Last weekend, Dwayne Johnson passion project Black Adam opened to poor reviews (from critics) and a rapturous embrace (by fans). Even as the superhero genre moves up the chain of cinematic respectability, it seems there remains a divide between movies that are seen as worthwhile and those that are viewed as empty calories. Described less charitably: Some movies want to say something important; others just want to say something loud, with lots of explosions. (Considering Black Adam is 80 percent slow-motion fight scenes, you can guess which category it slots into.)
There is art to the dumb action movie. Many of the following 20 films split critics and moviegoers rather dramatically, whether because audiences saw things in them the reviewers missed, or because they were looking for a very different experience. They have been referred to as dumb fun, but anyone who has looked out the window (or checked Twitter) recently will recognize reality is far dumber. There’s nothing wrong with a diversion, or with finding joy (and maybe even hidden meaning) in an over-the-top action flick.
Crank (2006)
A lot of movies often described as “dumb” have brilliantly simple high concepts, and Crank stands peerless in that regard: After being injected with an improbably functioning poison, L.A. hitman Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) will die (!) if he doesn’t keep his adrenaline pumping. Wanting little more than to stay alive long enough to get revenge on the mob boss who betrayed and tried to murder him, Chelios spends the rest of the movie engaging in the most reckless behavior he can think of: picking fights, driving wildly, electrocuting himself, very public sex—anything at all to keep his blood pumping.
Where to stream: Fubo, Showtime
Speed (1994)
Another all-time great high-concept, this Keanu Reeves vehicle is a bus (geddit?) that has been fitted by terrorists with a bomb that will detonate once the coach drops below 50 miles per hour. Only a complete suspension of disbelief will allow anyone to imagine even Sandra Bullock could drive for two uninterrupted hours in downtown Los Angeles without slowing down, but that brazenness is part of the movie’s charm.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Hardcore Henry (2015)
Far more memorable for its core conceit than for any of its characters, Hardcore sees the titular Henry waking up on an operating table minus his memory and the ability to speak, and plus a plethora of cybernetic prostheses. Did I mention we’re seeing this all from Henry’s first-person perspective, like we’re watching a YouTube playthrough of a particularly oddball first-person shooter? Pretty soon, it’s off to the races as mercenaries break in and try to kill Henry/us. It’s hard to build a movie around a character with no personality (who we never even really see), but that also means there is nothing to distract us from one blaring action sequence after another.
Where to stream: Netflix
