The 15 Best Action Movies of 2024 (So Far) (2024)

Brad Pitt and George Clooney star in Wolfs as professional fixers. They’re each called to the scene of an accidental death to clean up the damage and make it seem like nothing ever happened. It’s usually a simple job—but it’s also a solo job. Several other hitches in the plan follow the duo throughout the Apple TV+ buddy comedy, which is already set for a sequel.

Apple TV+

Rebel Ridge is one of Netflix’s biggest wins this year. Aaron Pierre (The Underground Railroad) displays his action chops in a (we’re calling it) star-making role, about one man’s crusade against a small town’s corrupt police force.

Netflix

Alien: Romulus features a return to the horror roots of the sci-fi franchise, with its iconic Xenomorph monsters. The film technically takes place between the original Alien and its first sequel, Aliens, but Romulus is a perfectly enjoyable Alien film even if you’re brand new to the series. Just watch out for those Facehuggers.

Amazon Apple TV+

Full of Marvel-multiverse antics, shoehorns Ryan Reynolds’s R-rated hero into the MCU with a little help from Hugh Jackman, back in costume. Plus, there’s a barrage of excellent celebrity cameos.

Amazon

The latest natural-disaster flick is a reboot of a nineties classic. Directed by Lee Isaac Chung (Minari), Twisters stars Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, and Anthony Ramos as tornado chasers hoping to discover the science needed to stop a storm dead in its tracks. It also boasts a killer soundtrack.

Amazon Apple TV+

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga had a lot riding against it. Could Anya Taylor-Joy lead a prequel to one of the decade’s most celebrated action films??? The answer, by the time Furiosa hit theaters, was a resounding yes. Its big rig ripped just as hard as those in any other Mad Max installment, coupled with a villainous turn by Chris Hemsworth and a fantastic story leading back to Fury Road.

Amazon Apple TV+

Acting as the first entry in a new Planet of the Apes trilogy, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes continues where Andy Serkis’s Caesar left off in the simian world. His character’s legacy is long forgotten (and twisted) by the time Kingdom begins—and it’s up to a new hero (Owen Teague) to decide the planet’s future.

Amazon Apple TV+

Finally, some appreciation for the stuntman. Led by Ryan Gosling, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emily Blunt, and Winston Duke, The Fall Guy follows said stuntman (Gosling, of course), who inexplicably gets roped into a conspiracy on the set for the sci-fi movie MetalStorm.

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Star (and first-time director!) Dev Patel has created his own John Wick–style hero, who is on a mission for revenge across India. Inspired by the tales of Hanuman, Patel’s bloody and violent action flick is easily one of the best films of the year so far.

Amazon Apple TV+

It’s hard to top a masterpiece like Patrick Swayze’s Road House. So Jake Gyllenhaal & Co. didn’t even try to re-create the magic of the eighties original. Instead, the new Road House is a slugfest between a ripped Gyllenhaal and an often butt-naked Conor McGregor. What more could you ask for?

Amazon

The sci-fi epic continues the story of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), a reluctant messiah in a galactic conflict over resources. With giant sandworms and Austin Butler’s brilliant turn as the film’s sadistic villain, Dune: Part Two certainly lived up to the hype.

Amazon Apple TV+ Max

The Beekeeper is built on an incredibly odd premise. Jason Statham plays a, yes, beekeeper who is actually part of a clandestine organization called the Beekeepers (though not everyone in the group is a beekeeper like him). The complexities of the film’s world-building fade away the second that Statham threatens to burn a whole building to the ground...and then does exactly that. What’s more, he’s surrounded by real bees.

Amazon

Bill Skarsgård sets out on a Deadpool-esque rampage of violence in this action-comedy, which also stars H. Jon Benjamin (Bob’s Burgers) as the internal voice of our deaf-mute hero. Inspired by the art of video games and graphic novels, Boy Kills World will satisfy anyone’s need for fast-paced action.

Amazon Apple TV+

This is a stand-alone sequel to last year’s Concrete Utopia, featuring survivors of a zombie apocalypse as they attempt to escape a post-earthquake Seoul. Produced in Korea, Badland Hunters showcases Ma Dong-seok (Train to Busan) performing some of the year’s best fight choreography.

Netflix

It’s not a hot take to say that Guy Ritchie movies are very hit-or-miss. Often, the problem with his films is that his eccentric characters don’t really have a mission—beyond driving each other crazy. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (mouthy title!)fixes all of that. Why? Because Henry Cavill, Reacher’s Alan Ritchson, Henry Golding, and the rest of their ragtag bunch of soldiers are out to kill Nazis. Classic.

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