You know what gets our blood pumping? A great action flick. The explosions, the car chases, the high-stakes heists, the crazy fight choreography— all the hallmarks of a cinematic adrenaline rush. Live vicariously through your favorite heroes (or villains) by streaming the best action movies on Netflix for 2021. We’ve also included a few standout thrillers and suspense movies.
Looking for even more films to stream online? We’ve found the all-around best Netflix movies, Amazon Prime movies, and movies on Hulu.
Science Fiction and Fantasy
Hardcore Henry (2015)
Hardcore Henry is one of the most intense and unique action movies you’ll ever experience. The plot is fairly straightforward, Henry is resurrected with no memory and he must save his wife from a telekinetic warlord. The movie is shot entirely in the first person, however. Meaning you get to see from the viewpoint of Henry throughout the film.
Director: Ilya Naishuller
Main Cast: Sharlto Copley, Tim Roth, Haley Bennett
Runtime: 96 minutes
IMDb Rating: 6.7
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
This comedy movie isn’t exactly your traditional action film, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for it in the genre. The story follows Scott Pilgrim, an aspiring bass guitarist, as he falls for a girl named Ramona Flowers. However, to be with her, he must first defeat her seven evil exes in a battle to the death.
Director: Edgar Wright
Main Cast: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin
Runtime: 112 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.5
Snowpiercer (2013)
Oscar-winning director Bong Joon Ho is well-known for his most recent film, Parasite, but his body of work expands much further. Snowpiercer boasts one of the most unique premises: the entire film taking place on a train that holds the last of the world’s survivors after a failed climate-change experiment. If you’re thinking it looks like Captain America on a snow train, you aren’t terribly far off.
Director: Bong Joon Ho
Main cast: Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, Tilda Swinton
Runtime: 126 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.1
Total Recall (1990)
If you’re looking to watch more of the classics, this early ’90s film is a great place to start. The story follows Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger), who has been having a recurring dream in which he journeys to Mars. To find out more about this dream, he purchases a holiday at a corporation that deals with memory implants. Naturally, Quaid remembers that he is actually a secret agent and must take down the evil Mars administration.
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Main Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside
Runtime: 113 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.5
Stardust (2007)
If you find yourself in need of some fantasy action and romance, Stardust delivers all that and more. The plot follows Tristan Thorn, a young man living in a small countryside bordering a magical land. After professing his love for the village beauty, he sets out on a quest into the magical kingdom to retrieve a fallen star for her. But when he finds out the fallen star isn’t just some lump of rock, things get complicated.
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Main Cast: Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Mark Strong, Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer
Runtime: 132 minutes
IMDb Rating: 8.2
Beowulf (2007)
A grim and wicked tale of lust and consequences, Beowulf is a mix of fantasy-period-drama and graphic action sequences. A king who has spent his life accruing glory and riches likely gains some enemies and curses as well, which is when Beowulf comes to help.- With an awesome cast of characters layered with hyper-realistic animation, the visuals are eerily surreal and sometimes very realistic, also allowing for some incredibly imaginative film angles.
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Main Cast: Ray Winstone, Crispin Glover, Angelina Jolie
Runtime: 115 minutes
IMDb Rating: 6.2
Crime
The Irishman (2019)
This story follows Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran (Robert De Niro), a former labor union official and hitman as he recalls his past. With an emphasis on the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), this biographical crime drama is worth a watch.
Director: Martin Scorsese
Main Cast: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci
Runtime: 210 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.9
The Other Guys (2010)
While we’re already talking about funny action movies, let’s chat about The Other Guys. This Will Ferrell production is as hilarious as it is action-packed, with a dash of social commentary. It’s hard to beat the opening scene. If you haven’t seen it, we won’t ruin it. Though you may also want to check our list of the best comedies on Netflix for more options.
Director: Adam McKay
Main Cast: Will Smith, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Keaton
Runtime: 116 minutes
IMDb Rating: 6.6
Triple Frontier (2019)
This action-adventure movie follows a crew of ex-military Americans who plan on robbing a known cartel member and setting themselves up with the retirement funds their jobs did not provide.
Director: J.C. Chandor
Main Cast: Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam
Runtime: 125 minutes
IMDb Rating: 6.4
The Night Comes for Us (2018)
This relatively recent new-noir action flick also comes from Indonesia. Ito, a deadly and powerful gangster, has a 180-degree change of heart after he rescues Reina, a young girl, from the remains of her massacred village. The resulting carnage — and there’s a lot of carnage — revolves around one man battling his former gang members to save one girl and, in some ways, himself.
Director: Timo Tjahjanto
Main Cast: Iko Uwais, Julie Estelle, Joe Taslim
Runtime: 121 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.0
War
Da 5 Bloods (2020)
Spike Lee’s latest film is the story of four African American Vets who return to Vietnam after the war. Battling the elements, the group sets out in search of the remains of their fallen squad leader and the promise of buried treasure.
Director: Spike Lee
Main Cast: Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Clarke Peters
Runtime: 154 minutes
IMDb Rating: 6.5
Hostiles (2017)
This western war tragedy is set in 1892 after nearly two decades of fighting between the U.S. and Native American tribes. The story follows a legendary Army Captain as he reluctantly agrees to escort a Cheyenne chief and his family through dangerous lands.
Director: Scott Cooper
Main Cast: Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike, Wes Studi
Runtime: 135 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.2
Troy (2004)
In this thrilling tale of heroes, villains, brothers, demigods, and the face that launched 1,000 ships, we see a modern depiction of Homer’s Iliad, when the epic battle between Troy and Sparta took place in ancient Greece. With the star-studded cast and cheer-worthy action sequences, you won’t want this movie to end. This film was a close runner-up for our list of the best movies of the 2000s.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Main Cast: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom
Runtime: 163 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.3
No Game No Life: Zero (2017)
This isn’t your typical war movie. Based on the novel series of the same name, No Game, No Life: Zero tells the story of humanity’s struggle through the great war. Despite being the only race without magic, humans must use the true power of intellect to survive. This movie is actually the prequel to a popular anime series on Netflix.
Director: Atsuko Ishizuka
Main Cast: Alexandra Bedford, Jessica Boone, Ricardo Contreras
Runtime: 106 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.5
Django Unchained (2012)
A German bounty hunter seeks and purchases a slave named Django (Jamie Foxx) to help him track down some men he is after. But after taking them down, Django wishes to seek out his wife and give her the freedom he has found. The bounty hunter offers to help him, and they manage to pinpoint and infiltrate a corrupt plantation owner’s estate where she is currently enslaved. We’ve found even more Quentin Tarantino movies if you’re interested.
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Main Cast: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio
Runtime: 165 minutes
IMDb Rating: 8.4
Comic Book
The Old Guard (2020)
If you’re looking for something new on Netflix, The Old Guard is a sci-fi movie worth watching. The story follows a warrior named Andy (Charlize Theron) and her covert group of immortal mercenaries who have been protecting the mortal world for centuries.
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Main Cast: Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts
Runtime: 125 minutes
IMDb Rating: 6.7
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
As far as animated Marvel movies go, Spider-Verse is one of the best so far. In a string of parallel universes, teenager Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) finds himself becoming Spider-Man. Aided by the Spider-Men — and woman — from other timelines, he must learn to be like Peter Parker.
Directors: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey
Main Cast: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld
Runtime: 116 minutes
IMDb Rating: 8.4
Batman: The Killing Joke (2016)
If you’re a fan of good animation and voice acting, then this is a solid choice any day of the week. While Batman is hunting for the escaped Joker, the Gordon family gets attacked to prove a terrible point.
Director: Sam Liu
Main Cast: Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Tara Strong
Runtime: 116 minutes
IMDb Rating: 6.4
Martial Arts
Ip Man (2008)
The Ip Man series is the story of the real-life Chinese martial artist, Ip Man (also known as Yip Man), who is credited with bringing the practice of Wing Chun to the global stage. The three movies highlight different parts of his life, from his education in Wing Chun to the legacy of his own teaching in Hong Kong (which included Bruce Lee as one of his pupils). The Grandmaster (2013) is another interesting take on the legend of Ip Man and Ip Man 4: The Finale hit theaters in December 2019.
Director: Wison Yip
Main Cast: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam
Runtime: 208 minutes
IMDb Rating: 8.0
Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
Wacky and exaggerated, Kung Fu Hustle is full of action and comedy that never takes physics into consideration. A small, rundown complex of working-class people is interrupted by two bozos posing as members of the terrifying ax gang, but things get kicked into gear when the real ax gang shows up. With twists and turns, good versus bad, and borderline superpowers, this one is sure to entertain the wire-fighting-action-sequence-lover in you.
Director: Stephen Chow
Main Cast: Stephen Chow, Wah Yuen, Qiu Yuen
Runtime: 99 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.7
Bloodsport (1988)
Army Captain Frank Dux goes completely AWOL and travels to Hong Kong to become the champion of a secret martial arts contest. The fights are brutal and there’s no guarantee of survival within any of these fights. As Jean-Claude Van Dammes breakout role, this movie is a great way to dig into the action star’s roots. This made our list for one of the most underrated movies on Netflix.
Director: Newt Arnold
Main Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donald Gibb, Leah Avres
Runtime: 92 minutes
IMDb Rating: 6.8
Classics
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
The entire Indiana Jones series — the original trilogy and the less-than-satisfactory fourth installment — are available on Netflix. Obviously, you should start with Raiders of the Lost Ark, but whether you follow Indy from The Last Crusade on to The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull … well, that’s up to you.
Director: Stephen Spielberg
Main Cast: Harrison Ford
Runtime: 115 minutes
IMDb Rating: 8.4
The Evil Dead (1981)
The Evil Dead is one of those classic horror films that has helped shape the entire genre. The story follows 5 college students heading out to a peaceful and remote cabin for a little rest and relaxation. But when an audio tape is discovered, an evil power gets released and begins to take them out one by one.
You can also try the movie drinking game to enjoy this film even more.
Director: Sam Raimi
Main Cast: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard Demanincor
Runtime: 157 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.5
Bond Binge
GoldenEye, Die Another Day, Tomorrow Never Dies, and The World Is Not Enough — all starring Pierce Brosnan as Bond — are on Netflix. What do you think about a 007 marathon? We’re not going to say that GoldenEye is our favorite, but we did include a link to where to watch below (it is our favorite).
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