Posted 4 hours ago4 hr comment_11354 Looking for a fast-moving car chase? Aerial acrobatics? How about a bit of fisticuffs, or a tiger straight up eating a dude? Look no further: Netflix has what you need.You can catch a high-minded thriller that uses action to underline plot, character, and message; or a hyper-stylish beat-em-up with cinematography and choreography that make art of violence; or you can just watch a lot of stuff blow up real good. No judgments! The only criteria is that the movie provides a fair share of fast-paced action thrills. Here are your best action options on Netflix right now.Carry-On (2024) Action thriller Carry-On starts off at the airport (naturally) and on Christmas Eve—I'm already tense. Taron Edgerton is TSA agent Ethan Kopek, who's blackmailed into allowing Jason Bateman to smuggle a dangerous package onto a flight (and yet I can't get through with my belt on). Having allowed the package through, Kopek is determined to stop the man (known only as The Traveller) from carrying out his devious plan. You can stream Carry-On on here.Back in Action (2025) Director Seth Gordon (Four Christmases, Horrible Bosses) does't swing for the fences with this action comedy, but there's enough fun to make up for its lack of originality. The title refers to Matt and Emily, a married couple who gave up their careers as CIA operatives in order to settle down for a quiet life in the suburbs. It's gone well for a number of years, until their identities are exposed, putting their kids are in danger. Back in Action is also a nod to stars Cameron Diaz, who hasn't been in a movie since 2014, and Jamie Foxx, acting again after his 2023 hospitalization. Neither has lost a step. You can stream Back in Action here. Damsel (2024) Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things, Enola Holmes) is virtually the young adult face of Netflix at this point. In her latest movie, she plays the title's damsel, Elodie, who agrees to marry a handsome prince, as young damsels did back in medieval times. Only she discovers that it's a trap, and she's actually meant to serve as a sacrifice to satisfy an ancient magical debt to a dragon. Luckily, our distressed damsel is far more resourceful than her would-be in-laws might have guessed. Angela Bassett, Robin Wright, and Shohreh Aghdashloo round out the cast of this fun action fantasy. You can stream Damsel here.RRR (2022) A fast-paced action movie should almost certainly not be as long as RRR, but there is not one single dull moment in this nearly three-hour Bollywood film. Likewise, a historical drama that touches on the national trauma brought on by the British Raj and depicting two real-life revolutionaries who died as martyrs to the cause of independence shouldn’t be this much pure fun, but somehow the context only makes it more satisfying. Find me a more thrilling moment in the movies than the bit where a truck full of wild animals is forcefully unleashed upon a sedate gathering at a British politician’s compound, or when a meet-cute between the two main characters involves wild acrobatics over and around a bridge. If American action epics insist on being this long, they could learn a thing or two or three from RRR’s refusal to ever sag. You can stream RRR here.Kill Boksoon (2023) Gil Bok-Soon (Jeon Do-yeon) is just a working single mom struggling to relate to her teenage daughter. Or, at least, that’s how it looks. It turns out that the company she works for, M. K. Ent., is in the assassination business, and Bok-Soon is their top-rated killer—she’s also in a slightly awkward relationship with one of her co-workers. It’s not a comedy, but the movie has fun playing up its parallels between a typical corporate job and Bok-Soon’s gig, while also offering up some impressively well-defined characters. What’s at least as important as all of that, though, is the plethora of spellbinding action sequences and brilliant fight choreo. You can stream Kill Boksoon here.The Equalizer 3 (2023) 2014's The Equalizer was the first of two ongoing, largely unrelated takes on the original 1980s TV series—a new CBS show starring Queen Latifah premiered in 2021 (it's also on Netflix). Given the failure ratio of reboots, finding success with two of them is no small feat, and it doesn't hurt the film series reunites Denzel Washington with Training Day director Antoine Fuqua. This third entry, probably the best of the three, finds Robert McCall taking it easy on the Amalfi coast following a close call when some new friends he's made are threatened by the Mafia-like Camorra. It doesn't break any new ground, but it's the bullet-filled equivalent of comfort food. You can stream The Equalizer 3 here.Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) It's hard to account for the box office failure of Furiosa, a movie that opened to stellar reviews and solid audience scores but still failed to make back its budget, let alone a profit—but here we are. This prequel is every bit the thrill-ride Fury Road was, even as it slightly dials back the action in favor of a bit more emotional complexity in and around our titular ass-kicker (here played by Anna Taylor-Joy as the younger version of Charlize Theron's one-armed badass). It's exactly the kind of smart, bonkers action spectacle we always say we want. You can stream Furiosa here. Sicario (2015) Before becoming our go-to director for smart, heady sci-fi with movies like Arrival and Dune(s), Denis Villeneuve helmed successful thrillers, including Prisoners and crime thriller Sicario. Emily Blunt stars as Kate Macer, an FBI agent taken with bringing down a leader in a powerful drug cartel along the Mexican border. In the process, Kate learns that the CIA's plans are legally and morally disturbing, raising questions about the extent to which the government will bend the rules to achieve its goals, and to what extent a loyal operative should follow orders. Timely. You can stream Sicario here. Conan the Barbarian (1982) The '80s fantasy movie wave saw a string of movies about sweaty, shirtless guys in loincloths battling dragons and demons, and the greatest of these was, of course, Conan the Barbarian, a brilliant vehicle for a young Arnold Schwarzenegger to show off those famous biceps. Here, Conan begins a lifelong quest of vengeance against the evil sorcerer Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones), beset by giant snakes, cannibal orgies, and the Wheel of Pain. It's all very silly while taking itself very seriously, which is just the right approach for adapting the pulpy novels of Robert E. Howard, and kind of the sweet spot for action movies of the era. You can stream Conan the Barbarian here.Waterworld (1995) The most expensive film ever made at the time of its 1995 release, Waterworld was lost to discourse about its inability to recoup its budget—which is kinda too bad. It's not a triumph by any measure, but it's solid escapist fun with some impressive action sequences and an environmental message; it also manages to concoct a convincing vision of a world built entirely on water, even if it all feels a little too Mad Max to be truly original. Still: It's fishy fun with a memorable villain turn from Dennis Hopper. You can stream Waterworld here.Godzilla Minus One (2023) Even given the success of Hollywood's recent stabs at the franchise, the best Godzilla movies still come from Japan, a fact made crystal clear by this emotional roller-coaster, set in the aftermath of World War II. With clear-cut and inventive action set against a story involving human characters who we genuinely care about, this isn't just the best recent kaiju movie...it may be the best ever. You can stream Godzilla Minus One here. Black Hawk Down (2001) Ridley Scott's historical drama repertoire doesn't stop with the ancient world (Gladiator, Exodus Gods and Kings) or even the French Revolution (Napoleon). Here, he dramatizes what came to be called the Battle of Mogadishu, which occurred not even a decade before the film was released. In 1992, A famine-relief operation saw the U.S. and United Nations embroiled in a Somali civil war during which three American Black Hawk helicopters were shot down, two of them landing deep in hostile territory. Scott and company (including leads Josh Hartnett, Eric Bana, and Ewan McGregor) focus purely on the resulting harrowing standoff without spending a lot of time on context or character development. The film received fair criticism for that, and for turning the Somali fighters into faceless enemies, but it's hard to argue that the laser-focus on the moment-to-moment trauma of combat doesn't make for a compelling action spectacle. You can stream Black Hawk Down here. Apollo 13 (1995) Another historical drama, but one with a quite different feel, Apollo 13 comes from the directing/acting team of Ron Howard and Tom Hanks, so you know you're in for something inspirational. Telling tells the story of astronauts Jim Lovell (Hanks), Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon), and Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) on the title's ill-fated lunar mission, the movie gets high points for technical accuracy while also maintaining tension alongside a sense of both wonder and loss as three men fight to survive while also facing the loss of their dream of the moon. You can stream Apollo 13 here.Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024) The fourth Bad Boys movie isn't quite as good as 2020's Bad Boys for Life, from the same directing team of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, but it's still a fun action spectacle that makes clear that the modern sequels are better than their Michael Bay-helmed predecessors. Mike and Marcus (Will Smith and Martin Lawrence) are back as they learn that their captain, killed in the last film, is being framed for having drug cartel ties. Naturally, our heroes get back together to clear Conrad's name and also to blow stuff up. You can stream Ride or Die here. Smokey and the Bandit (1977) Burt Reynolds has a long way to go and a short time to get there. He's Bo "The Bandit" Darville, running point for an illegal shipment of bootleg beer (400 cases of Coors, to be precise) from Texas to Atlanta, using his cool car to draw attention from Jackie Gleason's Sheriff Buford T. Justice. He's joined along the way by Sally Field's Carrie, a runaway bride who makes a surprisingly helpful companion. The practical car action makes it a slightly more believable alternative to the Fast and the Furious films. You can stream Smokey and the Bandit here. The Guns of Navarone (1961) With plenty of action and hints of melodrama, this World War II-set adventure finds Gregory Peck, David Niven, and Anthony Quinn leading a commando unit tasked with taking out a couple of giant guns on the titular island in order to clear a path to rescue 2,000 marooned soldiers. Dogged by Nazis, the team faces the Germans on sea and land, with guns, fists, and their wits. It doesn't have much more on its mind that Nazi-punching action, and that's not a bad thing. You can stream the Guns of Navarone here.The Old Guard (2020) Greg Rucka wrote the screenplay for this adaptation of his graphic novel about a mercenary special ops team made up of impressively long-lived humans with unexplained regenerative powers. Charlize Theron leads the cynical group of warriors in a movie that effectively blends superhero tropes with military action. The lack of superpowers that don't have to do with healing helps differentiate it from Marvel and DC flicks, foregrounding skillfully choreographed fight sequences that don't feel like complete fantasy. You can stream The Old Guard here. The Harder They Fall (2021) The modern western takes on the story of real-life Black American cowboy Nat Love (played by Jonathan Majors), and he’s joined by several other characters out of actual American history, played by the likes of Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King, and Delroy Lindo. It’s not a history lesson, but western movies have never been particularly troubled by the idea of heightening the true stories of the old American west into something like mythology. Here, young Nat Love’s parents are killed by Elba’s outlaw Rufus Buck, sending Love on a lifelong quest for revenge. This leads to a series of brilliantly exciting shoot-outs, stunts, and chases that pay tribute to the classic movies of the western genre, while also nodding to modern fight choreography and staging. You can stream The Harder They Fall here. The Night Comes for Us (2018) A sort-of successor to The Raid series (including many of the same actors), this movie from Indonesian writer/director Timo Tjahjanto (May the Devil Take You, a great horror movie also on Netflix) tells the story of a Triad member forced to fight his way out of the organization. The movie is on the bloodier end of its genre; the action is brilliant and stylized, but there’s quite a bit more realism in terms of blood and gore. The concluding fight scene is an all-time great one, if you’ve got the stomach for it. You can stream The Night Comes for Us here. Kate (2021) Though it’s lead by a French director and an American actor (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Kate stands apart in its anime-inspired, neon-lit, new-Tokyo aesthetic. There’s nothing new here, plot-wise, but that’s beside the point. Assigned to kill a yakuza assassin by her handler (Woody Harrelson), the titular assassin discovers that she’s been poisoned and has only 24 hours to live (i.e., 24 hours to get violent revenge). Imagine if the 1940s film noir classic D.O.A. were a martial arts action movie. You can stream Kate here. Gunpowder Milkshake (2021) An appearance by Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh doesn’t necessarily guarantee guarantee “action” (the Everything Everywhere All at Once and Crazy Rich Asians star can do it all)—but an appearance from Yeoh is guaranteed to be the icing on any action-movie cake. A modern take on classic gun-fu, this one further gilds that lily by adding in Lena Headey, Karen Gillan, Carla Gugino, and Angela Bassett(!) The cast aside, the film deals with two rival groups of assassins battling it out over the fate of a kidnapped child. You can stream Gunpowder Milkshake here.Baahubali (2015) The two Baahubali movies might not have quite the rousing political appeal of RRR (they’re all from the same director, S.S. Rajamouli)—honestly, it’s hard to beat the thrill of watching snotty colonials being eaten by tigers—but, if anything, these movies are even bigger, grander, and more operatic in their interests. Roughly inspired by the ancient Indian stories of the Mahabharata and featuring endless sweaty shirtless men (and not a few women, although more often clothed) fighting people and animals, the first film includes a 45-minute battle sequence that’s topped by the sequel. There’s just enough plot and romance to propel the action, but they’re the kinds of movies that know exactly what we’re here for, and they’re not afraid to give it to you. Baahubali: The Beginning and Baahubali: The Conclusion are both on Netflix, in English-dubbed and subtitled versions. You can stream Baahubali here.Enola Holmes (2020) Her brother Sherlock wasn’t above a bit of fisticuffs now and then, but it was his sister, Enola (Millie Bobbie Brown), we learn here, who really got to mix it up—with some help and training from their mother, Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter). Enola uses that combat training throughout the movie in fights involving fists, guns, knives, explosives, and a moving train or two as Enola searches for her missing mum while staying a step or two ahead of big bro (Henry Cavill). The sequel is just as fun. You can stream Enola Holmes here.Outlaw King (2018) Chris Pine plays Robert the Bruce in this film that, unsurprisingly, takes plenty of liberties with the Scottish Wars of Independence of the 14th century. No matter. The film sees underdog Robert lead a guerrilla campaign against the future Edward II of England in a number of exceptionally (though believably) bloody Medieval battles. Spears and swords clash in a number of extended and expensive-looking sequences, making it look like a real-life (well, kinda) Game of Thrones. You can stream Outlaw Kings here. Beckett (2021) The film aspires to the paranoid, conspiracy-style of movies like The Parallax View, The Bourne Identity, or Enemy of the State, but the plot here is a little too thin to work on that level. Where Beckett excels, though, is in presenting a straightforward man-on-the-run action thriller. John David Washington stars as the title character, who finds himself getting chased through Greece, for reasons unclear to him, following an auto accident. Washington is fun to watch as he runs and gets shot at; the scenery is striking; and the movie does a good job of making Greece feel incredibly sinister, especially for a lead character who doesn’t know the language. You can stream Beckett here.Da 5 Bloods (2020) It feels strange to include Spike Lee’s thoughtful Vietnam War story—one that grapples with the experiences of Black American soldiers during that conflict as few (if any) movies have before. Nevertheless, part of the reason that it works as well as it does is that Lee’s film does all of that while also offering up plenty of impressively shot and choreographed action sequences. With a cast led by Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, and Clarke Peters, the movie finds four aging Vietnam vets returning to that country to recover the remains of their fallen squad leader—and also to dig up the gold bars they left behind. Set in two time frames, it plays as a war movie in the past and, often, a thriller in the characters’ present, as they’re hunted by mercenaries while they hunt their lost treasure. You can stream Da 5 Bloods here.Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024) Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy, of course) is back, and he kicks off the movie by hijacking a helicopter in pursuit of some criminals in Detroit. Encouraged to take some time off, he returns to Southern California just in time for his old partner (Judge Reinhold) to warn Foley that is estranged daughter (Taylour Paige), a defense attorney who went up against the wrong people, is in danger. Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser, and Bronson Pinchot all return from the original film, joined by Axel's new partner played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. As legacy sequels go, this one's better than it has a right to be. You can stream Axel F here.View the full article
