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The Best Action Movies Of The Year So Far
The action genre had a fantastic 2023, with strong new entries in banner franchises and exciting one-off movies from creators established and upcoming alike.
2024 is picking up where its predecessor left off. Nations around the globe have contributed stellar entries to the genre, with big-budget spectacle and clinical low-budget projects alike providing the joys of hard-hitting action.
Here are the best action movies of 2024 so far. They are sorted into two sections: the top tier, can’t-miss movies of the year, and the best of the rest. This list will continue to be updated throughout the year, and will be sorted in reverse chronological order, so the newest movies always show up first. Our latest update added 100 Yards and Uprising.
The can’t-miss, top-tier action movies of 2024
100 Yards
Where to watch: In theaters
A gorgeous period piece set in 1920s Tianjin, 100 Yards follows two young men (Jacky Heung and Andy On) vying for control of a wushu academy whose leader (one’s father, the other’s mentor) has died. The movie absolutely oozes with style: impeccable period-piece costuming and set design (those backdrops!), jaw-dropping, crisp cinematography that synergizes with the subtle camera movement of directors the Xu brothers, and some of the most inventive and varied fight choreography of any movie this year. The colorful cast of characters all bring their own fighting styles to the stage, and the movie’s many fights are at times entertaining, exciting, tense, funny, and incredibly revealing of the characters’ vibes and inner lives. 100 Yards is a stellar addition to the year’s crop of standout martial arts movies. —Pete Volk
The Shadow Strays
Where to watch: Netflix
A Timo Tjahjanto movie is always an event for action fans, and The Shadow Strays is no exception. The Indonesian filmmaker has carved out a reputation for himself as one of the goriest action directors out there, starting in the horror genre before really bursting onto the action scene with The Night Comes for Us, and The Shadow Strays lives up to that mark. There are brutal decapitations, many gruesome stabbings, and enough blood to fill an ocean.
The movie follows a teenage soldier being indoctrinated into an elite group of assassins called the Shadows. When a mission goes wrong, she is told to hang tight and is basically ignored by her mentor and her team. Bored and restless, the soldier gets involved with a young neighbor’s dispute with local gangsters, which has further-reaching consequences for her and the child than either could have imagined.
The Shadow Strays also feels bigger than Tjahjanto’s other projects (although not quite as fun and breezy as his last movie, the action comedy The Big 4). The action scenes operate on a larger scale, and Tjahjanto capably transitions from close-range knife fights to tactical shootouts to precise and decisive sword battles. It’s a nonstop adrenaline ride throughout its nearly two-and-a-half-hour run time. —PV
I, the Executioner
Where to watch: In theaters
A serial killer thriller within the frame of an action movie, I, the Executioner is one of the best-looking movies on this list. Former Park Chan-wook collaborator Ryoo Seung-wan (Escape from Mogadishu, Smugglers) is one of the most notable action directors in Korea, and with I, the Executioner, he flexes his skill set. The movie is filled with outrageously cool split and deep focus shots, and the action sequences hit hard, especially some of the brutal falls and throws.
The narrative follows a group of police officers trying to track down a vigilante serial killer who has been murdering people who either got out of jail early or were never punished formally, and doing so in the style of crimes they committed. The movie is very playful despite the dark subject matter, which didn’t always work for me, but it’s still a good time with great action. While the movie is a sequel to 2015’s Veteran, you will be able to follow I, the Executioner without having seen that one. —PV
Rebel Ridge
Where to watch: Netflix
The latest searing thriller from Jeremy Saulnier, Rebel Ridge, is the most action-focused of the writer-director-editor’s impressive filmography, and it might just be my favorite movie of the year.
Strongly inspired by First Blood, Rebel Ridge follows Terry Richmond (Aaron Pierre, in an incredibly measured but dynamic performance), a Marine who bikes to a small town to bail his cousin out of jail. When he gets harassed by local police who steal his money under the framework of civil asset forfeiture, Terry takes matters into his own hands.
The action is intentionally sloppy and awkward to make the whole thing feel more grounded, and like everything else in the movie, it serves to make the characters and their conflicts feel all the more real. Rebel Ridge never overplays its hand — Saulnier is an astute, economical director, writer, and editor, subtly filling in the edges of his characters and the situation and letting the audience bring the rest to the table. The end result is a standout movie from a standout filmmaker, and one of the easiest recommendations of the year. —PV
The Killer
Where to watch: Peacock
The Killer (2024) isn’t The Killer (1989). But it doesn’t need to be.
In 2023, the legendary John Woo returned to Hollywood for the first time in 20 years with the gimmicky revenge thriller Silent Night. But in 2024, Woo fully returned to form with a fresh take on one of his all-time greatest movies.
Like the original, this version of The Killer follows a conflicted killer who accidentally blinds a young nightclub singer during a shootout, and the relationship they forge as a result of that fateful encounter. That narrative framing is a great device for shootouts, car chases, and the general sense of romance Woo has perfected over the years in his specific brand of heroic bloodshed.
Woo’s technical mastery of the genre shines, but The Killer also excels as a star-making showcase for lead Nathalie Emmanuel. While she’s had opportunities in supporting roles in action-centric universes, The Killer allows her to hit all the beats you want from an action hero. Her fight scenes are simultaneously elegant and deadly in their precision, and her complicated relationships with the other characters in her orbit give the actor a lot to work with. The Killer also marks a third consecutive year where one of my favorite new movies had that title. What can I say? I have a type. —PV
Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In
Where to watch: In theaters
A martial arts epic set in Kowloon Walled City is an instant must-watch for any action movie aficionado. Add in SPL 2: A Time of Consequences director Soi Cheang, and it becomes a must-watch for any movie fan. Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In more than lives up to expectations, and may just be the best action movie of the year.
Cheang makes the most of Kowloon Walled City as a setting, with clever uses of space recalling the cramped quarters of something like Snowpiercer (but executed at a much higher level). Characters move vertically, horizontally, and diagonally through the narrow passages of the city, finding nooks and crannies to hide out in or traverse through. The fight choreography combines wuxia and parkour elements with components from more modern martial arts movies, which are all layered on top of a Johnnie To-esque tale of gangster drama and generational divides.
Raymond Lam stars as a refugee who escapes to Kowloon Walled City after a run-in with a Hong Kong crime lord (played by the legendary Sammo Hung). In the Walled City, he strikes up a quasi-familial relationship with Cyclone (frequent Johnnie To collaborator Louis Koo), who is the de facto leader of the community living in the Walled City. But, ahead of the handover of Hong Kong to China, the British have agreed to demolish the city, and big players are scheming to get as much of the eviction compensation as possible. As the specter of the city’s impending destruction looms over the action, the residents cannot escape the chaos to come. With its incredible choreography, compelling crime drama, and fantastic use of a unique setting, Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In is another modern martial arts masterpiece from Cheang. –Pete Volk
Kill
Where to watch: For digital rental/purchase on Amazon and Apple TV
Kill rewrites the Bollywood action playbook, bringing a level of brutality and gore not often seen in Indian cinema. The movie follows an Indian army commando who sneaks onto a train to Delhi in order to try to stop the arranged marriage the love of his life is being forced into. But when bandits attack the train, he and his best friend are forced to take action, resulting in some of the best action sequences of the year and an unforgettable instant classic for fans of the genre.
Director Nikhil Nagesh Bhat made Kill after being inspired by The Raid and a real-life experience he had with a train robbery. Veteran action choreographers Oh Se-yeong (Snowpiercer) and Parvez Shaikh (who worked with Oh on the Bollywood blockbuster War) both put in some of their best work to date, especially in the movie’s violent second half, where things get ramped up significantly. That split between the movie’s first half and its second also allows for Kill to engage in multiple modes of action storytelling, showcasing lead Lakshya’s skills as a martial artist and an actor, and allowing for variety in the experience. —PV
Life After Fighting
Where to watch: Prime Video, for free with ads on Tubi, or for digital rental or purchase on Amazon, Apple, and YouTube
To really be down for this microbudget action thriller from Australian stuntman/writer/director/star Bren Foster, you have to be the kind of person willing to watch movies made on relatively no budget, with the understanding that some elements aren’t going to be as polished as what you might see in theaters. Not all viewers are up for that, nor do they need to be. But for those who are, you will be treated to one of the best action movies of the year, made at just a fraction of the cost of all the other movies on this list.
In Life After Fighting, former champion MMA fighter Alex Faulkner (Foster) is now a quiet martial arts instructor. When two of his young students are kidnapped by a human trafficking ring, it’s up to him to rescue them and bring the perpetrators to justice. It’s a pretty straightforward formula for direct-to-video action — whether that sounds like a good thing (I like my DTVs nice and straightforward) or not is up to you. And while Life After Fighting has thinly drawn villains, inconsistent acting, and some baffling narrative and character choices, it’s all in service of the stellar action and Foster’s convincing performance as Alex. For me, it all worked, warts and all.
Foster (The Last Ship, Mad Max in the 2015 video game) is a longtime stuntman and action actor stepping out of the shadows and into the spotlight of lead and director for the first time. The man has an eye for action: Life After Fighting uses the martial arts school concept to preview techniques used in future fights, and has a solid mix of taekwondo and grappling. The action scenes use somewhat dramatized but still realistic choreography, they’re relentlessly fast-paced, and Foster’s camera makes sure to capture all the beauty and details of the techniques on display.
While it sometimes feels like two solid DTV movies awkwardly stitched together (there’s no reason this one needed to be a full two hours), Life After Fighting is a clear standout in 2024’s DTV action crop, and a must-watch for fans of the genre. The final act in particular is a relentless marathon of excellent fights, showing off Foster’s incredible skill as a fighter and as an acrobat. His spinning kicks are mesmerizing for their combination of speed, power, and grace, and it’s a joy to see him beat up asshole after asshole. Here’s hoping he gets another shot in as a leading man and a director — maybe next time with some more money to play with. —PV
The Fall Guy
Where to watch: Peacock, or for digital rental or purchase on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
The Fall Guy is a love letter to action movies and the stuntpeople who make them special without making them dangerous. It’s also one of the year’s most fun rom-coms, led with infinite charm by Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt. These two genre mixes may sound somewhat at odds, but the movie blends them exceptionally well, thanks in large part to its array of fantastic stunt work and action scenes, which is exactly how it made it onto this list.
The movie follows Colt Seavers (Gosling), a stuntman who gets hurt on the job and disappears from Hollywood, and his girlfriend, camera operator Jodie Moreno (Blunt). When Jodie’s directorial debut needs an emergency stuntman, Colt jumps at the chance, but ends up deep in a murder mystery about the star he’s doubling for.
There’s a mix of entertaining and inventive fistfights, ridiculous car chases, citywide destruction, and, of course, lots and lots of huge stunt falls. Every scene is drenched in genuine love for the silly magic of moviemaking and a clear passion for what it means to get fake punched in the face and for real set on fire. The Fall Guy takes after classic Jackie Chan movies, wanting the audience to appreciate the stunt exactly because of how much work went into it, rather than trying to make each one seamless. It’s an endearingly old-fashioned approach that lends the movie a ton of heart and makes it clear how much every punch, kick, and gunshot is a labor of love for everyone involved. In fact, the movie even ends with a montage of stunt outtakes during the credits. And if that’s not fodder for a best-action-movies list, then nothing is. —AG
Baby Assassins 2
Where to watch: For digital rental or purchase on YouTube and Vudu
The first Baby Assassins was a delight, and the sequel lives up to the lofty expectations the franchise has already set. It’s another great mashup of the assassin thriller with the teen slice-of-life comedy, and stars Saori Izawa and Akari Takaishi deliver once again. This time, Joey Iwanaga and Tatsuomi Hamada join as a pair of rival teenage assassins, hunting down our leads in order to try and take their jobs.
But enough about the story: You’re here for the action, and Baby Assassins 2 has that covered. Master fight choreographer Kensuke Sonomura is back with more terrific action sequences that run the gamut of extraordinarily silly (the girls fighting in full mascot costumes) to desperate battles of life and death. Izawa in particular shines once again, and continues to prove her bona fides as one of the most exciting up-and-coming action stars around the world. I would happily watch 20 more of these. —PV
Sixty Minutes
Where to watch: Netflix
An under-the-radar movie from Germany, Sixty Minutes has a game cast, a tight script, and an appealing gimmick.
As he’s about to step in the ring for his next big bout, professional fighter Octavio (former German national karate champion Emilio Sakraya) finds out that if he doesn’t make it to his ex-wife’s house in the next 60 minutes, she will file for sole custody of their daughter. He decides to flake on his fight and just book it there, angering elements of the criminal underworld who had big money on him to win. The movie takes place in real time over those 60 minutes, as he runs and fights his way across Berlin to his daughter (and essentially tries to run away from the movie he’s in).
Sakraya excels in the role, in a true star-making performance. He’s able to get across that Octavio has been an absent father — this ultimatum does not come out of nowhere — but that he truly cares for his daughter and has now decided he would do anything for her. He’s also a terrific fighter, and while Sixty Minutes occasionally cuts up the fight scenes too much for my liking, the choreo is strong and Sakraya still delivers in those moments. —PV
Mayhem!
Where to watch: AMC Plus, or for digital rental or purchase on Amazon, Apple TV, and Vudu
A brutal master class in how to choreograph and frame action from some of the minds behind Gangs of London, the French thriller Mayhem! (also known as Farang) is a can’t-miss experience for fans of the action genre.
A revenge thriller about a working-class fighter (former French national kickboxing champion Nassim Lyes) hoping to avenge the loss of a loved one at the hands of some unsavory individuals, Mayhem! distinguishes itself from other similar narratives by adding details and desires to its characters’ lives.
But Mayhem! really excels in the fight sequences. Second unit director and fight choreographer Jude Poyer comes from the Gareth Evans school of motivated camera movement (Poyer worked with Evans on Gangs of London), using the camera in concert with the choreography to bolster the impact of each blow. Add in a high-caliber fighter like Lyes and one of the greatest elevator fight scenes of all time, and a new action classic has officially been minted. —PV
The best of the rest
Uprising
Where to watch: Netflix
This period piece set in the Joseon dynasty was a rare “surprise Park Chan-wook” movie for me, which is always nice. I watched the movie after hearing good things about the story and action design, and only in the closing credits did I learn the great Park co-wrote and produced the movie. Turns out, he had intended to direct it until The Sympathizer came calling, and instead tapped in his former art director Kim Sang-man to lead the project. While Uprising lacks Park’s unique visual flair, it is another strong entry in the growing subgenre of “star-crossed historical bromances” – while it’s very different stylistically from RRR, the two stories have a lot in common. —PV
Take Cover
Where to watch: For digital rental or purchase on Amazon and Apple
Scott Adkins has starred in four action movies this year, and three are on this list. But only two are true Adkins-led vehicles — the ambitious one-take sequel One More Shot, and Take Cover, another interesting genre experiment.
In Take Cover, directed by veteran stunt performer Nick McKinless, Adkins plays a sniper who suffers a crisis of faith when his target is temporarily saved by a woman throwing herself in front of the sniper bullet. Later, he and a friend are trapped in a penthouse suite, as a sniper from another building attempts to pick them off. Once the movie gets to the penthouse, it’s a tense, surprisingly philosophical thriller that makes great use of the (mostly) single location premise. —PV
The Killer’s Game
Where to watch: For digital rental or purchase on Amazon and Apple
For action fans, a new J.J. Perry movie is always a must-see event. The legendary stunt man and action director finally got his first chance as a feature director with the fun Jamie Foxx vampire action comedy Day Shift, and returned for his sophomore debut with The Killer’s Game. Dave Bautista stars as Joe Flood, a legendary assassin who has recently fallen in love and learned he has a terminal illness. After he puts out a hit on himself to give his beloved the insurance money, he learns the diagnosis was a mistake, and must fight off hordes of killers (including the incredible Marko Zaror, pictured above) to protect his new future. At its best, The Killer’s Game feels like an action anthology movie, as each assassin has a distinct look and fighting style, giving Perry and Bautista ample opportunity to mix up the language of the action. And yes, Scott Adkins shows up in this one, too. —PV
Bad Boys Ride or Die
Where to watch: Netflix, or for digital rental or purchase on Amazon, Apple, and YouTube
In many ways, the two halves of the Bad Boys tetralogy are mirror images: each succeeding where the other fails, and failing where the other succeeds. Which you prefer depends entirely on your tastes and preferences. I feel blessed to like all four Bad Boys movies, and Ride or Die is no different.
While Adil & Bilall’s Bad Boys movies lack the consistent aesthetic rigor of Michael Bay’s, they bring their own visual flourishes to the series (even if not all of them work). The one that got the most attention in Ride or Die was the result of a clever camera rig mounted on top of a gun. I think it looks much cooler in behind-the-scenes footage than in the actual movie. But when Marcus’s son-in-law Reggie (Dennis Greene) has to protect a home from invaders, the action moves in and out of security camera footage in a thrilling extended sequence that is one of the best of the year. It heightens the drama of the sequence, allows us to watch it along with the principal characters (who are all huddled around the monitors, cheering Reggie on), and brings home the franchise’s surprisingly sweet relationship with Reggie, a character that was previously just a one-note joke about aggressively protective dads.
But what really makes Ride or Die work is Martin Lawrence’s performance as Marcus Burnett. In each of the four Bad Boys movies, something happens to Marcus that changes his relationship to the rest of the movie — pretending to be Will Smith’s Mike Lowrey in the first one, or accidentally tripping on ecstasy in the second, or swearing a vow of non-violence in the third. In Ride or Die, Marcus has a near-death experience and essentially realizes he is a protagonist in an action movie and can not die. That leads to him taking big risks (much to Mike’s consternation) — walking out into highway traffic, or standing in the middle of an intense gunfight. It’s a great bit, and Lawrence is more than game to get many, many laughs out of it. –PV
Thelma
Where to watch: For digital rental/purchase on Amazon and Apple TV
Thelma may star a 94-year-old Oscar nominee, but don’t let that fool you into thinking that it’s anything less than one of the year’s best action movies. Much like another movie on this list, Thelma is about an older woman (June Squibb) who gets duped by a phone scammer. But unlike The Beekeeper, where vengeance falls to Jason Statham, in this movie Thelma herself sets out on the path for revenge — albeit a significantly less bloody variety.
Thelma’s quest to get her money back is steeped in the vocabulary of action movies, with her explicitly taking inspiration from Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt in several scenes. But while this could feel mean-spirited or like the joke’s on Thelma, director Josh Margolin manages to keep the tone light and fun, framing genuinely exciting action at a pace that befits the movie’s nonagenarian characters. In that way, Thelma is a tremendous addition to the nontraditional action canon. High-speed chases happen on deceptively fast scooters, falls feel as dangerous as guns, and explosions take on a more measured scale than they might in other movies, but Margolin still manages to find the tension in each of these moments. —Austen Goslin
Trigger Warning
Where to watch: Netflix
I went into this Netflix original with modest expectations, having been repeatedly let down by some of Netflix’s action offerings. But I was pleasantly surprised with this economical action thriller, which has an intriguing central narrative, plenty of interesting characters, and strong action design.
Jessica Alba stars as Parker, a Special Forces commando who returns home to the Southwest after the sudden death of her father. While there, she unravels a conspiracy in her hometown involving a violent gang. Underestimated by the men who knew her when she was younger (and don’t know how deadly she is now), it’s a neat setup for motivated action. Director Mouly Surya, best known for Indonesian dramas, captures some surprisingly evocative images for a Netflix film, giving the movie just an extra dash of flavor. I’m not totally sold on Alba’s performance, especially when the movie wants her to express grief, but this is exactly the kind of modest-budget genre exercise I want Netflix to make more of. —PV
The Roundup: Punishment
Where to watch: Theaters
Few action franchises are as reliable as Ma Dong-seok’s The Roundup movies. Their consistency is found in their premise (Big Cop Punches And Slaps Bad Guys Hard), their positive qualities (every single thing the tremendously charismatic Ma does in these movies), their negative qualities (cringe-inducing police brutality comedy gags) and their performance with audiences, steadily dominating the Korean box office.
This time, Ma and the gang are after a group of cyber criminals — which leads to many funny gags about Ma’s lack of tech-savviness, including a consistent confusion about what “the cloud” is. If you’ve liked one of these movies, you’ll like them all, and Punishment is no different. —PV
Chief of Station
Where to watch: Hulu, or for digital rental or purchase on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Direct-to-video action luminary Jesse V. Johnson (Avengement) gets a chance at a low-budget Bond-like here, starring Aaron Eckhart, who himself is in a bit of a DTV action star era. Chief of Station is a solid spy thriller that brings back a lot of recognizable faces from some of JVJ’s best movies (Daniel Bernhardt, Olga Kurylenko, Nick Moran, Nina Bergman). It doesn’t rewrite the spy genre and has a pretty bland script (if sharp dialogue and clever plotting is important to you, move on), but Johnson’s movies are consistently entertaining and he has a strong eye for action and tension.
Chief of Station has less action than most of the movies on this list, but it does feature a banger fight between Eckhart and the always reliable Bernhardt. It’s the superior of the two Eckhart action vehicles this year (over Renny Harlin’s The Bricklayer). —PV
City Hunter
Where to watch: Netflix
Part action comedy, part sex comedy, City Hunter is the latest adaptation of the manga series about the horniest private detective alive. Jackie Chan previously took a swing at it in 1993, after a survey of his Japanese fans picked said horny detective, Ryo Saeba, as the character they’d most like to see him play. While this adaptation lacks some of the breathtaking stunt work of that version, it’s still a fun and extraordinarily silly time, with clever action sequences and a nonstop barrage of immature humor. From that description, I’m willing to bet you know where you’ll fall on this one. —PV
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Where to watch: For digital rental or purchase on Amazon, Apple, and Vudu
Basically Guy Ritchie’s take on a real-world version of Inglourious Basterds, Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is exactly as smarmy, bloody, and fun as that premise implies. The movie follows a band of British spies during World War II sent on a mission to disrupt a Nazi submarine blockade. The movie is really never more than a few minutes away from its next spectacular action set-piece, whether that’s a surprise brawl on a boat, blowing up an enemy camp, or infiltrating a fortress. All of these action beats is punctuated with their own huge moments that keep each one feeling fresh, while Ritchie’s signature energetic camera keeps the whole thing moving briskly. But the real standouts here are the cast, with the band led by Henry Cavill, employing his usual charm and talent for sarcasm, and a particularly stellar turn by Reacher’s Alan Ritchson. Ritchson is the real standout, as a massive Swedish killing machine who gets some of the movie’s best fights and coolest moments. —AG
The Three Musketeers: Milady
Where to watch: For digital rental or purchase on Amazon, Apple, and YouTube
Inspired by films like Gladiator and Raiders of the Lost Ark, Martin Bourboulon’s two-part blockbuster adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel brings back big-budget action-adventure period pieces. The costumes and sets are terrific (Milady won Best Production Design at the César Awards, one of six nominations for the movie), the actors are pitch-perfect as some of fiction’s most recognizable characters (especially Eva Green as Milady and Louis Garrel as King Louis XIII, but the whole cast is great), and the action sequences alternate between sword fights and fisticuffs with aplomb.
Make sure to start with the first movie — The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan. I slightly prefer it over this new entry, but they’re both the kind of multi-genre blockbuster adventure story we’ve been missing in American theaters since the Pirates of the Caribbean movies went out of style. There’s action, there’s romance, there’s drama, there’s comedy — the Three Musketeers truly have it all, as they always have. —PV
Monkey Man
Where to watch: Prime Video, or for digital rental or purchase on Amazon, Apple, and YouTube
Dev Patel’s directorial debut hopefully signals the start of an action movie career for the taekwondo black belt and former bronze medalist at the 2004 AIMAA World Championships. He directed, co-wrote, and starred in Monkey Man, the story of a broken man in India set out on a quest for revenge. But, in a classic path for action storytelling, his path to revenge changes his motivation from vengeance to doing the right thing, and he finds a community along the way.
Where movies like John Wick focus on one impossibly skilled person, Monkey Man posits the importance of community to solving issues, even with violence. I found the movie shaky and unfocused for its first half, but the second half sold me — it’s a strong finish with great action sequences that brings the character and the movie’s themes home. I can’t wait to see what Patel does next. —PV
One Percenter
Where to watch: Prime Video, free with a library card on Hoopla, free with ads on Tubi, or for digital rental or purchase on Amazon, Apple TV, and Vudu
An eccentric meta actioner with blistering fight choreography, One Percenter (also known as One Percent Warrior) is one of the most offbeat entries on this list. Real-life cult action hero Tak Sakaguchi (Versus) stars as a character who is pretty straightforwardly a version of himself: Takuma Toshiro, a self-serious action star who has invented his own martial arts technique and had a cult hit some years ago. One Percenter is about Toshiro’s quest to make a “pure action” movie — he’s tired of the genre feeling like dance, and desires something a little more dangerous. While on location for an indie project, he runs across a yakuza dispute, which is the perfect opportunity for him to get some footage for his movie. So Toshiro takes down scores of gangsters with his Wave technique, dodging bullets and unloading on some poor fools.
Sakaguchi, a former underground street fighter who is one of the most peculiar action stars of his generation, is hypnotic as Toshiro, using his Wave technique to great effect. The pairing of Sakaguchi with fight choreographer Kensuke Sonomura (Baby Assassins), perhaps the best in the business at what he does, is a dream. The two have paired up a few times in the past, most recently in the very good Bad City, and it’s a joy to watch their talents work together once again.
One Percenter gets a little too caught up in its own narrative tricks toward the end, but it’s a fun time for fans of the genre that has an all-time pairing of star plus choreographer (and an extended fight scene using just a flashlight that sees Sonomura once again break ground in cinematic expression through action).
A note before you consider watching: The Japanese theatrical release of One Percenter has been canceled twice after allegations of sexual assault against Sakaguchi, who previously admitted his complicity in a sexual assault committed by director Sion Sono. —PV
Land of Bad
Where to watch: Netflix, or for digital rental or purchase on Amazon, Apple TV, and Vudu
Land of Bad pairs up the other two Hemsworths (Luke and Liam) with Russell Crowe in a well-executed military thriller from Underwater director William Eubank. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel of the genre, and it isn’t the kind of pensive war project that spends time wondering about the purpose of all this conflict. Instead, it’s high-octane action filmmaking on a relatively limited budget that provides consistent thrills and a lot of tension, and with believable characters. Crowe particularly shines as a desk-bound drone pilot trying desperately to get his fellow officers to stop watching March Madness and help him provide remote support to the team on the ground. —PV
Badland Hunters
Where to watch: Netflix
There are few joys in life as consistent as Ma Dong-seok hitting the hell out of some dudes.
A bizarre sequel (tonally) to the much more serious drama Concrete Utopia, Badland Hunters takes place in a post-earthquake apocalypse, where a group of survivors try to rescue a kidnapped teen from a mad scientist.
Badland Hunters may not reach the high highs of Ma’s Roundup movies, but it’s a very fun piece of genre filmmaking that puts the burly action star in the middle of a sci-fi scenario and lets him do his thing. Directed by former stunt coordinator Heo Myeong-haeng (who directed the fourth Roundup movie), Badland Hunters has solid action scenes with satisfyingly different fight styles for the three core protagonists. But the star of the show, as always, is Ma and his burly fists. Wherever they go, I will follow. —PV
One More Shot
Where to watch: Netflix, or for digital rental or purchase on Amazon, Apple TV, and Vudu
In 2021, director James Nunn and star Scott Adkins combined for an experimental action movie, One Shot. It combined the one-take gimmick from movies like Birdman and 1917 (note: One Shot was written before 1917, but came out after) with the post-John Wick wave of tactical action movies, all in a thrilling package that looked absolutely exhausting for its star. So, of course, they returned to do it again three years later, and this time did it even better.
One More Shot’s best change from the original is its setting. The first was set in a Guantanamo-style military prison — an environment that made sense for the movie, but was pretty drab, all things considered. One More Shot was able to shoot in a real international airport, bringing an instant familiarity of the environment to audiences and allowing for even more confident use of the gimmick and real-time traveling around the space.
Adkins is terrific once again, as the movie makes the most of his considerable skills as an actor and athlete, and this time action legends Michael Jai White and Tom Berenger join him in the cast. But the best fight is between Adkins and Aaron Toney (Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther stunt man) on a moving train that was actually traveling at 30 miles per hour. It makes fantastic use of the space, especially the train poles, as tools of movement and violence. Like much of the rest of the movie, the realness is tangible, and helps the whole experience shine. —PV
The Beekeeper
Where to watch: Prime Video, or for digital rental or purchase on Amazon, Apple TV, and Vudu
David Ayer brought back the tongue-in-cheek late-’80s/early-’90s actioner with The Beekeeper, an absolutely ludicrous, over-the-top Jason Statham vehicle seemingly designed for the star to deliver bee-themed one-liner after bee-themed one-liner.
If it was just Statham’s charisma, the silly bee hijinks, and the golden-hued cinematography (Ayer told Polygon it was meant to invoke honey), that would have been enough for The Beekeeper to make this list. But the movie went ahead and hired Jeremy Marinas (John Wick: Chapter Four) to direct the second unit and choreograph the fight sequences. He’s one of the very best in the business, and helps bring The Beekeeper up into that next echelon of action movies with fast-paced choreography that makes great use of props. Buzz buzz, join the hive. —PV
Noryang: Deadly Sea
Where to watch: For digital rental or purchase on Amazon, Apple TV, and Vudu
All three movies in director Kim Han-min’s trilogy about legendary Korean admiral Yi Sun-sin are fairly dense historical dramas. But they succeed because of the attention to detail in their intense naval battles and top-notch production design in period work. Noryang: Deadly Sea, the final movie in the series, is no exception.
Each of the three movies has had a different notable Korean star play Admiral Yi — this time, it’s Kim Yoon-seok (Escape from Mogadishu), following the lead of Choi Min-sik (Oldboy) and Park Hae-il (Decision to Leave) from the first two. All three are very capable of bringing the hardheaded but brilliant Admiral Yi to life, but these movies really shine when they take a step back to show naval tactics.
The battle sequences are occasionally shown from a bird’s-eye view to better get across the tactics from both sides, which is thrilling. When you add in measured use of one-take sequences that bring out the carnage of war, these movies do a great job of showing the combination of deep calculation and chaos inherent to these battles. And you better be in for that if you watch these movies: The last 90 minutes of Noryang is essentially one long naval battle. —PV
