The Action Edition

Cover Story

The twists and turns of Jake Gyllenhaal’s unlikely, unsettling action career.

By Bilge Ebiri

take two

And the Winners of the 2024 Stunt Awards Are …

Over 200 action pros voted on the bruisingest, nakedist, and base-jumpiest achievements of the year.

stuntman's stuntman

The 80-year-old journeyman has given so much more to Hollywood than his Fast & Furious driving credits let on. By Brandon Streussnig

Whether the scenes featured fists, firearms, or blades, the result was always the same: The crowd was pleased.

More Action

For as long as we’ve had films packed with fights and stunts, we’ve also made fun of them.

Michael Bay directed six movies between 2010 and 2019. Can you name one?

16-Across, Eight Letters: “If it bleeds, we can kill it” movie

The busiest woman in genre film is asking writers and editors to treat her face-smashing characters as seriously as she does. By Roxana Hadadi

chapters

On the glory of blaxploitation icon Pam Grier’s two greatest onscreen catfights. By Odie Henderson

high jinks ensue

“One of the greatest compliments we got was when the visual-effects supervisor said, ‘I don’t know why I’m here!’” By Bilge Ebiri

Leg crush. Flying scissor. Whatever you call it, the move has become an inescapable part of action heroine fights. By Alison Willmore