THE 20 BEST ACTION MOVIES ON HULU RIGHT NOW

This post is updated regularly as movies leave and enter Hulu. *New additions are indicated with an asterisk.

It’s time to have some fun. Let’s put down all the serious, Oscar-winning dramas, leave the documentaries for another day, and forget about that TV season that everyone tells you that you should be watching. There’s a reason that the most successful genre on the home market has been the same for over a generation now: People love action movies. They allow us to escape reality and enter a world where the good guy (usually) wins the day. These are the best action flicks currently on Hulu, updated monthly.

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**300*

Year: 2007

Runtime: 1h 26m

Director: Zach Snyder

Zack Snyder’s hit really changed the game in terms of action storytelling, influencing the next decade of the genre in ways that still feel under-appreciated. Based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley, Gerard Butler leads the cast of this highly stylized period action film that downright exudes testosterone.

The Abyss

Year: 1989

Runtime: 2h 20m

Director: James Cameron

James Cameron’s 1989 sci-fi blockbuster is one of the most prominent films never to have been released on Blu-ray in the United States — but that finally changes in March with the 4K release, and it’s finally more readily available on streaming, too. People who love this movie really love this movie, and it’s great to see it finally coming to the fans who have deserved it for so long.

Akira

Year: 1988

Runtime: 2 hours, 4 minutes

Director: Katsuhiro Otomo

Animated action! Anyone who thinks a Japanese anime film from the ‘80s doesn’t deserve a spot on this list simply hasn’t seen Akira, a movie that feels more influential with each film that copies its template. Based on the 1982 manga of the same name and set in the oh-so-distant future of 2019, this story of a biker with telekinetic abilities has influenced dozens of action and sci-fi project. It gets better every time you watch it. (Note: Both the dubbed and subtitled versions are on Hulu.)

Bad Boys

Year: 1995

Runtime: 1h 59m

Director: Michael Bay

When this action film was released, no one involved was anywhere near as big as they would become, including stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, and director Michael Bay. This flick is incredibly rewatchable, and the love for this series is still strong, as proven by the massive success of Bad Boys for Life, released just before the pandemic in 2020, and the upcoming Bad Boys: Ride or Die. Note: Bad Boys II is also on Hulu.

**Black Hawk Down*

Year: 2001

Runtime: 2h 24m

Director: Ridley Scott

The legendary Oscar winner directed this Hollywood version of Mark Bowden’s non-fiction book of the same name, which tells the story of a 1993 incident in Mogadishu that became known around the world. Members of the U.S. Military (including soldiers played by Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Eric Bana, and a very young Tom Hardy) are pinned down in the city as they try to capture a faction leader. Black Hawk Down is a technical marvel, winning Oscars for Best Editing and Sound Mixing.

The Creator

Year: 2023

Runtime: 2h 13m

Director: Gareth Edwards

Yes, the script here gets a little clunky and cribs a bit too much from other sci-fi films, but history is going to come around to The Creator for one reason: It looks stunning. It’s not just the blend of tactile cinematography and cutting-edge special effects, it’s the kind of visual language that’s almost always missing from Hollywood blockbusters. Gareth Edwards’ film will find an audience in the future. Get on the bandwagon early.

**Die Hard*

Year: 1988

Runtime: 2h 12m

Director: John McTiernan

Finally! Streamers have a habit of dropping parts of the Bruce Willis series but never the whole thing, until now! Watch from the masterful original through the abysmal A Good Day to Die Hard in one sitting, only on Hulu. The original is still the masterpiece, a film that truly rewrote the rules for the genre, shifting it more to everyman characters like Willis and away from muscular stars like Sly and Ah-nuld. It’s held up perfectly, as entertaining today as when it came out.

Escape Room

Year: 2019

Runtime: 1h 39m

Director: Adam Robitel

How did it take so long for Hollywood to make this one? A clever, enjoyable B-movie, this thriller flick takes the concept of an escape room to extremes, and it ended up making over $150 million worldwide, leading to a 2021 sequel. Taylor Russell and Logan Miller lead a group of people who end up having to survive a series of increasingly dangerous escape rooms.

The Fifth Element

Year: 1997

Runtime: 2h 6m

Director: Luc Besson

There’s not a lot of great sci-fi on Hulu, but you should fire this one up if you’re jonesing for something set in a different time and place in space. And make sure you do so on the biggest TV in your house and with the volume at a level to wake the neighbors. Luc Besson’s vision isn’t exactly a great piece of storytelling, but this Bruce Willis vehicle is a perfect example of the director’s skill with world-building and technical elements.

Hellboy

Year: 2004

Runtime: 2h 2m

Director: Guillermo del Toro

No, not that David Harbour nonsense—this is the Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman original adaptation of the great Mike Mignola comic about a demon-man turned into a reluctant hero. Working with the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, Hellboy and his team keep the world safe from whatever is trying to break through the thin line between humanity and something much scarier. Perlman is great and Del Toro brings a visual flair missing from most blockbusters.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Year: 2017

Runtime: 1h 59m

Director: Jake Kasdan

This massive blockbuster actually isn’t on streaming services that often, so take this chance while you can on Hulu. Kevin Hart, Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan star as the avatar versions of four teens who end up transported into a video game. A massive hit when it was released, it’s already produced one sequel, with another in development. It’s a lot of fun.

Knight and Day

Year: 2010

Runtime: 1h 50m

Director: James Mangold

James Mangold (Logan) directed this fun action flick that’s basically built on the massive screen charisma of Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. Reuniting the stars of Vanilla Sky, the film casts Diaz as a woman who gets caught up with a spy on the run from the CIA. It’s been kind of forgotten by history but it’s a decent action choice on a lazy weekend.

**Planet of the Apes*

Year: 1968

Runtime: 1h 52m

Director: Franklin J. Schaffner

With the May 2024 release of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, this series has found life for the first time in years. Why not go back to where it all began with the Charlton Heston sci-fi flick about an astronaut who lands on a planet run by simians? With one of the most infamous endings of all time, Planet of the Apes became an instant classic, launching a franchise that can be watched in almost all of its entirety on Hulu, including the Tim Burton remake and the newest trilogy.

Predator

Year: 1987

Runtime: 1h 47m

Director: John McTiernan

It’s also on Hulu, but you can probably skip the first sequel (although definitely don’t skip Prey) and just stick to the 1987 original, a lean, mean movie that features one of Ah-nuld’s best ‘80s performances. It’s a survival tale that starts off like a war movie before it throws in one of the universe’s most famous killing machines.

Prey

Year: 2022

Runtime: 1h 40m

Director: Dan Trachtenberg

The director of 10 Cloverfield Lane clearly knows how to make unexpected films in hit franchises and that’s exactly what he delivers in one of the biggest original film hits in the history of Hulu. A prequel to Predator, Prey details what happened when the alien killing machine crossed paths with a Comanche woman (Amber Midthunder) three centuries ago.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Year: 2011

Runtime: 1h 45m

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Any list of the best modern action trilogies really needs to include the rebooted Planet of the Apes series that started with this excellent blockbuster over a decade ago. James Franco plays a man who raises a genetically engineered chimpanzee named Caesar (Andy Serkis, who gives an all-timer mo-cap performance), who starts the revolution of the primates over their human captors. It’s a phenomenal movie, and the saga continues this summer in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.

True Lies

Year: 1994

Runtime: 2h 21m

Director: James Cameron

Remember when James Cameron made kick-ass action movies that weren’t set on Pandora? Those were the days. Cameron directed Arnold Schwarzenegger in this influential action pic about a family man who also happens to be a G-man. Co-starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, and Bill Paxton, it’s a perfectly paced film that’s easy to watch over and over again.

The Wave

Year: 2015

Runtime: 1h 45m

Director: Roar Uthaug

Disaster movies aren’t the exclusive property of American filmmakers! Norway can make ‘em too! This is one of the best disaster movies of the 2010s, the story of an avalanche in Norway that leads to an 80-metre wave that rolls through the region around it, causing havoc.

X-Men: First Class

Year: 2011

Runtime: 2h 8m

Director: Matthew Vaughn

The entire X-Universe was essentially rebooted in Matthew Vaughn’s great superhero film, one that turned the series from the somber tone of the ‘00s flicks to something more playful and fun. James McAvoy took on Professor X and Michael Fassbender stepped into the metal boots of Magneto for this smart prequel with style to spare. It’s held up well as one of the better superhero movies of the 2010s.

X2: X-Men United

Year: 2003

Runtime: 2h 14m

Director: Bryan Singer

Long before Marvel ruled the world, the comic book franchise that mattered was X-Men, and there are many people, including yours truly, who think the second film in the original trilogy is the best of the bunch. Building on the foundation poured by the first, X2 takes more creative risks, tackling multiple character arcs in a way that feels like a great comic book multi-issue run.

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2020-10-09T23:23:05Z dg43tfdfdgfd