With its pulse-pounding chase sequences, mind-boggling stunts and hilarious running gags, the action-comedy genre is one of cinema's most entertaining forms, offering up equal parts humor and peril to crowd-pleasing effect.
And thankfully, the best streaming services are well-stocked with such action-packed, laugh-filled titles, especially Netflix. To help you sift through all of the butt-kicking, joke-cracking flicks on offer, Tom's Guide has helpfully narrowed the pool down to a trio of great action movies well worth a spot on your next watch list.
From an early-aughts fan favorite starring Heath Ledger and a truly throwback sport, to an Oscar-winning Indian epic focused on pre-independence freedom fighters, here are three entertaining action comedies on Netflix you should stream now.
'The Nice Guys'
Throwing it back to the buddy-cop heyday of the 1970s, this slapdash 2016 action comedy — directed by Shane Black, who co-wrote the screenplay with Anthony Bagarozzi — pairs up an A-list duo of Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe as a down-on-his-luck private eye and a hired enforcer, respectively, as they get tangled up investigating the mysterious death of an adult film star (Margaret Qualley) in 1977 Los Angeles.
Powered by the collective comedic force of Gosling and Crowe, "The Nice Guys" is one of the best action-comedy movies of the past 10 years, with a very strong 91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where critics rave: "'The Nice Guys' hearkens back to the buddy comedies of a bygone era while adding something extra courtesy of a knowing script and the irresistible chemistry of its leads."
Watch "The Nice Guys" on Netflix now
'RRR'
In this 2022 blockbuster masterpiece by S. S. Rajamouli ("Baahubali: The Beginning," "Magadheera," "Eega"), N. T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan star as fictionalized versions of Indian revolutionaries Komaram Bheem and Alluri Sitarama Raju, respectively, as the two freedom fighters battle British colonial rule in pre-independence 1920s Delhi.
But "RRR" is much more than simply another historical drama; it's a delightfully over-the-top spectacle of extravagant action scenes (we're talking tigers, motorcycles, the works), spirited musical sequences (its memorable track "Naatu Naatu" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, making it the first and only Indian song to win at the Oscars), and an emotional bromance at the heart of it all.
Watch "RRR" on Netflix now
'A Knight's Tale'
Don't let that 59% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes deter you from watching this feel-good charmer; RT staff themselves walked back on that harsh score in the two decades since the Heath Ledger-led medieval action comedy came galloping into pop-culture consciousness.
In the 2001 Brian Helgeland-directed flick, Ledger plays William Thatcher, a peasant squire who poses as a knight and competes in nobles-only tournaments, rising through the jousting rankings and catching the eye of both the beguiling Lady Jocelyn (Shannyn Sossamon) and the villainous Count Adhemar of Anjou (Rufus Sewell).
While the action is focused on the jousting stadium — like a "spirited 'Rocky' on horseback," reads Rotten Tomatoes' critical consensus — much of the humor comes from William's merry band of pals (Mark Addy, Paul Betany, Alan Tudyk and Laura Fraser) and the script's cheeky use of anachronisms throughout. We've never heard Bowie's "Golden Years" quite the same way again.
Watch "A Knight's Tale" on Netflix now
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