This list is frequently updated as titles leave and join Netflix. *New additions are indicated with an asterisk.
Netflix has made headlines by investing in highbrow dramas that win Oscars. But sometimes you don’t want that! Sometimes you just want to escape the increasingly insane world out there into an action movie. Netflix has made a few of their own, but the bulk of the best action films on their service are still Hollywood blockbusters from ‘90s modern classics to more recent box office hits to films that may have slipped under your radar. From Matt Reeves to Steven Spielberg, here are the best action movies currently on Netflix.
*Baby Driver
Year: 2017
Runtime: 1h 53m
Director: Edgar Wright
It’s a little harder to watch this movie now given what we know about some of its cast, but it’s still such a remarkably well-made piece of action filmmaking, the kinetically unforgettable story of a getaway driver who knows all the best tunes. Ansel Elgort, Jamie Foxx, and Lily James may be the stars of this movie, but it’s Wright’s showmanship that really steals the spotlight.
The Big 4
Year: 2022
Runtime: 2h 21m
Director: Timo Tjahjanto
Have you seen The Night Comes for Us? You would remember if you have because director Timo Tjahjanto is a maniac, a madman who choreographs and shoots action scenes like no one else in the world right now. He returned in late 2022 for his Netflix original about a group of assassins who are forced into action when someone kills their mentor. It’s kind of like a live-action Looney Tunes with bazookas.
Bullet Train
Year: 2022
Runtime: 2h 6m
Director: David Leitch
It feels like this movie was actually a bigger hit on Netflix, where it popped up in the top ten for weeks after it dropped in December 2022. It makes sense because it’s the perfect fit for when you’re looking for something to turn your brain off to for a couple hours. Brad Pitt stars as an assassin who ends up on a train filled with fellow assassins, and, well, things get expectedly violent. It’s a goofy movie, but it works on Netflix.
Desperado
Year: 1995
Runtime: 1h 44m
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Hot on the heels of the DIY movie that made him a star, El Mariachi, Robert Rodriguez basically remade that indie hit with a bigger budget in this 1995 action flick that stars Antonio Banderas in the title role. He’s a musician who sets out to get vengeance against the drug lord who killed his lover. It also features the breakthrough performance of Salma Hayek.
Godzilla
Year: 2014
Runtime: 2h 3m
Director: Gareth Edwards
The big guy is having a moment with recent projects like Godzilla Minus One and Monarch, but let’s take a minute to lavish some praise on the one that restarted the current iteration, Gareth Edwards’s underrated 2014 blockbuster. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Sally Hawkins, and Bryan Cranston star in the reboot of the classic Toho series that pits the big lizard guy against two monsters of equally unfathomable size. It’s a rocking good time.
Hardcore Henry
Year: 2015
Runtime: 1h 36m
Director: Ilya Naishuller
Have you ever wanted to see a movie that replicated the feel of playing a first-person shooter video game? Then Hardcore Henry is the one for you. The plot doesn’t really matter — there’s something about experiments and lost memories and whatever — as this is all an exercise in style. Writer/director Ilya Naishuller straps viewers into the perspective of his increasingly powerful hero and then unleashes him on enemies who want to stop him. At its peak, it’s got some adrenaline-pumping lunacy that’s admirable.
The Harder They Fall
Year: 2021
Runtime: 2h 19m
Director: Jeymes Samuel
The Harder They Fall came and went too fast in late 2021 and deserves to find a bigger audience on Netflix. The phenomenal Jonathan Majors stars in this stylish Western with tons of attitude, memorable characters, and brilliant set pieces. He’s joined by Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King, Delroy Lindo, Lakeith Stanfield, Danielle Deadwyler, and many more in a film that feels like it will become bigger as its incredible cast become acting legends.
*The Hunger Games
Year: 2012
Runtime: 2h 16m
Director: Gary Ross
Believe it or not, the franchise based on the books by Suzanne Collins aren’t commonly on streaming services, so take the chance to watch all four on Netflix while you can! The first is probably still the most beloved, the introduction of Katniss Everdeen, the teenager who changed the world. These movies really made Jennifer Lawrence a household name and they’ve held up better than you remember. It’s hard to believe the first one is already over a decade old.
Jurassic Park
Year: 1993
Runtime: 2h 6m
Director: Steven Spielberg
An instant classic when it was released in 1993, Steven Spielberg’s dinosaur blockbuster spawned a franchise that’s still humming almost three decades later with the 2022 release of the wildly successful Dominion. The first three films in the series, including Spielberg’s sequel The Lost World, are on Netflix right now, alongside the pretty fun Camp Cretaceous.
*Kill Bill
Year: 2003
Runtime: 1h 50m
Director: Quentin Tarantino
We will still have to wait for the long-promised full cut of the two Kill Bill films into one epic movie (and the long-rumored third volume of this tale), but that shouldn’t stop you from revisiting two of Quentin Tarantino’s best films — both volumes are on Prime Video. In a catalog that includes a lot of great performances (and a few Oscar winners), one of QT’s best is Uma Thurman as The Bride, a legendary action character seeking vengeance on the man who betrayed her.
The Killer
Year: 2023
Runtime: 1h 59m
Director: David Fincher
Michael Fassbender gives his best performance in years as an icy hired assassin who struggles to hold things together when a job goes horribly wrong. It’s a movie about a self-proclaimed perfectionist who is constantly defying his own voiceover, a great film that’s alternately hysterical and thrilling. One of the best of 2023.
*Looper
Year: 2012
Runtime: 1h 58m
Director: Rian Johnson
Before he got sucked into the Star Wars machine (and then escaped it to start his own franchise in Knives Out), Rian Johnson directed one of the best sci-fi/action films of the 2010s in Looper. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as a contract killer who shoots people who are sent back in time to his location. And then he meets himself. Co-starring Emily Blunt and Bruce Willis, this is an inventive genre masterpiece.
*The Matrix
Year: 1999
Runtime: 2h 16m
Director: The Wachowskis
Neo and the gang returned to HBO Max in late 2021 with The Matrix Resurrections, and the response was predictably divisive. You know what’s not divisive? The fact that the first movie still absolutely rules. The story of an average guy who learns that nothing is what it seems has influenced so much pop culture in the over-two decades since this movie was released. You can see Neo everywhere. (And you can watch the entire original trilogy on Netflix now.)
The Raid
Year: 2011
Runtime: 1h 40m
Director: Gareth Evans
Sometimes branded as The Raid: Redemption, this is quite simply one of the best action movies of the 2010s. It moves like a speeding bullet, telling the story of a police squad that gets caught in a building run by a ruthless drug lord, who basically turns the entire building into a deadly gauntlet.
Resident Evil
Year: 2002
Runtime: 1h 40m
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
It’s hard to believe that it’s been two decades since people started adapting the Capcom video games into feature films. Not long after the cancellation of the Netflix series of the same name, the streaming giant has re-added the first (and still best) film along with the first sequel (2004’s Apocalypse) and the second-to-last (2012’s Retribution). Yes, it’s random, but that’s how Netflix has always been with this franchise.
RRR
Year: 2022
Runtime: 3h 5m
Director: S.S. Rajamouli
One of the biggest films in the world in 2022, this crazy action flick really took off in the United States when it dropped on Netflix. It’s hard to put into words just how much movie you get with RRR. It’s kind of all the movies — musical, romance, comedy, action, drama. Whatever you’re looking for, it’s in here. You’ll want to watch it twice.
Silverado
Year: 1985
Runtime: 2h 12m
Director: Lawrence Kasdan
The great Lawrence Kasdan co-wrote and directed one of the best Westerns of its era, a film with a rock-star ensemble of young ‘80s actors. Silverado stars Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Danny Glover, and Kevin Costner in the lead roles and they’re ably assisted by an incredible supporting cast that features Brian Dennehy, John Cleese, Jeff Goldblum, Rosanna Arquette, and Linda Hunt. This is a smart, funny Western that has stood the test of time.
Skyfall
Year: 2012
Runtime: 2h 23m
Director: Sam Mendes
The Daniel Craig era of James Bond has come to a close and so now history can look back and appreciate his entire run. Is the best film of his five the centerpiece? Arguably. This epic unpacking of the history of 007 is gorgeously shot by Roger Deakins and perfectly directed by Sam Mendes. It features a strong villain performance from Javier Bardem and great supporting work from Albert Finney and Judi Dench. Heck, it even has a killer theme song.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Year: 2023
Runtime: 2h 20m
Director: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
What a gift to Netflix subscribers for this to already be on the service so soon after playing in theaters and landing on Blu-ray. This is how you do a big-budget blockbuster sequel, developing the themes of the first movie and setting up the stake for what now appears will be one of the best trilogies in superhero history. Packed with so much detail and creativity, it’s a film you’ll want to watch over and over again.
Triple Frontier
Year: 2019
Runtime: 2h 5m
Director: J.C. Chandor
One of the most underrated Netflix originals, this early 2019 film was written by Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker) and directed by the man who helmed Margin Call. The great ensemble here includes Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund, and Pedro Pascal in the story of a group of former U.S. soldiers who plan and (poorly) execute a heist in South America. This is an old-fashioned action movie with a great modern cast.
The Woman King
Year: 2022
Runtime: 2h 14m
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Living legend Viola Davis stars in this retelling of the all-female warriors of the kingdom of Dahomey in the 19th century. She plays General Nansica, who trains young women to follow in her footsteps, and leads a rock star ensemble of future stars that includes Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, and Sheila Atim. You’ll know all their names soon enough.
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