Whenever he played the guitar, he won; he even counted to infinity a couple of times. On 19 March 2026, we lost the actor who, as a child, slept not with a soft toy, but with a real bear. In this article, we look back at the best films starring Chuck Norris and explain why they’re worth watching today.
An era that cannot be defeated: why we still watch films starring Chuck Norris
Films starring Chuck Norris are still being rewatched, and not just out of nostalgia. They simply feel different.
There is almost no computer graphics in them. Everything relies on physics and the people on screen.
Code of Silence
The list of the best Chuck Norris films is headed by ‘Code of Silence’. Police officer Eddie Cusack works in Chicago and tries to stay out of dirty business. The trouble starts when his colleagues try to cover up the shooting of an innocent civilian and plant a gun on him to make it look legitimate. Cusack refuses to go along with it and effectively turns against his own side.
At the same time, he gets involved in a turf war between mafia factions and takes a girl linked to one of the sides under his protection. As a result, the hero has to navigate between criminals and the police, who no longer trust him.
Play here and get what you came for – Super Ball Keno
The film is noticeably different from Norris’s usual roles. Director Andrew Davis focuses not on showy fights, but on a more down-to-earth police story. Filming took place in Chicago, and the city is shown here without embellishment — with night-time streets, rain and a constant sense of tension. This adds a realism to the film that has often been lacking in the actor’s other works. The fights are different too. The skirmishes are short and brutal, without any unnecessary display of technique. Norris plays not a fighter who controls everything around him, but a man who has to find a way out of a difficult situation. The finale features one of the most memorable details — the remote-controlled Prowler vehicle, which the hero uses in the operation.
Lone Wolf McQuade
Ranger McQuade lives alone: a trailer in the desert, hardly anyone around, and only a wolf for company. He’s perfectly content with this until he comes up against arms dealer Rowley Wilks. Things quickly escalate from there: his partner is killed, his daughter is kidnapped, and McQuade himself is buried alive, locked inside a lorry. He manages to escape and sets out to seek revenge.
The main reason the film is still remembered today is the final fight. It was filmed without stunt doubles over several consecutive days. Carradine later said that by the end of filming, both actors could barely stand on their feet: old injuries had flared up, and new ones had appeared. And you can feel it on screen.
Invasion of the USA
Former CIA agent Matt Hunter lives in the swamps of Florida and tries to stay out of the affairs of the outside world.
But suddenly a Soviet saboteur, Rostov, appears and launches a series of terrorist attacks across the country. The plan is simple: to sow panic and make the US look weak compared to the USSR. As a result, Hunter has to return and deal with the saboteur himself.
The film is remembered above all for its scale. Buildings were actually blown up for the shoot. In Atlanta, several houses were demolished—they were due to be torn down anyway to make way for airport expansion. These aren’t sets or special effects, which is why the ‘explosive’ scenes still look convincing today.
Agent
Undercover police officer Cliff Garrett infiltrates a criminal gang, but his corrupt partner Ronnie Delaney betrays him and shoots Cliff to cover his tracks. Garrett is presumed dead, but he survives and, to see the case through to the end and deal with those who betrayed him, returns under a new identity.
