Sometimes the real world isn’t all that exciting. Fortunately, we have cinema to liven things up whenever we want. With your Amazon Prime subscription, you have access to a host of great action movies at your fingertips.
When you’re in the mood to live vicariously through characters involved in high-speed car chases, shootouts, or death-defying stunts, just head to Prime Video. We’ve even saved you some time by identifying the best action movies on Amazon Prime Video right now.
If you’ve already burned through the Amazon Prime catalog, we’ve also put together a list of the best action movies on Netflix, the best action movies on Disney+, and the best action movies on Hulu.
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Samaritan2022
The Northman (2022)
137m
Genre
Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Stars
Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang
Directed by
Robert Eggers
The Northman is nothing short of brutal. That’s not a critique of the film (it has a Rotten Tomatoes critics score of 89%) — by that, we mean that The Northman is a dark and vicious Viking revenge tale that makes shows like Vikings and Vikings: Valhalla look like episodes of Sesame Street. Directed by Robert Eggers (The Lighthouse), Northman tells the Viking legend of prince Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård), whose father, King Aurvandill (Ethan Hawke), is murdered by his own brother, Fjolnir (Claes Bang). Fjolnir assumes the throne and takes Aurvandill’s wife (Nicole Kidman) as his own. Young Amleth flees by boat, narrowly escaping death, and spends the following years preparing and plotting his revenge. And boy, does he get it. Now a grown man and a trained berserker, Amleth tracks a usurped Fjolnir down in Iceland, where he’s living a much more modest life as a farmer. With the help of a young slave woman (Anya Taylor-Joy), all Viking hell is set to break loose.
Train to Busan (2016)
118m
Genre
Horror, Thriller, Science Fiction, Action
Stars
Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, Ma Dong-seok
Directed by
Yeon Sang-ho
Zombie apocalypse movies and TV shows come and go (and some stay way, way too long — The Walking Dead, we’re looking at you), but some are so good and unique that they linger in your psyche. South Korea’s Train to Busan is one such memorable film. It tells the story of divorced father Seok-woo (Gong Yoo), whose work-obsessed lifestyle is taking its toll on his young daughter, Su-an (Su-an Kim), so the pair board a train from Seoul to Busan to visit Su-an’s mother. But wouldn’t you know it, all hell breaks loose when a strange virus suddenly grips the country, turning everyone infected into frenzied, blood-hungry zombies … and it’s found its way onto the train. With some absolutely stunning action sequences, Train to Busan not only explores the chaos of everyone-for-themselves mass hysteria, but also how humans band together when in need.
Samaritan (2022) new
102m
Genre
Action, Drama, Science Fiction
Stars
Javon Walton, Sylvester Stallone, Dascha Polanco
Directed by
Julius Avery
Seeing as we’ve already seen wave after wave of actors getting the cape-and-cowl treatment, it was only a matter of time before the superhero story found its way to someone like Sylvester Stallone. The movie to do so is Samaritan, and while it’s pretty par for the course in terms of narrative scope and set pieces, it’s certainly not the worst blending of sci-fi action and drama we’ve ever seen. The story follows Sam Cleary (Javon Walton), a 13-year-old kid who is watching the world around him crumble. Crime is rampant, heroes are hard to come by, and the end times seem to be drawing near. But perhaps all is not lost. Mr. Smith (Stallone) could actually be Samaritan, a superhero who was the white knight of Sam’s stomping grounds a long time ago. And it’s up to the persistent and hopeful Sam to convince Mr. Smith to become a hero once more.
RoboCop (2014)
118m
Genre
Science Fiction, Action
Stars
Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton
Directed by
José Padilha
Director José Padilha’s 2014 Robocop remake may not have been the sci-fi reimagining the world asked for, but as a new take on the ’80s cult sensation, it marches pretty strongly to its own drum while doing what it can to satisfy fans of the original. Joel Kinneman stars as Detroit police officer Alex Murphy. After Murphy is injured in the line of duty, the robotics engineering minds at OmniCorp jump at the opportunity to rebuild and revive him by outfitting the cop with an all-powerful mech suit. Back on the streets, Officer Murphy is now a nearly invincible cyborg. But will his impervious tech outweigh the soul of the man behind the armor? Action-heavy and visually stunning, Robocop isn’t exactly reinventing the wheel, but as a fresh spin on a beloved story, it deserves a watch.
World War Z (2013)
116m
Genre
Action, Drama, Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller
Stars
Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz
Directed by
Marc Forster
Based on the 2006 Max Brooks novel of the same name, World War Z stars Brad Pitt as Gerry Lane, an ex-U.N. investigator who finds himself on the receiving end of an apocalyptic onslaught of zombies. Stuck in a horrid Philadelphia traffic jam with his wife and two daughters when the undead descend on the city, an impromptu escape and a later rescue place Gerry in a position where he must harness all of his governmental expertise to get to the bottom of the vicious outbreak … that is, before the zombies completely overrun the world. A visual epic and a surprisingly successful blend of science fiction, action, and horror elements, World War Z manages to pay fine homage to its source material while also rising to the top of the hard-to-nail zombie subgenre.
Jolt (2021)
91m
Genre
Action, Comedy
Stars
Kate Beckinsale, Stanley Tucci, Bobby Cannavale
Directed by
Tanya Wexler
In Jolt, Kate Beckinsale’s Lindy Lewis has a bit of a problem keeping her intermittent explosive disorder under control. The short version is that she’s prone to fits of extreme violence at a moment’s notice. While trying to maintain some sense of normalcy, Lindy goes on a date with Justin (Jai Courtney). But when Justin is murdered, Lindy realizes that the police will do nothing to solve the case. So she takes it upon herself to dispense justice, one beating at a time, until she gets some answers.
Tom Clancy's Without Remorse (2021)
109m
Genre
Action, Thriller
Stars
Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell, Jodie Turner-Smith
Directed by
Stefano Sollima
After nearly three decades in development hell, Tom Clancy’s novel, Without Remorse, was finally adapted with Michael B. Jordan in the leading role as John Kelly, the leader of an elite team of U.S. Navy SEALs. Following a mission that unwittingly pits them against Russian operatives, John and his team face deadly reprisals months later on American soil. John is the only survivor of an attack that also claims the life of his wife, Pam Kelly (Lauren London). After murdering one of the men responsible, John bargains his way out of prison to help capture the last surviving assassin, Victor Rykov (Brett Gelman).
The Tomorrow War (2021)
138m
Genre
Action, Science Fiction, Adventure
Stars
Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, J.K. Simmons
Directed by
Chris McKay
As the title implies, The Tomorrow War isn’t about a conflict in the present. But it is very much a problem that the modern world can’t ignore. When Lt. Hart (Jasmine Mathews) travels back in time to warn the people of Earth about an alien invasion, she also reveals that humanity is losing the war. Recruits are badly needed to come back to the future and fight the alien horde. Chris Pratt’s Dan Forester is one of many who answer the call to action, but he’s not the only member of his family who gets roped into the war. Yet once they get to the future, Dan and the new recruits find themselves ill-prepared for the full scale of the threat.
The Boondock Saints (1999)
108m
Genre
Action, Thriller, Crime
Stars
Willem Dafoe, Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus
Directed by
Troy Duffy
Don’t let that low Rotten Tomatoes score fool you. Boondock Saints is a cult classic action flick that has been embraced by fans for over two decades. A pre-Walking Dead Norman Reedus stars as Murphy, with Sean Patrick Flanery as his brother, Connor MacManus. The MacManus brothers become overnight sensations when they kill Russian mobsters in self-defense. FBI special agent Paul Smecker (Willem Dafoe) declines to charge the brothers, both of whom come to believe that God wants them to eliminate all of the evil men in Boston. That’s much easier said than done, as the brothers soon find themselves well over their heads in a bloody crusade.
Guns Akimbo (2020)
95m
Genre
Comedy, Action
Stars
Daniel Radcliffe, Samara Weaving, Natasha Liu Bordizzo
Directed by
Jason Lei Howden
Guns Akimbo is more than just the movie that launched 1,000 Daniel Radcliffe memes. It’s also one of the wildest action comedies to come along in years. Radcliffe stars as Miles Lee Harris, a keyboard warrior who angers the big players behind Skizm, a literal online deathmatch. To retaliate against Miles, Skizm’s masterminds bolt guns to his hands and force him to take on the game’s deadliest player, Nix (Samara Weaving). And to force his cooperation, the bad guys also kidnap Miles’ ex-girlfriend, Nova (Natasha Liu Bordizzo). Miles is far from a conventional action hero, but through a strange mixture of luck and accidental skill, he creates his own legend in the game. He is Guns Akimbo.
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
122m
Genre
Western
Stars
Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Jo Van Fleet
Directed by
John Sturges
Sometimes, you just want to go back to the classics. As such, enjoy watching Wyatt Earp (Burt Lancaster) and Doc Holliday (Kirk Douglas) form a tenuous alliance as they square off against a deadly gang of outlaws in the legendary Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
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