The action genre needed a reboot in 2024. Throughout much of 2023, superhero movies arrived in theaters to middling reviews and disappointing box office numbers, and while some beloved, long-running franchises held their own, there was still space for more original, high-octane blockbusters.
Thankfully, a handful of captivating action movies took their wild car chases, explosions, and deft fight choreography straight to the multiplex and streaming in 2024. From highly-anticipated spinoffs of properties like Mad Max to genre-defying action movies that delved into comedy territory, many great flicks bolstered our adrenaline throughout the year. Below, we're rounding up the best action movies of 2024 and where to watch them. (For even more recommendations, see our list of the best action movies of 2023.)
'Baby Assassins 2'
This fun action-comedy sequel follows a pair of teenage roommates (Akari Takaishi and Saori Izawa) who make a living as assassins. When suspended from the Assassin's Guild, the girls are forced to take part-time jobs while evading a rival pair of killers.
'Bad Boys: Ride or Die'
In the fourth installment of their action-comedy series, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence's detective duo set out on a dangerous path to clear their late police captain's (Joe Pantoliano) name, after he's falsely linked to the cartels.
'The Beekeeper'
Jason Statham plays the titular beekeeper Adam Clay—also a retired assassin for a secret organization (because of course). When his caring landlady Eloise (Phylicia Rashad) loses her savings in an online scam, he fights his way up the chain of the scammer ring in a highly entertaining quest for vengeance.
'Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F'
40 years after the original buddy-cop comedy, Detective Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) returns to Beverly Hills. After his daughter Jane’s (Taylour Paige) life is threatened, the father-daughter duo team up with a new partner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and some old friends to uncover a conspiracy.
'Boy Kills World'
A deaf-mute man (Bill Skarsgård) with a vivid imagination—and an inner voice (H. Jon Benjamin) inspired by his favorite childhood video game—is determined to take down the crime family matriarch (Famke Janssen) who killed his family.
'Carry-On'
Per the description, this Netflix action-thriller that's a part of the streamer's 2024 holiday slate "follows a young TSA agent (Taron Egerton) as he fights to outsmart a mysterious traveler who blackmails him into letting a dangerous package slip onto a Christmas Eve flight."
WATCH ON NETFLIX ON DECEMBER 13
'Damsel'
For her latest Netflix project, Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown plays a "damsel" who has to rescue herself when she discovers she's meant to be sacrificed to a bloodthirsty dragon.
'Deadpool & Wolverine'
The third Deadpool movie introduces the Merc with a Mouth into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with a multiverse-hopping plot involving the TVA (from Loki) and the MCU debuts of several X-Men characters, including Hugh Jackman's Wolverine.
'Dune: Part Two'
The sequel to the Oscar-nominated film finally came to the big screen this year, as director Denis Villeneuve continues to adapt the acclaimed sci-fi novel—this time with much more Zendaya and several new stars, including Austin Butler and Florence Pugh.
'The Fall Guy'
This blockbuster inspired by the 1980s TV series of the same name stars Ken, er, Ryan Gosling, as Colt Seavers, a retired stuntman who's drawn back into the business when his ex Jody (Emily Blunt) asks for his help to find the star of her studio film, who's gone missing.
'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga'
Nine(!) years after Charlize Theron stole the show in 2014's Mad Max: Fury Road, her character Imperator Furiosa is getting a prequel, with Anya Taylor-Joy stepping into the role. After being abducted from her home into a savage Biker Horde, led by the Warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth), Furiosa faces many trials as she plots a way back home through the Wasteland.
'Gladiator II'
The star-studded sequel to the iconic 2000 action film follows Lucius (Paul Mescal), the nephew of Commodus, who is now a grown man after being saved by Maximus (Russell Crowe) in Gladiator.
WATCH IT IN THEATERS
'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire'
In this sequel to 2021's Godzilla vs. Kong (with Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, and Dan Stevens reprising their roles), Godzilla and Kong must team up to defeat a "colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence—and our own," per the film's description.
'Hit Man'
Richard Linklater's new action comedy—based on the wild true story first reported in Texas Monthy—follows a professional killer (Glen Powell) who works for the cops. When he breaks protocol to help a desperate woman (Adria Arjona) flee her abusive husband, he starts falling for her and toys with the idea of becoming a full-out criminal.
'Kill'
In this brutal, gory Bollywood flick, army commando Amrit (Lakshya) boards a New Delhi-bound train to go after his true love, hoping to stop her arranged marriage. When ruthless bandits attack the train, he takes them on in "a death-defying kill-spree to save those around him," per the film's description.
'The Killer'
Nathalie Emmanuel and Omar Sy star in John Woo's remake of his own 1989 action-thriller of the same name. When the titular contract killer (Emmanuel) forms a special connection with a young woman who gets blinded during a shootout, the assassin finds herself on the run from both the police and her employers.
'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes'
The latest film in the Planet of the Apes franchise continues nearly 300 years after the events of the 2010s trilogy, at a time when ape civilizations rule and humans have regressed into a feral state. "As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike," per the film's description.
'Kraven the Hunter'
Another Spider-Man antihero is getting a standalone movie. In this one, Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays a Russian nobleman who sets out to become the world's best big-game hunter.
IN THEATERS DECEMBER 13
'The Lord of the Rings: The War of The Rohirrim'
The world of Lord of the Rings is returning to the silver screen in animated form! This prequel will be set 261 years before The Two Towers and stars Brian Cox as the legendary king Helm Hammerhand (a.k.a the namesake behind Helm's Deep).
IN THEATERS DECEMBER 13
'The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare'
The Gentleman director Guy Ritchie's latest blockbuster is based on the true story of a secret group of WWII spies who use "ungentlemanly" tactics to fight Nazis.
'Monkey Man'
Dev Patel's long-awaited directorial debut finally made its way to theaters this year, thanks to producer Jordan Peele. The Lion actor also stars as Kid, an underground fighter who seeks revenge against the corrupt power brokers who caused his mother's death.
'Rebel Ridge'
This tense drama follows Terry Richmond (Aaron Pierre), a former Marine who's run off the road and shaken down by the local police of a small Southern town named Shelby Springs. When the cops seize the money he's raised to bail his brother out of jail, Terry wages a one-man war against the corrupt department, led by Chief Sandy Burnne (Don Johnson).
'Road House'
This remake of Patrick Swayze's cult classic '80s film follows Jake Gyllenhaal as an ex-UFC fighter who takes a job at a bar in the Florida Keys and gets to work taking down a local gang (featuring real-life UFC fighter Conor McGregor).
'Thelma'
When Thelma (June Squibb), a 93-year-old grandmother is scammed out of $10,000 by a caller pretending to be her grandson, she "sets out on a treacherous quest across L.A., accompanied by an aging friend (Richard Roundtree) and his motorized scooter, to reclaim what was taken from her," per the film's description.
'Transformers One'
This new animated Transformers movie will tell the origin story of how a young Optimus Prime (Chris Hemsworth) and Megatron (Brian Tyree Henry) went from "brothers-in-arms turned into sworn enemies," per Variety.
'Trigger Warning'
Jessica Alba stars in this brutal flick as a Special Forces commando who's called home after the tragic death of her father. When she takes over the family bar, her search for answers puts her in the crosshairs of a violent gang.
'Twisters'
The 1996 disaster movie Twister is the latest '90s classic to get a 2020s revival. The new version follows storm chasers, but this time around, it's a group of scientists and tornado-wrangling YouTubers competing against one another on the Oklahoma plains. Prepare to be blown away by the fun cast (led by Glen Powell and Daisey Edgar Jones), the storm sequences, and the fun country music soundtrack.
'Venom: The Last Dance'
The third Venom film brings the unlikely buddy comedy duo of reporter Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and his ruthless alien symbiote back to the big screen.
WATCH IN THEATERS
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