The 20 Best, Most Exciting Action Movies on Netflix Right Now
Brace yourself for an armrest-gripping good time with the best action movies on Netflix.
Seeking explosive and thrilling entertainment from the comfort of home? Here's some good news: Right now, Netflix is host to a virtual library of heart-pounding action films from around the world! We want to help you make your next selection to stream at home, so we've selected the best.
Whether you're looking to take a new home theater setup for a test drive, or if you're just searching for an armrest-gripping good time, we recommend these action-packed favorites!
These are the best, most exciting action movies you can watch on Netflix right now. We've even included some honorable mentions.
This list is regularly updated as films come and go from Netflix's library.
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Best Action Movies on Netflix Right Now
Netflix
1. Army of the Dead (2021)
Hot on the heels of a long-in-gestation triumph with Zack Snyder's Justice League this spring, the fan-favorite director returns (without studio meddling) with a successor to his first (and arguably best) feature, 2004 remake Dawn of the Dead. Dave Bautista stars in the action/zombie/heist hybrid that's already a ratings hit for the streamer.
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Netflix
2. Extraction (2020)
One of the most popular Netflix movies ever stars Chris Hemsworth as a notorious mercenary tasked with rescuing the kidnapped son of an international crime lord. Extraction has received mostly positive reviews, and debuted on Netflix to massive viewership.
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Netflix
3. The Sleepover (2020)
Malin Akerman and Joe Manganiello star in this family-friendly Netflix original, about tween siblings who discover their seemingly normal mom is actually a badass in the witness protection program. The action comedy was directed by Trish She, screenplay by Sarah Rothschild. The Sleepover was a bona fide hit for Netflix, one of the top programs on the service since its release.
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Netflix
4. Project Power (2020)
Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt star in a Netflix original supernatural action thriller about a drug that gives its users temporary superpowers. Project Power garnered marginally positive reviews from critics, and it was Netflix's top-streamed film in its debut weekend this summer.
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Netflix
5. Triple Frontier (2019)
A rather stunning A-list cast including Charlie Hunnam, Ben Affleck, Pedro Pascal, Oscar Isaac and Garrett Hedlund. All is Lost and A Most Violent Year helmer J.C. Chandor's thriller (story by Mark Boal). sees U.S. Army colleagues reunite for a heist of a South American crime lord.
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Netflix
6. The Old Guard (2020)
Greg Rucka adapted his own comic book for the screen, and Gina Prince-Bythewood directed this well-reviewed shoot-em-up. The ever-impressive and screen-commanding Charlize Theron stars alongside KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts and Chiwetel Ejiofor as an immortal mercenary out for vengeance.
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Netflix
7. Red Notice (2021)
Netflix's biggest movie ever received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, but continues to direct massive traffic for the streamer. Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot star in the comic actioner about an Interpol agent pursuing the world's most wanted art thief.
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Netflix
8. Ava (2020)
Jessica Chastain's remarkable charisma and impressive action chops go a long way in redeeming Tate Taylor's action crime thriller about an assassin marked for death. Co-starring John Malkovich, Geena Davis and Colin Farrell.
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United Artists Corporation
9. Skyfall (2012)
This is not how it's supposed to work. Conventional wisdom tells us a movie franchise surely won't be better—much less more intimate—than ever, a full half-century into its run. But that's what happened with Bond in Skyfall.
In 2012, James Bond steps into our modern world, where enemies aren't as easy to see, and the fight is in the shadows. Skyfall is frightening, fun, deeply funny at times, and touching. This is an entertainment that's confident, sophisticated and wise enough to know that hearing Judi Dench recite Tennyson in a courtroom can be just as stirring as watching James rip open a train car with a Caterpillar digger. Sam Mendes' direction is crystalline; he knows he has us in the palm of his hand every step of the way.
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Netflix
10. The Ice Road (2021)
Released late in the boom of Liam Neeson's formidable, leggy career comeback post-Taken, thoroughly implausible but fun The Ice Road stars the action favorite as an ice driver spearheading a rescue mission over frozen water. This Netflix hit is a modernized take on The Wages of Fear (famously adapted as Sorcerer in 1977).
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Sony
11. Air Force One (1997)
President James Marshall (Harrison Ford) tells terrorists to get off his plane in an iconic if shy of truly great action thriller from Das Boot's Wolfgang Petersen. Co-starring Gary Oldman and Glenn Close, Air Force One was the fifth highest-grossing film of 1997, and nominated for two Oscars.
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Courtesy STXFilms
12. The Gentlemen (2019)
After the notable critical and box-office failure of King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, director Guy Ritchie bounced back with two hits in the same year: Disney’s Aladdin remake, and The Gentlemen, a return-to-form action comedy about schemings and double-crossings surrounding a weed empire. The ensemble includes Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Jeremy Strong, Colin Farrell and Hugh Grant.
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Sony Pictures
13. Uncharted (2022)
Where to begin with Uncharted? Why on the continental surface of Earth were critics so harsh to it? Based on the long-running, critically acclaimed adventure game series about strong-willed everyman explorer Nathan Drake, the box-office hit boasts magnetic, funny and physical performances from Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, who are in a league of their own when it comes to this kind of thing.
There is only one Harrison Ford, and it's unlikely any adventure film will ever measure up to prime Indy. Uncharted is content to be a slick, silly and self-aware homage, and its pleasurable escapism connected with audiences. As was the case with Spider-Man: No Way Home (released within weeks of Uncharted, cementing Holland as maybe the biggest box-office name in the world right now), Holland's face is more compelling than any visual effect. This is a true star.
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Sony
14. Bullet Train (2022)
After a modestly successful theatrical run, kinetic Brad Pitt action comedy vehicle Bullet Train arrived on Netflix. The picture, about an assassin who crosses paths with numerous adversaries on the world's fastest train, quickly became a huge hit on the service. Directed by John Wick and Atomic Blonde helmer David Leitch, Bullet Train is lightweight, quirky and lightly morbid enough to provide just about anyone with a breezy diversion.
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Netflix
15. RRR (2022)
The Rs stand for rise, roar, revolt—and international audiences have certainly risen and roared in response to this crossover hit of South Indian cinema, now streaming on Netflix. An epic buddy action musical that's sort of about real-life Indian revolutionaries and their struggle with the Raj, RRR is funny, bloody, and kinetic, with a touching bromance between stars N.T. Rama Roa Jr. and Ram Charan. The VFX are outlandish but remarkably detailed and eye-popping. The film is genuinely spectacular for 187 minutes.
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Getty Images
16. Resident Evil (2002)
The Matrix was released three years before Paul W.S. Anderson's original Resident Evil, and its influence is more apparent than that of Capcom's Resident Evil games. This is a hard pivot into action—with some horror—in an era when virtually everything was referencing The Matrix's futuristic stamp. The influence would carry through later Resident Evil films, too. The idea of a high-tech sci-fi zombie thriller was fresh at the time (this is a year before 28 Days Later's shot in the arm to the sub-genre), and though it never aims to be more than a B-movie, it succeeds at that.
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New Line Cinema
17.-19. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)
Peter Jackson's high fantasy landmark trilogy was shot all at once, unprecedented for entertainment of this scale at the time. The Bad Taste and Heavenly Creatures helmer was a risky but inspired choice for the long-awaited live-action take on J.R.R. Tolkien, imagining an expansive world that always feels wild, alive, unpredictable. The third installment Return of the King swept the Oscars, winning 11 categories total.
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Sony Pictures Entertainment
20. The Woman King (2022)
Viola Davis stars in Gina Prince-Bythewood's historical action epic about the all-female warrior unit Agojie in 19th-century West Africa. The Woman King was criticized for taking liberties with history, but just as many critics marveled at the crackling, muscular filmmaking; the movie opened atop the domestic box office. Davis received S.A.G., BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations but was completely robbed of any Oscar nods.
