This month on Netflix, we’re spotlighting the action comedy. What’s better than mixing in a few laughs with some fight scenes and explosions? Our first movie features an actor — the funniest man alive — reprising a legendary role in Beverly Hills.
Our second pick is a buddy cop movie from the ’90s featuring an indelible duo. Finally, we’re taking you back to 1980 to experience some blues music. All three action movies are now streaming on Netflix.
We also have guides to the best new movies to stream, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, and the best movies on Amazon Prime Video.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024)
More often than not, legacy sequels fail to recapture the magic of their predecessor. Look no further than Space Jam: A New Legacy, Zoolander 2, The Exorcist: Believer, and Jaws: The Revenge as examples. Luckily for the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, it has Eddie Murphy, who reprised his iconic role as Axel Foley in the surprisingly effective fourth outing, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.
When Axel Foley (Murphy) heads back to Los Angeles, it’s personal. He’s looking to reconnect with his daughter, Jane Saunders (Taylour Paige), a defense attorney. When a criminal organization zeroes in on Jane, Axel teams with her ex-boyfriend (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his two old friends, Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and John Taggart (John Ashton), to protect his daughter. You can’t fake charisma, and when Murphy slips back into Axel’s fast-talking ways, the movie soars.
Stream Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F on Netflix.
Rush Hour (1998)
I’m unaware of the national consensus on Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker as a buddy cop duo. For me, they’re top draft picks. The martial arts star and the comedic lightning rod joined forces in 1998’s Rush Hour. After the kidnapping of a Chinese diplomat’s daughter, Hong Kong Detective Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) travels to America to work the case. However, the FBI does not want Lee to be involved, so they assign him to be the LAPD’s problem.
Enter Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker), the obnoxious and smooth-talking cop tasked with babysitting Lee. Lee and Carter initially hate each other. However, the duo realizes that their best chance of saving the little girl is to work together. From Chan’s extravagant fight choreography to Carter’s crisp one-liners, Rush Hour is a classic ’90s comedy that remains a gold standard for chemistry between co-stars.
Stream Rush Hour on Netflix.
The Blues Brothers (1980)
With elaborate car chases and thunderous explosions, The Blues Brothers is most definitely an action comedy. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd star as Jake and Elwood, the Blues Brothers, based on their excellent sketch from Saturday Night Live. After being released from jail, Jake reunites with Elwood and checks in on the Catholic orphanage that raised them. Unfortunately, the orphanage will close unless they pay $5,000 in property taxes.
After an epiphany, Jake and Elwood decide to reform their band, the Blues Brothers, and organize a concert to raise money. Along the way, the Blues Brothers are chased by Neo-Nazis, rival bands, police, and a sadistic woman. The music is great, the chases are exciting, and the laughs are nonstop. What more could you want?
Stream Blues Brothers on Netflix.
