Here are the best action movies of 2021. Bao Tran's crowdfunded indie kung-fu comedy The Paper Tigers captured the hearts of millions in 2021, and deservedly so. Alain Uy, Ron Yuan, and Mykel Shannon Jenkins play Danny, Hing, and Jim, a trio of former kung fu students now largely distant from their martial arts days.

Action movies were no less affected, and the havoc the state of the world has wreaked on the release calendar continues to have lasting effects. Despite this, 2021 still had plenty of great action movies for audiences to thrill to. Coming from all corners of the world, some leaned into comedy, while others were all about keeping viewers on edge.

Fans of the YouTube series Enter the Dojo will also revel in the appearance of Matt Page as the trio's kung fu rival Carter, who steals the show in the movie's best and funniest fight scene. The Paper Tigers is the best action and comedy combo of 2021, and a fun exercise in flipping a classic martial arts movie plot on its head.

So far, streaming continues to deliver the goods straight to the people while theaters have now reopened in earnest, and are delivering some big hits (Free Guy, Black Widow, and yes, Shang-Chi). Read on for the best movies of 2021, ranked by Tomatometer!