10 Best Action Comedy Movies, Ranked (original) (raw)
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Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling in The Nice Guys
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Published Mar 30, 2024, 4:00 PM EDT
Danny Mills is an avid film and TV enthusiast with a love of many genres, from old Western tales and gritty action thrillers to magical Disney classics and Superhero adventures. He loves it all. As a List Writer for Collider for over a year, he's covered a variety of topics from the above media, ranging from beloved films and TV shows that'll stand the test of time to actor-targeted lists detailing their best work, the best things on Netflix, classic sitcoms, and everything in between. There’s a little bit of something for everyone. When he's not writing for the site, he's putting his love of entertainment into acting and working on his first-ever book!
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Action comedies are the best of both worlds. They contain enough action to keep audiences on the edge of their seat, yet also manage to make them clutch their ribs from laughing so much. It's a great situation to be in. The genres are entertaining on their own, but there's just something about putting the two together that makes for an incredibly satisfying movie experience.
For decades, classic movies like Beverley Hills Cop and **Lethal Weapon**have been hooking their viewers from the moment they press play, but more modernized takes on the genre like 2022s Everything Everywhere All At Once and 2016s underrated The Nice Guys have set themselves aside as worthy additions to keeping the genre alive. Although, with never-ending critical and commercial success stories like these, it's unlikely the action comedy genre will go anywhere anytime soon. There have been numerous fantastic watches over the years, but these are some of the best around.
10 'Kick-Ass' (2010)
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Chloe Grace Moretz in Kick-Ass
Image via Lionsgate
While technically a dark superhero film from director Matthew Vaughn, this 2010 film has plenty of action and comedic aspects to warrant a place on this list. Kick-Ass follows a group of regular people who decide to try their hand at being superheroes. They have no powers except the titular ability to kick some serious ass as they go about their antics.
Starring a young Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Grace Mortez, Evan Peters, Nicolas Cage, Mark Strong, and an extensive cast of phenomenal actors, Kick-Ass is entertaining from start to finish with some impressive fight choreography and brilliant musical score to match its action sequences. The film was nominated for dozens of awards across various categories and took many people who saw it by pleasant surprise, becoming a box office success in the process.
9 '21 Jump Street' (2012)
Directed by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill staring at their Captain confused in 21 Jump Street
Image via Columbia Pictures
21 Jump Street and its meme-delivering sequel jumped into the hearts of everyone who saw it when it was released twelve years ago in 2012. The action comedy stars Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill as a pair of police officers thrust into the world of high school as they attempt to bring down the people behind a wave of a new synthetically produced drug that's going around campus. The movies are adaptations of the Johnny Depp-starring TV series that aired from 1987-1991.
It could be known as a fact that Schmidt and Jenko (Hill and Tatum) aren't ones to do things by the book, often going off their own intuition and either making things better or comedically much worse. There really is no in-between. The writing and cast performances of this popular action comedy are what make it stand out, and hilarious appearances from Ice Cube, Dave Franco, and Rob Riggle make it that much more entertaining.
Release Date
March 16, 2012
Runtime
109 minutes
Director
Christopher Miller, Phil Lord
Writers
Michael Bacall
Producers
Neal H. Moritz, Stephen J. Cannell
8 'The Other Guys' (2010)
Directed by Adam McKay
Mark Wahlberg's Terry holding Will Ferrell's Allen by the necktie in The Other Guys
Image via Sony Pictures
This comedic buddy-cop adventure follows Mark Wahlberg's hot-headed detective, Terry Hoitz, as he's unwillingly partnered with Will Ferrell's quieter detective, Allen "Gator" Gamble, after a shooting gone wrong. It's a typical enemy-to-frenemies-to-buddies story, and it's very entertaining to see these two actors working together and bouncing off each other's energy in their first of three comedy collaborations.
Alongside its main characters, The Other Guys has a star-studded lineup of a cast that assists in its outrageous comedy and explosive action sequences. Samuel J. Jackson, Eva Mendes, Dwayne Johnson, Michael Keaton, Steve Coogan, and Ray Stevenson have supporting roles that only add to the movie's success. The Other Guys is essentially a message that it's not always popularity that makes a hero, but the people who put the work in.
Release Date
August 6, 2010
Runtime
107 minutes
Director
Adam McKay
Writers
Adam McKay, Chris Henchy
Producers
Jimmy Miller, Patrick Crowley, Adam McKay, Will Ferrell
7 'True Lies' (1994)
Directed by James Cameron
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis as Harry and Helen Tasker, spying on someone in True Lies
Image via 20th Century Studios
Thirty-year-old comedy True Lies stars Austrian and American legend Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead role. He plays a man by the name of Harry Tasker, a government family man, as he struggles with his double life. Being the most expensive film ever at the time of its production and the first film to cost $100 million, it didn't shy away from utilizing those funds on its impressive visual effects.
True Lies earned multiple accolades for its cast performances, visual effects, and James Cameron's directing. It remains the third highest-grossing film of 1994 after Forrest Gump and Disney's The Lion King and is, for many, one of their favorite classic action movies from the 1990s. Based on La Totale, the French comedy that came out in 1991, the movie also stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Bill Paxton, Art Malik, Tom Arnold, and Tia Carrere.
Release Date
July 15, 1994
Runtime
141 minutes
Director
James Cameron
6 'Lethal Weapon' (1987)
Directed by Richard Donner
Donald Glover and Mel Gibson laughing and shaking hands in Lethal Weapon 4
Image via Warner Bros.
Shane Black pops up a couple of times on this list as both director and writer and the 1987 classic action comedy that is Lethal Weapon serves as his first project as the latter. While he went on to work on the film's sequel, Lethal Weapon 2, the first will always be the best in the eyes of many fans of this ongoing four-movie franchise and one of the best 80s action movies ever.
Directed by the late Richard Donner, the Mel Gibson and Danny Glover-starring action comedy from the late 1980s centers on two very different people working at the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), and in stereotypical buddy cop fashion, the two unlikely partners become allies with a shared goal. The multi-award-nominated franchise and subsequent TV series will always have a special place in many hearts around the world.
5 'Everything Everywhere All At Once' (2022)
Directed by Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
Michelle Yeoh
Image via A24
The title of this two-year-old mixed-genre film from writers and directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert is very fitting, as its main character, played by Michelle Yeoh, is quite literally thrown everywhere, including multiple timelines and dimensions as she interacts with what could have been, had she chosen a different path.
The appropriately named Everything Everywhere All At Once follows Yeoh's character, an immigrant by the name of Evelyn Quan Wang, as she jumps between worlds to stop a universe-ending being from destroying the world. With aspects of comedy, drama, action, sci-fi, and more, there really is something for everyone in this Academy Award Best Picture winner.
Release Date
March 24, 2022
Runtime
140 minutes
Director
Daniel Scheinert, Daniel Kwan
4 'Bad Boys' (1995)
Directed by Michael Bay
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence bump fists in Bad Boys 4
Image via Sony
1995 brought about the beginning of the iconic Bad Boys franchise, and as with a few of the classic movies on this list, it also has another in development. They have been released sporadically since the '95 original and have become one of Martin Lawrence and Will Smith's most notable roles from early in their respective careers.
Bad Boys follows two detectives who specialize in narcotic-related criminal offenses. Set against the backdrop of the Sunshine State's famous Miami beaches and skyline, the film is full of all the explosions, gunfire, and, of course, bad guys that anybody could want from a movie of its kind. The fourth in the franchise, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, will be released on June 7th, which is plenty of time for another rewatch. "Bad Boys, Bad Boys. What you gonna do? What you gonna do when they come for you?"
Release Date
July 18, 2003
Runtime
119 Minutes
Director
Writers
George Gallo, Michael Barrie, Jim Mulholland, Doug Richardson
Two hip detectives protect a witness to a murder while investigating a case of stolen heroin from the evidence storage room from their police precinct.
3 'Beverly Hills Cop' (1984)
Directed by Martin Brest
Eddie Murphy grins with sunglasses in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley
Image via Netflix
Critical and commercial success, Beverly Hills Cop released to acclaim from those who saw it. The film became the highest-grossing film in 1984 and is one of the overall highest-grossing films of the entire decade, sitting at number twelve. This popular action comedy came from the mind of screenwriter Daniel Petrie Jr as his first-ever project.
Directed by Martin Brest, this blockbuster of a movie followed Eddie Murphy in a role that propelled him into international stardom and skyrocketed his career into the spotlight. Axel Foley, played by Murphy, flies to Beverly Hills and trades his Detroit roots for the palm trees, glamor, and sunshine that come with Beverly Hills in Los Angeles, California. The movie's success paved the way for a franchise of three, with a fourth installment called Beverley Hills Cop: Axel F releasing on Netflix on July 3rd, twenty years after the last, with Eddie Murphy reprising his role.
Release Date
December 5, 1984
Runtime
105 minutes
Director
Martin Brest
2 'Rush Hour' (1998)
Directed by: Brett Ratner
Chris Tucker as Detective James Carter and Jackie Chan as Inspector Lee walking side by side in Rush Hour
Image via New Line Cinema
Jackie Chan is one of Hong Kong and Hollywood's most memorable directors, writers, stunt fighters, and all-around performers. His career spans sixty years having began working as a child actor when he was only eight years old. By the time he appeared as Chief Inspector Lee in the iconic first Rush Hour film, he'd worked on 112 projects as an actor, producer, or stunt coordinator.
Alongside Jackie Chan stars actor and comedian Chris Tucker, who portrays James Carter in all three movies alongside his costar. Rush Hour follows the two mismatched police officers in an effort to bring home and safely rescue the abducted daughter of a Chinese diplomat. The success of the original trilogy sparked conversation between writer Jim Kouf and director Brett Ratner about the potential for another. However, other than being in the stages of early development, not much else has been confirmed as of yet.
Release Date
September 18, 1998
Runtime
97 minutes
Director
1 'The Nice Guys' (2016)
Directed by: Shane Black
Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe in The Nice Guys
Image via Warner Bros.
The Nice Guys is one of Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling's most underrated movies, yet it's also one of their best. It's chock full of humor, action, and all the 1970s attire someone could want or need. The movie tells the story of an unlikely pair of frenemies as they work together to solve a case they inadvertently find themselves connected to, and it makes for an incredibly entertaining watch.
The Nice Guys was criminally underappreciated when it was released in 2016. While it has grown in popularity over the years, it just didn't get the love it deserved when it originally hit cinemas almost ten years ago. With its increasing number of fans in the eight years since its release, it has left many hoping and wishing for a sequel to come along and give this incredible film another installment. A trilogy to The Nice Guys would be something many people would love to see.
Release Date
May 20, 2016
Runtime
116minutes
Director
Shane Black