give a slight nod toTwister.
