The Best Chuck Norris Movies to Watch, According to Rotten Tomatoes
Chuck Norris made tons of films over the course of his career, from his legendary movie with Bruce Lee to his cameo in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. Here are the five highest-rated, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
'Return of the Dragon' (1972)
Norris's highest-rated film boasts an 87% rating, and it is also his first credited screen appearance. Oh, and he wasn't even the star. Bruce Lee wrote, directed, and headlined the film, casting Norris as Colt, a martial arts hired gun brought in to take down Lee's character in the film's climactic showdown inside the Roman Colosseum. The five-day fight sequence the two men choreographed together remains one of the most iconic scenes in martial arts cinema history.
'Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story' (2004)
At 72%, the second highest-rated film associated with Chuck Norris is one he appears in for roughly 30 seconds and only says three words. Ben Stiller wrote the cameo specifically for him and reportedly arranged a helicopter to fly Norris to the set after the action star was initially hesitant to participate in the project.
'Code of Silence' (1985)
Many Norris fans and critics consider this his best pure acting performance, and it nabbed a 68% rating. He plays Eddie Cusack, a Chicago police detective who becomes a pariah among his colleagues after refusing to cover up a fellow officer's misconduct during a gang war shooting. Roger Ebert gave it 3.5 stars, saying Norris resembled Clint Eastwood in his performance.
'The Expendables 2' (2012)
Norris's final film role brought him back to the screen for the first time in seven years, joining Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Statham, and the rest of the ensemble as Booker, a retired military operative whose nickname in the film is, appropriately, Lone Wolf. The movie even worked in a Chuck Norris facts joke, with Booker casually mentioning he was once bitten by a cobra and the cobra later died.
Lone Wolf McQuade (1983)
Despite only scoring 57% on Rotten Tomatoes, this was the film that changed everything for Norris. He played Texas Ranger J.J. McQuade — a lone wolf who operates outside the rules, fights with his fists, and answers to nobody. The character was so compelling that it directly inspired the creation of Walker, Texas Ranger a decade later. McQuade is the blueprint for everything that made Norris iconic.