Top 10 best action comedies of all time

While action movies like “John Wick” are not extinct, it is the comedies with action elements that are becoming hits. Movie fans just love to laugh at the funny moments while enjoying the accompanying action. Not all action comedies are the same, and Hollywood admittedly enlists the help of buddy cops far too often.

Hollywood’s action comedies are not all the same.

It would be too easy to fill this list with movies from the ’80s and ’90s, when action comedies were at the height of their popularity. However, there are a few spots for recently released action comedies that deserve to be recognized as well.

Some of the films on this list are from the ’80s and ’90s, when action comedies were at their peak.

10. Tough Cops (2007)

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Director Edgar Wright straddles the line between parody and outright action comedy in Tough Cops, which reunites stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Nicholas Angel, played by Pegg — a stereotypical action hero who is banished from London for being too effective as a police constable. So he is sent to the quiet village of Sandford, Gloucestershire.

And so he is sent to the quiet village of Sandford, Gloucestershire.

Nicholas’s new partner, police constable Danny Butterman (Frost), — is an avid action movie fan, which helps him bond with Nicholas. Although Nicholas may find the quiet life in Sanford boring, he soon discovers a conspiracy that will give him and Danny the chance to become the action heroes of their dreams.

9. Soldiers of Misfortune (2008)

Soldiers of Misfortune — is an unabashed action movie parody that nonetheless functions as a real movie in the genre. Ben Stiller co-wrote the script, directed and starred as Tugg Speedman, one of several action stars signed on to star in an adaptation of the military autobiography of Four Leaf Tailback (Nick Nolte), which also shares a title with the film.

An action movie.

As part of an ill-fated plan to salvage the movie’s troubled production, Tagg, Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.), Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black), Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel), Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) and many others head into the jungle to film their action scenes. They don’t immediately realize they’re in territory controlled by the Flaming Dragon gang. And if the actors want to get out alive, they’ll have to become the action movie stars they’ve always pretended to be.

And if the actors want to get out alive, they’ll have to become the action stars they’ve always pretended to be.

8. Deadpool (2016)

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Deadpool — one of the rare superhero movie adaptations that surpassed the source material, becoming even more violent and profane than the comic book itself. Ryan Reynolds has championed this movie for years, playing the role of the main character, Wade Wilson. After working for years as a mercenary, Wade is ready to settle down and meet the love of his life, Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), until he falls ill with terminal cancer.

Wade Wilson’s life is about to be over.

Ajax (Ed Skrein) has a cure that’s worse than the disease: his “cure” leaves Wade with severe scars and complete insanity. As Deadpool, Wade lets loose with endless one-liners and jokes, but unleashes his bloody revenge at every turn. “Deadpool” hilariously mocks action heroes and superheroes alike.

Deadpool is a hilarious mockumentary.

7. Goodfellas (2016)

Writer and director Shane Black has made many buddy action comedies, but the peak of his solo work was the movie “Goodfellas.” Russell Crowe stars as Jackson Healy, a late-’70s cop who meets private investigator Holland March (Ryan Gosling), breaking his arm to dissuade him from investigating the death of porn star Misty Mountains (Muriel Telio).

The movie is a buddy action movie.

But when that investigation jeopardizes the life of teenager Amelia Kuttner (Margaret Queally), Jackson has no one to turn to but Holland to help him find Amelia and keep her safe. Thus begins Holland and Jackson’s unusual partnership.

Holland and Jackson’s unusual partnership begins.

6. Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

No list of the best action comedies would be complete without Jack Burton and his misadventures in Big Trouble in Little China. Jack (Kurt Russell) isn’t even trying to be a hero when he inadvertently finds himself at the center of a Chinese gang war with mystical consequences.

Here’s what he does.

Cursed sorcerer David Lo Peng (James Hong) needs a bride to become mortal again, and he has two candidates in mind, Miao Yin (Suzy Pai) and American lawyer Gracie Law (Kim Cattrall). Miao — is the fiancée of Jack’s buddy, Wang Chi (Dennis Dun), and Gracie likes Jack. But Jack has a tough time when supernatural forces descend on Chinatown.

They’re not the only ones who have a problem with Jack.

5. Men in Black (1997)

The Men in Black movie is far funnier than all the sequels that followed, due in large part to the hilarious acting of Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith. James Darrell Edwards III (Smith) — a local cop who stumbles upon a potential end-of-the-world and alien threat. Agent K (Jones) sees James as a potential recruit for the Men in Black organization tasked with protecting Earth from alien threats…and protecting innocent aliens from humans.

Men in Black

Vincent D’Onofrio is excellent as the alien bug pretending to be human, and Linda Fiorentino’s conspiratorial Dr. Laurel Weaver — is such a fun side character that one can only wonder why she wasn’t brought back for the sequels. But nothing beats the way Agents Jay and Kay save the world with fun and style.

Agents Jay and Kay save the world.

4. Rush Hour (1998)

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The movie “Rush Hour” works as both an action movie and a comedy thanks to the unexpected partnership of Hong Kong movie legend Jackie Chan and comedian Chris Tucker. Chan plays Chief Inspector Lee, a Hong Kong police officer who arrives in Los Angeles after the kidnapping of his student Su-Yun Han (Julia Hsu), who is the young daughter of diplomat-consul Solon Han (Tzu Ma).

Detective James Carter (Tucker) was supposed to shield Lee from the official investigation. But after realizing how well they worked together, Carter and Lee team up to rescue Su-Yun and tackle a Hong Kong crime lord. That movie spawned two sequels, and Hollywood is still trying to get Rush Hour 4 into production.

Hollywood is still trying to get Rush Hour 4 into production.

3. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

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Shortly after his appearance on the Saturday Night Live show, Eddie Murphy established himself as a box office draw in “The Beverly Hills Cop.” As Detective Axel Foley, Murphy was both a believable action hero and the funniest character in the movie. When one of his close friends is murdered, Foley leaves his jurisdiction in Detroit to solve the crime in Beverly Hills, California.

Axel Murphy’s role as a detective in the movie is to be the most believable and hilarious.

Detective William “Billy” Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Sgt. John Taggart (John Ashton) simply can’t keep up with Foley’s antics, as he easily evades their attempts to remove him from the investigation. But Rosewood and Taggart prove to be Foley’s best allies as he unravels the conspiracy that got his friend killed.

Foley’s best allies, however, are Foley.

2. Lethal Weapon (1987)

Screenwriter Shane Black and director Richard Donner nearly perfected the action-comedy genre with “Lethal Weapon.” The film was so successful that Warner Bros. has made three sequels, a TV series and is still trying to bring “Lethal Weapon 5” to life.

The movie was so successful that Warner Bros. has made three sequels, a TV series and is still trying to bring “Lethal Weapon 5” to life.

The reason the first “Lethal Weapon” is so superior to the rest of the franchise’s films is that there was real drama lurking beneath the comedy. Sergeant Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) is so depressed by the recent death of his wife that he’s openly suicidal, which both alarms and angers his new partner Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover). But when a young woman, Amanda Hunsaker (Jackie Swanson), is killed under suspicious circumstances, Murtaugh needs Riggs to watch his back while they unravel the criminal conspiracy that cut Amanda’s life short.

Murtaugh’s new partner, Roger, is the only one who can help him.

1. 48 Hours (1982)

48 Hours wasn’t the first action comedy, but it set the bar so high that nothing in the last 42 years has been able to top it. For both San Francisco police inspector Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) and career criminal Reggie Hammond (Eddie Murphy), the stakes are very personal.

The stakes are very personal.

Jack was the sole survivor when recently escaped criminals Billy Beer (Sonny Landham) and Albert Ganz (James Remar) killed two police officers before fleeing. Reggie harbors a grudge against Albert and Billy, for they were his partners in crime until they betrayed him. To bring them out, Jack asks Reggie to temporarily release him from prison. But they have just 48 hours to catch the deadly duo before Reggie is behind bars again.

They have only 48 hours to catch the deadly duo before Reggie is back behind bars.