

To paraphrase "Star Trek," it's action cinema, Jim, just not as we know it. "Riders of Justice" asks questions that viewers can only answer quite personally, but it intersperses them with huge thrills, big laughs, and all the other things we love action movies for. In a piece about moviegoing for the Guardian, Walter Murch described what cinema achieves as a "paradoxical mass-intimacy," one that comes from every audience member having an idiosyncratic experience that is also universal. And "Riders of Justice" is a great movie, arguably the best one on this list, even if it isn't the most action-packed one. Here's the other thing about Frank Zappa, though: He's great. It's the equivalent of hearing Frank Zappa for the first time and realizing that, yes, this is rock music. Laughs come, but are often maudlin, and the end product is unclassifiable but weirdly satisfying on almost every imaginable front. What results is something of a tonal shock to the system in which action beats occur, but are still surprising. So, grab some popcorn and strap in, because here, without adieu, are the 20 best action films of 2021, ranked. After a year and change of lockdown, a genre that hinges on acts of fearlessness reminded us why moviegoing matters. "Below Zero" was an early Netflix smash, and "Red Notice" (which does not appear on this list) was the company's biggest hit to date. The debut of "Shang-Chi" broke box-office records in September.
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It was the sight of Saul Goodman going full John Wick that ushered audiences back to theaters last February. What's more, action movies were important this year.

If you wanted ecstatic gun ballets, you got them. The genre offered a smörgåsbord of violent riffs in which no limb went un-ripped and no big idea was ignored. Two, the fact that there are 20 other face-meltingly great action films released in 2021 speaks volumes about how stellar action movies were this year. So, sadly, none of them qualify for this list. One, this list is being written and published before "The Matrix Resurrections," "Spider Man: No Way Home," and "The Kings Man" arrive in theaters. Before we cover the 20 best action films of 2021, let's begin with two qualifiers.
