The Best Action Movies of 2023

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Though 2022 had some major action movies in Top Gun: Maverick and RRR, 2023 kept the momentum moving. As always, the genre flooded theaters this year, delivering mega-franchises such as Fast & Furious, Mission: Impossible, and Indiana Jones. Vin Diesel brought the whole family back together, Tom Cruise motorcycled off a cliff, and Harrison Ford said a teary goodbye to his favorite adventuring archeologist.

Plus, we saw Keanu Reeves back as John Wick, superhero sequels galore, and Michael B. Jordan direct his own Creed film. (Which is stellar, by the way.) Paramount took a leap of faith with the first official Dungeons and Dragons movie, which starred Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez. If that wasn’t enough, a new Godzilla film for the ages snuck in at the tail (get it?) end of the year and decimated the competition at the box office. Classic. Below, we’ve assembled the best action films of 2023.

Fast X

Everyone's favorite action family returned with a banger in Fast X, which saw Dominic Toretto and his crew ditch space (for magnets!) and outrace a new villain played by Jason Momoa. There was so much action in this film that Fast & Furious even saw its first cliffhanger for the next installment.

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Godzilla Minus One

In one of Godzilla's scariest appearances yet, Minus One features an incredibly human story. The kaijju film follows a kamakazi fighter in WWII who abandoned the army—only to come face-to-face with something even more terrifying.

In theaters.

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

This animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot not only gave us Gen Z turtles, but an action-comedy for the whole family. Jackie Chan voices Splinter, Ice Cube lends his cords to a villainous mutant fly, and Paul Rudd is a scene-stealer as the lizard Mondo Gecko.

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Polite Society

In this charming indie action flick, a young British-Pakistani teenager dreams of being a stuntwoman—by having her older sister film home videos of her. But when her sister starts dating a suspiciously "perfect" man, she must fight to break her free.

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Shin Kamen Rider

A celebration of all things campy and cool, Shin Kamen Rider is an action flick for anyone who misses the days of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. Directed by Neon Genesis Evangelion's Hideaki Anno, the latest live-action Kamen Rider adventure sees the famous Japanese superhero fight like never before.

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Creed III

Like Sylvester Stallone before him, Michael B. Jordan realized that to go all out for Creed III, he had to direct it himself. Technically the ninth film in the Rocky series, Creed III saw Jordan’s Adonis Creed face off against a former childhood friend, played by Jonathan Majors. Though divisive among Rocky fans, Creed III is one of the best of the franchise's entries yet.

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John Wick: Chapter 4

Keanu Reeves returned in a major way for John Wick: Chapter 4, fighting against one of Hong Kong cinema’s finest actors. Ip Man and Shang-Chi’s Donnie Yen took the role of the lead villain for this fourth entry, along with Mortal Kombat and Bullet Train’s Hiroyuki Sanada. Of all the action films coming out in 2023, you can always bet that a John Wick flick won’t disappoint. And, yeah—it certainly did not.

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How to Blow Up a Pipeline

Not your traditional action flick, How to Blow Up a Pipeline is a haunting blueprint for those who want to battle the individuals and corporations who are destroying the environment. Starring Lukas Gage, the indie hit proved to be one of the most thrilling films of the year.

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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

The animated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse proved that live-action storytelling isn't always better. Spider-Verse feels like a story that can only be told through this medium—and the Spider-team has done the impossible once again. Telling the continuing story of Miles Morales (Shamiek Moore), Across the Spider-Verse may even even top its predecessor.

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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Harrison Ford is giving ol’ Indy one last ride in The Dial of Destiny—the fifth film in the series about an archaeologist who fights Nazis. Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas’s original pitch for Indiana Jones was “a James Bond film without the hardware," and the two creators have held true to the idea since the original movie back in 1981. Though Dial of Destiny the first film to be helmed by director James Mangold, the latest adventure story keeps Indy's rollicking spirit alive.

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Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

An action film so great, apparently, they had to split it in two. Dead Reckoning, the seventh film in the Mission: Impossible franchise, sees stunt-crazy Tom Cruise jumping off a cliff on a motorcycle at the age of 60. As was evident in Top Gun: Maverick, nothing will stop this man from cheating death over and over again. Damn it, I’ll be floored every time.

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Cocaine Bear

We were promised a bear who snorted a bunch of cocaine. And... it's exactly what we received. You won't find a single complaint here.

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Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

A Dungeons & Dragons film franchise felt like a big gamble, but it may have been perfect timing, considering the role-playing game is at the peak of its popularity. But what could a movie about a game wherein anything is possible focus on? Well, when you have Chris Pine, Hugh Grant, and Michelle Rodriguez signed on, just about any quest is worth seeing.

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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Marking James Gunn’s final Marvel film before heading to DC full-time, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 completes the trilogy and provides an ending for its beloved cast of misfits. Originally a struggling comic, both sales-wise and critically, Gunn made the Guardians one of the MCU’s most popular film franchises. Since Vol. 3 is the final space voyage for Star-Lord, Drax, Mantis, Rocket, and Groot, the gang went out with something special.

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Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

It’s been five years since the last Transformers film, but the popular toy line has yet to run out of ideas. “What if the cars could become animals?” is an idea right up there with ”What if Optimus Prime fought King Kong?” Transformers: Rise of the Beasts has both! And what’s this giant ape robot’s name? Optimus Primal. Perfect.

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