From assassins to adventurers, superheroes, spies and more—here’s a selection of the very best action movies now streaming on Prime Video, picked by critic Rory Doherty.
See also
* Best new movies & series on Prime Video
* All new streaming movies & series
Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
Watch on Prime VideoJohn Carpenter’s brand of action movies will likely make fans of hyper-charged stuff like John Wick doze off, but there’s so much rewarding stuff in his sweltering atmosphere and minimalist synth scores that mimic an anxious heartbeat. This siege movie, with criminals trying to force into an isolated police station, best captures the frenzy and danger that characterised 70s genre filmmaking, with the violence oscillating between being outrageously comical and startlingly realistic.
The Boondock Saints (1999)
Watch on Prime VideoA fascinating oddity, the backstory behind the most Irish-Catholic action movie ever made does make its fictional Boston mafia storyline seem uninteresting in comparison. While the no-name director burned out before cameras even started rolling, The Boondock Saints lives on as the most blatant and bizarre Tarantino rip-off, complete with the most slow-mo blood squib explosions of any film in the 90s. The humour and violence are heightened to ludicracy and completely dated—a perfect encapsulation of WTF filmmaking.
Crank (2006)
Watch on Prime VideoJason Statham’s best film snuck into cinemas in 2006, even though it feels like a supercharged VOD action flick (not derogatory). With HD camcorder aesthetics and frenetic, hand-held camera moves, Crank documents the Stath running around Los Angeles on a perpetual hunt for adrenaline with life-or-death stakes. It’s great seeing an action star play someone who craves action this much, and with a wicked sense of humour and a great pace, the film will have the same effect on you.
Dead Man Down (2013)
Watch on Prime VideoOne of those films that makes you go, “Wait, produced by WWE Studios?!” during the credits (add Halle Berry’s The Call and Mike Flanagan’s Oculus to that list too). This film came a few years after Colin Farrell’s In Bruges comeback but another few before his flirtation with Oscar gold. It’s a grimy crime thriller with a solid cast of talented but B-list stars, with an added edge of glass-shattering, gun-ripping action tearing up the dank inner city streets.
The Grandmaster (2013)
Watch on Prime VideoHong Kong legend Wong Kar-wai started his career with a triad melodrama complete with whiplash-inducing martial arts scenes (As Tears Go By), so when he made The Grandmaster, a historical action film about the man who trained Bruce Lee, the gorgeously photographed martial arts were no surprise. Tony Leung stars as Ip Man, who showcases bone-breaking kicks and heart-breaking regret throughout the saga of a changing Hong Kong, a confident evolution of Wong’s filmmaking prowess.
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Watch on Prime VideoOne of Tarantino’s greatest exercises in tension and pure fun, the director shreds a historic amount of Nazis in ripping gunfire and fiery tornadoes. Famous for its excruciatingly tense opening sequence (where we meet the captivating and horrible Hans Landa played by Oscar-winning Christoph Waltz), this film only gets bigger and better with its WW2 guerilla resistance film. Tarantino argues there’s only one good way to dispatch a fascist: very, very violently.
John Wick: Chapter 4 (2022)
Watch on Prime VideoIt all comes down to this—John Wick’s final outing (for now) may be the franchise’s peak. Dazzling cinematography, sterling performances from Donnie Yen and Rina Sawayama, and an hour-long climax across Paris that barely pauses in between knocking the breath out of you, this nearly three hour film knows what strengths to play to and proves every kink has been ironed out of the dependable but malleable formula.
King Kong (2005)
Watch on Prime VideoNot one to baulk at a challenge, Peter Jackson decided to follow up his massive cinematic spectacle with… the original massive cinematic spectacle. Giving audiences another 3-hour epic two years after Return of the King, this was another boundary-pushing effects work from Jackson—but like the CG monsters that came before it, Kong wasn’t interested in just looking pretty. Expect some thundering fistfights and big city mayhem from this eighth wonder of the world.
The Northman (2022)
Watch on Prime VideoA true Hollywood rarity—an indie director of thoughtful, atmospheric horror gets a $70 million budget to make an action epic that compromises very little of his meticulous style. Robert Eggers made a searing Norse saga of vengeance that understands that the action hero sacrifices so much of their soul along their violent quest, and Alexander Skarsgård has rarely been used more effectively as a scorned Viking prince who must be reborn to reclaim his family’s honour.
Road House (1989)
Watch on Prime VideoPatrick Swayze, Sam Elliott, and Ben Gazzara take the stage like players in a Greek tragedy to sing a swansong to the sweat, homoeroticism, and brutality of the 1980s—and specifically how often they’re presented as uncomplicated entertainment. Charisma ripples through this brawler film about a bar cooler (indistinguishable from a bouncer) in charge of freshening up a dangerous dive bar, but there’s also monster truck carnage and some truly horrific action one-liners for your money too.
Road House (2024)
Watch on Prime VideoIs Jake Gyllenhaal able to pull off Patrick Swayze’s raw star power? Absolutely not, but with action guru Doug Liman behind the camera, it’s clear why this Road House remake prioritised humour and off-kilter energy for its Florida-set adventure. Now, Dalton (Gyllenhaal) is an ex-UFC fighter who needs to reign in hitting people too hard, until he’s fighting mean thugs and Conor McGregor, and then he needs to hit people as hard as possible. On that front, it delivers.
Shin Masked Rider (2023)
Watch on Prime VideoHideaki Anno is best known for his face-melting and psychologically confronting anime Neon Genesis Evangelion, but he’s recently mounted a trilogy of modernised live-action adaptations of classic Japanese “tokusatsu” characters. Returning to direct after 2016’s Shin Godzilla, Anno brings a visual verve and stylised edge to this story of a mutant-cyborg experiment who fights, well, evil mutant-cyborg experiments, usually via motorcycle rides and death-defying superpowered fights. It’s an electric watch, heightened by how seriously the source material is taken.
Shotgun Wedding (2023)
Watch on Prime VideoIf Jennifer Lopez wants to make fluffy rom-coms for the rest of her career, we should let her. If they also happen to feature bursts of explosive, elaborate action, that’s equally fine. This high-concept action-comedy forces soon-to-be-newlyweds (Lopez and Josh Duhamel) to overcome relationship tensions as pirates invade their island wedding. It’s relentlessly silly, with comedic and violent setpieces meshing together with satisfying results—including a drawn-out grenade detonation and Jennifer Coolidge letting rip with a machine gun.
Under Siege (1992)
Watch on Prime VideoWe may never truly understand Steven Seagal (maybe we do, he’s a Hollywood narcissist), but thankfully a few of his films manage to deliver modest entertainment. Calling this naval battleship Die Hard clone “modest” is a disservice, though—get ready for deranged and grisly performances from Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey leading a mercenary force that can only be stopped by a lone cook (Seagal) willing to put his life on the line.
Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012)
Watch on Prime VideoA true modern cult classic, this Direct To Video sequel reinvents the Universal Soldier lore with a cult of supersoldiers playing god with the minds of their infantry, with nods to Nicolas Winding Refn, David Lynch, and Apocalypse Now. It’s a delight watching director John Hyams and star Scott Adkins take an above-average DTV action film into dark, unsettling, and challenging waters; Day of Reckoning lives up to its doomsday title with a tortuous interrogation of the action antihero.
