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All of these movies always have some degree of comedy and poke fun at their own setting, characters, and storyline. Not all of them are critical darlings, with some only intended to appeal to moviegoers who already like action, but all of them have some kind of parody elements, self-aware jokes, or pop-culture references.
6 Hot Fuzz (2007)
Part of the Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright comedy trilogy that also includes Shaun Of The Dead and The World’s End, Hot Fuzz takes on the buddy-cop genre and actually combines a great comedy with a compelling detective story.
Pegg plays ideal cop Nicholas Angel, who does such good work that his bosses send him out of Metropolitan London for raising the curve and making them look bad. He’s sent to a sleepy village with virtually no crime and paired up with the lovable but dopey Danny Butterman, played by Wright. At first, Angel is frustrated by the lack of protocol at work or action on the streets, but his keen eye starts to find that not everything is as peaceful as it seems.
5 The Expendables 2 (2012)
Not exactly every scene here is intended to be comedy, but when it happens, it’s unmistakable. All the movies in this franchise lampoon classic action movies to some extent, but the second installment really cranks the references up to 11. The Expendables 2 includes even more of the action movie actors from bygone decades, adding Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris to an already impressive cast that’s a veritable who’s-who of 1980s action movies.
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Every time that Barney, played by Stallone, shares any screen time with his counterpart Trench, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, their conversation is a string of inside jokes for anyone familiar with their previous movies. One of the best scenes is the “Chuck Norris jokes” reference when the Lone Wolf shows up, and movie fans get a look at some 1980s action movie jokes.
4 21 Jump Street (2012)
21 Jump Street was marketed as a serious remake of an old crime drama from the 1980s, so it was a pleasant surprise when it turned out to be a clever comedy that lampooned the old show while also being a faithful modern adaptation. Jonah Hill, who plays Morton Schmidt, also co-wrote the script to adapt this buddy-cop show from 1988 into a modern feature film.
Detective Schmidt, who’s smart but awkward, gets teamed up with cute meathead Greg Jenko, played by Channing Tatum. The plot relies on a silly premise that could be lifted straight from a 1980s sit-com, to begin with, and most of the best jokes revolve around poking fun at the genres on which this movie was based.
3 Tropic Thunder (2008)
A movie that’s a lot smarter than the comedic tone gives it credit for, Tropic Thunder lampoons the war story genre that exploded in the 1980s with movies like Platoon and Full Metal Jacket while also making fun of movie awards, producers, and anyone involved in the industry in general.
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Nobody is safe from ridicule in this hilarious Ben Stiller flick, which also has some interesting things to say about the real world of movies and entertainment. This movie is a meta-drama, and the TL;DR of that means it’s a movie about another movie. The original idea of this film is that it is a serious adaptation of a novel about the Vietnam War, but that unravels along with the general sanity of the lead actors as their trek through the jungle continues. The climax is a checklist of every action movie trope you’ve ever seen in a 1980s action and war movie.
2 Team America: World Police
From the brilliant minds of Trey Parker and Matt Stone of the South Park franchise, Team America: World Police lampoons a number of different action genres that were popular in the 1980s. On the surface, it lampoons the war stories niche, but it also takes on spy movies and buddy cop dramas. The vintage puppet show that inspired the movie’s look, Thunderbirds, is from the 1960s, but the way these characters behave is really more reminiscent of the Muppets.
Gary is recruited to join the crack team of soldier cops because they need someone with acting ability. It never really makes sense until the worlds of terrorism and professional actors collide in the final act, revealing at the end the true power behind all those action movies — the power of acting.
1 The Other Guys (2010)
An enthusiastic parody of the classic 1980s buddy-cop drama template, The Other Guys is one of several movies from the creative team of director and writer Adam McKay and actor Will Ferrell. It goes with their territory, which includes other parody movies like Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy which lampooned the 1970s local news scene.
Gamble and Hoitz are “the other guys,” meaning they are two inept and incompetent cops compared to the stars of the precinct: badass super-cops Danson and Highsmith. These cops are the satirical version of their 1980s counterparts, indulging in generous amounts of property damage when they chase the bad guys, but the one thing they lack is the classic plot armor. When they die during one of their high-risk pursuits, the question hangs in the air about who will replace them.
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