Oscar winners and monsters causing mayhem can be found among these action-packed Netflix pics.

The 12 best action movies on Netflix

Oscar winners and monsters causing mayhem can be found among these action-packed Netflix pics.

By Ilana Gordon,

Ilana Gordon is an entertainment, culture, and comedy writer originally from Connecticut. She currently lives in Los Angeles.

EW's editorial guidelines

James Mercadante,

and Dennis Perkins

on January 13, 2026 12:54 p.m. ET

Suhail Dabbach as Major Jasem in 'Mosul'; Sharlto Copley as Wikus van de Merwe in 'District 9'; Donnie Yen as Ip Man in 'Ip Man'. Credit:

Jose Haro/Netflix/Courtesy Everett; Sony Pictures Entertainment/Courtesy Everett; Well Go/Courtesy Everett

All aboard the Netflix action movie express. This train has an ambitious route planned, with stops scheduled in Vietnam, South Africa, Japan, Iraq, South Korea, India, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While on board, we encourage you to enjoy the cultural sights and sounds, but please remember: You're ultimately here for the fight sequences. The characters in these films are battling enemy combatants, aliens, zombies and — perhaps the scariest entity of all — corporations.

Please make sure your ticket is visible, and enjoy your journey through the 12 best action movies on Netflix.

Da 5 Bloods (2020)

Delroy Lindo as Paul in 'Da 5 Bloods'.

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.

Guided in their quest by Tiên, the ex-girlfriend of one of the former soldiers, and forced to confront landmines — both real and emotional — the remainder of the squad must reconcile the horrors of their past with the difficulties of their present if they hope to escape Vietnam for a better future. Incorporating archival newsreel for additional context, *Da 5 Bloods* is a war film with action sequences, but many of the battles pit man against his memory. *—Ilana Gordon*

Where to watch *Da 5 Bloods*: Netflix

**EW grade: **A–

**Director: **Spike Lee

**Cast: **Chadwick Boseman, Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Norm Lewis, Isiah Whitlock Jr.

District 9 (2009)

Sharlto Copley as Wikus van de Merwe in 'District 9'.

David Bloomer/Sony Pictures Entertainment/Courtesy Everett Collection

In an alternate version of our universe, extraterrestrials arrived on Earth in 1982. For 28 years, the aliens (known as prawns) were prevented from returning home by the government and forced to live in District 9, a refugee camp where they are segregated from the general population. A science fiction action film set in Johannesburg, South Africa, and directed by Neill Blomkamp, *District 9* is a creative take on the genre, with political resonance and relevance to spare. Relying primarily on found footage, the movie follows two unlikely partners — a human and a prawn — who join forces to take down the government and a dastardly weapons manufacturing company.* —I.G.*

Where to watch *District 9*: Netflix

**EW grade: **A

**Director:** Neill Blomkamp

**Cast: **Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, David James

Godzilla Minus One (2023)

Kuranosuke Susaki as Kôichi Shikishima and Godzilla in 'Godzilla Minus One'.

Toho International/Courtesy Everett Collection

*Godzilla Minus One* won the 2024 Oscar for Best Visual Effects, but the film is so much more than a monster movie with incredible CGI. Set in Japan, a country ravaged by the after-effects of World War II, the film follows a failed kamikaze pilot as he is haunted both by his performance 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.*

Where to watch *Godzilla Minus One*: Netflix

**Director: **Takashi Yamazaki

**Cast: **Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki, Hidetaka Yoshioka

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'.

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 characteristically 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 (aka The Bullitt)'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 setpieces and acting excellence. Style over substance? Sure. But *The Harder They Fall* has style to burn. *—Dennis Perkins*

Where to watch *The Harder They Fall*: Netflix

**EW grade: **B

**Director: **Jeymes Samuel

**Cast: **Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King, Delroy Lindo

The Hurt Locker (2008)

Jeremy Renner as Staff Sergeant William James in 'The Hurt Locker'. Summit Entertainment

When your job requires you to disable bombs in the heat of battle, you suit up for work each day like it might be your last. In the second year of the Iraq War, Staff Sergeant James (Jeremy Renner) arrives to fill a vacancy in the Bravo Company, but finds that his unwillingness to communicate his plans and gonzo method of defusing bombs doesn't always jive with the rest of his company — especially Sergeant J. T. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie). From former reporter and screenwriter Mark Boal (*Zero Dark Thirty*) and director Kathryn Bigelow, whose work on this film made her the first woman to walk away with the Best Director Oscar, *The Hurt Locker* is realistic, intense, and action-packed, chronicling the many effects war has on the people who fight it. *—I.G.*

Where to watch *The Hurt Locker*: Netflix

**EW grade:** A

**Director:** Kathryn Bigelow

**Cast: **Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Evangeline Lilly, Ralph Fiennes

Ip Man (2008)

Donnie Yen as Ip Man in 'Ip Man'. Well Go/Everett

Eight years before Donnie Yen portrayed a stoically deadly warrior in *Rogue One: A Star Wars Story*, the Hong Kong superstar played the titular martial arts master most famous for teaching Bruce Lee. *Ip Man* takes place long before that, though, with Yen's Wing Chun master reluctantly proving his superior skills against rival martial arts schools, and, eventually, the invading Japanese. Playing loosely with the biography of the very real* *Ip Man, Wilson Yip's film is a jingoistic mix of anti-Japan sentiment and stunning action set pieces.

Yen, already a global martial arts star, makes his unassuming Ip Man a riveting blur of jackhammer punches and balletic movement whenever anyone proves unwise enough to disturb his quiet life. You might guess the outcome, but the spectacle of Yen's real-life prowess will still knock you on your heels. *—D.P.*

Where to watch *Ip Man*: Netflix

**Director: **Wilson Yip

**Cast: **Donnie Yen

Mosul (2019)

Suhail Dabbach as Jasem in 'Mosul'.

Jose Haro/Netflix/Everett

Set in war-torn Mosul, 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 violence, the film ends with a surprisingly heartwarming twist. *—I.G.*

Where to watch *Mosul*: Netflix

**Director:** Matthew Michael Carnahan

**Cast: **Suhail Dabbach, Adam Bessa, Is'Haq Elias

Okja (2018)

Okja and Ahn Seo-hyun as Mija in 'Okja'. 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*, 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 to 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.*

Where to watch *Okja*: Netflix

**EW grade: **B

**Director: **Bong Joon Ho

**Cast: **Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Ahn Seo-hyun, Byun Hee-bong, Steven Yeun**

Pineapple Express (2008)

Seth Rogen as Dale Denton and James Franco as Saul Silver in 'Pineapple Express'.

Darren Michaels/Columbia

Long before Seth Rogen was making pot paraphernalia, he was making stoner films — and *Pineapple Express* is one for the ages. A crime comedy, the movie follows Dale (Rogen) and his drug dealer Saul (James Franco) as they flee town after Dale accidentally witnesses a corrupt cop and a drug lord execute a rival gang leader.

Rogen and his frequent collaborator Evan Goldberg wrote the script — likely with the help of a few *Pineapple Express*-infused brainstorming sessions — and the movie excels in its more physical moments. Watching the film even feels like being high, thanks to the stylistic choices made by director David Gordon Green. EW's critic writes, "he brings the movie his own loping, run-on style, which turns out to be a perfect expression of the stoner rhythm." *—I.G.*

Where to watch *Pineapple Express*: Netflix

**EW grade: **B

**Director: **David Gordon Green

**Cast: **Seth Rogen, James Franco, Danny McBride, Gary Cole, Craig Robinson

RRR (2022)

N.T. Rama Rao Jr. as Komaram Bheem in 'RRR'. 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 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 story lines into one cohesive theatrical experience. *—James Mercadante*

Where to watch *RRR*: Netflix

**Director: **S. Rajamouli

**Cast: **N.T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Shriya Saran

The Siege of Jadotville (2017)

Sam Keeley as Bill Ready in 'The Siege of Jadotville'.

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.*

Where to watch *The Siege of Jadotville*: Netflix

**Director:** Richie Smyth

**Cast:** Jamie Dornan, Mark Strong, Mikael Persbrandt, Jason O'Mara, Danny Sapani

Train to Busan (2016)

Gong Yoo as Seok-woo in 'Train to Busan'. 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.*

Where to watch *Train to Busan*: Netflix

**Director: **Yeon Sang-ho

**Cast: **Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, Ma Dong-seok, Kim Su-an, Choi Woo-shik

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