Dad movie recommendations

January 12, 2024 2:27 PM

I’ve recently discovered I love “dad movies”—stuff like The Fugitive and In the Line of Fire. Gimme your fav dad movies! ‘90s preferred but all recommendations accepted.
posted by rhymedirective to Media & Arts (41 answers total)

The Hunt for Red October. Air Force One. The Firm.
posted by lizard music at 2:30 PM on January 12

Sneakers.
posted by Maxwell_Smart at 2:32 PM on January 12

I don't quite know if it's a Dad movie but there's not much better than Midnight Run.
posted by beccaj at 2:33 PM on January 12

True Lies.

A great resource for these is the Unclear and Present Danger podcast from Jamelle Bouie and John Ganz
posted by the primroses were over at 2:35 PM on January 12

Max Read has also done some thinking about this.
posted by sagc at 2:41 PM on January 12

Terminator II, of course.
posted by Alensin at 2:41 PM on January 12

Runaway Train.

However, it does star Jon Voigt, so you might want to avoid...
posted by essexjan at 2:44 PM on January 12

Backdraft!
posted by Sassyfras at 2:45 PM on January 12

Crimson Tide
posted by tau_ceti at 2:45 PM on January 12

I don't know if slick crime movies are dad movies.

but if so, The Usual Suspects and L.A. Confidential are fantastic.

content warning: lots of Kevin Spacey
posted by Sauce Trough at 2:52 PM on January 12

A Few Good Men
posted by jabes at 2:56 PM on January 12

Don't forget the movie series of today made for 90's kids: Taken, The Expendables, Red, The Equalizer ...
posted by soundofsuburbia at 3:08 PM on January 12

Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead.
posted by dobbs at 3:18 PM on January 12

Master and Commander
Saving Private Ryan
Band of Brothers (which is a series, but)
posted by mochapickle at 3:23 PM on January 12

Die Hard (it's 2 years too early, but on the other hand, it's Die Hard).
posted by Calvin and the Duplicators at 3:41 PM on January 12

It's from 1985, but Silverado seems Dad-friendly.
posted by SPrintF at 3:42 PM on January 12

The Bourne movies, but especially the first one
Gladiator
Master and Commander
posted by PussKillian at 3:42 PM on January 12

Unsure if it’s a Dad Movie but it is forever watchable: Ocean’s Eleven.
posted by sugarbomb at 3:52 PM on January 12

In the same vein as Hunt for Red October, A Clear and Present Danger, which is not as good a movie, but Harrison Ford is a way better Jack Ryan.

Tombstone.

Unforgiven if you can, *cough* forgive it being directed by Eastwood.
posted by General Malaise at 4:18 PM on January 12

Max Read has also done some thinking about this.

Movies Where Alec Baldwin Cucks Someone

Malice
The Edge
Glengarry Glen Ross[2]

[2] Probably

I lolled

But really, also Glengarry Glen Ross.
posted by General Malaise at 4:20 PM on January 12

On continuing to read that Max Read post: Holy sh*t yesss HEAT
posted by General Malaise at 4:22 PM on January 12

Jaws
The Shawshank Redemption

Blues Brothers
Animal House

Major League
Field of Dreams
Moneyball

A Few Good Men
The Firm
The Rainmaker

Air Force One
Con Air
Die Hard
Independence Day

The Godfather
Heat
The Departed
posted by phunniemee at 4:35 PM on January 12

Waterworld.
The 5th Element.
Total Recall.
Highlander.
Starship Troopers.
Army of Darkness.
Braveheart.
posted by jeffamaphone at 5:02 PM on January 12

Jamelle Bouie and John Ganz have a great podcast exactly on this topic called Unclear and Present Danger. You should consult their episode list and see what they review.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 5:25 PM on January 12

Men in Black
Die Hard
The Sixth Sense
Maverick
The Three Musketeers
A Fish Called Wanda
Get Smart
Bullit
Tomb Raider with Angelina
The Bone Collector
posted by Enid Lareg at 5:31 PM on January 12

Older than the 90s, The Train with Burt Lancaster.
posted by Rash at 6:45 PM on January 12

Speed
The Last Boy Scout
Stakeout
Point Break (1991 version)
Desperado
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (the 1974 version is the best one)
Lethal Weapon (1989, note: only watch if you can stomach Mel Gibson in a lead role).
posted by gudrun at 7:04 PM on January 12

My dad is very much a dad when it comes to movies. He's recently enjoyed:

The Martian
The Revenant
Hidalgo
The Impossible
Apocalypto (if you ignore the Mel Gibson connection)

I guess the important part is, the main character wins against overwhelming odds. And maybe there is revenge or a horse.
posted by silverstatue at 7:05 PM on January 12

The Game
posted by stoneandstar at 7:16 PM on January 12

This is definitely not from the ‘90s, it’s from 1967… but I challenge anyone to find a better guy/dad movie than Cool Hand Luke.
posted by azpenguin at 8:58 PM on January 12

Armageddon!
posted by billsaysthis at 9:02 PM on January 12

I first assumed that you were looking for movies featuring dads, and immediately thought of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. This might work as a movie enjoyed by dads as well. (And yeah, it's Harrison Ford again.)
posted by rjs at 11:14 PM on January 12

Here's a few you probably haven't seen: By Dawn's Early Light. A cold war throwback about WWIII, very good suspense with Powers Boothe, James Earl Jones, lots more. Haven't seen it since it was on HBO back in the day. It was a solid flick, probably still holds up.

Another HBO movie: Florida Straights. A Cuban hires two Florida fishing boat guys to sneak into Cuba and get a bunch of hidden gold. Great fun, again from what I remember of it. Raul Julia, Fred Ward.
posted by zardoz at 12:45 AM on January 13

The Rock -- The Alcatraz movie with Sean Connery, not the wrestler turned actor.
posted by cholstro at 9:00 AM on January 13

Unstoppable with Denzil Washington is from 2010 but so watchable.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 9:30 AM on January 13

Highlander
Snatch
In Bruges
posted by neuron at 4:36 PM on January 13

Apollo 13
posted by mr_roboto at 6:13 PM on January 13

Medicine Man, because it has Lorraine Bracco. I say this because my dad, and various other dads I knew, loved Lorraine Bracco.
posted by champers at 3:21 AM on January 14

Would James Bond movies count as "dad movies", or is their appeal too general? If they count, then the 90's gave us the Pierce Brosnan era flicks GoldenEye (probably the best of said era), Tomorrow Never Dies (with Michelle Yeoh), and The World is Not Enough.

Die Hard (it's 2 years too early, but on the other hand, it's Die Hard).

The sequels (Die Hard 2 and the underrated Die Hard With a Vengeance) came out in the 90's, so they'd qualify.
posted by gtrwolf at 9:22 AM on January 14

The Man Who Would Be King.
posted by whuppy at 12:12 PM on January 14

Came here to make sure Apollo 13 was represented, was not disappointed.

I feel like a good subgenre of Dad Movies is "team of smart people smart extra hard to solve a puzzle." Contact is one of those kinds of movies. I think Ocean's 11, Indiana Jones (especially Raiders and Last Crusade), Moneyball, and The Martian (all accounted for here) also fit here.

National Treasure also fits here. It also has Nic Cage and Indiana Jones-esque adventuring, which adds to its Dad-Cred.
posted by gc at 9:53 AM on January 16