The Best Action Movies to Stream Now

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Whether it’s playing catch with cars, running from robots or mastering martial arts, few things can get your adrenaline pumping as much as a good action movie.

Of course, there are plenty of action movies to choose from. There are the classics like Top Gun, superhero films such as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and The Batman and postapocalyptic movies like Zombieland — which all promise thrilling storylines, intense fight scenes and nonstop excitement.

Looking for something a little more dark? Tune into Monkey Man. How about a flick that’s just as comedic as it is action-packed? Leave it to Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Kick-Ass.

Whether it’s explosions, muscle cars and mayhem or the sweet taste of victory you are after, you’re sure to find an action movie you love. Here are the best action movies you can stream right now.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes — the latest chapter of Hollywood’s longest-running sci-fi film series — takes place three centuries after Cesar’s rule, where apes have now formed multiple clans while humans have reverted back to a primitive state. However, when a young chimpanzee named Noa (voiced by Owen Teague) crosses paths with an intelligent woman (Freya Allan), they both strive to build a new future where apes and humans can live in harmony.

Watch Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes on Hulu on Aug. 2

Monkey Man

In this 2024 action thriller, Kid (Dev Patel, also making his feature directorial debut) toils his nights away by taking on jobs no one else wants, one which involves him stepping into the ring of an underground fight club — wearing a monkey mask — and getting beaten up by prized fighters for money. After years of pent-up anger, Kid finally finds his way into the city’s elite and seeks revenge against those responsible for his mother’s murder.

Watch Monkey Man on Peacock

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

While star Michelle Yeoh finally got her flowers for Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), her star turn in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is just as stellar. Featuring martial arts choreography from The Matrix‘s Yuen Woo-ping and transportive direction from Ang Lee, the 2000 smash is equal parts revenge epic and love story. It was also the first foreign-language film to break $100 million at the U.S. box office.

Watch Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon on Max

Dune: Part Two

Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Javier Bardem and more return for the highly anticipated second part of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel adaptation. Picking up after the events of Dune (2021), Paul Atreides (Chalamet) makes it his mission to exact revenge on those who’ve destroyed his family. Boosting the already-impressive cast are Austin Butler, Christopher Walken and Florence Pugh.

Watch Dune: Part Two on Max

The Beekeeper

In the 2024 thriller, Jason Statham unleashes his action chops as Adam Clay, a lethal assassin with a dark past tied to the “Beekeeper” operative. When his landlord dies by suicide after falling victim to a phishing scam, Mr. Clay embarks on a relentless quest for vengeance. Joining Statham are stars Josh Hutcherson, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Minnie Driver, Bobby Naderi, Phylicia Rashad and Jeremy Irons.

Watch The Beekeeper on MGM+

Road House

In Doug Liman’s 2024 reimagining of the 1989 Patrick Swayze-starring classic, Jake Gyllenhaal steps into the lead role as the former UFC fighter–turned–bar bouncer Dalton, who keeps Florida’s notorious Double Deuce roadhouse a thriving hot-spot by dealing with instigators head-on (sometimes literally). Road House features an all-star ensemble, including Billy Magnussen, Jessica Williams, Joaquim de Almeida, Lukas Gage, Post Malone and others, plus MMA fighter Conor McGregor in his first-ever movie role.

Watch Road House on Amazon Prime Video

Napoleon

More than two decades after their collaboration on Gladiator (2000), Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix and director Ridley Scott have reteamed for another period epic. Featuring full-scale battle sequences, this 2023 historical action drama explores the life of French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (Phoenix), from his beginnings to his eventual downfall, alongside his complex relationship with his wife, Josephine (Vanessa Kirby).

Watch Napoleon on Apple TV+

Damsel

In this fantasy action thriller, Stranger Things‘ Millie Bobby Brown portrays a cloistered young noblewoman promised to a prince (Nick Robinson), who callously casts her in a cavern and offers her as a sacrifice to settle an age-old debt. Despite being stranded with a fire-breathing dragon on her trail, the princess channels remarkable guile and determination as she fights tooth and nail for survival.

Watch Damsel on Netflix

Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One

In the seventh installment in the Mission: Impossible film series — and one of the highest-grossing blockbusters of 2023 — elite field agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF squad go head-to-head with “the Entity,” a thunderous rogue AI with the potential for world destruction. Oscar-nominated for Best Sound and Best Visual Effects, Dead Reckoning features a stacked ensemble cast, including Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Mariela Garriga and Henry Czerny.

Watch Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One on Paramount+

The Equalizer 3

Having retired from his career as a government assassin, Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) now resides in Southern Italy, battling with the demons of his violent past. However, when he learns that his new friends are under the thumbs of local mafia members, Robert must use his vigilante instincts to protect both them and his hard-earned peace.

Watch The Equalizer 3 on Netflix

The Creator

In this 2023 sci-fi thriller, John David Washington stars as Joshua, an ex-special forces agent mourning the disappearance of his pregnant wife (Gemma Chan). During a postapocalyptic conflict between humans and artificial intelligence, Joshua is enlisted to track down and obliterate the Creator — the enigmatic mastermind behind A.I. who has crafted a cryptic weapon capable of concluding both the war and humanity itself. Yet, upon retrieving the world-ending device, Joshua and his team discover it’s an A.I. in the guise of a young girl (Madeleine Yuna Voyles).

Watch The Creator on Hulu

Blue Beetle

When law school graduate Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) stumbles upon the Scarab, an ancient relic of alien biotechnology, he becomes its chosen symbiotic host. Equipped with a suit of armor possessing remarkable yet unpredictable powers, Jaime has to learn how to master his new abilities as the Blue Beetle while being pursued by the ruthless Carapax (Raoul Max Trujillo) and Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon).

Watch Blue Beetle on Max

John Wick: Chapter 4

In the fourth installment of the John Wick saga, the legendary hitman extraordinaire (Keanu Reeves) remains resolute in his mission for revenge against the High Table. But in his pursuit of freedom, he must face a new enemy (Bill Skarsgård) backed by powerful alliances worldwide. 

Watch John Wick: Chapter 4 on Starz

Fast X

In the adrenaline-pumping 10th installment of the Fast & Furious saga, the repercussions of Hernan Reyes’ (Joaquim de Almeida) death in Fast Five (2011) resurface to torment Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew. Dante (Jason Momoa), Hernan’s son, witnessed his father’s death and the loss of his family’s fortune, harboring a decade-long vendetta. Directed by Louis Leterrier, Fast X accelerates with a star-studded ensemble, featuring Charlize Theron, Brie Larson, Rita Moreno, John Cena, Jason Statham, Helen Mirren, Michelle Rodriguez and more.

Watch Fast X on Amazon Prime Video

Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves

Inspired by the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, this fantasy heist comedy helmed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley follows the escapades of Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine), a lute-strumming bard, and his barbarian BFF, Holga (Michelle Rodriguez). After their prison break, the two comrades assemble an oddball crew of misfits on a quest to recover a stolen relic from a now-mighty swindler (Hugh Grant) and cross paths with dangerous enemies along the way.

Watch Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves on Amazon Prime Video

Gladiator

Are you not entertained? Russell Crowe won an Academy Award for 2000’s Gladiator, which also won Best Picture and three other Oscars. Inspiring speeches (one of which Crowe penned himself) and rousing colosseum battles abound, and Joaquin Phoenix delivers an understated and nuanced performance as the corrupt Commodus. A sequel starring Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington, also directed by Ridley Scott, is slated to come out in November.

Watch Gladiator on Paramount+

Skyfall

After Agent 007’s assignment exposes undercover spies around the globe and forces supervisor M (Judi Dench) to relocate the agency that’s now under attack, James Bond (Daniel Craig) is entrusted with tracking down the threat, no matter how dangerous. Javier Bardem plays Raoul Silva, a former MI6 agent-turned-cyberterrorist Bond baddie out for personal revenge on M.

Watch Skyfall on Amazon Prime Video

Kick-Ass

​​Nerdy outcast and comic-book buff Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) takes it upon himself to become a real-life superhero despite lacking any superpowers. Going by the pseudonym “Kick-Ass” and sporting an internet-thrifted suit, the namesake hero fights crime alongside father-daughter vigilante duo Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and Hit Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz), which catches the attention of opposing forces in New York City. This 2010 black comedy also stars Evan Peters, Garrett M. Brown, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Elizabeth McGovern and more.

Watch Kick-Ass on Peacock

Plane

When a lightning storm forces pilot Brodie Torrance (Gerard Butler) to make an emergency landing on an island in the Philippines, the surviving passengers find themselves confronted by the hostile rebels who claim it as their domain. Teaming up with passenger Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter), a fugitive homicide suspect, Brodie undertakes a high-stakes mission to ensure the safe return of himself and his passengers.

Watch Plane on Starz

John Wick

This 2014 action thriller and franchise starter shows what happens when “you stab the devil in his back.” After his wife and cherished possessions are taken away, the illustrious assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) returns to old habits and unleashes his murderous instincts on those who’ve wronged him … while also being hunted by a former colleague.

Watch John Wick on AMC+

Zombieland

This 2009 postapocalyptic action comedy follows a group of surviving humans — played by Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin — who have to avoid becoming “human Happy Meals” for bloodthirsty zombies while making their way to an alleged safe haven.

Watch Zombieland on Netflix

The Bourne Ultimatum

In the heady third installment of the Jason Bourne film series, Matt Damon returns as the titular former CIA hitman grappling with psychogenic amnesia. As he faces the danger of a new assassin program, Operation Blackbriar, Jason plunges into a globe-trotting quest to outsmart formidable enemies and unlock memories from his past.

Watch The Bourne Ultimatum on Max

Avatar: The Way of Water

Dive into the phantasmagorical depths of James Cameron‘s Avatar universe with this 2022 sequel. Following a decade after the first film’s events, Way of Water sees the Sully family fleeing their home to reside with the oceanic Metkayina clan, where they have to defend themselves and their hosts against brutal aggressors through a flood of action-packed battles.

Watch Avatar: The Way of Water on Disney+

Black Panther

Black Panther brought much-needed Black representation to the superhero genre. Chadwick Boseman‘s indelible mark on cinema as T’Challa cannot be overstated, and Michael B. Jordan‘s Killmonger is as sympathetic and complicated a villain as they come. The supporting cast’s performances, especially Angela Bassett and Sterling K. Brown, are just as moving.

Enhanced by its stunning actors, the movie’s action is a blast to watch. Whether you’re watching Okoye (Danai Gurira) tossing her wig in a fight scene, Shuri (Letitia Wright) showing off her genius or a mixed martial arts battle, every element works.

Watch Black Panther on Disney+

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Securing Marvel its first Oscar win (three, in fact) with the first Black Panther film, this 2022 sequel earned another for Best Costume Design — yet there is so much more to take in, including the feature’s eye-catching thrills. Following King T’Challa’s (Chadwick Boseman) death, the mourning Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Princess/scientist Shuri (Letitia Wright), fellow Wakandans and allies strive to protect the kingdom from outside (and underwater) forces. Former War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and CIA agent Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) are back to help ensure the continuing legacy of the Black Panther.

Watch Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on Disney+

Godzilla vs. Kong

What do you do when one monster attacks? Unleash another one, of course. In Godzilla vs. Kong, the real monsters aren’t Godzilla or Kong — they’re conspiracy theorists and technology. While the action is stellar when the larger-than-life creatures go after each other, the excitement is unstoppable once they team up.

Watch Godzilla vs. Kong on Max

Devotion

Based on Adam Makos’ book — Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice — this aerial war drama revolves around the real-life friendship between U.S. Navy fighter pilots Jesse Brown (Creed III‘s Jonathan Majors) and Tom Hudner (Top Gun: Maverick‘s Glen Powell, who’s also an actual licensed pilot) and their time served together during the Korean War. With a supporting cast including Serinda Swan, Joe Jonas and more, Devotion honors the bond of a brotherhood forged in the early 1950s among racial and global tension.

Watch Devotion on Paramount+

All Quiet on the Western Front

Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2022, this German anti-war drama — adapted from Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 eponymous novel — tells the timeless story of a young man named Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer) who eagerly joins the German Army to fight in World War I. But when he and his comrades find themselves amid unforgiving and inhumane violence, their once-patriotic notions of war are shattered as they make every effort to survive.

Watch All Quiet on the Western Front on Netflix

The Woman King

Inspired by real events, this AAFCA-winning historical action flick centers on the Agojie, an all-woman army of the West African kingdom of Dahomey. In a dazzling performance, Viola Davis stars as highly-trained General Nanisca, who has to prepare a new generation of warriors to fight a foreign invader threatening their civilization.

Watch The Woman King on Hulu on Aug. 13

Top Gun

If you feel the need for speed, Tony Scott‘s fighter pilot action flick should be your first choice. In 1986’s Top Gun, Tom Cruise soars as smug hotshot Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell,” who strives to be the top naval pilot in his class — causing friction between him and rivaling classmates such as Iceman (Val Kilmer) — and swoop the flight instructor (Kelly McGillis) off her feet. From its classic soundtrack to its iconic beach volleyball scene to its fast-paced thrills, this blockbuster will “take you right into the danger zone.”

Watch Top Gun on Paramount+

Top Gun: Maverick

Thirty-six years after Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) graduated the TOPGUN Naval aviation program, he’s invited back as an instructor for a new generation of fliers, including Miles Teller‘s Bradley (“Rooster”) and Glen Powell‘s Jake (“Hangman”). Earning more than $1 billion dollars at the global box office, 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick is not only a triumphant sequel to its iconic predecessor but is also a “love letter to aviation,” as it impressively cranked up the action without VFX and filmed stunts with real U.S. Navy pilots flying top-quality fighter jets.

Watch Top Gun: Maverick on Paramount+

Free Guy

From Deadpool to Red Notice, Ryan Reynolds is a bona fide action star who never fails to bring the laughs. Also starring Jodie Comer, Taika Waititi and more, the 2021 action comedy follows a bank teller named Guy (Reynolds), who discovers he’s a trivial background character in a violent multiplayer video game and strives to be a winning hero when faced with conflict.

Watch Free Guy on Disney+

Shadow in the Cloud

In this 2022 war fantasy, Chloë Grace Moretz stars as a WWII flight officer who battles with an evil creature on her mission. Also starring Taylor John Smith and Nick Robinson, Shadow in the Cloud is a bumpy ride with several jump-scares lurking in its shadows, and tells a wildly complex story about female strength.

Watch Shadow in the Cloud on Netflix

Captain America: Civil War

Marvel movies always have a ton of great action sequences, but Captain America: Civil War brings together major characters in conflict with each other in exciting ways — and the questions raised about surveillance and the police state continue to resonate. Chris Evans‘ fight as Captain America with Robert Downey Jr.‘s Tony Stark was instantly meme-able, and the introduction of Chadwick Boseman‘s Black Panther and Tom Holland‘s Spider-Man make Civil War a fan favorite.

Watch Captain America: Civil War on Disney+

Avengers: Endgame

Avengers, we love you 3000. Bringing back fan-favorite characters and ending several beloved MCU storylines, the epic conclusion to the Avengers saga chronicles the titular superhero group’s final battle with Thanos, the demigod who destroyed the universe in Infinity War. Shattering box-office records, the 2019 superhero film became the second highest-grossing film of all time (at the time) next to 2009’s Avatar.

Watch Avengers: Endgame on Disney+

Prey

A prequel to the original Predator, Prey follows Naru (Amber Midthunder), a fledgling fighter trying to protect the Comanche Nation from the extraterrestrial hunter. Set 300 years before the events of the 1987 classic, the film features an almost entirely Native and First Nation cast and is available to stream entirely in Comanche. At its debut, Prey became Hulu’s biggest streaming premiere ever.

Watch Prey on Hulu

The Northman

With a cast that includes Alexander Skarsgård (who gained 20 pounds of muscle for the role), Nicole Kidman, Willem Dafoe, Ethan Hawke, Anya Taylor-Joy and Björk, The Northman is a take on the Norse folk tale of Amleth — the very legend that inspired Shakespeare’s Hamlet. When King Aurvandill (Hawke) is murdered by his own brother (Claes Bang), Prince Amleth (Skarsgård) vows to avenge his father’s death — but there’s far more to the treasonous slaying than meets the eye. With elements of Norse mythology and killer battle scenes, The Northman is a must-see.

Watch The Northman on Starz

The Dark Knight

Christian Bale is a great Bruce Wayne, but it was Heath Ledger‘s final completed performance as the Joker that brought The Dark Knight its critical acclaim and commercial blockbuster status. From the opening bank heist to the impossible choices the Joker thrusts upon both Batman and Gotham City, Christopher Nolan‘s sophomore outing for the caped crusader raises resonant questions about the nature of man.

Watch The Dark Knight on Max

The Batman

Matt Reeves‘ The Batman, released in 2022, is less like a superhero epic and more of a detective thriller. Robert Pattinson plays a tortured Bruce Wayne and a brooding Batman equally well, while Zoë Kravitz brings Selina Kyle to life as a sensual, cynical Catwoman. Paul Dano is chilling as the Zodiac Killer-inspired Riddler, and he worked very hard to get there: He was such a perfectionist that Reeves said Dano filmed 200 takes of a single scene.

Watch The Batman on Max

The Old Guard

The Old Guard examines a power granted to many superheroes that often goes unquestioned: the loneliness and boredom associated with immortality. Charlize Theron and the rest of the cast kill it in hand-to-hand combat scenes, and it brought some long overdue LGBTQ+ representation to the superhero genre.

Watch The Old Guard on Netflix