The Best Action Movies on Netflix right now

During a time when many of us are meant to stay inside in the interest of combating a global pandemic, it’s comforting to know that a library of films that get your blood pumping exists on a streaming service like Netflix. Whether you’re in the mood to weave through busy city streets at top speed, break the bones of every henchman in the warehouse, eradicate an oncoming alien invasion, or exact revenge on the big boss that killed your dog, Netflix has countless training videos … I mean action flicks … for you to enjoy.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to discover which among them is the right one for you. Thankfully, we’re here to help and have assembled a rotating list of the Best Action Movies on Netflix right now.

Alita: Battle Angel (2019)

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Inspired by the 1990s Japanese manga series Battle Angel: Alita by Yukito Kishiro and original video animation adaptation, Battle Angel, this movie is an all-out love letter to cyberpunk science-fiction. Directed by Robert Rodriguez (From Dusk Till Dawn, Planet Terror), Alita: Battle Angel tells the fantastical tale of a revived cyborg attempting to solve the mysteries of her past. James Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis wrote the screenplay, which takes audiences into the mean streets of Iron City, a metropolis overrun with bounty hunting robots, thieves, and home to the impressive Motorball arena, where a Rollerball-like race is held featuring cyborg gladiators. Alita: Battle Angel is a movie about discovery, but it also allows Rodriguez to cut loose with some jaw-dropping special effects and cyberpunk motifs. For those of you craving action, Alita has plenty of cyborg-related scuffles, chases through crowded city streets, and Motorball sequences so exhilarating they’ll blow your hair back.

If there’s one drawback to Alita: Battle Angel, it’s that the movie assumes it’ll be getting a sequel, and that has yet to come to pass. This leaves the film feeling like the first chapter of a larger, unfinished story, but it’s still a hell of a great ride. If you’re looking for a film that pushes the boundaries of what filmmakers can achieve with contemporary special effects, all while escaping to an action-packed world overrun by cyborgs and enhanced villains, Alita: Battle Angel makes for a great time at the movies.

Dredd (2012)

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Standing tall and with authority as one of the biggest (and best) sleeper hits of 2012 is Pete Travis’ Dredd. Based on the Judge Dredd comic book series from IPC Media (1977-2000), and then Rebellion Developments (2000-present), this hardcore action film is raw, grotesquely psychedelic, and unapologetic. The plot follows Judge Dredd (Karl Urban), a law enforcer given the power of judge, jury, and executioner, and his apprentice partner, Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), as they traverse an apartment building overrun with criminals while working their way toward a twisted and tweaked crime boss named Ma-Ma (Lena Headey). In a time when both the MCU and DCEU exist, Dredd feels like a return to gritty comic book action films like The Crow, Darkman, or even elements of Paul Verhoeven’s Robocop. It’s a violent, tension-filled exploration of a dystopian future where the punishment for your crimes is decided by a single magistrate rather than a jury of your peers. Riddled with bullet holes, set ablaze by some of the coolest ammunition in sci-fi, and influenced by the effects of a mind-altering drug called SLO-MO, Dredd walks a dark path when other comic book action movies are journeying toward the light.

Headshot (2016)

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As you’ll come to discover when I periodically update this list, I’m a big fan of Indonesian martial arts movies. I love how raw, ruthless, and hard-hitting films of this genre tend to be, and how the action on display is always emotional and over the top. Thankfully, Netflix plays host to one of the best Indonesian martial arts films of recent years, Headshot. Co-directed by Kimo Stamboel and Timo Tjahjanto, who also wrote the script, Headshot is an intense crime thriller, starring Iko Uwais (The Night Comes for Us, The Raid series). In the film, Uwais plays Ishmael, a man with amnesia who must battle a criminal syndicate to protect the doctor (Chelsea Islan) who saved his life. Hard-hearted, gleefully gory, and surprisingly progressive on several fronts, this movie is perfect for people who like their rescue missions focused, ferocious, and forever upping the ante. If you like intricate hand-to-hand combat, Headshot will hit you in all the right places. If you like gunfights that leave criminals looking like Swiss cheese, this movie has you locked and loaded. If you groove to the tune of a one-man-army working toward dismantling an entire criminal organization almost single-handedly, Headshot is one of the best movies currently available on Netflix.

The Hitman’s Bodyguard (2017)

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If you’re on the hunt for a AAA action movie on Netflix, you need to look no further than The Hitman’s Bodyguard. Directed by Patrick Hughes (The Expendables 3), this action-packed race against time stars Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Salma Hayek, and Gary Oldman. If that star-studded roster isn’t enough to get you through the door, maybe the film’s absurd amount of over-the-top action will do the trick. In addition to featuring what can only be described as “chef’s kiss comedic chemistry” between Reynolds and Jackson, The Hitman’s Bodyguard is not for the faint of heart. This movie plays it cool for about 15 minutes, but then after that, it becomes a rousing display of all-out carnage with plenty of gore, violence, gunfights, explosions, a high-speed boat chase, and outrageous barroom brawls.

If you’re in the mood to laugh yourself silly while also watching one of the best buddy action comedies in recent memory, you should check this movie out. Plus, a sequel to this gem, titled The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, is scheduled for release on August 20, 2021. My advice? If you’re going out on a mission with Michael, Darius, and Sonya, you’re going to want to be prepared. Be sure to watch the original movie before it’s too late. Tick-tock, motherf*@ker!

Kung Fu Hustle (2004)

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After bringing martial arts to the soccer field in 2001 for the Hong Kong sports comedy Shaolin Soccer, filmmaker Stephen Chow is traveling back to 1940s Shanghai for a battle with the notorious Axe Gang that will make the child in you howl with laughter. Directed, co-written, and starring Stephen Chow, Kung Fu Hustle is martial arts action-comedy gangster film with cartoon physics and unforgettable characters. In the film, a wannabe gangster named Sing aspires to join the “Axe Gang” while residents of a housing complex are caught in his poorly constructed plan. Before long, it’s discovered that the residents are more than capable of looking after their own as some of them exhibit extraordinary powers. I’m talking about the stuff of legend, warriors capable of wielding mystical techniques that defy the laws of nature and warp our reality.

Often feeling like a wuxia film akin to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, or Hero, Kung Fu Hustle repeatedly has a visual flair that makes it feel like you’re watching a live-action Looney Tunes cartoon. While some might find this approach questionable, please trust me when I tell you that Chow strikes an inspiring balance between ludicrous and legendary martial arts action for this one. For my money, Kung Fu Hustle is some of the most fun you can have while engaging in gang warfare with a cast of colorful characters and legendary actors who left their mark on making Hong Kong action cinema in the 1970s.

Léon: The Professional (1994)

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Before The Fifth Element and before The Transporter, there was Leon: The Professional. Luc Besson’s early action movie remains a landmark genre film decades after it premiered. While the movie made Jean Reno a recognizable character actor and immortalized Gary Oldman in yet another crazy role, this is the movie that launched the meteoric rise of Natalie Portman from child actress to Oscar winner and eventual Marvel superhero. What works best in this movie is not the operatic action sequences of glorious gunplay but also the intimate character work. Sure, you can view the relationship between the middle-aged assassin and the pre-teen girl he takes under his wing as more than a father-daughter dynamic, but this remains a masterful motion picture worth checking out for the first time or fiftieth.

The Night Comes for Us (2018)

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Undoubtedly the most brutal film on this list, The Night Comes for Us takes everything you love about Indonesian martial arts movies and cranks those elements to eleven. To be blunt, this movie makes Gareth Evans’ The Raid series look tame by comparison. Directed by Timo Tjahjanto (May the Devil Take You), and starring Joe Taslim (Mortal Kombat, The Raid: Redemption) and Iko Uwais (Snake Eyes, The Raid: Redemption), The Night Comes for Us is a relentless ballet of brutality that presents audiences with more broken bones than an ICU full of failed daredevils. I recently watched this movie for the first time and have no shame in admitting that I spent much of the film with my own fist in my mouth, my teeth gnawing on knuckles, very nearly breaking the skin. In addition to telling a compelling story about a high-ranking enforcer who turns against a crime syndicate populated by like-minded killers, The Night Comes for Us is also a testament to how many martial artists can create compelling drama with the use of fights that’ll have you holding your breath until the last body has hit the floor.

The Old Guard (2020)

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Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and based on the indie comic book series created by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández, The Old Guard is an action sci-fi fantasy epic that literally spans thousands of years. Starring Charlize Theron (Atomic Blonde, Mad Max: Fury Road) as Andy, the leader of a group of immortal mercenaries, this thought-provoking thrill ride is bound to have you rethinking some of the most significant milestones in human history. What if a group of elite, unkillable badasses is in many ways responsible for some of humankind’s greatest achievements? These are just a few of the mysteries that will be unlocked as you take in this stylish display of furious fisticuffs, unbreakable bonds, and problems that are easily solved with the swinging of a very large and ancient ax. For me, The Old Guard is proof-positive that indie comic book properties work just as well on-screen as any Marvel or DC property. All it takes is a staunch dedication to the source material, an unflinching approach to the fantastic, and a trust that your audience is willing to take the ride. When Hollywood writes the playbook for how to do action right outside of superheroes, the first chapter should be dedicated to this movie.

Pitch Black (2000)

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After going behind enemy lines to save Private Ryan, saving the day like Superman as the Iron Giant, and swindling suckers into purchasing stock from JT Marlin in Boiler Room, Vin Diesel is ready to take on the role that would make him a real-deal action star as Richard B. Riddick in Pitch Black. Directed by David Twohy (The Arrival), this classic science-fiction action film helped put Diesel on the map. Set in the distant future, Pitch Black finds the crew of the spaceship Hunter-Gratzner marooned on a menacing planet populated by photosensitive underground creatures. If anyone hopes to survive, they’ll need the ship’s most dangerous inmate, Richard B. Riddick, to help keep everyone alive. In addition to delivering some of the best off-planet action of the year 2000, Pitch Black has a unique look thanks in part to cinematographer David Eggby (Riddick). Are you afraid of the dark? You will be as you watch this movie, knowing that unspeakable horrors with razor-sharp claws lurk within the gloom. Unlike the sequels that changed the scale and scope of the Riddick franchise, Pitch Black is an intense genre flick that works because it doesn’t try to be epic. It is dark, intense, and wonderfully scary.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

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Hey! Who says you need Disney+ to enjoy a top-tier Marvel action film? If you want to swing with Spider-Man while embarking on a reality-shattering adventure and see some of the most awe-inspiring animation ever captured on film, you’ve got to check out Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Now, just because the film’s central protagonist, Miles Morales, doesn’t have Schwarzenneger-sized muscles or carry a gun bigger than your whole body like Rambo, that doesn’t mean that this hero doesn’t pack a punch. Once he truly taps into his spider-like abilities, Miles is just as nimble, quick-witted, and heroic as any real-life action icon.

In my opinion, Sony Pictures Imageworks broke new ground when they made this movie. It’s slick and stylish from top to bottom, and its unique look and feel only serves to make the action that much more explosive, exhilarating, and mesmerizing. This film also has a ton of heart, making every web-swing, every super-powered punch that much more impactful. There’s no denying that Marvel’s live-action movies go all-in on the action, but there’s something really special about Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. If you’re looking for the kind of action film that hits every mark with the power of not one but six spider-infused characters who takes on the mantle of Spider-Man, you need to watch this movie.