Where to watch: Stream on Netflix ( Watch the trailer) Summit EntertainmentĬast: Liam Neeson, Laura Dern, Emmy Rossum, Tom Batemanĭirector: Hans Petter Moland ( In Order of Disappearance) Whether he's instructing children on how to disembowel an enemy or dodging bullets in the nude during a log-cabin siege, Mikkelsen keeps the movie grounded, and, ultimately, makes it worth watching despite its flaws. Not all of the provocations are effective - for example, the opening scene with Johnny Knoxville getting assassinated mid-blowjob will likely send squeamish viewers back to the Netflix homepage - but Mikkelsen gives a moving, soulful performance. Instead of the stylized, craft cocktail veneer of Wick, director Jonas Åkerlund, who has directed music videos for artists like Madonna, Taylor Swift, and Maroon 5, pursues the garish chaos and screaming tastelessness of the Crank series. But the actual tone of movie, which follows the Kaiser on the verge of his retirement from the murder business, is hyper-kinetic and more than a little sleazy. Why it’s worth watching: On the surface, this adaptation of a graphic novel about a globe-trotting hitman nicknamed Black Kaiser (Mikkelsen) looks like a John Wick clone, complete with absurdist world-building and balletic gun-fighting. Jasper Savage/NetflixĬast: Mads Mikkelsen, Vanessa Hudgens, Katheryn Winnick, Matt Lucasĭirector: Jonas Åkerlund ( Lords of Chaos) New year, new movies: check out our list of the Best Movies of 2020, Best Action Movies of 2020, and Most Underrated Movies of 2020. As the grizzled, tobacco-spitting squad leader in an action movie might say, we're getting the gang back together. Like last year's list, the goal here is to celebrate the best action titles of 2019 on the big screen and on streaming platforms, which could mean superhero epics, foreign language slugfests, and, more likely than not, at least one movie starring a former professional wrestler. Still, the current moment is a fascinating time to be a fan of movies where cars blow up and people kick each other in the throat. Except for the rare successful franchise like John Wick, it feels like the middle class of action movie-dom has been hollowed out. On one end of the spectrum, you have enormous, globe-devouring public spectacles like Avengers: Endgame, last year's biggest blockbuster and a genuine pop culture phenomenon on the other end, smaller crime thrillers and adventure stories, once the beating heart and lifeblood of the genre, have been relegated to relatively under-the-radar releases on streaming platforms and on-demand services. As a cultural commodity, the action movie is in a state of flux.
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