Action movies are a guilty pleasure for many of us. We love them because they’re fast-paced and thrilling. In fact, the best action movies are often suspenseful because the stakes are high and it’s easy to get hooked. The best action movies are also big on character development and plot twists that leave viewers feeling satisfied in their rush to see how everything will turn out next.
With a three-month release window for Hollywood’s loudest and craziest gun-blazing action flicks, you can expect to see three or four action flicks premiere.
You can watch some of the most well-liked best action movies of all time at home thanks to notable genre classics. Whether you are in the mood for something fresh or want to catch up on the latest we have you covered a familiar and action-packed rollercoaster of punches, kicks and knife fights.
The films are listed in order of their IMDb rating, which is an average of all reviews for the movie on the internet. This ranking also includes additional rankings such as Rotten Tomatoes. The films that were included were either critically acclaimed or extremely popular among fans of action films.
Let’s Have A Look At Our World’s Best Top 10 Action Movies Of All Time
10. John Wick
John Wick is a 2014 action thriller film written and directed by Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, starring Keanu Reeves, John Leguizamo, Ian McShane and Laurence Fishburne. It’s a dark neo-noir revenge story set in a moody yet stylized world where everyone has a vendetta and everyone lies. The film is an international hit (total worldwide box office: $90 million) and the first installment in the John Wick franchise about an ex-hitman taking vengeance on those who wronged him.
- Director: Chad Stahelski, David Leitch
- Writer: Derek Kolstad
Top Cast
Release: 2014
Genres: Action, Crime, Thriller
Certificate: PG
Where To Watch: VUDU, Prime Video, Apple TV
Rating – (7.4/10)
TOMATOMETER
ALL CRITICS Reviews – 221
AUDIENCE (81%)
50,000 + Ratings
9. 300
When Xerxes came to the Greek city of Thermopylae in 480 BC, he brought with him an army of around 100,000 men. His plan was to try to force the Spartans out of their city before they could prepare their defenses, and then march on and conquer Greece. But instead, he met his match at Thermopylae when King Leonidas had a force of 300 men together with Greek allies numbering about the same amount – along with a huge contingent of Spartans who were determined to fight for their freedom at all costs.
- Director: Zack Snyder
- Writer: Zack Snyder
- Screen Play: Kurt Johnstad, Michael B. Gordon
Top Cast
Release: 2006
Genres: Action, Drama
Certificate: Rated R for graphic battle sequences throughout, some sexuality and nudity
Where To Watch: Prime Video, Apple TV
Rating – (7.6/10)
TOMATOMETER
ALL CRITICS Reviews – 235
AUDIENCE (89%)
250,000 + Ratings
8. Taken
Taken is a 2008 American action thriller film directed by Pierre Morel and written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. Based on the 2003 French serial novel of the same name, written by Virginie Despentes and Philippe Djian, the film stars Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen and Leland Orser. It tells the story of Bryan Mills who travels to Paris to retrieve his teenage daughter from kidnappers.
- Director: Pierre Morel
- Writer: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen
Top Cast
Release: 2008
Genres: Action, Crime, Thriller
Where To Watch: Apple TV
Rating – (7.8/10)
TOMATOMETER
ALL CRITICS Reviews – 117
AUDIENCE (85%)
250,000 + Ratings
7. Casino Royale
James Bond sets out to defeat the evil Ivan Drax and rescue his former love, Vesper Lynd. With the help of Felix Leiter, M gives Bond his assignment: “Win at all costs”, including playing in the world’s largest high-stakes poker tournament to see if he can earn his 00 licenses. Along with Vesper, he heads for Montenegro, where they face a series of adventures that include a deadly game of chess and an unforgettable encounter with Jaws — a henchman of Drax’s.
- Director: Martin Campbell
- Writer: Neal Purvis(screenplay), Robert Wade(screenplay), Paul Haggis(screenplay)
Top Cast
Release: 2006
Genres: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Where To Watch: Apple TV, VUDU, Netflix, Prime Video
Rating – (8.0/10)
TOMATOMETER
ALL CRITICS Reviews – 263
AUDIENCE (90%)
250,000 + Ratings
6. Mad Max: Fury Road
“Mad Max: Fury Road is a 2015 film written and directed by George Miller, starring Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, and Hugh Keays-Byrne. The fourth installment in the Mad Max franchise takes place in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust, in which survivors struggle to find water and sufficient food. The story follows a group of people who escape from a prison convoy and come upon the Wasteland.”
- Director: George Miller
- Writer: George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, Nick Lathouris
Top Cast
Release: 2015
Genres: Action, Adventure, Thriller, Si-Fi
Certificate: Rated R for intense sequences of violence throughout, and for disturbing images
Where To Watch: Apple TV, HBO Max, Prime Video
Rating – (8.1/10)
TOMATOMETER
ALL CRITICS Reviews – 437
AUDIENCE (86%)
1000,000 + Ratings
5. Gladiator
With his family slaughtered and his people enslaved, Maximus (Russell Crowe) becomes a gladiator in an effort to exact revenge on the man responsible. However, during a battle with Mark Anthony (Paul Bettany), Maximus receives a fatal wound and dies in battle. He then sees a vision of the afterlife and speaks to God, asking why he must suffer for what others have done.
- Director: Ridley Scott
- Writer: David Franzoni(story), John Logan(screenplay), William Nicholson(screenplay)
Top Cast
Release: 2000
Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama
Certificate: Rated R for intense, graphic combat
Where To Watch: Apple TV, Prime Video
Rating – (8.5/10)
TOMATOMETER
ALL CRITICS Reviews – 206
AUDIENCE (87%)
250,000 + Ratings
4. The Matrix
The Matrix, 1999. The movie turned Keanu Reeves into an action star, as well as a legend who still can’t escape the shadow of that movie. It’s a mystery thriller about what appears to be reality and what really is reality. A man wakes up in the middle of a dark street after having been forcibly abducted and held against his will for three days. He’s a computer hacker called Neo, who leads us down into the seemingly impenetrable matrix in order to figure out what’s going on and to stop this evil AI from taking over all our lives.
- Director: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski
- Writer: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski
Top Cast
Release: 1999
Genres: Action, Si-Fi
Certificate: Rated R for sci-fi violence and brief language
Where To Watch: Apple TV, Prime Video, VUDU, HBO Max
Rating – (8.7/10)
TOMATOMETER
ALL CRITICS Reviews – 161
AUDIENCE (85%)
250,000 + Ratings
3. Inception
Using dream-sharing technology, the thief steals corporate secrets, but he is given the inverse task of implanting an idea in a CEO’s mind, but his tragic past could bring the project to a disastrous end. Never before has someone attempted to plant an idea directly into another person’s head, and never before has this person been so closely connected with high finance as well. The stakes are high and his teammates in crime are terrified as he goes undercover to find out more about a brilliant mathematician who can predict market behavior years in advance through the statistical analysis of data.
- Director: Christopher Nolan
- Writer: Christopher Nolan
Top Cast
Release: 2010
Genres: Action, Si-Fi, Thriller, Adventure
Where To Watch: Apple TV, Prime Video, VUDU
Rating – (8.8/10)
TOMATOMETER
ALL CRITICS Reviews – 362
AUDIENCE (81%)
250,000 + Ratings
2. Top Gun: Maverick
In a job where it’s all about speed, action and danger, Navy Lt. Pete Mitchell (Tom Cruise) has the most dangerous kind of career with no room for error… or disturbance. He’s a Navy test pilot to the core, pushing at the limits of his skill so he can be one step ahead of his competition. But as much as Pete might want to win this game without concern for others, that’s not always possible when there are people counting on him–like his estranged wife (Juliette Lewis), his kids back home, his commanding officer (Billie Lourd) and a woman who can’t seem to forget him (Beckinsale). What makes matters worse is that after more than three decades of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete Mitchell is where he belongs–wherever there’s a fight against America’s enemies and a wing above their head.
- Director: Joseph Kosinski
- Writer: Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr., Peter Craig
Top Cast
Release: 2022
Genres: Action, Drama
Where To Watch: Prime Video, VUDU
Rating – (8.5/10)
TOMATOMETER
ALL CRITICS Reviews – 438
AUDIENCE (99%)
50,000 + Ratings
1. Kill Bill: Vol. 1
After awakening from a four-year coma, a former assassin wreaks vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her by killing them one by one. It all begins when Bill, a martial arts expert hypnotized and trained since childhood, escapes to an island where he is targeted by his “former” bosses in an attempt to send him back into the past. Bill struggles against the people who are looking to erase his mind and erase his existence completely — until he meets a woman named Yashima (who calls herself Anna), who takes care of him while they make their way across Japan in search of other members of her organization that was unfortunately killed in the face of Bill’s hits.
- Director: Quentin Tarantino
- Writer: Quentin Tarantino, Uma Thurman
Top Cast
Release: 2003
Genres: Action, Drama, Crime, Thriller
Certificate: Rated R for strong bloody violence, language and some sexual content
Where To Watch: Apple TV, VUDU, HBO Max
Rating – (8.2/10)
TOMATOMETER
ALL CRITICS Reviews – 238
AUDIENCE (81%)
250,000 + Ratings
Conclusion
Overall, no one will walk away from the best action movies disappointed. The action is there, the characters are memorable, and they leave enough of an impression that you’ll hum something the next day.
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