The world lost an action movie titan when Chuck Norris passed away earlier this year. And while he may be gone, he’s certainly not forgotten. One of the biggest stars of the 80s and 90s “ultimate” era of action movies, Norris was a familiar name alongside other box-office marquee regulars like Arnold, Stallone, Willis, and Van Damme.

Yet, while all of these action stars were larger than life in their own ways, Chuck Norris has a legacy that took on a life of its own and surpassed even the greatest, most impressive, and heroic feats of his peers.

Thanks in part to Conan O’Brien, Walker, Texas Ranger levers and online jokes, many of these throwaway moments from Norris’ filmography became some of the most iconic memes in film history. And today we honor one of the greatest ones of them all from Forest Warrior (1996).

Looking Back at ‘Forest Warrior’ (1996)

Released in 1996 as a direct-to-video title directed by Chuck Norris’ brother Aaron, who actually had a pretty prolific action career in his own right, serving as a stunt performer and director in many of Chuck’s films and television shows over their careers, Forest Warrior might have been the final nail in the coffin in Chuck’s marquee action movie career.

Released the same year as the first episode of Walker, Texas Ranger, Chuck and his crew were about to make the successful transition from action movies to the safe confines of family-drama television, as Walker would go on to be a primetime mainstay on CBS for nearly a decade.

Yet, when filmed, Forest Warrior was always going to be a low-budget, DTV-style project cashing in on Chuck’s star power one more time, even as audiences were beginning to be ready to move on from the over-the-top action style of the 80s and early 90s.

Chuck Norris as Jebediah McKenna

Chuck Norris plays Jebediah McKenna, a frontiersman killed a century ago, who is magically brought back to life to protect the forest he loved. He’s also able to transform into a bear, wolf, or eagle and uses his powers to fight a sinister logging conglomerate.

Also, as you might expect, Chuck’s McKenna character is a master of Native American martial arts and gets to go through his usual mix of action-movie fights and feats.

One scene in particular stands out, though, for its absolute awesomeness: Chuck’s character stops a chainsaw with his bare hands in a manner that, we’re happy to report, is about as cheesy and awesome as anything ever put to film before it.

The Legacy of Silly Action

Still, if you haven’t seen it, you absolutely should watch Forest Warrior if you get a chance because it’s really in these films that it isn’t inhibited by needing to be a major release. Like many of its '80s and '90s action counterparts, particularly the Cannon Films features, it clearly is a film that wasn’t stressed over in terms of story or performance.

But that’s exactly why it was able to give us these iconic moments, which, while funny and fun to rewatch today, honestly weren’t even too egregious at the time. It was fun movie fodder then, and it is now, and it’s proof that movies don’t have to be classics to be enjoyed for decades.

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