This post is updated regularly as movies leave and enter Hulu. *New additions are indicated with an asterisk.
It’s time to have some fun. Let’s put down all the serious, Oscar-winning dramas, leave the documentaries for another day, and forget about that TV season that everyone tells you that you should be watching. There’s a reason that the most successful genre on the home market has been the same for over a generation now: People love action movies. They allow us to escape reality and enter a world where the good guy (usually) wins the day. These are the best action flicks currently on Hulu, updated monthly.
*2012
Year: 2009
Runtime: 2h 32m
Director: Roland Emmerich
Roland Emmerich, the modern King of the Disaster Blockbusters, delivered one of his most ridiculously over-the-top movies in this 2009 tale of the apocalypse foretold to come just three years later. A rockin’ ensemble elevates some admittedly thin material but no one comes to this for performance or character — it’s about the world blowing up real good and the movie delivers exactly what it promises.
The Abyss
Year: 1989
Runtime: 2h 20m
Director: James Cameron
James Cameron’s 1989 sci-fi blockbuster is one of the most prominent films never to have been released on Blu-ray in the United States — but that finally changes in March with the 4K release, and it’s finally more readily available on streaming, too. People who love this movie really love this movie, and it’s great to see it finally coming to the fans who have deserved it for so long.
Akira
Year: 1988
Runtime: 2 hours, 4 minutes
Director: Katsuhiro Otomo
Animated action! Anyone who thinks a Japanese anime film from the ‘80s doesn’t deserve a spot on this list simply hasn’t seen Akira, a movie that feels more influential with each film that copies its template. Based on the 1982 manga of the same name and set in the oh-so-distant future of 2019, this story of a biker with telekinetic abilities has influenced dozens of action and sci-fi project. It gets better every time you watch it. (Note: Both the dubbed and subtitled versions are on Hulu.)
*Alita: Battle Angel
Year: 2019
Runtime: 2h 3m
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Listen, some of this is totally goofy, but it’s always totally goofy in a mesmerizing way. The director of Sin City adapted the hit manga with a lead performance that’s entirely motion-captured through the excellent work of Rosa Salazar. She plays Alita, a cyborg who wakes up in a violent future. It’s eye candy, but it’s pretty sweet.
*Bad Boys for Life
Year: 2020
Runtime: 2h 4m
Director: Adil & Bilall
Here’s some funny trivia: This is actually the highest grossing film of 2020. Now, that’s because it came out just before theaters closed for the rest of the year during the pandemic, but it’s also because people were ready for the return of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in two of the most beloved roles of their lives. A fourth film has already come and gone. Check out the comeback again.
Black Hawk Down
Year: 2001
Runtime: 2h 24m
Director: Ridley Scott
The legendary Oscar winner directed this Hollywood version of Mark Bowden’s non-fiction book of the same name, which tells the story of a 1993 incident in Mogadishu that became known around the world. Members of the U.S. Military (including soldiers played by Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Eric Bana, and a very young Tom Hardy) are pinned down in the city as they try to capture a faction leader. Black Hawk Down is a technical marvel, winning Oscars for Best Editing and Sound Mixing.
*Bullet Train
Year: 2022
Runtime: 2h 6m
Director: David Leitch
It feels like this movie was actually a bigger hit on Netflix, where it popped up in the top ten for weeks after it dropped in December 2022. Now it’s Hulu’s turn! It makes sense because it’s the perfect fit for when you’re looking for something to turn your brain off to for a couple hours. Brad Pitt stars as an assassin who ends up on a train filled with fellow assassins, and, well, things get expectedly violent. It’s a goofy movie, but it works well enough at home.
The Creator
Year: 2023
Runtime: 2h 13m
Director: Gareth Edwards
Yes, the script here gets a little clunky and cribs a bit too much from other sci-fi films, but history is going to come around to The Creator for one reason: It looks stunning. It’s not just the blend of tactile cinematography and cutting-edge special effects, it’s the kind of visual language that’s almost always missing from Hollywood blockbusters. Gareth Edwards’ film will find an audience in the future. Get on the bandwagon early.
The Day After Tomorrow
Year: 2004
Runtime: 2h 4m
Director: Roland Emmerich
No one does end of the world like Emmerich, who brought all his big-budget skills to this 2000s blockbuster about the potential end of the road for climate change. Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal may star, but the real star of this movie is its special effects budget, one that depicts the kind of catastrophic climate events that seem more frighteningly realistic every day.
Escape Room
Year: 2019
Runtime: 1h 39m
Director: Adam Robitel
How did it take so long for Hollywood to make this one? A clever, enjoyable B-movie, this thriller flick takes the concept of an escape room to extremes, and it ended up making over $150 million worldwide, leading to a 2021 sequel. Taylor Russell and Logan Miller lead a group of people who end up having to survive a series of increasingly dangerous escape rooms.
*Independence Day
Year: 1996
Runtime: 2h 25m
Director: Roland Emmerich
It’s hard to explain to young people how huge ID4 was when it hit pop culture in 1996. It was quoted all over the place and became one of the biggest films of all time on the back of Will Smith’s charisma and the blow-em-up style of Roland Emmerich. Seeing the White House explode in commercials was too exciting to miss. Some of the film hasn’t held up greatly but it’s still a nice blend of sci-fi concepts and Emmerich’s disaster movie sensibilities.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Year: 2017
Runtime: 1h 59m
Director: Jake Kasdan
This massive blockbuster actually isn’t on streaming services that often, so take this chance while you can on Hulu. Kevin Hart, Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan star as the avatar versions of four teens who end up transported into a video game. A massive hit when it was released, it’s already produced one sequel, with another in development. It’s a lot of fun.
Planet of the Apes
Year: 1968
Runtime: 1h 52m
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
With the May 2024 release of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, this series has found life for the first time in years. Why not go back to where it all began with the Charlton Heston sci-fi flick about an astronaut who lands on a planet run by simians? With one of the most infamous endings of all time, Planet of the Apes became an instant classic, launching a franchise that can be watched in almost all of its entirety on Hulu, including the Tim Burton remake and the newest trilogy.
Predator
Year: 1987
Runtime: 1h 47m
Director: John McTiernan
It’s also on Hulu, but you can probably skip the first sequel (although definitely don’t skip Prey) and just stick to the 1987 original, a lean, mean movie that features one of Ah-nuld’s best ‘80s performances. It’s a survival tale that starts off like a war movie before it throws in one of the universe’s most famous killing machines.
Prey
Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 40m
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
The director of 10 Cloverfield Lane clearly knows how to make unexpected films in hit franchises and that’s exactly what he delivers in one of the biggest original film hits in the history of Hulu. A prequel to Predator, Prey details what happened when the alien killing machine crossed paths with a Comanche woman (Amber Midthunder) three centuries ago.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Year: 2011
Runtime: 1h 45m
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Any list of the best modern action trilogies really needs to include the rebooted Planet of the Apes series that started with this excellent blockbuster over a decade ago. James Franco plays a man who raises a genetically engineered chimpanzee named Caesar (Andy Serkis, who gives an all-timer mo-cap performance), who starts the revolution of the primates over their human captors. It’s a phenomenal movie, and the saga continues with 2024’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
*Shanghai Noon
Year: 2000
Runtime: 1h 26m
Director: Tom Dey
What a fun and funny movie you can find in this 2000 buddy comedy starring Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson. Chan’s physical style and Wilson’s goofy personality make for a truly hysterical duo in this Western martial arts comedy that blends Chan’s incredible skill with a more traditional comedy style. It’s an underrated movie that’s truly hard to dislike.
*Source Code
Year: 2011
Runtime: 1h 34m
Director: Duncan Jones
The director of Moon returned with an excellent sci-fi film about a man who has to relive the same eight minutes over and over again to try and solve the mystery of who blew up a commuter train on its way into Chicago. Jake Gyllenhaal is excellent in the lead role, and he’s ably assisted by Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, and Jeffrey Wright. This movie rules.
True Lies
Year: 1994
Runtime: 2h 21m
Director: James Cameron
Remember when James Cameron made kick-ass action movies that weren’t set on Pandora? Those were the days. Cameron directed Arnold Schwarzenegger in this influential action pic about a family man who also happens to be a G-man. Co-starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, and Bill Paxton, it’s a perfectly paced film that’s easy to watch over and over again.
The Wave
Year: 2015
Runtime: 1h 45m
Director: Roar Uthaug
Disaster movies aren’t the exclusive property of American filmmakers! Norway can make ‘em too! This is one of the best disaster movies of the 2010s, the story of an avalanche in Norway that leads to an 80-metre wave that rolls through the region around it, causing havoc.
If you subscribe to a service through our links, Vulture may earn an affiliate commission.
