The 12 best action movies on Netflix
The 12 best action movies on Netflix
Ilana Gordon, James Mercadante, Dennis PerkinsWed, April 22, 2026 at 6:00 PM UTC
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Ben Foster as Matthew Axelson in 'Lone Survivor'; Godzilla in 'Godzilla Minus One'; Mark Wahlberg as Mike Williams in 'Deepwater Horizon'Credit: Everett (3)
The main problem with action movies is that no one is really allowed to walk. Car chases, impromptu skydives, and rooftop parkour are all very much in the transportation rotation, but a casual stroll? Not in the cards, pal.
You've got to fight for your right to exist in a world where weapons are currency, villains are plentiful, and danger is ever-present The characters in our favorite action movies grapple with wars, aliens, zombies, corporations, secret networks of sickos, and — sometimes — their own friends.
These are Entertainment Weekly's picks for the 12 best action movies on Netflix.
01 of 12
Casino Royale (2006)
Daniel Craig as James Bond in 'Casino Royale'Credit: Columbia Pictures
As the sixth actor to assume the mantle of James Bond, expectations for Daniel Craig's first go as the sophisticated and deadly super-spy were high — and he delivered.
Inhabiting the role with a smugness that belies the murderous look in his eyes, Craig manages to make 007 leaner, meaner, and more modern. In his first mission, Bond engages in a high-stakes poker game with terrorist Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), but falls tragically in love with Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), the British treasury agent bankrolling his game.
In this reboot, M (Judi Dench) views Bond as a "blunt instrument," but struggles to keep her newest weapon on the straight and narrow. Credited with reviving interest in the long-standing franchise, Casino Royale, as one EW critic puts it, "turns Bond into a human being again." —Ilana Gordon
EW grade: B+
Director: Martin Campbell
Cast: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Jeffrey Wright, Judi Dench
02 of 12
Da 5 Bloods (2020)
Delroy Lindo as Paul in 'Da 5 Bloods'Credit: David Lee/Netflix
Wars and wounds collide in Spike Lee's 2020 film, Da 5 Bloods, a meditation on race, generational trauma, and American intervention.
Toggling between the past and present, the film follows four Black war veterans as they return to Vietnam, intent on recovering a locker of gold bars and the body of their fallen friend and squad leader, Stormin' Norman (Chadwick Boseman), both of which were lost during a napalm strike.
As their journey unfolds, the former soldiers encounter landmines, both real and emotional, as they work to reconcile the horrors of the past with the difficulties of their present. Incorporating archival newsreel for additional context, Da 5 Bloods is a war film with action sequences, though many of its battles pit these men against their own memories. —I.G.
EW grade: A–
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Norm Lewis, Isiah Whitlock Jr.
03 of 12
Deepwater Horizon (2016)
Dylan O'Brien as Caleb Holloway and Mark Wahlberg as Mike Williams in 'Deepwater Horizon'Credit: David Lee/Lionsgate
On April 20, 2010, BP was using a rig called Deepwater Horizon to drill for oil off the coast of Louisiana when the rig exploded, shooting 3.19 million barrels of petroleum straight into the Gulf of Mexico. The disaster represents the largest marine oil spill in United States history, and remains one of the biggest environmental disasters of our lifetime.
Director Peter Berg repackages the story into a 2016 action film starring Mark Wahlberg as the rig’s Chief Electronics Technician, and Gina Rodriguez as an operator who tries to alert the Coast Guard.
Deepwater Horizon is an action movie about how corporate greed and negligence created a massive environmental disaster, but it’s also a human story about everyday Americans stepping up during times of trouble. —I.G.
Director: Peter Berg
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, John Malkovich, Gina Rodriguez, Dylan O'Brien
04 of 12
Godzilla Minus One (2023)
Kuranosuke Susaki as Kôichi Shikishima and Godzilla in 'Godzilla Minus One'Credit: Toho International/Courtesy Everett Collection
Godzilla Minus One won the 2024 Oscar for Best Visual Effects, but Takashi Yamazaki's film is so much more than a monster movie with incredible CGI.
Set in Japan in the aftermath of World War II, it follows a failed kamikaze pilot as he is haunted both by his actions during the war and a gargantuan monster with a heat ray capable of razing Tokyo.
A love story disguised as a horror movie, Godzilla Minus One offers stunning performances, a fascinating historical perspective, and — of course — the kind of city-trampling mayhem one would expect when selecting a Godzilla movie.
You know they did a good job when the filmmaker has you sympathizing with both the monster and the citizens rallying to defeat it. —I.G.
Director: Takashi Yamazaki
Cast: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki, Hidetaka Yoshioka
05 of 12
The Harder They Fall (2021)
Regina King as Trudy Smith, Idris Elba as Rufus Buck, and LaKeith Stanfield as Cherokee Bill in 'The Harder They Fall'Credit: David Lee/Netflix
Though it suffers at times from Netflix's in-house mandate for too-clean disposable content, this stylish revisionist Western boasts an undeniably stacked and magnetic cast.
Jonathan Majors stars as the raffish outlaw on a quest to hunt down those responsible for his requisite personal tragedy. Meanwhile, a hypnotic Idris Elba is the baddest man in the West, with a gang including the equally formidable likes of Regina King and LaKeith Stanfield.
While co-writer/director Jeymes Samuel's script centers on the oft-ignored real figures of the Black West, his film is, at its thoroughly entertaining heart, a rip-roaring display of action set pieces and acting excellence.
Style over substance? Sure. But The Harder They Fall has style to burn. —Dennis Perkins
EW grade: B
Director: Jeymes Samuel
Cast: Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King, Delroy Lindo
06 of 12
Independence Day (1996)
Will Smith as Capt. Steven Heller and Harry Connick Jr. as Capt. Jimmy Wilder in 'Independence Day'Credit: 20th Century Fox Film Corp./Courtesy Everett Collection
Two days before the Fourth of July, an alien mothership enters Earth’s atmosphere and dispatches envoys in the form of flying saucers across major cities worldwide. When the aliens attack, killing millions, it’s up to satellite engineer David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum), Marine pilot Steven Hiller (Will Smith), and the President of the United States (Bill Pullman) to lead the world in fighting the alien forces in defense of our freedom — on Independence Day.
The cinematic mid-'90s version of wearing an Old Navy American flag T-shirt, Independence Day is, as an EW critic writes, “particularly of-the-moment American fun… as much an emblem of American cinematic sensibility in the late 1990s as the Airport series was in the 1970s.” —I.G.
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EW grade: B+
Director: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch
07 of 12
Lone Survivor (2013)
Mark Wahlberg as Marcus Luttrell in 'Lone Survivor'Credit: Universal
A true story from the War in Afghanistan, Lone Survivor is an action drama about a four-man team of Navy Seals who drop into the Korangal Valley on a mission to find and capture a Taliban warlord. The assignment doesn’t go as expected, and Lone Survivor captures the fallout.
The film premiered in the middle of the Afghanistan War — also known as Operation Enduring Freedom — and prioritizes immersing the viewer into the battle over developing the five soldier characters (led by Mark Wahlberg). But if ripped-from-the-headlines modern war stories are what you’re after, Lone Survivor is a good candidate.
EW’s critic writes, “The action that follows is excruciating and relentless, and [director Peter] Berg doesn’t spare the audience. If anything, he rubs our noses in the blood, sweat, and tears of combat.” —I.G.
Director: Peter Berg
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster, Eric Bana
08 of 12
Mosul (2019)
Suhail Dabbach as Jasem in 'Mosul'Credit: Jose Haro/Netflix/Everett
This Arabic-language war movie centers on the skirmishes fought between an Iraqi SWAT team and ISIS insurgents during the 2016 Battle of Mosul.
After 21-year-old police officer Kawa survives an ISIS attack, he agrees to accompany a SWAT team on their quest to free Mosul from militants. As Kawa navigates the ravaged city and fights alongside the other officers, he struggles to find answers to his questions about the purposes of the SWAT team’s secret mission.
Inspired by a 2017 article about the battle within Iraq to destroy ISIS, Mosul premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2019, and received positive feedback for offering a new perspective on the violence in the region. Nuanced and thoughtful in spite of the carnage, the film ends with a surprisingly heartwarming twist. —I.G.
Director: Matthew Michael Carnahan
Cast: Suhail Dabbach, Adam Bessa, Is'Haq Elias
09 of 12
Okja (2018)
Okja and Ahn Seo-hyun as Mija in 'Okja'Credit: Netflix
Two years before Bong Joon Ho wowed the world with Parasite, the South Korean director partnered with Netflix to make Okja.
A pig-centered movie that leans decidedly more toward Animal Farm than Babe (1995), the movie follows Mija, a South Korean teen who bonds with Okja, the "super pig" she's helped raise — only to have Okja taken from her after he is crowned the winner of an agrochemical company's competition for best pig.
With Okja headed for the slaughterhouse, Mija travels from South Korea to New York City on a mission to save her friend and help expose the inhumane practices of the Mirando Corporation and its leader, Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton).
A mixture of science, fantasy, action, and adventure, Okja is one of those movies you have to see to believe. —I.G.
EW grade: B
Director: Bong Joon Ho
Cast: Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Ahn Seo-hyun, Byun Hee-bong, Steven Yeun
10 of 12
RRR (2022)
N.T. Rama Rao Jr. as Komaram Bheem in 'RRR'Credit: Everett Collection
Though 2022 saw the triumph of Everything Everywhere All at Once, there existed another film that was also a pageant of absurd, maximalist thrill that left the MCU blushing in its wake.
Part buddy-comedy, part action-thriller, part historical drama, part musical, S. Rajamouli's Telugu-language blockbuster set in the 1920s — which won the Oscar for Original Song ("Naatu Naatu"), making history as the first song from an Indian feature film to win in that category — is a semi-historical story centered around the unlikely camaraderie between two Indian revolutionaries, Komaram Bheem (N.T. Rama Rao Jr.) and Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan), who band together against British imperialism.
An explosion of electrifying spectacles, RRR successfully melds over-the-top action sequences — from battling tigers to swinging motorcycles — campy dance numbers, and emotional storylines into one cohesive theatrical experience. —James Mercadante
Director: S. Rajamouli
Cast: N.T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Shriya Saran
11 of 12
The Siege of Jadotville (2017)
Sam Keeley as Bill Ready in 'The Siege of Jadotville'Credit: Karen Ballard/Netflix/Courtesy Everett
World history since 1945 has created several opportunities for crises to transform into World War III, and one of those incidents took place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the early ‘60s. A true story you might not be familiar with, The Siege of Jadotville follows an Irish company led by Cmdr. Pat Quinlan (Jamie Dornan), deployed to keep the peace in the region after the execution of the Congolese Prime Minister portends civil war.
When a U.N. attack against the capital prompts retaliation against the Irish forces, Quinlan and his troops are forced to repel the attackers, but find themselves outnumbered and without reinforcements.
A scrappy war drama adapted from the 2005 nonfiction book The Siege at Jadotville: The Irish Army's Forgotten Battle, this film is an interesting and gripping look inside a little-known skirmish that could have gone global. —I.G.
Director: Richie Smyth
Cast: Jamie Dornan, Mark Strong, Mikael Persbrandt, Jason O'Mara, Danny Sapani
12 of 12
Train to Busan (2016)
Gong Yoo as Seok-woo in 'Train to Busan'Credit: Well Go USA Entertainment
The only thing faster than a bullet train is the zombie infection overtaking its passengers. In the South Korean action horror film Train to Busan, Seok-woo (Gong Yoo) is a work-obsessed hedge fund manager and absentee father who agrees to accompany his young daughter, Soo-an (Kim Su-an), on a trip from Seoul to Busan so she can spend her birthday with her mother. As the train departs, a sick woman begins transitioning into a zombie — and infecting everyone around her.
Now barreling full-speed across the country, Seok-woo, Soo-an, and the other passengers must find a way to survive the apocalyptic journey in order to find refuge in Busan. These zombies seem to have studied at the World War Z School of Swarming; they move at the same frenetic speed, aiming to infect the entire country. —I.G.
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Cast: Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, Ma Dong-seok, Kim Su-an, Choi Woo-shik
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