The best action movies of the year so far

polygon.com:

The action genre had a fantastic 2023, with strong new entries in banner franchises and exciting one-off movies from creators established and upcoming alike.

If the first few months are any indication, 2024 is picking up where its predecessor left off. Nations around the globe have already contributed stellar entries to the genre, with big-budget spectacle and clinical low-budget projects alike providing the joys of hard-hitting action.

Here are the best action movies of 2024 so far. This list will continue to be updated throughout the year, and will be sorted in reverse chronological order, so the newest movies always show up first.

Where to watch: For digital rental or purchase on Amazon, Apple TV, and Vudu on March 12

An eccentric meta actioner with blistering fight choreography, One Percenter (also known as One Percent Warrior) is one of the most offbeat entries of the year. Real-life cult action hero Tak Sakaguchi (Versus) stars as a character who is pretty straightforwardly a version of himself: Takuma Toshiro, a self-serious action star who has invented his own martial arts technique and had a cult hit some years ago. One Percenter is about Toshiro’s quest to make a “pure action” movie — he’s tired of the genre feeling like dance, and desires something a little more dangerous. While on location for an indie project, he runs across a yakuza dispute, which is the perfect opportunity for him to get some footage for his movie. So Toshiro takes down scores of gangsters with his Wave technique, dodging bullets and unloading on some poor fools.

Sakaguchi, a former underground street fighter who is one of the most peculiar action stars of his generation, is hypnotic as Toshiro, using his Wave technique to great effect. The pairing of Sakaguchi with fight choreographer Kensuke Sonomura (Baby Assassins), perhaps the best in the business at what he does, is a dream. The two have paired up a few times, most recently in the very good Bad City, and it’s a joy to watch