Advancements in cinema have made it easy for viewers to recognize flaws in their favorite '90s action films.

Nostalgic binge-watches are one of the most popular ways to relax these days, and nothing spells a trip down memory lane than revisiting some 90s action movies. Unsurprisingly, many of these movies were products of a very different time.

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Just because an action movie doesn't hold up to today's standards doesn't mean it's automatically terrible or unenjoyable, but it does raise the need to acknowledge the kinds of shortcomings that can only be seen without the rose-tinted lenses of nostalgia.

The most obvious difference between the action movies of the '80s and '90s was that the movies made in the later decade lost some of the genre's previous grit. That's not to say that '90s-era action movies were completely bloodless, but the level of onscreen brutality and violence was clearly watered down in the decade's later years.

A good way to see this in motion is to observe how the RoboCop movies started out as a satirically excessive gorefest in 1987, but became a PG-13 shell by 1993. Blood and gore alone don't make a good action movie, but it's hard to deny that PG-level offerings like Eraser or the unintentionally funny Judge Dredddidn't hit as hard as predecessors like Commando or Rambo.

One of the biggest ways that the '90s changed movies was that it signaled the beginning of the effects-driven blockbusters' dominance. Thanks to the likes of Independence Day and Jurassic Park, action movies had to be more than just an action star showing off their fighting prowess. This, in turn, heralded the decline of the traditional action movie.

Action movies that relied on fights and stunts couldn't stand up to the over-the-top spectacles of Armageddon, while those that could like The Mummy prioritized visual effects that don't hold up at all today. Movies with big effects have their place, but seeing their smaller counterparts slowly die out through a '90s-themed rewatch can be tough.

'90s action movies are often generalized as edgy thrillers about serial killers or anxiety ridden plots about the coming internet age. But before that point, the genre tried its hand with more outlandish and stylish ideas. In brief, this yielded some enjoyably bad movies that some might genuinely and/or ironically love, but most will consider an acquired taste at best.

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Cases in point, the '90s was when so-bad-they're-good classics like Batman And Robinand Mortal Kombat: Annihilation came out. Additionally, the early '90s saw many awkward action movies like Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot or literally anything that starred Hulk Hogan hit cinemas or home video. Needless to say, these goofy movies aren't exactly for everyone.

A significant change that the action genre went through in the '90s was the embrace of more outlandish genre ideas. This manifested in high profile adaptations of comics or video games, most of which can be charitably called guilty pleasures. For every bona fide game-changer like Blade or Batman Returns, there were five weaker movies on par with Steel.

In the '90s, action movies went through the necessary growing pains that paved the way for its genre fare's (especially those of the superhero kind) absolute dominion in the present day. Before the MCU cracked the code, action movies struggled with examples that aged poorly like Double Dragon, Street Fighter, and Super Mario Bros.

Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino are synonymous with the '90s. The duo practically changed Hollywood overnight with their unapologetically schlocky styles and genuine love of forgotten exploitation movies, so much so that they inadvertently inspired and started some of the most insufferable trends of the time.

If these clones weren't imitating Rodriguez's flashy action, they were ripping off Tarantino's reference-heavy dialogue, but without his wit. The Big Hit, The Boondock Saints, and countless others tried and failed to replicate Rodriguez and Tarantino's signature styles, only to date themselves by embodying the decade's lamest traits.

A lot has already been said about '80s action movies with questionable clichés that don't hold up to modern standards, but they can be somewhat excused because of their age. That said, several conventions should've stayed and faded away in the '80s, but they instead endured in the '90s and beyond.

At best, this meant that corny, one-dimensional macho heroes overstayed their welcome. At worst, tropes like casual misogyny, zealous patriotism, and cop heroes' abuse of power remained. Seeing these in the Jack Ryan movies or the Lethal Weapon sequels (especially in a modern context) dates otherwise decent movies in the worst ways.

These days, many '90s action movies only endure as unorthodox recommendations. Usually, this is thanks to lists of cult hits or a Red Letter Media spotlight video. While this can be partially blamed on the movies' lack of quality and success, the obscurity of the likes of Dead Presidents or Stone Cold mostly has to do with the fact they never escaped home video.

Many traditional action movies from the '90s were released directly to VHS, and only a lucky few made it to DVD — let alone streaming services — in succeeding years. Only the biggest successes of the decade like Terminator 2: Judgment Daycan be habitually revisited right now, while potential sleeper hits are either hard to find or forever lost to time.

Many of today's most beloved action heroes broke through in the '80s, but even their most devoted fans wish to forget these stars' stagnation in the '90s. Bruce Willis was the exception of the genre's holy trinity, as he successfully branched out of action movies while Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone struggled to stay afloat.

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Watching these otherwise legendary actors try and fail to recapture their peak can be hard on a rewatch, even if some of them managed to make a comeback in the 2000s. Not everyone was fortunate to escape this rut, though, as many of these stars (such as Charles Bronson) were stuck making lowbrow action movies until their retirements or deaths.

When it comes to action stars, the aforementioned big three plus Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and so forth enjoy the most name recall. In fact, they reemerged as the genre's elder statesmen later on. Unfortunately, not everyone enjoyed a career resurrection, and this is made painfully clear when revisiting some '90s titles.

Many forgotten '90s action movies star the kinds of talented fighters and performers who never got the big break they deserved. For example, Crying Freeman's Mark Dacascos only really broke out of direct-to-video fare in the 2000s, while Undefeatable's Cynthia Rothrock never graduated from the B-movie scene despite her skills as a martial artist.

If the '80s were the peak of old-school action movies, the '90s were their sunset years. The last decade before the New Millennium was the genre's transition from its traditional roots to its digitized future, and it's hard to ignore this sense of melancholia when revisiting the time's adrenaline-pumping escapism. That said, even the filmmakers knew this.

For example, Schwarzenegger's meta vehicles True Lies and Last Action Herowere, respectively, a blaze of glory and a farewell to his heyday. From 2000 onwards, action movies were predominantly effects-driven blockbusters. The classic style survived through the occasional homage and self-aware nod like John Wick or The Expendables, respectively.

CBR Staff Writer Angelo Delos Trinos' professional writing career may have only started a few years ago, but he's been writing and overthinking about anime, comics and movies for his whole life. He probably watched Neon Genesis Evangelion way too much, and he still misses video stores. Follow him at @AD3ofc on Twitter, or email him at delos3nos1992@gmail.com.