Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for action movies like The Holiday Hitman:
Violent Night
If a Christmas-set bloodbath is what drew you to The Holiday Hitman, Violent Night is the modern gold standard. David Harbour plays a burned-out Santa Claus who lands at a wealthy family’s compound on Christmas Eve just as John Leguizamo’s mercenaries take everyone hostage. Tommy Wirkola stages the carnage like a gleefully nasty Home Alone, and Harbour sells both the sentiment and the sledgehammer.
Carry-On
Jaume Collet-Serra’s Netflix thriller unfolds at LAX on Christmas Eve, where a young TSA agent (Taron Egerton) is blackmailed by a mysterious traveler (Jason Bateman) into letting a dangerous package slip through security. It’s lean, clever, and refreshingly old-fashioned, a holiday action movie that would have fit right in alongside the mid-budget ’90s thrillers it’s so clearly modeled on.
Bullet Train
David Leitch’s adaptation of Kōtarō Isaka’s novel puts Brad Pitt’s unlucky operative Ladybug on a Japanese bullet train crowded with rival killers, all of whom seem to want the same briefcase. Our review found the dialogue clunky, but the setup is a close cousin of The Holiday Hitman: a professional who would rather be anywhere else, surrounded by people who want him dead.
Hit Man
Richard Linklater’s Hit Man plays the contract-killer premise for laughs and romance. Glen Powell is Gary Johnson, a mild-mannered professor who moonlights as a fake hitman in police stings, inventing a new persona for every client until he falls for one of them (Adria Arjona). Loosely based on a true story, it’s a lighter, talkier take on the double life at the center of The Holiday Hitman.
Wolfs
Jon Watts’ Wolfs pairs George Clooney and Brad Pitt as two lone-wolf fixers hired to clean up the same mess over one long night in New York. The banter is the whole point, even if our review found both stars running a little on autopilot, and anyone who likes their hitman comedies built on bickering and bruised egos will find plenty to enjoy.
The Fall Guy
Ryan Gosling plays a battered stuntman pulled back into the business to find a missing movie star in David Leitch’s The Fall Guy, a loose update of the ’80s TV series. Emily Blunt co-stars as the director he still pines for. The comedy is uneven, but the practical stunt work is terrific, and it shares The Holiday Hitman’s blend of big set pieces and romantic stakes.
Ballerina
Ballerina expands the John Wick universe with Ana de Armas as Eve, an assassin trained by the Ruska Roma who goes rogue to avenge her father. Len Wiseman’s spin-off is exactly what you’d expect from the franchise, with inventive kills and a flamethrower showdown, and it’s a strong pick for anyone who wants their hitman movie with fewer jokes and more fire.
Knox Goes Away
Michael Keaton directs and stars as John Knox, a contract killer diagnosed with a rapidly progressing form of dementia who has one last job to handle: helping his estranged son (James Marsden) cover up a crime. Al Pacino co-stars. It’s a dry, mournful counterpoint to The Holiday Hitman, another hitman story that ultimately comes down to family.
The Pickup
Tim Story’s Prime Video comedy pairs Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson as mismatched armored truck drivers whose routine run is hijacked by a crew led by Keke Palmer. Our review called it serviceable, and that’s the appeal: an easygoing action comedy built on star chemistry and car chases, perfect for a lazy night on the couch over the holidays.
Play Dirty
Few filmmakers have done more for the Christmas action movie than Shane Black, who wrote Lethal Weapon and directed Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. His Prime Video caper Play Dirty casts Mark Wahlberg as Parker, the professional thief from Donald E. Westlake’s novels, alongside LaKeith Stanfield and Rosa Salazar. Our review found it low on energy, but Black’s wisecracking crime comedies are a natural fit for fans of The Holiday Hitman.
READ MORE: Movies Like Violent Night, Action Movies Like Carry-On
