What are the greatest action comedies of all time?

There are a lot of different movie genres. However, sometimes a movie combines two different genres in the same movie. The combination between action movies and comedies was so successful that a whole new genre was born: the action-comedy. These films have fast-paced fights and car chases, and at the same time you will have to laugh constantly at all the crazy jokes. But, which action-comedies are the best one to watch, which do you absolutely have to see? We give you a list of the best action-comedies ever made!

The Other Guys (2010)

In this movie, Will Ferrel and Mark Wahlberg team up to make an excellent comedy with plenty of action. Mark Wahlberg has featured in a lot of famous action films, however the last years he also plays numerous rules in comedies, including Ted, Ted 2 and Daddy’s Home. While he is not the funniest guy, he is still well suited for these types of movies. You can compare it with Robert de Niro in Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers. They are both tough men, who are placed in bizarre situations. There bad-ass attitudes are not congruent with these movie scenes which leads to very funny situations.

Of course, Will Ferrel is one of the most funny guys on the planet. He typically displays very absurd behavior, very funny. It seems that he has no shame at all, he does all sorts of crazy things in his movies! He has also a very dry, almost British, delivery.

The Other Guys tells the story of two loser cops, played by Ferrel and Wahlberg who have to work together to solve crimes. Ferrel plays an enormous nerd, who at the same time has success with the most beautiful women, which is hilarious. Wahlberg, on the other hand is a frustrated and aggressive cop, who is constantly pissed off, especially by Ferrell’s obnoxious behavior. One of the most brilliant scenes are when a fight brakes out at a funeral, but they have to fight quietly because they don’t want to be disrespectful. It’s also very funny when Wahlberg and Ferrel have a discussion about who would win in a fight: a lion or a tuna. Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson also play a role; however, it doesn’t end well for them.

Spy (2015)

This movie is very funny and also surprising. Most of the action-comedies have men in the leading roles. In this film Melissa McCarthy plays the leading character. She is an office assistant at a spy agency. However, due to unforeseen circumstances she has to go out in the field. She is not the only star that is featured in this film. Jude Law plays another superspy and Jason Statham steals the show with a brilliant performance. He plays an over-the-top superspy, who constantly tells incredible and unbelievable stories about his great adventures as a spy. Because Jason Statham is so serious and intense when he tells these unbelievable stories, it leads to hilarious moments.

However, McCarty is also good for a lot of laughs. For example, when she starts fighting and takes on all sorts of bad guys. Her relation with Jude Law, who plays a James Bond type of superstar, is also hilarious. She is in love with him, but he doesn’t notice this at all. Miranda Hart, a famous British comedian, also plays a part in this movie. With her dry British sense of humor, she is good for a lot of laughs. The villain is a beautiful but very smug women, the way she treats the people around her is so ridiculous that you will certainly be amused.  

48 Hrs. (1982)

This movie is not only really funny, it is also a very influential one. It’s the first buddy cop movie ever made. Since the release of 48 Hrs. there have been a lot of movies in this genre, a lot of them have been very successful. You can think of the Lethal Weapon series, National Security is another great example. Eddy Murphy, the leading character in 48 Hrs., has since played in a lot of other critically acclaimed buddy cop films. Take the Beverly Hills Cop series for example, they have been a huge success. While Eddy Murphy is not so active these days, there are excellent actors who followed in his footsteps. During the nineties Will Smith and Martin Lawrence began their successful careers. Nowadays, Kevin Hart is one of the most popular actors who plays these types of roles. The movie Central Intelligence shows that the buddy cop movie is still extremely popular.

So, 48 Hrs. was really influential, but what is the movie about? The main character is played by successful actor and Golden Globe winner Nick Nolte. He is a rude cop who wants to solve a crime, he wants to catch two dangerous cop killers. However, in order to succeed he needs the help of an inmate (Eddy Murphy). The inmate is released from jail for 48 Hrs. to help him find the bad guys. Eddy Murphy, who plays the inmate, has like always a very big mouth. The results are hilarious arguments between the grumpy old cop, and the flashy foulmouthed young convict.

Tropic Thunder (2008)

Last but not least: Tropic Thunder. Ben Stiller plays the main character. He is a gifted actor, but this shouldn’t come as a surprise. His father, Jerry Stiller, plays Arthur on the very successful sitcom King of Queens. So, comedy is in his genes. When he was a child, he hung around movie sets all the time. Here he came up with the idea to make a film about actors on the film set of a war movie. He always thought that actors in war movies were way to serious behind the scenes, and were acting like they were in an actual warzone. It seemed funny to him to take this concept over-the-top, the result is Tropic Thunder, a truly funny movie.

If you want to laugh and have a good time, watch these movies now!