Chuck Norris passed away on March 19, 2026, bringing an end to one of Hollywood’s most legendary action stars. Fans across the world are revisiting the legacy of one of action cinema’s most iconic faces. From his no-nonsense screen presence to his martial arts mastery, Norris defined an era of gritty, high-impact storytelling. Here’s a look at his top 5 highest-rated films on IMDb, showcasing the performances that cemented his cult status in Hollywood.
1. Lone Wolf McQuade (1983)
- Director: Steve Carver
- IMDB rating: 6.3/10
- Streaming On: Prime Video, Plex
Plot: The iconic action film served as a turning point in Chuck Norris’s career, as it would become the precursor to his later work on Walker, Texas Ranger. The story has Chuck play Jim “J.J” Quade, a former Marine who takes pride in being a lone wolf who works alone.
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McQuade is eventually forced out of his comfort zone when his C.O., Ranger Captain T. Tyler, pressures him into partnering with TST Arcadio “Kayo” Ramos. Eventually, Quade develops a romance with Lola Richardson and eventually gets into the crosshairs of the cruel and vindictive Rawley Wilkes (played by David Carradine), who is responsible for a gunrunning operation and has coerced Lola into working for him.
2. Code of Silence (1985)
- Director: Andrew Davis
- IMDB rating: 6.1/10
- Streaming on: Prime Video
Plot: Originally conceived as a Dirty Harry film before being reworked into a standalone feature, Code of Silence sees Chuck Norris star as Sergeant Eddie Cusack. Cusack works in the Chicago Uptown area, and his mission to expose a Colombian drug cartel goes horribly wrong when the sting operation is ambushed by minions of the mobster “Crazy” Tony Luna.
While dealing with the fallout of this disaster, Cusack also has to deal with corruption in his own police force, as an elderly cop, Cragie, has murdered an innocent bystander only to pretend it was in self-defense, and Cusack is being pressured to go along with this deception, thanks to an unwritten code of silence.
3. The Delta Force (1986)
- Director: Menahem Golan
- IMDB rating: 5.7/10
- Streaming on: Prime Video, Apple TV
Plot: The film was the first installment in the popular Delta Force franchise. The story has Chuck Norris starring as Major Scott McCoy, the deputy commander of the U.S. Army Delta Force Unit. The plot is inspired by the real-life 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847.
This event is fictionalized in the film as the hijacking of American Travelways Airlines Flight 282, which gets commandeered by a Palestinian terrorist group called the New World Revolutionary Organization. With the lives of hundreds of passengers on the line, the Delta Force launches a daring operation to free the people ensnared in the terrorists’ clutches and vanquish the New World Revolutionary Organization once and for all.
4. An Eye for an Eye (1981)
- Director: Steve Carver
- IMDB rating: 5.6/10
- Streaming On: Fandango at Home, YouTube
Plot: One of Chuck Norris’s earlier outings, An Eye for an Eye sees him star as narcotics detective Sean Kane, whose partner, Dave Pierce, was killed in a drug bust gone wrong. In a fit of rage, Sean publicly killed one of the assailants, causing him to get reprimanded by his superiors.
Unwilling to rein in his vengefulness, Kane resigns from the police and decides to handle things his own way. On his journey, he meets Linda Chan, Pierce’s girlfriend, who ends up getting assassinated as well. Now on the warpath against the drug cartel, Sean Kane will stop at nothing to bring these ruthless murderers to justice.
5. Missing In Action (1984)
- Director: Joseph Zito
- IMDB rating: 5.5/10
- Streaming on: Prime Video, Fubo
Plot: Missing in Action is among the highly successful action films Norris worked on with Cannon Films. The story sees him play Colonel James Thomas Braddock, a Vietnam War veteran who spent 2 and a half years as a prisoner of war. Having escaped the POW camp all by himself, Braddock is now assigned to investigate reports of US prisoners who are still in captivity and free them by any means necessary.
The film has a prequel titled Missing in Action 2: The Beginning, which shows Braddock’s days as a POW, filmed back-to-back with the original film. A sequel, titled Braddock: Missing in Action III, was released in 1988.
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The post Top 5 Chuck Norris Movies Ranked: From Lone Wolf McQuade To The Delta Force appeared first on Koimoi.
