There are few movie forms more satisfying than the action comedy. While traditional action flicks have all the fisticuffs you could want and traditional comedies provide plenty of laughs, when you combine them, you end up with something greater than the sum of their parts. Putting hilarious people in action-packed situations or action heroes in humorous situations is a recipe for movie gold, and the movies we’ve listed here are the best of the best.

Our list includes a number of (very funny) cops, like in “Hot Fuzz” or “21 Jump Street.” We also have a few video game characters, like in “Free Guy” and “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” and some beauty contestants, like in “Miss Congeniality.” There are even three films with the word “guy” in the title (“The Other Guys,” “The Nice Guys,” and “Free Guy”). Go figure! The movies were chosen based on the writer’s personal experience while adhering to the rule that no two movies with the same lead actor or director can be included. Here are the 15 best action comedies ever made.

“The Other Guys” is an interesting movie. Though the film is hilarious and has bits of nonsense throughout its runtime, it’s also a clear precursor to director Adam McKay’s “The Big Short,” a very different kind of story. As a result, “The Other Guys” has a financial crime at its center that can be a bit difficult to follow along with, so we recommend that you forget about the details and just watch the shenanigans unfold.

The movie centers on Detectives Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) and Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg), two deskbound New York City cops who worship Chris Danson (Dwayne Johnson) and P.K. Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson), the best cops in the NYPD. But when Danson and Highsmith tragically (and, to be honest, hilariously) die, Gamble and Hoitz step in to fill the gap by investigating a billionaire — for a scaffolding permit violation. Needless to say, it’s not high-profile stuff. However, these other guys manage to stumble onto much more, resulting in plenty of action and comedy in equal measures.

• Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes
• Director: Adam McKay
• Year: 2010
• Rating: PG-13
• Runtime: 1h 47m
• Where to watch: Netfllix
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 79%

“Miss Congeniality” is a classic of early 2000s cinema. Yes, cinema! It may have gotten mixed reviews from critics at the time of its release, but audiences enjoyed it, and it’s stood the test of time as one of the best action comedies ever made. That’s largely because of Sandra Bullock, who stars as FBI agent Gracie Hart. Though she’s tough as nails, she must become more than that to go undercover as a contestant at the Miss United States pageant in order to flush out the perpetrator of a major bomb threat.

Bullock is endearing and funny as a law enforcement officer who must find her softer side. The movie around her isn’t so bad either, with Candice Bergen, Michael Caine, and William Shatner all turning in light, amusing performances that make “Miss Congeniality” even better.

• Cast: Sandra Bullock, Benjamin Bratt, Michael Caine
• Director: Donald Petrie
• Year: 2000
• Rating: PG-13
• Runtime: 1h 49m
• Where to watch: Tubi
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 41%

Based on Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.’s Marvel comic of the same name, “Kick-Ass” tells the tale of Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), an ordinary teenager who decides that he will become a superhero based on his love of comic books. He dubs his costumed alter ego Kick-Ass and goes out to fight crime. There, he stumbles into a quest for revenge by former cop Damon Macready, aka Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage), and his young daughter, Mindy, aka Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz), against mafia boss Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong). Needless to say, all manner of mayhem ensues.

“Kick-Ass” is a particularly violent and brutal entry in the action comedy genre. It takes things to ultra-bloody, profanity-filled heights, especially when Hit Girl is on screen. But it’s also very funny, with the film offering some light commentary on the state of the world in our contemporary culture.

• Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Nicolas Cage, Chloe Grace Moretz
• Director: Matthew Vaughn
• Year: 2010
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 1h 57m
• Where to watch: MovieSphere
• Rotten Tomatoes: 78%

In “Game Night,” a group of friends regularly get together at Annie (Rachel McAdams) and Max Davis’ (Jason Bateman) house to play games. Seems simple enough, and the friends think so too, even when Max’s brother, Brooks (Kyle Chandler), takes things up a notch and hosts a role-playing murder mystery game. But when Brooks is kidnapped, all of a sudden, the game’s pretend life-or-death stakes get a lot more real. It turns out Brooks procures things for people on the black market, and on one of his last jobs, he screwed a client out of a Faberge egg. Now, they’re coming to collect.

“Game Night” is hysterical as Max, Annie, and their friends attempt to thwart the people who want to bring Brooks down. Annie’s sudden realization that someone has died and that the “game” is real is absolutely hilarious in a movie with a tone that’s more cozy fun than high-stakes gambit.

• Cast: Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler
• Director: John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein
• Year: 2018
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 1h 40m
• Where to watch: Prime Video
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 85%

The “Beverly Hills Cop” franchise has quite a storied history. With three sequels, including one released in 2024, “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” there are things that happen in every Beverly Hills Cop movie. But the original, the one that started it all, is still the best of the lot. It stars Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a Detroit cop who travels to Beverly Hills to find out why his friend was murdered. After some tomfoolery that includes shoving a banana in an exhaust pipe, he teams up with Sergeant John Taggart (John Ashton) and Detective Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) to bring down a Los Angeles drug dealer and find justice for his fallen friend.

“Beverly Hills Cop” coasts on Murphy’s charm as he talks — and shoots — his way from plot point to plot point. He’s always in control of the movie, as he takes on bad guys and good guys alike, and we love him for it.

• Cast: Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton
• Director: Martin Brest
• Year: 1984
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 1h 45m
• Where to watch: Paramount+, Pluto TV
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 82%

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” is a lot of things; it’s an action comedy, yes, but it’s also a science fiction drama, a martial arts film, an immigrant story, and more. It’s this swirl of genre chaos that gives the film its zip, according to star Jamie Lee Curtis, who plays IRS agent Deirdre. But at its core, it’s about an Asian family who must find their way back to one another.

The story centers on Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh), who runs a laundromat with her husband, Waymond (Ke Huy Quan), and is being audited by the IRS. While she’s trying to work out her taxes, Waymond’s body is taken over by a version of him from an alternate dimension. He explains to Evelyn that many parallel universes exist and that she must fight Jobu Tupaki, a version of their daughter, Joy (Stephanie Hsu), who wants to destroy everything. Part of the fun of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is just how wild it gets, with zany action sequences followed by poignant scenes of Evelyn with her daughter. It’s a delightful mishmash, and funny to boot.

• Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Jamie Lee Curtis
• Director: Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
• Year: 2022
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 2h 19m
• Where to watch: Buy or rent on major platforms
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%

“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” is a direct sequel to the first “Jumanji,” which came out in 1995, but while the original is worth watching, you don’t have to see that movie to appreciate this one. “Welcome to the Jungle” centers on a group of high school kids who all get detention and, as a result, have to clean an area of their school. While performing their punishment, they come across a “Jumanji” video game cartridge and end up sucked into the game. 

Picking their avatars based only on name, they have no idea that they’ve agreed to play as some truly hysterical characters — none more so than popular girl Bethany (Madison Iseman), who plays as Professor Shelly Oberon (Jack Black), an overweight male paleontologist. The fact that their high school student minds don’t quite match their adult avatars’ appearances is the basis of much of the film’s humor, resulting in an entertaining film full of hilarious characters that are also great at kicking ass.

• Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart
• Director: Jake Kasdan
• Year: 2017
• Rating: PG-13
• Runtime: 1h 59m
• Where to watch: Buy or rent on major platforms
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 77%

Ryan Reynolds is known for being the raunchy, foul-mouthed Deadpool, and the first movie in the Merc with a Mouth’s trilogy nearly made its way onto our list. But then we remembered that Ryan Reynolds was also in “Free Guy,” a film about a guy who lives in a world full of raunchy, foul-mouthed characters like Deadpool but maintains his sweetness and light. Reynolds plays Guy, a non-player character in Free City, the fictional metropolis in the video game of the same name. There, Guy meets MolotovGirl, an avatar for Millie Rusk (Jodie Comer), who is searching for evidence that the developer stole the code for her game, “Life Itself.” She teams up with Guy as he begins to develop self-awareness.

“Free Guy” has a plethora of funny references to TV shows, movies, and video games, along with plenty of action to spare. But it’s loved because Reynolds plays a truly likable character who doesn’t let the game’s wild players affect him. He’s steadily pleasant, optimistic, and charming, and we love him for it.

• Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Taika Waititi
• Director: Shawn Levy
• Year: 2021
• Rating: PG-13
• Runtime: 1h 55m
• Where to watch: Disney+
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 80%

The “Bad Boys” franchise features Will Smith and Martin Lawrence playing Miami detectives Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett, respectively. They are four films in the series so far, but for our money, the third is the best one. “Bad Boys for Life” came out in 2020 after a 17-year hiatus — the first two Bad Boys came out in 1995 and 2003 — and Smith and Lawrence are particularly funny as elder statesmen. As a bonus, the film is especially poignant when Mike finds his grown son.

In the story, Mike is shot and left in a coma by the son of a drug dealer, who has been tasked by his mother to kill him. When he comes out of it, he wants revenge and eventually recruits Marcus, along with members of the police force’s new tech-driven team, to get it. The movie plays wonderfully to its strengths, namely its two leading men, who toggle between sidesplitting comedy and serious drama with remarkable ease.

• Cast: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Joe Pantoliano
• Director: Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah
• Year: 2020
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 2h 4m
• Where to watch: Available for rent
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 76%

“21 Jump Street” is based on the ’80s television series of the same name. But while the TV show was a drama that delivered morals about everything from child abuse to hate crimes, the movie doesn’t take itself so seriously. In the film, Morton Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Greg Jenko (Channing Tatum) go undercover at a high school to find the supplier of a new drug, and they do everything in their power to get to them, even things they shouldn’t, like hosting an alcohol-fueled party.

“21 Jump Street” is a bracingly funny satire that pays homage to its source material while not being a slave to it. Making it even better, Hill and Tatum as the leads do a surprisingly great job of acting both as kids who want to fit in and adults who want to get their man.

• Cast: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube
• Director: Phil Lord & Christopher Miller
• Year: 2012
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 1h 49m
• Where to watch: Buy or rent on major platforms
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 85%

“The Nice Guys” centers around heavy-for-hire Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) and private eye Holland March (Ryan Gosling) in 1970s Los Angeles. Though they don’t meet under the best of circumstances — in fact, Healy breaks March’s arm — they eventually become partners in order to find Amelia Kuttner (Margaret Qualley), a young woman who people, including a pair of thugs who violently interrogate Healy at his home, seem to be after.

The film was essentially killed at the box office by another movie when it came out but has since become a cult hit. This is largely due to the winning combination of an edgy script, co-written by director Shane Black and Anthony Bagarozzi, with the loosey-goosey charisma provided by Crowe and Gosling’s characters.

• Cast: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice
• Director: Shane Black
• Year: 2016
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 1h 56m
• Where to watch: Paramount+
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%

“Tropic Thunder,” directed by and starring Ben Stiller, is a gas. The movie centers on a group of spoiled actors who end up in a literal danger zone during their film shoot in the jungle. Of course, most of them don’t believe things have gone so wrong until all hope seems lost.

“Tropic Thunder” is somewhat controversial for its depiction of mental disabilities and use of blackface, but the film is ultimately a commentary on Hollywood excess. This is especially exemplified by Robert Downey Jr.’s character, an Australian named Kirk Lazarus who undergoes “pigmentation alteration” surgery to darken his skin so he can play a Black character in the film. “Tropic Thunder” is a biting satire that makes you laugh out loud and think at the same time.

• Cast: Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black
• Director: Ben Stiller
• Year: 2008
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 1h 47m
• Where to watch: Paramount+, Peacock, Pluto TV
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 82%

Melissa McCarthy is known for doing anything for a laugh. From pratfalls on “Saturday Night Live” to devil-may-care dancing in everything from “Identity Thief” to “The Boss,” but “Spy” is one of her best films. She stars as CIA agent Susan Cooper, who never goes into the field. Instead, she assists field agent Bradley Fine (Jude Law), with whom she’s in love. When Fine is supposedly killed in the line of duty as Susan watches helplessly through her monitor, she volunteers to track down Rayna (Rose Byrne), the woman who murdered him.

The movie is both witty and action-packed, with plenty of zippy scenes of Susan taking to the spy life better than anyone expected. Best of all, though, is Jason Statham as Rick Ford, a CIA operative who doubts Susan’s prowess and appears at every opportunity to throw suspicion her way, making his character a funhouse mirror image of his usual action bro persona.

• Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Jude Law
• Director: Paul Feig
• Year: 2015
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 2h
• Where to watch: FuboTV
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%

“Ghostbusters” is a classic. It kicked off a franchise of properties, including sequels and reboots that are still going today (most recently with 2024’s “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire”), and it’s easy to understand why. The original film, which was inspired by real-life paranormal investigators, focuses on Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) as they form the Ghostbusters, a paranormal elimination service that leans on their research into parapsychology.

They come upon the case of Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver), in which Dana and her nerdy neighbor Louis Tully (Rick Moranis) are possessed by the demigod Zuul and summon Gozer to bring about the apocalypse. With Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson), the fourth member of the team, they bring Zuul and Gozer down. The movie has all sorts of supernatural scenes full of action and adventure, including a giant Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, making it the perfect story for those looking for big laughs with their Hollywood thrills.

• Cast: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis
• Director: Ivan Reitman
• Year: 1984
• Rating: PG
• Runtime: 1h 45m
• Where to watch: Philo
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%

“Hot Fuzz” is the second — and best! — film in the “Cornetto trilogy,” the loosely connected set of three movies that all star Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and directed by Edgar Wright in which Frost’s characters like Cornetto ice cream. While the other two films focus on the supernatural in “Shawn of the Dead” and aliens in “The World’s End,” “Hot Fuzz” is more grounded, focusing on two cops trying to solve a series of murders.

Nicholas Angel (Pegg), a super-cop in London, is reassigned to the picturesque small town of Sandford, where he finds nothing is very exciting. That is until he discovers people are dying. While the townfolk, including his action-movie-loving partner Danny (Frost), believe the deaths are unfortunate accidents, Angel suspects foul play. The film is a pure blast of buddy cop comedy, with all the references you could want, including “Point Break” and “Bad Boys II,” while being very much its own thing. “Hot Fuzz” leans heavily on Pegg and Frost’s easy camaraderie with one another while bringing in some of Britain’s finest actors to play with them, making the movie a riotous, action-packed treat.

• Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman
• Director: Edgar Wright
• Year: 2007
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 2h 1m
• Where to watch: Starz
• Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%