2020's slate of movies was much different than expected, but the year still managed to deliver some stellar action movies. Blockbuster action movies have become even more important to Hollywood in recent years, but 2020 was a year with far fewer than expected. Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic shutting down theaters around the world, some of the year's biggest blockbusters were delayed until 2021.
This resulted in 2020 coming and going without installments in major action franchises, such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, James Bond, and Fast & Furious. While these delays certainly left the 2020 movies slate a bit smaller, there are plenty of movies that were still released throughout the year that kept the action output high. Some movies delivered dazzling big set pieces from beginning to end, while others worked slick action into other genres. And even though not every comic book movie originally set for 2020 was released, those that were lived up to the expectations of giving viewers superpower-enhanced spectacle.
Now that 2020 is almost over, it's time to take a look back at the year and highlight some of the best action movies. This list contains a few major superhero movies, some horror/slashers with inventive action, the return of a major franchise, one of 2020's most popular movies and most discussed releases, and many more. Here were the best action movies of 2020.
10. Freaky
Blumhouse's action/slasher Freaky's body-swapping serial killer concept not only allowed Kathryn Newton (Millie) and Vince Vaughn (The Butcher) to turn in different performances, but director Christopher Landon used it quite well with the film's action. Outside of Freaky's inventive kills, the movie uses the new bodies for Newton and Vaughn's characters to its advantage. Whether it's Millie inside Butcher's body using his strength to easily overpower her friends or The Butcher in Millie's body struggling to take down a teacher, Freaky has several entertaining fight scenes that make the most of its premise thanks to stunt coordinator Mark Rayner.
9. Wonder Woman 1984
Diana in her Golden Eagle armor and a fully transformed Cheetah has its moments. Stunt coordinator Rob Inch and fight coordinator Liang Yang did great work.
8. Love and Monsters
Dylan O'Brien is already an established action star after the criminally underrated Maze Runner trilogy, and he returned with another post-apocalyptic showing with Jessica Henwick are stuck fighting CGI monsters more than people, Love and Monsters never goes on for too long without another set piece under the direction of stunt coordinator Glenn Suter.
7. Mulan
The live-action reimagining of from the Disney animated classic. The differences put into place by director Niki Caro included making Mulan partially a war epic featuring some big action sequences. Mulan's skillfulness in battle and her chi "powers" allowed for the movie to utilize her in multiple thrilling set pieces. Some of the standout moments came as Mulan outshined a fellow soldier during training and in the third act invasion of the Imperial City. As one would expect with such a sweeping epic, the stunt team was enormous, led by stunt coordinators Ben Cooke and Scott Rogers and fight coordinators Heidi Moneymaker, Nuo Sun, and Shane Yan.
6. Bad Boys For Life
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence's return for Bad Boys for Life is filled with a variety of outstanding action sequences thanks to stunt coordinator and second unit director Mike Gunther. The big car/motorcycle chase in the middle is a highlight and the third act also delivers memorable moments for most of the cast. While Smith is the action star here, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Paola Nuñez, Charles Melton, and Jacob Scipio all get moments to shine.
5. Extraction
Just in of the action sequences it contains, movie doesn't live up to Extraction martial arts action, but the movie still delivered all the action it promised thanks to Hargrave's action background and an expansive team of stunt and fight coordinators.
4. Old Guard
Netflix delivered another big-time action hit in 2020 with the Old Guard, a group of immortals, at the center, each one is a highly-skilled fighter that gave director Gina Prince-Bythewood the ability to craft memorable fights with the help of stunt coordinator Brycen Counts and fight coordinator Danny Hernandez. Some of the standout sequences include Theron's Andy facing off against Nile (KiKi Layne) inside a plane and the original respawn sequence at the start of the film.
3. The Invisible Man
the titular invisible man, Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), fighting the guards at the mental institution Cecilia Kass (Elisabeth Moss) is in. Credit for that scene goes to fight coordinator Chris Weir, with the stunt coordination of Harry Dakanalis.
2. Birds of Prey
The DCEU helped bring some of the best action to theaters in 2020 with the release of Harley Quinn breaking into the police station was visually stunning in addition to featuring some of the best fight choreography in the film. There are many other great moments, too, with the team-up between Harley and the Birds of Prey in the third act delivering great action, comedy, and character work. Much of the praise should rightfully go to director Cathy Yan, but a special thanks is also deserved for Chad Stahelski, who helped beef up the action after principal photography and the creative action of fight choreographer Jon Valera and stunt coordinator Jonathan "Jo Jo" Eusebio.
1. Tenet
It shouldn't come as a surprise to see John David Washington) brutally beating down henchmen in a kitchen is thrilling. Meanwhile, everything from the reversed fighting to the plane they actually physically crashed to shoot the airport heist will leave viewers on the edge of their seats. And if all of that weren't impressive enough, the scale and intricacy of Tenet's third act are nearly unmatched. Tenet is far from a perfect film, but it's still one of the year's best and Nolan rarely misses a beat when it comes to the action on display here.
