The tentpole age is a great time to be an action fan – whether you like superhero action, sci-fi action, or straight-upJohn Wickstyle set-piece mayhem, there was something for you in 2019.
This year marked a major turning point in theMCU; a trio of films that will give us the first female-led Marvel film, the culmination of a decade’s worth of world-building, and the film that will lead us into the next phase. On the heels of DC’s billion-dollar trip to Atlantis, we’ll also get the next step in the new cinematic DC universe. And that’s just the superhero stuff!
There were also kick-ass DTV and international gems that slipped under the radar, a new direction for theFast & Furiousfranchise, theculmination of the Skywalker saga, another goodTerminatormovie (finally!), and the joyous insanity ofAlita: Battle Angel.
Whatever you’re looking for, we’ve got you covered with a rundown of the best action movies of 2019 below.Click here for more of our Best of 2019 content.
Cold Pursuit
Norwegian directorHans Petter Molandremade his own 2014 film,Kraftidioten(or,In Order of Disappearance), replacingStellan SkarsgårdwithLiam Neeson, and the result is a revenge actioner in the snow with more laughs than you’d expect. Not exactly cerebral material,Cold Pursuitis about a young man who’s killed by the henchmen of a drug lord, and the bloody chain of events that follow. That young man just happens to be the adult son of Nels Coxman (Neeson)—Kehoe, Colorado’s Citizen of the Year. Kehoe is a small, Rocky Mountain town, and Nels is its lone snowplow driver. With his boy dead and no answers emerging, Nels begins offing goons, one at a time, climbing the ladder in the hopes of reaching the man called “Viking” (Tom Bateman). But some confusion in the process leads to a war between Viking and a rival Native American drug outfit. Many people die, and the film has a morbidly funny way of tallying each one. Cartoonish villains (Viking especially), extreme violence, and grisly humor, this flick is a self-aware, bitterly frigid romp. –Brendan Michael
Alita: Battle Angel
About halfway through theRobert Rodriguezmanga adaptationAlita: Battle Angel, Rodriguez alumnusJeff Faheyis introduced as McTeague, a grizzled warrior who is the master of a group cyborg dogs whom he loves very much. It is at this point precisely thatAlita: Battle Angelmade the click in my brain from “a curious, satisfyingly atypical experiment” to “a cult classic that this generation will not love but future generations will eat up like delicious genre soup.”
Rodriguez’s vision is so purposefully strange and so delightfully, lovingly earnest – i.e., a grizzled warrior who loves his good cyborg doggos.Rosa Salazar delivers – and I’m not exaggerating in any way – an Academy Award-worthy performance as the title character, a cyborg with big eyes and a bigger heart. Salazar makes the curious CGI choice work, using her eyes’ enhanced absorption as a guidepost for her performance. She physically leans forward, eager to make sense of what’s in front of her, eager to help however she can, no matter if it hurts her. Her performance shook me – and when she starts getting into some dope robo-action sequences, Rodriguez’s filmmaking shook me even more. These sequences are surprisingly brutal, favoring visceral-feeling combat rather than the sometimes ephemeral nature of sci-fi laser fights. They’re rendered in crystal-clear, fluid accessibility by DP extraordinaireBill Pope(you know,The Matrixand Edgar Wright, no big deal), and they crunch.Alita: Battle Angel’s screenplay sometimes gets too knotted in details and franchise set-ups (looking at you, Edward Norton), but overall, its heart-on-its-sleeve gonzo pleasures are too big-eyed to ignore. –Gregory Lawrence
Extreme Job
Dear gods, I love this movie. Part slapstick ensemble comedy, part cop thriller, and ultimately, one heck of a delightful action movie,Extreme Jobis without question one of the best times I had in a theater all year.Seung-ryong Ryustars as Captain Ko, the leader of a ragtag squadron of undercover drug enforcement who just absolutely cannot stop botching the job. With one last chance to prove themselves, they go undercover at a fried chicken restaurant and… get so caught up in their thriving chicken business they almost forget about their real jobs. Featuring an ace ensemble cast playing loveable oddball characters,Extreme Jobis pure movie-going joy, an energetic and exuberant crime comedy that will keep a smile plastered on your face throughout, from the banter and silly antics to thebest-of-the-decade-worthy finale fight scene. –Haleigh Foutch
Avengers: Endgame
It’s almost unfair to describeAvengers: Endgameas purely an action movie because it’s also kind of a superhero time-travel heist with healthy portions of comedy, sci-fi, and melodrama. (It’s also kind of unfair to describeAvengers: Endgameas just a “movie” because it’s also kind of the finale to like 20 movies, but that’s neither here nor there.) But there’s no denying that Marvel’s massive conclusion to the Infinity Saga contains some of the most bombastic action beats not only of 2019, but arguably of all time. Really, there’s no argument at all when it comes to the film’s final third, one long battle-a-palooza between Thanos' (Josh Brolin) forces of evil and every gosh dang MCU hero you can imagine, most of which had just returned from the dead. Between a score by Alan Silvestri that could have you running through brick walls, Captain America (Chris Evans) wielding a mythical hammer, and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) making his final stand,Endgame’s action is pretty much guaranteed to turn every viewing into a rock concert, whether you’re in a theater or alone on a couch. –Vinnie Mancuso
John Wick 3: Parabellum
If the firstJohn Wickintroduced the world to a new action icon andJohn Wick: Chapter 2showed the world what he couldreallydo,John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellumis pretty much just showing up. Once again starring the timelessKeanu Reevesas the titular super-assassin, the film is basically one extended eff you to anyone else trying to do practical, in-camera action right now. You’ve seen chases through the city, but have you seen a manracing through Brooklyn on horseback? You’ve heard the rule about working with animals, but what if this moviespecifically trained attack dogs to take part in the best animal action scene of all time? The thirdJohn Wickbasically breaks the rules bullet by bullet, sending Reeves through glass cabinet after glass cabinet in pursuit of action hero perfection. In the case of John Wick, the third time might just be the charm. –Vinnie Mancuso
The Kid Who Would Be King
Why didn’t more people seeThe Kid Who Would Be King, 2019’s perfect family film?Joe Cornish’s follow-up to his perfect horror filmAttack the Blocklost was a bonafide box office block that lost 20th Century Fox a bunch of money right before getting acquired in full by Disney, which is not a great look in front of your new bosses. So, to everyone who hasn’t seen this film (which statistically is a lot of you), I say this: See this film. It’s modernized, savvy-but-never-overly-clever retelling of the King Arthur legend will unlock the joyous potential in every child, both literal and inner.
Like other perfect 2010s British family filmPaddington 2,The Kid Who Would Be Kingis interested in three things. One: Entertaining the heck out of you. Two: Quietly, incisively, simply discussing that love and camaraderie will always triumph over hate and division in our contemporary, troubled times. Three: Charming the heck out of you. And wouldn’t you know it, it succeeds wildly on all three fronts! Cornish continues to be an excellent director of young performers, with all of the children starring in the film delivering lived-in portrayals of youth that are goofily endearing, yes, but don’t shy away from the dark complexities lurking in the shadows of any present-tense child. I want to give a special shout-out toAngus Imrie, who plays a fish-out-of-water version of Young Merlin with gleefully un-self-aware abandon. It’s one of 2019’s funniest performances, particularly the physicalization of his spells. And whenThe Kid Who Would Be King settles into its third-act battle for humanity, it does so by cutting through the noise of many other blockbuster third-act battles for humanity, and rendering moments of actual humanity amidst its carefully choreographed carnage. Again, I reiterate: SeeThe Kid Who Would Be King! –Gregory Lawrence
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Keeping with the tradition of Warner Bros. new Monarch monster-verse (which also includesGodzillaandKong: Skull Island,) the human drama inGodzilla: King of the Monstersis more ore less a total snooze (excepting Ken Watanabe’s highkey relatable spiritual bond to Godzilla himself,) but fortunately filmmakerMichael Doughertycame to play with the Kaiju action scenes, which not only brought Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Rodan and Mothra into the fold, but countless creature creations new and old alike in an absolutely bonkers giant monster bonanza. There’s a real reverence for the key creatures and their cinematic history on display inKing of the Monstersand Dougherty uses every penny of the film’s blockbuster budget to duck and weave in and out of the monster brawls with the humans, while also showing the whole possibly apocalyptic melees in colorful, epic wide shots. The biggest complaint about 2015’sGodzillawas that it didn’t have enough action – clearly the feedback was heard, andKing of the Monstersis an all-out monster mash. –Haleigh Foutch
Spider-Man: Far from Home
I don’t needSpider-Man: Far from Hometo become a sci-fi leaning action film. I don’t need it to interact with the ramifications ofAvengers: Endgameor any other MCU movie. Heck, I don’t need Peter Parker to ever don his Spidey suit and swing around. It’s because at the core ofSpider-Man: Far from Home,like the previousJon Watts/Tom Hollandsolo Spidey MCU movie, is character. As Parker, Holland continues to delight and endear, diving headfirst into the “John Hughes teen comedy” of the material with relatably awkward chutzpah. Zendaya, who with this andEuphoriais having the best 2019 ever, plays MJ as a controlled force of bemused nature, and she and Parker’s budding young love is beyond sweet to witness.Spider-Man: Far from Homecould simply be a European-set teen romcom with a charming AF ensemble cast and I’d be perfectly happy. But when it does click in to being a sci-fi leaning action film: Look out!
The set pieces on this sucker are rollicking good times, bursting with imagination and visual clarity. In large part, this is thanks to the addition ofJake Gyllenhaalas Mysterio. His performance, like many of the best Gyllenhaal performances, feels a little “off.” And when his big twist is revealed, it makes all of it make sense, and gives the film an appealingly prescient commentary on what we can actually believe despite “seeing it.” One of my favorite sequences in the film is when Parker is sent, via incredibly believable forces of illusion, on a hallucinogenic dark night of the soul, taunting him with personal visions of pain and anguish. It’s a keen summary of the film’s pleasures: Action and sci-fi are good, yes. But character always comes first. –Gregory Lawrence
The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil
Nobody does hulking, imposing physicality likeMa Dong-seok, aka Don Lee, the South Korean superstar who broke out with international audiences inTrain to Busanand has a knack for channeling preternatural likability into his tough-guy roles. That signature quality is on full display inThe Gangster, The Cop, The Devil, a sleek but grim action-thriller that stars Ma as a mob boss who randomly ends up on the wrong side of a serial killer’s knife and makes a devil’s bargain with an ambitious renegade cop (Kim Mu-yeol) to bring down the devil himself. Unfortunately,The Gangster, The Cop, The Devildoesn’t quite dig deep enough into the depravity of its sinister slasher figure to balance its title trifecta, but Ma is a force on-screen, and never better here than when he’s unleashed in the film’s bloody action scenes. –Haleigh Foutch
Hobbs and Shaw
The firstFast & Furiousspinoff pairs upDwayne JohnsonandJason Statham, and let me tell you I want to see these two gentlemen do absolutely everything together. The gonzo action the series has become known for is in top form in this film, including a sequence wherein our invincible protagonists chaseIdris Elbaand his men down the side of a skyscraper, and one in which Johnson pulls a helicopter out of the sky with nothing but a chain and his muscles. It’s loud and ridiculous (Johnson and Statham defeat the villain by verbally realizing the power of teamwork), but it doesn’t take itself seriously for a single moment and never expects you too, either.Vanessa Kirbybalances out the testosterone a tiny bit as Statham’s secret agent sister, andRyan Reynolds,Kevin Hart, andHelen Mirrencontribute fun cameos as wacky characters in Hobbs and Shaw’s orbit. It’s one of the dumbest movies of the year in the best possible way. –Tom Reimann
