Summer is always blockbuster season, but this year’s big-time action offerings aren’t quite as compelling as past ones. Sure, Across the Spider-Verse was great, but that came out months ago. And did anyone really ask for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny?
If you’re feeling shortchanged on action movie options this August, you can always fall back on Netflix. You’ll find plenty of great originals and action classics from other studios. Although this month doesn’t introduce many new choices, we’ve kept this list updated with the best action movies on Netflix right now.
We’ve also curated guides to the best action movies on Amazon Prime, the best action movies on Disney+, and the best action movies on Hulu if you’re looking for additional recommendations.
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The Fast and the Furiouspg-13 2001
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Clear and Present Dangerpg-13 1994
The Fast and the Furious (2001)
Did anyone expect The Fast and the Furious to spawn one of the longest-running action franchises in American cinema? Two decades, nearly a dozen movies, and a nearly completely lost grip on reality later, 2001’s The Fast and The Furious is almost quaint. But it has aged well and remains a strong foundation for the massive franchise, establishing the character dynamics and ethos that has guided the franchise for 20 years.
When LAPD cop Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) is assigned to go undercover to infiltrate notorious car hijacker Dom Toretto’s (Vin Diesel) gang, O’Conner soon falls in love with Toretto’s sister, Mia (Jordana Brewster), and becomes swayed by the allure of Toretto’s mission. Now, he must choose between loyalty to his job or his newfound family. Catch the first six movies of the franchise on Netflix now.
Clear and Present Danger (1994)
65 (2023)
Kick-Ass (2010)
A refreshing infusion of zany into a Marvel-dominated blockbuster scene in 2010, Kick-Ass felt surprisingly meta. Ordinary New York teenager and comics geeks Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) wonders why nobody has ever tried to become a superhero. So, he dons a green-and-yellow wetsuit and attempts to become one himself: the vigilante Kick-Ass.
Unfortunately, he mostly gets his ass kicked. But when a beating caught on video goes viral, Kick-Ass becomes an inspiration to the public, leading him to discover that he’s not the only superhero out there. He’s about to get ushered into the long-running mission of Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and Hit Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) t take down the empire of local Mafioso, Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong).
Rush Hour (1998)
Spider-Man (2002)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Black Hawk Down (2001)
Léon: The Professional (1994)
Zombieland (2009)
Rocky (1976)
Uncharted (2022)
Bullet Train (2022)
Peppermint (2018)
Emily the Criminal (2022)
Enola Holmes (2020)
All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)
Road House (1989)
A Knight's Tale (2001)
Black Crab (2022)
The Vault (2021)
Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)
Spectral (2016)
Army of the Dead (2021)
The Old Guard (2020)
The Night Comes for Us (2018)
The Debt Collector (2018)
The King (2019)
Wheelman (2017)
Triple Frontier (2019)
Burn Out (2018)
Extraction (2020)
Ip Man (2008)
Editors' Recommendations
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- The best shows on Max (formerly HBO Max) right now
- The best shows on Hulu right now (August 2023)