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Summer has come, friends. “Tis the season for grilling, cold beer, swimming in the pool and really blasting movies. While action movies are good at literally any time of year, there’s a reason we watch them again. Die Hard during Christmas – there’s something about the heat and endless sunshine that makes action movies our favorite movie to watch until Labor Day. This year, filmmakers both in Hollywood and abroad created some chaos that we’ll be talking about for years to come.
From the break Fury is the greatest action movie we’ve seen in all of 2026. No exceptions. Director Kenji Tanigaki spent over twenty years honing his skills as a choreographer and action director in Hong Kong and Japan. Fury— his third directorial effort is the culmination of all his blood, sweat and tears. (For a better understanding, look up Tanigaki’s previous work in films such as Raging fire from 2021 and Twilight of the Warriors: Beyond the Wall And Prosecutorboth from 2024.)
But Fury – not the only hot dish in 2026. The year started well with GapBen Affleck and Matt Damon’s new film, where crooked cops fight over a large sum of money, can be as intense as car chases and shootouts. Mortal Kombat II is a huge improvement over its 2021 predecessor, while austere mid-budget fare like Ready or Not 2: Here I Come And Mike, Nick, Nick and Alice were festival favorites before arriving on streaming. And every time Jason Statham and Bob Odenkirk appear in a new ass-kicking movie, we sit up.
Summer is not over yet, and there are still many years ahead. We are waiting with bated breath for Christopher Nolan’s next epic. Odyssey, and the potential revival of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – with Spider-Man: Brand New Day And Avengers: Judgment Day—to rekindle our love for heroes. These are the films that have us at Esquire on the edge of our seats at the moment. —Eric Francisco
Fury
Consider the bar raised. Fury lives up to its name as one of the most successful films of the year, maybe even the decade. In this Hong Kong film from Japanese author Kenji Tanigaki, Xie Miao plays a deaf-mute father who teams up with an investigative journalist (Joe Taslim) to track down the traffickers who kidnapped his daughter. Comparisons with Raid just not good enough; Fury This is a once-in-a-generation achievement that has to be seen to be believed. —EF
Google Play Apple TV
Motor City
Silence is golden in Motor City. The action takes place in Detroit in the 1970s. Alan Ritchson plays a criminal who pursues the crime lord who stole his fiancée (Shailene Woodley). Notably, the film has almost no dialogue, allowing all the action to speak for itself. After premiering at the 2025 Venice Film Festival Motor City hits theaters July 24. —EF
Coming soon to cinemas
Mortal Kombat II
Johnny Cage entered the game. Mortal Kombat IIa direct sequel to the COVID-era streaming hit, features Karl Urban and Adeline Rudolph as series leads Johnny Cage and Princess Kitana, respectively, who both represent Earth against Shao Kahn in a deadly mystical tournament. Certainly, Mortal Kombat II struggles to live up to the mistakes of its 2021 predecessor – and this franchise continues to abuse its talent with a plus, namely Ludi Lin, Joe Taslim and Hiroyuki Sanada – but the film puts the series on a truly solid footing. join us Mortal Kombat III. —EF
Prime Video
over your corpse
When you said “till death do us part” in your marriage vows, did that include a mutual intent to commit murder? Lonely Island alum Jorma Taccone directs this action-comedy, which stars Jason Segel as a man who plots to kill his wife (Samara Weaving) in their rural cabin, unaware of her own plans to do the same. But their night changes when they meet a gang of escaped brutal convicts. Samara Weaving is on the rise right now, and over your corpse shows off his comedic skills alongside Siegel. —EF
Prime Video
Masters of the Universe
This may have happened a decade late, but Masters of the Universe is still one of the best popcorn fantasy films in recent memory. Based on the classic 1980s toys and the meme-worthy Saturday morning cartoon, Nicholas Galitzine stars as Adam, the exiled prince of Eternia who returns to his home world to rediscover his heritage and confront the evil warlord Skeletor (Jared Leto). Masters of the Universe didn’t top the box office, but its new home on Prime Video may give it a second life, enough for nostalgic ’80s babies to see a sequel. —EF
Now in cinemas
Dhurandhar: Vengeance (2026)
The spy thriller became the highest-grossing Indian film in North America upon its release in March, and it’s easy to see why. The Indian film market is probably the only entertainment industry that strives to produce even more big-budget jingoistic action films than the US. Dhurandhar the sequel is no exception. The film follows an undercover Indian intelligence agent who investigates crime syndicates in Pakistan, juxtaposing real-life geopolitical events such as the 2008 Mumbai attacks. As for politics… well, that’s a completely different story. The film is also almost four hours long. But what is the scenery like? At the highest level. —younger
Netflix
Death of Robin Hood
This isn’t the first time Hugh Jackman has played the famously violent character as an older man. From Pig director Michael Sarnoski arrives Death of Robin Hood in which Jackman plays ex-outlaw Robin Hood living in self-imposed exile. After being nursed back to health at a peaceful monastery, Jackman cares for them while battling the ghosts of his past. Death of Robin Hood It has less action than most other traditional action films, but as a result, the few fight scenes it does have are even more affecting. —EF
Now in cinemas
Normal
WITH Better call Saul behind him, Bob Odenkirk is becoming a niche player playing unsuspecting middle-aged toughs. Free Fire And high rise building Director Ben Wheatley helms this muscular small-town action thriller in which Odenkirk plays the new sheriff of a snowy, sleepy Midwestern town. When a bank robbery goes wrong, Odenkirk’s Sheriff Ulysses discovers that the town of Normal, Minnesota is anything but ordinary. If you loved Nobodyyou’ll like it Normal. —EF
Prime Video
Cliff (2026)
Pirates of the Caribbean fans won’t find another Jack Sparrow vs. Davy Jones story in Bluff adventure on the high seas, but the daring action film directed by the Russo Brothers and starring Karl Urban (great cast) is the next best thing. ARRThe rated adventure—you know, because pirates—was the first time Urban had picked up a blade since Lord of the Ringsas the actor told Esquire in an exclusive interview. “Reconnecting with that skill set was a lot of fun,” he said. “Every child wants to play pirates, and this project has been a success.” —Josh Rosenberg
Prime Video
They will kill you
It’s got the thrills, the chills, and Zazie Beetz kicks ass. Beetz plays an ex-con who answers a housekeeper’s ad for a New York City high-rise filled with wealthy residents and haunted by unexplained disappearances. She quickly finds herself fighting for her life against a satanic cult. An elegant soup consisting of Ready or Not And Menu, They will kill you doesn’t do anything particularly new, but takes advantage of a locked-in Beatz that challenges the best of them. —EF
HBO Max
Guardian Blades
Wuxia Cinema is back, baby! In the early 2000s, Hong Kong director Yuen Woo-ping made his mark on Hollywood with his work on films such as Matrix, Kill Billand international hits such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon And Grandmaster. Ewan premiered his latest directorial film this year. Guardian Bladesadapted from a Chinese comic Biao Ren. Wu Jing, Nicholas Tse, Zhang Jin, Tony Leung Ka-Fai and Jet Li lead an all-star cast about a bounty hunter in medieval China who must escort a wanted man across the desert to the capital. An epic of the highest level on the big screen. Guardian Blades will knock you off your feet. —EF
Prime Video
Mike, Nick, Nick and Alice
It’s a great time to be James Marsden. He is constantly shown on TV.Your friends and neighbors Season 2 premieres immediately Paradise ends – and he’s even set to reunite with the Marvel Universe in Avengers: Judgment Day. But before that he starred in Mike, Nick, Nick and AliceHulu crime comedy where being Marsden isn’t actually that great.
In the new film, he plays a hitman named Mike who is trying to get out of business (James Wick?) when he is accused of murder. He sleeps with Nick’s (Vince Vaughn) loan shark’s wife Alice (Eiza Gonzalez), so Nick tricks him into giving up his latest job. It turns out that the man he was sent to kill is none other than Nick himself. How? Well, Nick is involved in time travel shenanigans, and now he’s involved in a whole love triangle. I don’t know if this movie would work without the powerful combination of Marsden and Vaughn, but luckily we don’t have to imagine that future. —younger
Hulu
Gap
One of the best films of the year came out at the beginning of the January cold snap: the Netflix thriller Gap. Hollywood best friends Matt Damon and Ben Affleck co-star as Miami cops whose raid on a cartel home goes awry when they each suspect the other of stealing millions. Gap it’s a gritty, star-studded action movie that you just don’t see these days. There are no ironic winks or invincible superheroes here. Just good old fashioned dirt and grime. —EF
Netflix
Shelter
Jason Statham action movies are starting to blur in my memory. There are the famous ones where he’s a driver who can kill you, the last two where he’s a beekeeper who can kill you, and, I think, a billion more where he’s some sort of trained mercenary doing a different job. IN Shelterhe’s a lighthouse keeper who is, of course, a former government assassin. But when his past catches up with him, this thriller… Angel fell the director is completely focused on the action. —younger
Prime Video
Wrecking Crew
Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa are a dynamic duo. Wrecking Crewwrote Your friends and neighbors created by Jonathan Tropper. The two muscular stars play estranged brothers who reunite to solve their father’s murder – and find out what the Japanese yakuza have to do with it – while repairing their long-broken brotherly bonds. Wrecking Crew it has a lot of muscles, but it is strongest where it matters most: in the heart. —EF
Prime Video
Quite deadly
No, this is not last year’s John Wick spin-off. But Quite deadly actually, hmm, to the point. (Thank you, thank you.) In this Prime Video special, a troupe of bickering ballerinas must rely on their incredible training and each other to survive one bloody night against a small army of killers. Iris Apatow, Lana Condor, Millicent Simmonds, Avantika, Maddie Ziegler and Uma Thurman lead this female-fronted ballet of violence.—EF
Prime Video
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (2026)
It’s been eight long years since Grace from Samara Weaving experienced her wedding nightmare in Ready or Not. But her problems didn’t end there. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come sees Weaving return as Grace, who teams up with her estranged sister (played by Kathryn Newton) and embarks on a new fight for survival. This time they will face off against several families in a bloodthirsty struggle for power. —EF
Hulu