2024’s best action movies range from big-budget sci-fi epics to martial arts thrillers. There has been a lot of variety in the biggest action movies of the year. Some big franchises returned for highly-anticipated sequels, but there has also been enough room for original stories, some of which could yet act as the launch pad for emerging new talents in the genre. Overall, 2024 has been a strong year for action movies, even though the box office hasn’t always reflected this.
Some true greats of the action genre returned to cinemas in 2024.Directors like Guy Ritchie, George Miller, and David Leitch all released new movies, but there were plenty of surprises too. Dev Patel’sMonkey Manshowcased his talents as a martial arts star and a director, while Jake Gyllenhaal’sRoad Houseremake massively surpassed expectations. 2024 has shown that the action genre is alive and well, and as the year comes to a close, certain entries in the genre rank as the best movies of the year.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Cast
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a World War II film depicting a British Army unit’s covert operations against Nazi forces. The movie focuses on the Special Operations Executive, a clandestine organization established by Winston Churchill, whose unconventional tactics helped shape modern black operations.
Guy Ritchie’s latest moviebears many of the director’s hallmarks, including a fun ensemble cast and a hearty helping of stylized action.The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfareis based on the true story of a group of spies sent on a dangerous mission during World War II, but Ritchie puts his own spin on the narrative, and there’s an air of mischief reminiscent of his great gangster movie.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfareis based on the true story of a group of spies sent on a dangerous mission during World War II, but Ritchie puts his own spin on the narrative.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfarerevels in its Nazi-bashing violence.This is the type of movie designed to be cheered and hooted at, so it doesn’t worry too much about character depth or nuance. The most important things to know about each member of Gus March-Phillips' ragtag Special Forces team is spelled out in bold letters, and this leaves plenty of room for Ritchie to get to work on the action sequences and the pithy dialogue which clearly interest him the most.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die
Bad Boys: Ride or Die continues the action-packed saga of Miami detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett. The film follows the duo as they face new threats and personal challenges, blending intense action scenes with the camaraderie fans have come to love in the Bad Boys series.
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence’sBad Boysmovieswere always popular with audiences, even if critics panned Michael Bay’s first two movies. With Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah taking over directing duties for the reboot,Bad Boys for Life,critics have finally started to come around to the franchise’s explosive delights.Bad Boys: Ride or Diecontinues this trend, and the box office numbers speak for themselves.
Bad Boys: Ride or Dieis a mindless, fun movie without much to say, and this makes it perfect popcorn entertainment.
Over 20 years since their first movie together, Smith and Lawrence are still a tough team to beat. Their delightful comedic dynamic is as fresh as ever, butRide or Diedelivers hair-raising action when it matters.Bad Boys: Ride or Dieis a mindless, fun movie without much to say, and this makes it perfect popcorn entertainment. Fans of the franchise who know what they’re in for will not be disappointed.
Badland Hunters
Badland Hunters is a South Korean action film directed by Heo Myung-haeng and released in 2024 and is the sequel to 2023’s Concrete Utopia. After Seoul is nearly annihilated following an earthquake and the land is turned into a lawless wasteland, a retired hunter named Nam-san returns to the field to save a teenager helped captive by a mad doctor and a group of cultists.
Ma Dong-seok will be most familiar to American audiences for his role in Marvel’sEternals, but he also starred in the brilliant Korean zombie horror filmTrain to Busan. Badland Hunterssees him fighting zombies once more, this time as a wasteland scavenger who tries to rescue one of his kidnapped villagers from a mad scientist.Badland Huntersis a sequel toConcrete Utopia,but it features a new cast and it works as a standalone movie.
Badland Huntersdelivers enough thrilling action to make up for its derivative narrative. It uses the familiar framework of the genre to have fun with inventive, punchy action sequences.
Badland Huntersis equal parts horror and action. Although it doesn’t exactly seek to reinvent the zombie genre, recycling many of the same tropes and plot points that have been reliably trotted out countless times before,Badland Huntersdelivers enough thrilling action to make up for its derivative narrative. It uses the familiar framework of the genre to have fun with inventive, punchy action sequences.
The Beekeeper
The Beekeeper follows a man’s quest for vengeance that escalates to a national level when he is revealed as a former operative of a covert organization known as Beekeepers. The story intertwines personal motives with broader implications, highlighting the intricate web of secrecy and power within the organization.
Jason Statham has been a consistent box office draw throughout his career, butThe Beekeeperstill outperformed its expectations. Although Statham is allowed to strut around in tailored suits and make snide quips like most of his other blockbusters,The Beekeepersucceeds by reminding everyone that he’s also one of the biggest martial arts stars working in Hollywood. Many of Statham’s more prominent roles are too restrictive, butThe Beekeepershowcases his talents.
The Beekeeper’s box office success suggests that there is still an appetite for these types of pared-back action thrillers.
The Beekeeperis a throwback to a different style of action movies. It could easily have been made in the 1980s with Sylvester Stallone in the lead role, blasting bad guys away and looking generally grumpy while he tries to keep his righteous rampage going for as long as possible. The box office success suggests that there is still an appetite for these types of pared-back action thrillers.
Kill
When army commando Amrit (Lakshya) finds out his true love Tulika (Tanya Maniktala) is engaged against her will, he boards a New Delhi-bound train in a daring quest to derail the arranged marriage. But when a gang of knife-wielding thieves led by the ruthless Fani (Raghav Juyal) begin to terrorize innocent passengers on his train, Amrit takes them on himself in a death-defying kill-spree to save those around him — turning what should have been a typical commute into an adrenaline-fueled thrill ride.
Another international movie that wowed global audiences,Killis an Indian film that delivers white-knuckle thrills from beginning to end. The movie follows a former commando who boards a train on a mission to stop the love of his life from marrying a man she does not love. While that setup sounds like a love story, things take a turn when armed thugs board the train and start threatening everyone on board, sending the would-be romantic on a mission to save the day.
There have been many great action movies set on trains, fromRunaway TraintoUnstoppable, andKillmakes for a worthy entry into that subgenre.The fight scenes are brutal and visceral, delivering the kind of action fans don’t typically get in Hollywood movies.Killprovides a worthwhile reminder that sometimes finding the best action movies requires audiences to broaden their horizons.
Twisters
A follow-up to the 1996 original film Twister, Twisters is a sequel set years after the original, said to be fast-tracked by Steven Spielberg and Mark L. Smith, with Frank Marshal as producer. Little details exist about the film, but Helen Hunt is expected to reprise her role as Jo, with the film likely to pay homage to the late Bill Paxton.
2024 saw several long-awaited sequels finally arriving, withTwistersbeing one of the most crowd-pleasing event movies of the year.Twistersstars Daisy Edgar-Jones as a storm chaser who is called back into the dangerous field following the loss of her team when she is given the opportunity to make a real difference in stopping these devastating storms. While in the center of the storm season, she crosses paths with a charismatic and wild “tornado wrangler,” played by Glen Powell.
While none of the original cast members from 199’sTwisterreturn,the cast ofTwistershelps to make it a truly entertaining blockbuster. Their fun performances are also combined withthe grand spectacle of the disaster sequences that capture the thrills of the original flick. The special effects are key to selling these big disaster sequences that make for some perfect popcorn entertainment.
Monkey Man
Monkey Man is a 2024 action-thriller film directed by and starring Dev Patel. Following his release from prison, a man known as “Kid” makes a living by engaging in anonymous underground fights in a mask where he is beaten down each night. However, after witnessing greed and corruption consuming his city, Kid breaks into the upper echelon of society to find those who destroyed his life and take them down.
Dev Patel’s directorial debut shows that he has been keeping his skills as a martial artist quiet. TheSlumdog Millionaireactor makes a convincing action hero inMonkey Man,suggesting that he may be gearing up for the next phase of his career.Monkey Manhas drawn comparisons to John Wickfor its punchy action sequences, but Patel’s revenge thriller is far more than just another imitator.
Monkey Manis an urgent story about standing up to corrupt authorities and rejecting totalitarian politics. Hopefully, it will just be the start of Dev Patel’s action career.
Monkey Manboasts a revolutionary message of acceptance and community power to go with its exciting fight scenes. There is a lot of joy to be had in watching Patel wade through crowds of enemies using whatever improvised weapons become available to him, butMonkey Manis an urgent story about standing up to corrupt authorities and rejecting totalitarian politics. Hopefully, it will just be the start of Dev Patel’s action career.
Deadpool & Wolverine
A follow-up to the highly successful Deadpool and Deadpool 2 films starring Ryan Reynolds as the Merc with a Mouth. The third film will be the first in the franchise to be developed under the Marvel Studios banner following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox.
Deadpool returns for his third movie, made all the more exciting given the fact that it is his first entry in the MCU. The vulgar mutant hero doesn’t tone down his style for Disney, delivering the first R-rated MCU movie that embraces the blood and gore as much as the profanity and crude jokes. The story also has another returning icon asDeadpool & Wolverinesees Hugh Jackman reprise his role as Wolverine from the Fox X-Men movies as the two heroes partner to save the multiverse.
Not surprisingly,Deadpool & Wolverineis a hilarious comedy, but it does not forget to deliver on the action.There are some standout sequences that have fun with the pure violence the R-rating allows. This includes the cameo-filled fight in the Void, the two heroes taking on an army of Deadpools, and a hilariously brutal fight between Deadpool and Wolverine inside a Honda Civic.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Set several years after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the next installment in the Apes saga. Ape clans have taken up residence in the oasis that Caesar sought to colonize, but humans have reverted to their animalistic nature in their absence. Now battling between enslavement and freedom, outliers in the Ape clans will take sides in a newly burgeoning society.
After the outstandingWar for the Planet of the Apescapped a trilogy in 2017, the future of thePlanet of the Apesfranchise looked a little uncertain. Seven years later,Kingdom of the Planet of the Apesproved that there can still be life after the story of Caesar, as the story jumps forward a few hundred years to examine how ape culture has evolved amid the crumbling ruins of human civilization.
The visual effects are as polished as ever, and this lends the action sequences a sense of real jeopardy.
The world seen inKingdom of the Planet of the Apesis filled with new factions tussling for control. Thankfully, the visual effects are as polished as ever, and this lends the action sequences a sense of real jeopardy.The villain, Proximus Caesar, is also a welcome addition to the franchise, and his presence raises all sorts of questions about the world beyond his coastal kingdom. Thefuture of thePlanet of the Apesfranchiselooks bright.
Road House
Road House is a remake of the original 1989 film, which followed protagonist Dalton, a Ph.D. educated bouncer at the roughest bar in the south known as the Double Deuce. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Dalton, with two major changes including Dalton being a retired UFC fighter and the bar locale being in the Florida Keys.
Road Housedirector Doug Liman was desperate to secure his movie a theatrical release, and its popularity on Amazon Prime Video suggests that he anticipated its impact. Jake Gyllenhaal takes on the role of Dalton, a stoic bouncer with the fighting skills to drop almost any opponent in mere seconds, as he goes to clean up a rowdy bar in the Florida Keys and finds much more than he bargained for.
UFC legend Conor McGregor makes his film debut inRoad House.Frankly, he’s no actor, but he brings a manic, volatile energy to the action that is hard to resist.
While the original movie is a cult classic, theRoad Houseremake makes a few improvements. With a much bigger budget and a script that tries to dig a little deeper into Dalton’s character,thisRoad Houseis bigger and louder than its predecessor, but the simple joy of watching Dalton toss troublemakers around the bar is evergreen. UFC legend Conor McGregor makes his film debut inRoad House.Frankly, he’s no actor, but he brings a manic, volatile energy to the action that is hard to resist.
