2024 Action Movie Recommendations – One-Percent Warrior, Kill, Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, Life After Fighting, One More Shot, Badland Hunters, and The Shadow Strays

After spending the last month catching on 2024 action films for an upcoming MFF podcast episode, I wanted to write a quick list of cool action movies that are worth checking out. Enjoy!

One-Percent Warrior (Tubi)

One-Percent Warrior is one of my favorite 2024 films and I can’t think of a movie watching experience that made me happier. The meta-action film features a movie star named Takuma Toshiro (Tak Sakaguchi) going up against a gang of Yakuza members when they arrive at a remote island that he was scouting for a movie. On top of featuring some outstanding action set pieces, One-Percent Warrior (or One Percenter) is wickedly funny as it takes on action choreography that resembles dancing and the idea of action cinema itself. There are several wild twists and turns I didn’t see coming and it all added to a delightful viewing. I’ve recommended it to several people (after a cool person recommended it to me) and they’ve all enjoyed the experience, so I feel confident telling you to check it out.

Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (Amazon Prime)

Between One-Percent Warrior, Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, Striking Rescue, 100 Yards, The Last Stop in Yuma County, and Baby Assassins 2, Well-go USA gave the world an excellent slate of action films and thrillers in 2024. One of their highlights is Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In which features beautiful production design, a load of action legends and a final fight for the ages. The final fight between four warriors and a magical maniac named King (Philip Ng) is an over-the-top action explosion that you need to see to believe. Director Soi Cheang used his 20+ years of action directing to full use here and he’s created a big and bold experience. 

Life After Fighting (Amazon Prime, Hoopla)

Director, writer and star Bren Foster first popped up on my radar when he appeared in 2021’s Deep Blue Sea 3 (a very good movie). Foster brought in a fun athletic element to the creature feature and I’m very happy that he gave himself a showcase with Life After Fighting. The highlight of the film is a 30ish minute final battle that features his character Alex Faulkner battling a plethora of child traffickers who are looking to re-kidnap the kids that he frees from being kidnapped (that should make sense). The final battle is a thrilling example of how to maximize a budget while delivering some inventive and brutal action choreography. 

The Shadow Strays (Netflix)

Timo Tjahanto (The Night Comes for Us) is one of my favorite directors working today and The Shadow Strays features all the things that make Tjahanto great. There’s absurd violence, kids in danger, badass henchmen, epic brawls, and a final fight for the ages. On top of featuring gruesome decapitations and gross people who wear leather masks, The Shadow Strays features an awesome female action legend (seriously, watch The Night Comes for Us if you haven’t yet – The Operator is awesome). The lead character Nomi (Aurora Ribero) is an unstoppable tank who plows through an endless amount of villains and takes an inhuman amount of punishment in her quest to rescue a kid. She’s probably my favorite action character of 2024 and the world needs more like her. 

Kill (Available for rental on all the steaming websites)

Whenever I think about Kill I smile because it’s an audacious and wildly violent action film from director  Nikhil Nagesh Bhat. I don’t want to spoil any of the fun, just know that at the 45th minute the movie transitions from a standard action film into an ultra-violent bloodfest of cheeky proportions. The lead actor Lakshya is a formidable onscreen fighter and he kills dozens of overmatched villains in ways that shock the other villains who legitimately look frightened and sad that one of their friends (or family members) just got stabbed 43 times and then had their face bashed into a metal sink. Finally, my favorite thing about Kill is that it features the best title card drop of 2024. 

One More Shot (Netflix)

After the success of One Shot, director James Nunn and Scott Adkins decided they wanted another shot at making a movie that looks like it was filmed in one shot (does that make sense?). The final result is an ambitious action that focuses on Scott Adkins battling villains inside an empty airport. What’s great about One More Shot is that it gives Adkins a showcase for his ass-kicking abilities as they kicks, punches, knees, shoots, stabs, elbows, and headbutts to henchmen and Michael Jai White. This alone is worth the price of admission and if you are into inventive action films that allow Adkins to murder villains – you need to watch it. 

Badland Hunters (Netflix)

The highlight of Badland Hunters is watching Ma Dong-seok knock people out in a post-apocalyptic setting filled with mad scientists, blood-thirsty gangs, and mutated creatures. On top of featuring some fun wasteland shenanigans, Badland Hunters feature the best punch of 2024. There’s a moment when Nam-san (Ma Dong-seok) is up against an old foe and during their fight Nam-san lands the mother of all body blows and his opponent yells out “Wait. Damn, that really hurts.” For anyone who has ever absorbed a body blow like that you know exactly how it feels and it really hurts. It’s a beautiful moment in a fun action film.