There have been some action films that double as love stories, but fans sometimes seem to forget that love is also the primary motivating factor in several action flicks. Would John Wick have gone on a post-retirement killing spree if gangsters hadn’t shot and killed the dog his late wife left for him? We’d be here all day if we had to keep coming up with examples of this trope.
Since it’s February, all three of our picks for the three action movies on Hulu that you need to watch this month revolve around love in some way. Only the third film on our list counts as a romance story, but it’s also got some of the most over-the-top action.
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Kill Bill: Volume 1 and 2 (2003-2004)
Does Kill Bill count as a love story? Quentin Tarantino’s two-part martial arts film starts off from a place where love has gone wrong. The Bride (Uma Thurman) was shot on her wedding day by her former lover, Bill (David Carradine), while her former teammates in the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad massacred her groom and the entire wedding party.
Five years later, the Bride emerges from a coma with revenge on her mind. But taking down the Deadly Vipers is going to be a challenge. O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu), Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox), and Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) are some of the top killers in the world, while Budd (Michael Madsen) is slippery and ruthless. Assuming the Bride can overcome the odds, she still has to face Bill… and he’s got some emotional leverage to use against her.
Watch Kill Bill: Volume 1 and 2 on Hulu.
Taken (2008)
Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is clearly carrying a torch for his ex-wife, Lenore (Famke Janssen), in Taken, but their relationship has been over for years. Even Bryan’s attempts to maintain his bond with their daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), is strained at best. But when Kim is kidnapped by human traffickers in Europe, the first call for help she makes is to Bryan.
As Bryan calmly explains to Kim’s kidnapper over the phone, he’s got a particular set of skills from his decades in the CIA. And when the kidnapper fails to heed Bryan’s warning to release Kim, he hops on the first flight across the Atlantic before unleashing a rampage on the slavers. Not coincidentally, that’s when Taken becomes a great action film.
Watch Taken on Hulu.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005)
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, the action comedy starring former super couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. It’s especially ironic after Jolie and Pitt grew to loathe each other in real life, so there’s no chance for a sequel to this film with its original stars.
John Smith (Pitt) and his wife, Jane (Jolie), once had a spark of passion for each other, but now they can barely be in the same room together. Both of the Smiths are highly trained contract killers who have spent years hiding their true personas and careers from each other. But as soon as the Smiths learn the truth about each other, their death-defying actions become their new foreplay. Love wins again!
Watch Mr. and Mrs. Smith on Hulu.