Best Action Movies on Each Streaming Service: Netflix, Max, Prime Video, Hulu, Tubi, and More

An apocalyptic story set in the furthest reaches of our planet, in a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, and most everyone is crazed fighting for the necessities of life. Within this world exist two rebels on the run who just might be able to restore order.

When Ripley’s life pod is found by a salvage crew over 50 years later, she finds that terraformers are on the very planet where they found the alien species. The company has also sent a family of colonists out to investigate her story… and have since lost all contact. Directed by James Cameron, Aliens takes a small sidestep from the horror genre and goes for a more sci-fi action approach as Ripley and the colonial marines return to the feared planet and search for answers. This endlessly quotable flick is enjoyable every time you see it.

According to legend, Cameron landed the directing job by writing “Alien” on a dry erase board. Then adding an “s” so it said “Aliens.” And then he drew two lines through the “s” - “Alien$.”

When Bond’s latest assignment goes gravely wrong and agents around the world are exposed, MI6 is attacked forcing M to relocate the agency. These events cause her authority and position to be challenged by Gareth Mallory, the new Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee. With MI6 now compromised from both inside and out, M is left with one ally she can trust: Bond. 007 takes to the shadows - aided only by field agent, Eve - following a trail to the mysterious Silva, whose lethal and hidden motives have yet to reveal themselves.

Ralph Fiennes begins his run as M in this film.

This movie features the first Bond theme song to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song. It also features cinematography from the legendary Roger Deakins.

• Director: Sam Mendes
• James Bond: Daniel Craig
• Villain(s): Tiago “Raoul Silva” Rodriguez (Javier Bardem)
• Bond Girl(s): Bond’s Lover (Tonia Sotiropoulou)
  Sévérine (Bérénice Marlohe)
• Theme Song: “Skyfall” by Adele
• Soundtrack Composer: Thomas Newman

Mild-mannered Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) works as a reporter at the Daily Planet alongside his crush, Lois Lane (Margot Kidder). Clark must summon his superhero alter-ego when the nefarious Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) launches a plan to take over the world.

A phenomenal cast is buoyed by an iconic John Williams score in a superhero film that still ranks among the greatest ever.

A samurai answers a village’s request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.

Tough narcotics detective ‘Popeye’ Doyle is in hot pursuit of a suave French drug dealer who may be the key to a huge heroin-smuggling operation.

Frodo Baggins and the other members of the Fellowship continue on their sacred quest to destroy the One Ring—but on separate paths. Their destinies lie at two towers—Orthanc Tower in Isengard, where the corrupt wizard Saruman awaits, and Sauron’s fortress at Barad-dur, deep within the dark lands of Mordor. Frodo and Sam are trekking to Mordor to destroy the One Ring of Power while Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn search for the orc-captured Merry and Pippin. All along, nefarious wizard Saruman awaits the Fellowship members at the Orthanc Tower in Isengard.

In the 22nd century, a paraplegic Marine is dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission, but becomes torn between following orders and protecting an alien civilization.

Sean Connery is back as Agent 007 in the second installment of the James Bond series, this time battling a secret crime organization known as SPECTRE. Russians Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya) and Kronsteen (Vladek Sheybal)are out to snatch a decoding device known as the Lektor, using the ravishing Tatiana (Daniela Bianchi) to lure Bond into helping them. Bond willingly travels to meet Tatiana in Istanbul, where he must rely on his wits to escape with his life in a series of deadly encounters with the enemy.

This film is notable as the first appearance of Desmond Llewelyn as Q. He would portray the role through many Bonds over the next 36 years.

• Director: Terence Young
• James Bond: Sean Connery
• Villain(s): Colonel Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya)
  Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Anthony Dawson)
  Red Grant (Robert Shaw)
• Bond Girl(s): Sylvia Trench (Eunice Gayson)
  Vida (Aliza Gur)
  Zora (Martine Beswick)
  Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi)
• Theme Song: “Opening Titles: James Bond Is Back/From Russia with Love/James Bond Theme”
• Soundtrack Composer: John Barry

When an IMF mission ends badly, the world is faced with dire consequences. As Ethan Hunt takes it upon himself to fulfill his original briefing, the CIA begin to question his loyalty and his motives. The IMF team find themselves in a race against time, hunted by assassins while trying to prevent a global catastrophe.

As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) and seven men are tasked with penetrating German-held territory and bringing the boy home.

This Steven Spielberg masterpiece features a mind-boggling cast of great talent: Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Jeremy Davies, Vin Diesel, Adam Goldberg, Barry Pepper, Giovanni Ribisi, Dennis Farina, Ted Danson, Bryan Cranston, Nathan Fillion and Paul Giamatti.

The film won five Academy Awards, including Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Film Editing, and Best Director.

Wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to death, Richard Kimble escapes from the law in an attempt to find the real killer and clear his name.

An aging Chinese immigrant is swept up in an insane adventure, where she alone can save what’s important to her by connecting with the lives she could have led in other universes.

This wild fusion of sci-fi and kung-fu is one of the most original films in years. It’s silly and sweet and moving and funny. Michelle Yeoh leads a stellar cast including Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, James Hong, and Jamie Lee Curtis.

The movie dominated the 2023 Academy Awards, winning seven Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director (Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert), Best Actress (Yeoh), Best Supporting Actor (Quan), Best Supporting Actress (Curtis), and Best Original Screenplay.

Peter Parker is going through a major identity crisis. Burned out from being Spider-Man, he decides to shelve his superhero alter ego, which leaves the city suffering in the wake of carnage left by the evil Doc Ock. In the meantime, Parker still can’t act on his feelings for Mary Jane Watson, a girl he’s loved since childhood. A certain anger begins to brew in his best friend Harry Osborn as well…

Elastigirl springs into action to save the day, while Mr. Incredible faces his greatest challenge yet – taking care of the problems of his three children.

The epic saga continues as Luke Skywalker, in hopes of defeating the evil Galactic Empire, learns the ways of the Jedi from aging master Yoda. But Darth Vader is more determined than ever to capture Luke. Meanwhile, rebel leader Princess Leia, cocky Han Solo, Chewbacca, and droids C-3PO and R2-D2 are thrown into various stages of capture, betrayal and despair.

Rey develops her newly discovered abilities with the guidance of Luke Skywalker, who is unsettled by the strength of her powers. Meanwhile, the Resistance prepares to do battle with the First Order.

In Ancient Polynesia, when a terrible curse incurred by Maui reaches an impetuous Chieftain’s daughter’s island, she answers the Ocean’s call to seek out the demigod to set things right.

Thirty years ago, aliens arrive on Earth. Not to conquer or give aid, but to find refuge from their dying planet. Separated from humans in a South African area called District 9, the aliens are managed by Multi-National United, which is unconcerned with the aliens’ welfare but will do anything to master their advanced technology. When a company field agent contracts a mysterious virus that begins to alter his DNA, there is only one place he can hide: District 9.

In 9th century China, a corrupt government wages war against a rebel army called the Flying Daggers. A romantic warrior breaks a beautiful rebel out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.

In the year 2044, time travel has not yet been invented but in 30 years it will have been. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target into the past where a looper, a hired gun, like Joe is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good until the day the mob decides to close the loop, sending back Joe’s future self for assassination.

In a future where a failed global-warming experiment kills off most life on the planet, a class system evolves aboard the Snowpiercer, a train that travels around the globe via a perpetual-motion engine.

The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.

After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters the Spider Society, a team of Spider-People charged with protecting the Multiverse’s very existence. But when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders and must set out on his own to save those he loves most.

The Bride (Uma Thurman) unwaveringly continues on her roaring rampage of revenge against the band of assassins who had tried to kill her and her unborn child. She visits each of her former associates one-by-one, checking off the victims on her Death List Five until there’s nothing left to do … but kill Bill.

During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.

An idealistic FBI agent is enlisted by a government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico.

After an abrupt and violent encounter with a French warship inflicts severe damage upon his ship, a captain of the British Royal Navy begins a chase over two oceans to capture or destroy the enemy, though he must weigh his commitment to duty and ferocious pursuit of glory against the safety of his devoted crew, including the ship’s thoughtful surgeon, his best friend.

With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.

In the aftermath of the Fourth Impact, stranded without their Evangelions, Shinji, Asuka and Rei find refuge in one of the rare pockets of humanity that still exist on the ruined planet Earth. There, each lives a life far different from their days as an Evangelion pilot. However, the danger to the world is far from over. A new impact is looming on the horizon—one that will prove to be the true end of Evangelion.

Former London constable Nicholas Angel finds it difficult to adapt to his new assignment in the sleepy British village of Sandford. Not only does he miss the excitement of the big city, but he also has a well-meaning oaf for a partner. However, when a series of grisly accidents rocks Sandford, Angel smells something rotten in the idyllic village.

During a solo voyage in the Indian Ocean, a veteran mariner awakes to find his vessel taking on water after a collision with a stray shipping container. With his radio and navigation equipment disabled, he sails unknowingly into a violent storm and barely escapes with his life. With any luck, the ocean currents may carry him into a shipping lane — but, with supplies dwindling and the sharks circling, the sailor is forced to face his own mortality.

A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 in May, 2011.

With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.

A martial artist agrees to spy on a reclusive crime lord using his invitation to a tournament there as cover.

The lone inhabitants of an abandoned police station are under attack by the overwhelming numbers of a seemingly unstoppable street gang.

What does it mean to lead men in war? What does it mean to come home? Hell and Back Again is a cinematically revolutionary film that asks and answers these questions with a power and intimacy no previous film about the conflict in Afghanistan has been able to achieve. It is a masterpiece in the cinema of war.

In a futuristic city sharply divided between the rich and the poor, the son of the city’s mastermind meets a prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.