Netflix has invested heavily to improve its action library, so it’s no surprise that our list of the best action movies on Netflix seems to just get better each month. In recent years, Netflix has produced several awesome original action franchises while supplementing the collection with hits from other studios. It’s a big collection, which is why we update this list monthly.
After a slow April, May kicks it up a notch with four new additions, including one of the best zombie movies ever made. Read on for the complete list of the best action movies on Netflix.
We’ve also curated guides to the best new movies to stream, the best movies on Netflix, 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.
But as he gets closer to finding his target, he simultaneously begins to unravel a deep web of corruption and conspiracy, getting closer to the heart of the city’s connection between city hall and the underworld.
One of the most electrifying zombie thrillers you’ll see, Train to Busan is a Korean film that reached significant popularity in the United States because it’s just dang good.
After a nationwide viral outbreak, passengers aboard a bullet train attempted to flee to the southern resort city of Busan that allegedly held off the zombie hordes. But when a zombie gets aboard the train, suspicion rises and blood starts spilling in buckets.
Antoine Fuqua’s (Training Day) Equalizer franchise has been made into a trilogy with a TV spinoff, but only the second and third films are on Netflix now. Nonetheless, it’s plenty of entertainment.
Denzel Washington is electric as Robert McCall, a retired cop who is drawn back into the line of (vigilante) duty by an unquenchable desire to deliver justice for the exploited and oppressed. In the second film, his former partner is murdered, forcing him to ask how far he’ll go when the person in need of justice is someone he loves.
One of Saoirse Ronan’s early defining roles, Hanna is a teenager raised in the wild of Finland by her ex-CIA agent father (Eric Bana). Her upbringing, however, is more like training to become the world’s greatest assassin.
So when she’s suddenly sent across Europe by her father to pursue a target, Hanna is more than prepared for the agents dispatched by rival operative, Marissa Weigler (Cate Blanchett), who has secrets of her own to protect. But as Hanna nears her target, she encounters startling revelations about her existence.
Fully aware of the dangerous cat-and-mouse game they’re playing, Hanna and McCauley have a grudging mutual respect for one another’s obsessive dedication to the game. As they careen closer to a crossroads, something has to give eventually.
Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in Conan the Destroyer, a campy ’80s fantasy action epic as Conan, a legendary hero commissioned by the evil queen Taramis (Sarah Douglas) to escort a princess and her bodyguard to retrieve the magical Horn of Dagoth.
But what Conan doesn’t know is that as soon as they return, the queen plans to sacrifice the princess and steal her kingdom. Fortunately, Conan is not only extraordinarily powerful himself, but he has an abundance of allies, including the wizard Akiro, the warrior Zula, and even the bumbling Malak.
Ridley Scott’s depiction of a U.S. Special Forces mission into Somalia in 1993 won two Oscars. Amid a war-torn government and severe social strife, U.S. Rangers and an elite Delta Force team are sent in to kidnap two underlings of a Somali warlord and bring humanitarian aid to the starving population.
But when their Black Hawk helicopters are shot down, the Americans are stranded in the middle of Mogadishu, surrounded by militia forces, and forced to fight their way out.
A slower burn than most movies on this list, Sicario is the Oscar-nominated film that launched Dune‘s Denis Villeneuve into the American mainstream. In Sicario, Emily Blunt stars as idealistic FBI agent Kate Mercer, enlisted by an elite government task force official (Josh Brolin) to aid border teams in the war on drugs.
Along this lawless border area between U.S. and Mexico, the team trusts enigmatic consultant Alejandro Gillick (Benicio Del Toro) to help them infiltrate and disrupt cartels. But the mission is not nearly as clear-cut as Kate expected, forcing her to question everything she believes in order to survive.
Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers has been a staple kids’ franchise for decades, and in 2017, it got a slightly more adult adaptation. This PG-13 edition follows five ordinary teens who learn that their town — and the planet — is one the verge of being destroyed by an alien threat led by Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks).
Chosen by destiny, the outcasts must quickly overcome their doubts of themselves and one another to become the Power Rangers.
Twenty years after First Blood, Sylvester Stallone returns as John Rambo, the Vietnam War vet with an intense thirst for justice. Living in northern Thailand and running a longboat on the Salween River, Rambo wants nothing to do with the Burmese-Karen conflict, the world’s longest-running civil war.
When a group of missionaries is captured by the Burmese Army, Rambo answers the call. Despite a reluctance for violence and conflict, Rambo knows what he must do to free the innocent.
George Miller reignited his cult ’80s franchise in a big way with 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, and followed it up with a bang nine years later with Furiosa. One of 2024’s best movies, this action prequel stars Anya Taylor-Joy as a young Furiosa (Charlize Theron’s character in Mad Max: Fury Road), snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers as the world falls.
Soon she finds herself caught in the middle of two vicious warlords: Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) and Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme). Furiosa must rely on her skills and fierceness to find her way home.
This stylized retelling of the World War II Battle of Midway is a ton of fun for fans of aviation and naval warfare. Based on the real-life events of the pivotal battle in the Pacific, Midway tells the story of the leaders and soldiers who dug into their instincts and bravery to deal a devastating blow to the Imperial Japanese Navy.
Roland Emmerich’s (Independence Day) star-studded historical action flick stars Woody Harrelson, Patrick Wilson, Ed Skrein, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckhart, Dennis Quaid, and Mandy Moore.
Nick Perry is a freelance writer who bounced from Hollywood to Silicon Beach to pajama pants. His work has been featured on Digital Trends, Good Morning America, Entrepreneur, Mashable, and more media outlets.
Blair Marnell has been an entertainment journalist for over 15 years. His bylines have appeared in Wizard Magazine, Geek Monthly, SYFY Wire, Superhero Hype, Collider, DC Universe, and the official sites for Star Trek and Marvel. He also lends his pop culture expertise to Digital Trends on a variety of TV, movie, and streaming features.
Michael Bizzaco has been selling, installing, and talking about TVs, soundbars, streaming devices, and all things smart home for the better part of 15 years. He even knows a thing or two about how to fix this stuff when it starts misbehaving (because no tech is perfect!).
Mike has been writing for Digital Trends and several other publications since 2020. Fortunately, he’s still able to write after he got his index finger stuck in a vending machine at the Ramada Inn the summer before fourth grade! From hands-on reviews to best-of roundups, Mike does his best to share his expertise in a friendly and informative way with all readers, and loves staying on top of the latest AV and smart home trends.
When he’s not thanking his father for dislodging his finger from that vile vending machine in New Jersey, Mike enjoys playing guitar, reading, and indulging in horror films with his girlfriend.
Some of the best shots in Grok Imagine’s AI-made Odyssey don’t contain actors. Ancient landscapes stretch into the distance. Close-ups of grimy hands suggest people who have touched something rougher than a keyboard. For a few seconds, the illusion holds.
https://twitter.com/imagine/status/2113712964419063911
YouTube videos could soon look better without eating quite so much data, right? Thankfully, the platform plans to introduce a new video format called AV2 on its web player in early 2027, promising more efficient streaming and potentially fewer playback hiccups on slower internet connections. The big headline is a roughly 30% improvement in compression efficiency over AV1, YouTube's existing video format. That doesn't guarantee every video will use 30% less data, but it could make streaming a little easier on both internet connections and data allowances.
What is AV2, and why should viewers care?
YouTube is changing how its Home page works, giving viewers more control over what shows up there and making some of the app’s most-used sections easier to reach. Custom Feeds are now replacing the existing topic chips for eligible users, while YouTube is also testing a redesigned top bar on mobile that moves Subscriptions closer to the Home feed.
YouTube first started experimenting with Custom Feeds earlier this year, letting you type out what you wanted to watch and turning that request into its own stream of recommendations. Now, the feature is starting to look less like a side experiment and more like something YouTube actually wants people to use as part of their everyday Home page.