Most comedies are more action than comedy, or more comedy than action. It’s rare that an entry in this subgenre brings out the best in both of its components, but there are some that strike the balance.
Both action and comedy have the capacity to be the most entertaining genres in cinema, so action comedies have the potential to fire on all cylinders with the entertainment factor, but few of them have the sumptuous combination of exciting action and hysterical comedy. Here are the best action comedies that blend the genres perfectly.
Updated Nov. 25, 2021 by Colin McCormick: There's something about the combination of action and comedy that consistently draws audiences. The best action comedy movies feature intense and pulse-pounding action sequences only to break the tension with well-placed jokes, and the exhilarating back-and-forth gives audiences a huge rush. The genre continues to grow, and there are always new examples of action comedy movies that combine the genres well. If audiences are looking for some thrills to go along with their laughs and vice versa, there are plenty more wonderfully balanced action-comedies to check out.
Red (2010)
- Available to stream on FuboTV and IndieFlix
Bruce Willis is one of the most iconic action movie stars of all time, but it's a lot of fun to see him riffing on his own tough-guy persona in movies like Red. In it, Willis plays a retired CIA agent who becomes targeted by the government.
Willis is ed by some other great actors like Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, and John Malkovich, each playing badass spies who may be past their prime but still kick plenty of butt. There are some great action moments, including a fun fight between Willis and Karl Urban. Malkovich is hilariously eccentric in a scene-stealing role.
The Other Guys (2010)
- Available to rent on Apple TV
The pairing of Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg seems bizarre, but it works so well for the hilarious buddy-cop action comedy movie The Other Guys. Ferrell and Wahlberg play disrespected cops who team up to solve a massive case.
Director Adam McKay delivers some fun action moments mostly thanks to Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson as a pair of hilariously clichéd cops. But the two leads also make for a hilarious team, with Wahlberg showing off his surprising comedic chops.
The Suicide Squad (2021)
- Available to rent on Apple TV
While James Gunn's follows a group of supervillains forced into a dangerous mission together.
Gunn took inspiration from adventure movies like The Dirty Dozen while also injecting the movie with his dark sense of humor. The result is one of the bloodiest, funniest, and most outrageous comic book movies ever made, as well as one of the best action comedy movies.
Spy (2015)
- Available to rent on Apple TV
Few people would have envisioned Melissa McCarthy as an action star, but she pulls it off wonderfully in Spy while also remaining her usually hilarious self. McCarthy plays a desk worker at a spy agency who is put into the field on a mission.
The movie has a fun time playing against audience expectations with its casting. McCarthy is very impressive in the movie's fight sequences while Jason Statham delivers the funniest performance in the movie as an over-the-top and dim-witted superspy.
True Lies (1994)
- No streaming options available
Arnold Schwarzenegger is another legendary action star who is fun to see in a slightly sillier role. In James Cameron's True Lies, Schwarzenegger plays a government agent who hides his dangerous life from his wife (Jamie Lee Curtis) only for those two worlds to collide.
Given that it is Schwarzenegger and Cameron teaming up again, it should be no surprise that the movie delivers some genuinely amazing action scenes. But the marital storyline is also surprisingly hilarious, with Schwarzenegger and Curtis delivering terrific comedic performances.
21 Jump Street (2012)
- Available to stream on Netflix
When Jonah Hill took on the task of writing and starring in a movie reboot of 21 Jump Street, an old cop show about undercover officers infiltrating a high school, he set out to combine the wacky antics of John Hughes’ high school comedies with the high-octane thrills of Michael Bay’s action movies.
Thanks to Hill’s hilarious on-screen chemistry with his co-star Channing Tatum and directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller bringing a distinctive visual flair to the movie, that curious vision was realized. The sequel, aptly titled 22 Jump Street, is also well worth a watch.
Kindergarten Cop (1990)
- Available to stream on FuboTV, Showtime, DIRECTV and Spectrum On Demand
Comedy is not necessarily one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s strengths as a performer, but he has given brilliant comic performances when he’s leaned into the self-parodying element of his comedic vehicles.
Ivan Reitman’s Kindergarten Cop is a prime example, as he plays a tough-as-nails detective who begins working as a kindergarten teacher in order to catch a drug dealer who is suspected to be in with his ex-wife and son.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
- Available to stream on Tubi TV
Guy Ritchie’s film adaptation of the classic The Man from U.N.C.L.E. TV show did a great job of both recapturing the zany spirit of the original series and keeping up with the nonstop thrills of modern action cinema.
Having been overlooked for the role of James Bond in favor of Daniel Craig, Henry Cavill relishes the consolation prize that is the role of Napoleon Solo in this movie.
Bad Boys (1995)
- Available to stream on HBO Max and Spectrum On Demand
After he got his start directing music videos but before he could command nine-figure budgets to create deafening displays of “Bayhem,” Michael Bay helmed the first installment in the Bad Boys franchise.
The second one was bigger and bolder, and the third one was much better-received than anyone expected when it hit theaters earlier this year, but the first movie is still the best, capturing the unique comic energy created by Will Smith and Martin Lawrence’s unparalleled chemistry.
Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)
- Available to stream on fubo TV, FXNow, DIRECTV and Spectrum On Demand
Matthew Vaughn brought an R-rated comic sensibility to the familiar tropes of spy movies when he adapted Mark Millar’s Kingsman comics for the big screen. Kingsman is a Bond movie by way of the Deadpool school of self-aware zaniness.
Colin Firth is a compelling lead as Harry Hart, an uber-skilled gentleman spy who’s twice as polite and three times as violent as 007, while Taron Egerton’s portrayal of rookie Eggsy is infinitely lovable. Plus, Samuel L. Jackson delightfully hams it up as the villain, Valentine.
