Summer is for action, and while The Fall Guy didn’t exactly heat up the box office last weekend, Hulu‘s got plenty of excitement for action fans streaming at home. The ability to draw upon 20th Century Studios’ library and borrow films from other studios means that Hulu is never without some top-tier action flicks.
Our picks for the three action movies that you need to watch in May include a modern sequel to an aging franchise, one of Dwayne Johnson’s first movies, and the very best Die Hard movie that wasn’t the original film.
Bad Boys for Life (2020)
For a franchise that hadn’t gotten a sequel in 17 years, Bad Boys for Life managed to inject the third team-up of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence with a lot of excitement. Given the long stretch of time between Bad Boys 2 and this film, Detective Lieutenant Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) is ready to hang up his badge, much to the chagrin of his partner, Detective Lieutenant Mike Lowrey (Smith).
An attempt on Mike’s life by Armando Aretas (Jacob Scipio) nearly takes the decision out of his hands. Armando’s mother, Isabel Aretas (Kate del Castillo), is the widow of a drug lord who has a serious grudge against Mike and grander plans to get revenge on anyone in her way. Armando’s reign of terror forces Mike and Marcus to get back on the same page in order to bring him down, even if it means going outside of their jurisdiction with a side trip to Mexico.
Watch Bad Boys for Life on Hulu.
The Rundown (2003)
Very early in his acting career, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson co-headlined The Rundown opposite Seann William Scott. Johnson plays Beck, a bounty hunter and debt collector who just wants to get out of the business so he can start over and open his own restaurant. His boss, Billy Walker (William Lucking), will only let Beck leave if he takes one last mission to retrieve Walker’s son, Travis Walker (Scott).
Travis turns out to be harder to pin down than Beck hoped for, in part because he’s obsessed with finding a priceless artifact in El Dorado. Despite their differences, Beck and Travis consider forming an alliance against the corrupt owner of a local mine, Cornelius Bernard Hatcher (Dune: Part Two‘s Christopher Walken). The treasure that Travis wants so badly could mean the end of Hatcher’s oppression of the native people. Now, Beck and Travis just have to live long enough to find the artifact without killing each other.
Watch The Rundown on Hulu.
Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)
All five of the Die Hard movies are back on Hulu this month, but there will be time to talk about everyone’s favorite Christmas movie later this year. Die Hard with a Vengeance is the best sequel, and a nearly perfect summer action film as well. Bruce Willis is back as NYPD Lieutenant John McClane, and he’s not sure why he’s been roped into a deadly game of Simon Says with a terrorist. However, Simon (Jeremy Irons) quickly demonstrates that his ability and willingness to bomb civilians is very real.
Shop owner Zeus Carver (Samuel L. Jackson) is reluctantly pulled into Simon’s games for McClane when he saves John’s life. Now, McClane and Zeus have to work together to solve Simon’s dangerous riddles and uncover what he’s really after before it’s too late to stop him.
Watch Die Hard with a Vengeance on Hulu.
