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#20: “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” (2017)
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No one could have predicted the runaway success of this movie. A “Jumanji” sequel wasn’t really necessary, and many people met it with skepticism. The original is a childhood favorite, and there’s simply no replacing Robin Williams. But “Welcome to the Jungle” took the basic concept of “Jumanji” and made it fresh for modern viewers. Gone was the board game, replaced with a video game. Add in a good dose of jokes, some solid action sequences, and a star-studded cast with impeccable chemistry, and you have a surprisingly great reboot. It even held its own against “The Last Jedi” at the box office and went on to gross nearly a billion dollars.
#19: “The Other Guys” (2010)
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Cop movie parodies are a dime a dozen, but very few of them actually work. It’s easy to make fun of cop movies, but it’s hard to do so intelligently. It’s even harder to do so in 2010, when all the possible jokes had been seemingly played out. Somehow, “The Other Guys” managed to do it. The script from Adam McKay and Chris Henchy is filled with great observations and hilariously undermines the cop genre. But what makes this movie work so well is its cast. Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg have wonderful chemistry, Michael Keaton gives a fantastic supporting performance as the Captain, and Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson have what could very well be the greatest cameos of the decade.
#18: “MacGruber” (2010)
“Saturday Night Live” movies are notorious for being, well, terrible. “SNL” belongs on the small screen, and stretching a funny five minute sketch into 90 minutes of story rarely works. But in the midst of all the horrible “SNL” movies throughout the years, “MacGruber” stands proud. The movie is based on Will Forte’s famous sketch, which sees the comedian and his writing team parodying the cop genre - “MacGyver,” to be precise. While a bomb at the time, “MacGruber” has grown a sizable cult following thanks to its quotable script and bizarre, over-the-top nature. Nothing about it is predictable, and its violence is borderline grotesque. “MacGruber” is intentionally provocative, and many people love that about it.
#17: “Machete” (2010)
“Spy Kids” this is not. The character of Machete stemmed from the “Spy Kids” franchise, but the genre changed in 2007 with the release “Grindhouse.” As a little Easter egg to his fans, Robert Rodriguez included a fake trailer within “Grindhouse” promoting a violent, standalone Machete movie. But fans loved it, and Rodriguez decided to just make the movie itself. And everyone is glad he did. “Machete” is an intentionally ridiculous, over-the-top action film that harkens back to the exploitation B movies of the ‘70s. This includes grainy visuals, absurd violence, and hilariously stupid lines. Absolutely none of it is meant to be taken seriously. Just sit back and bask in Rodriguez’s gleeful madness.
#16: “Date Night” (2010)
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This movie proves the importance of casting. Starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey at the height of their cultural dominance, “Date Night” gets by largely on their incredible chemistry. They play a bored married couple whose lives are briefly spruced up by a case of mistaken identity. It’s a fun concept to center a story around, and both Carell and Fey keep things chugging along nicely. They make the Fosters both sympathetic and enjoyable to watch, not to mention entirely relatable. The cast is nicely rounded out by a who's-who of familiar faces, including Mark Wahlberg, James Franco, Mila Kunis, and Mark Ruffalo. “Date Night” has a great premise and a fantastic cast to make it all work.
#15: “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” (2005)
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Robert Downey Jr. has called “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” his best film, and we have to agree. It’s certainly up there, at least. Very loosely based on an obscure noir novel from Brett Halliday, “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” serves as a refreshing blend of parody and straight mystery. The film gleefully sends up the hardboiled detective genre with tongue-in-cheek satire, but it also takes its complex story seriously. Not only is Shane Black’s script sharp as a tack, but he struck comedic gold with the partnership of Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer. In a landscape of silly comedy movies, “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” is wickedly smart and has a keen eye for the tropes of a classic genre of fiction.
#14: “The Rundown” (2003)
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It’s always nice seeing an “Indiana Jones”-esque film that is actually good. “The Rundown” is a classic adventure movie, starring Dwayne Johnson as a bounty hunter who is hired to find the son of his employer. The son is in Brazil attempting to find a treasured golden artifact known as The Devil's Cat. Typical adventure hijinks follow. The movie is very well made, complete with fun action sequences, an entertaining old-school adventure story, and great bits of casting. Johnson and Seann William Scott share golden chemistry, and Christopher Walken makes for a typically excellent villain. There’s just nothing like a good adventure movie.
#13: “In Bruges” (2008)
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Writer-director Martin McDonagh has slowly proven himself the modern-day master of the crime movie. “In Bruges” was his feature-length debut, starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as hitmen hiding out in the titular city. McDonagh strikes a pitch-perfect balance between comedy and crime elements, as his movie contains some gut-busting lines and genuinely unsettling moments. Much of the humor is derived from the characters’ interactions, as they share differing opinions on Bruges and their predicament. The story is almost an excuse to watch two different men have wacky adventures in an old European city. But the violence is incredibly graphic when it comes, and it reminds viewers of the depraved world that they find themselves in.
#12: “Spy” (2015)
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Like the cop genre, spy movies have been parodied to death. It seems impossible to mine new material for these kinds of spoofs, but Paul Feig and his team of filmmakers managed to do it with the simply-titled “Spy.” Melissa McCarthy proved herself a capable leading actress by playing the bumbling Susan Cooper and earning herself a Golden Globe nomination in the process. But she certainly isn’t alone. The movie contains a fantastic ensemble of winning comedic performances, from Rose Byrne’s icy coldness to Jason Statham’s turn as a comedic version of the macho action hero he typically plays. “Spy” single-handedly breathed new life into the dying spoof genre.
#11: “Pineapple Express” (2008)
This is a different type of stoner comedy, one that nicely blends elements of dumb stoner movie tropes with genuinely well-made action. The violence really ramps up in the second half of the film, when Rogen and Franco’s characters get increasingly tied up in a world of organized crime and rich marijuana dealers. The movie is full of the hilarious improvisational humor one expects from Rogen comedies, and David Gordon Green proves a good director capable of balancing elements of conflicting genres. But the real star of the show is James Franco, who flexed his hidden comedic muscles and earned himself a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor.
#10: “Kingsman: The Secret Service” (2014)
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This is more than a typical spy spoof. This is a movie that fully embraces the wacky nature of spy movies and elevates the stupidity with brilliant satire. There’s a henchman with swords for legs. There’s a device hidden inside cell phones that causes people to lose their minds and kill each other. There are high-altitude balloons and exploding space satellites. But it’s not just the all-out wackiness that makes “Kingsman” a modern-day classic. There’s also the sense of style, the unexpected plot developments, the inventive action sequences, and the pitch-perfect casting. Colin Firth as a James Bond figure and Taron Egerton as a chav protagonist were just brilliant choices.
#9: “Free Guy” (2021)
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Any original movie that can gross over $300 million in the midst of a pandemic certainly did something right. “Free Guy” mainly gets by on two things - its original concept and its charming cast. Blue Shirt Guy realizes that he’s a mindless NPC in a chaotic video game, and this premise alone guaranteed the movie’s eventual success. It’s clever, it’s unique, and it offers up limitless possibilities for humor and action. The fact that “Free Guy” weaved a genuinely interesting story through it is a testament to writers Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn. The role of Blue Shirt Guy was tailor made for Ryan Reynolds, and he unsurprisingly nails it. It was nice to see an original blockbuster in theaters.
#8: “Shoot 'Em Up” (2007)
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At a brisk 86 minutes, “Shoot ‘Em Up” is basically an action scene compilation that someone can find on YouTube. The story is about a drifter who tries saving a baby from an assassin. It’s a bizarre premise, yes, but it’s mostly just an excuse to watch 86 minutes of ridiculous shootouts. This movie contains nothing but outrageous action from opening to closing credits, but it’s filmed with such extraordinary glee and technical proficiency that it never gets tiring. The humor derives from the movie’s tongue-in-cheek nature, as it doesn’t take its own action seriously and makes fun of movies that do. It’s a great bit of satire, and it’s filmed well enough to get away with it all.
#7: “The Nice Guys” (2016)
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Writer-director Shane Black struck gold again with “The Nice Guys,” which is his attempt at a buddy cop parody. An old-school mystery film, “The Nice Guys” stars Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling as two very different personalities attempting to find a missing girl. Crowe and Gosling make for an unexpectedly perfect pairing. Not only do they share wicked chemistry, but their personalities and acting styles conflict with gleefully humorous results. The movie also features some mesmerizing production design that transports viewers back to the 1970s, and Black’s script is typically tight and razor-sharp. Only he can generate huge belly laughs while still tantalizing viewers with a genuinely intriguing mystery and complex plot.
#6: “Kung Fu Hustle” (2004)
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This Chinese action-comedy has often been described as a blend between the gritty dramas of Quentin Tarantino and a live-action “Looney Tunes” cartoon. It was also released around the time of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” prompting many to label it as a comedic version of the masterpiece. “Kung Fu Hustle” is gleefully different, and that’s exactly what makes it such a masterpiece of the action-comedy genre. It’s not afraid to be different and to try blending seemingly disparate genres into one inventive package. It’s a black comedy, it’s a crime drama, and it’s a parody of old-school martial arts movies. In short, it’s a lot of things that work surprisingly well together.
#5: “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” (2010)
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No other comic book movie is as “comic book-ey” as “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” Director Edgar Wright leans full tilt into the medium, filling his movie with outlandish action sequences and imaginative visuals ripped straight out of Bryan Lee O'Malley’s source material. The movie works on multiple levels, resulting in its status as a modern cult classic. It works as a break-up movie, it works as a coming-of-age comedy, and it works as a bizarre comic book movie with fight sequences that are both technically inventive and visually marvelous. We don’t know how Wright did it, but he made what could very well be the most technically ambitious action movie of the decade.
#4: “Tropic Thunder” (2008)
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Ben Stiller worked comedy magic with “Tropic Thunder,” which could very well be his greatest gift to humanity. The action-comedy is certainly his directorial masterpiece, as he is in full command of the movie’s many weaving layers. It’s a traditional action-comedy, but it’s also a self-aware mockery of the filmmaking process. It satirizes war movie clichés, self-obsessed creatives, and the Hollywood industry, all while telling a genuinely hilarious story rooted around the funniest misunderstanding of all time. And of course, there’s the legendary performance of Robert Downey Jr., who earned himself an Oscar nomination for playing the pretentious Kirk Lazarus. Oscar nods are very rare for comedies, but Downey proved that it can be done.
#3: “Deadpool” (2016)
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Very few movies had done what “Deadpool” did. Yes, there were darker and more violent superhero movies out there, but none attained the same level of popularity. “Deadpool” became a cultural phenomenon, while those other movies squandered and, at best, became cult classics. So, what made it work so well? There’s the fact that “Deadpool” subverted the MCU, offering up extreme violence, a self-deprecating tone, and a script steeped in parody. It let the industry know that there was a huge market for mature, R-rated superhero films. And of course there’s Ryan Reynolds’ impeccable performance. He seemed destined for the role of Wade Wilson, and it helped revitilize his career following a string of box office bombs. We can thank “Deadpool” for it all.
#2: “Hot Fuzz” (2007)
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Edgar Wright is the modern-day master of the action comedy, and “Hot Fuzz” is arguably his greatest achievement. Co-written with Simon Pegg, “Hot Fuzz” parodies both the cop and detective genres in hilarious and intelligent fashion. The script is brilliantly constructed, with the movie mirroring itself in many surprising ways and relying on callbacks to generate humor and plot developments. It’s also spectacularly edited by Chris Dickens, both in terms of structure, pacing, and technicality. Finally, iconic one-liners are peppered throughout the movie, and the star-studded British cast give great performances - even by their sky-high standards. In short - it’s a masterpiece of the genre, and arguably the most intelligently-constructed action comedy of all time.
#1: “21 Jump Street” (2012)
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Both “21 Jump Street” and its surprisingly great sequel are modern masterpieces of the action comedy genre, but nothing beats the original. This film brilliantly weaves together elements of detective mysteries, teen high school comedies, and cop movie bombast, all while endlessly making fun of itself for merely existing. The action and direction are great, but what really makes “21 Jump Street” work is the script from Michael Bacall. It’s sprinkled with self-aware mockery, using its very story to comment on unnecessary reboots and rose-tinted nostalgia. The movie is fully aware of its own silly existence, and it utilizes this knowledge to great and uproarious effect. It’s hilarious, it’s smart, and somehow, it still works as a genuine action movie with a great story.
