Last Updated: April 1st
Superhero blockbusters and Jurassic-sized sequels are great to watch at the theater but if you’re craving a bit of action without the crowded, dingy ambiance of your local cinema, never fear, Amazon’s got you covered. The streaming platform has added a slew of titles guaranteed to get the heart thumping just a bit faster with its action-oriented slate of options. Looking for a space epic full of interstellar battles and a wickedly-fun origin story? They’ve got it. How about a high-stakes chase on horseback through the Old West? Because that’s definitely there. Or, if you’re hunting for something a bit more realistic, why not try a couple of tense, bullet-ridden biopics about war in the Middle East? Whatever your fancy, if it’s action (movies that is. We can’t help with anything else.) you’re searching for, Amazon is the place to go to.
Here are some of the wildest, exhilarating titles currently in the Amazon Prime library that are sure to get your blood pumping.
Related: The Best Action Movies On Netflix Right Now
A Vigilante (2018)
Run Time: 91 min | IMDb: 5.6/10
Olivia Wilde stars in this gritty crime thriller about a woman named Sadie who, after surviving a domestic abuse situation, becomes a self-taught vigilante helping other women escape violence. Wilde’s Sadie is a stoic, broken woman doing the right thing for heartbreaking reasons, but it’s when she cracks a few skulls and puts some wife-beating a**holes in their place that we really begin to root for her. The action is brutal and unforgiving, scrappy fights that involve makeshift weapons and plenty of blood, but it feels real and, more importantly, vital to telling this story well.
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Run Time: 124 min | IMDb: 7/10
There’s a lot to love about the return of Downey Jr. to the role of Tony Stark in Iron Man 2. We meet Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, we’re treated to a hellishly-fun villain in Sam Rockwell, and the look of the film is worlds above its predecessor. In the grand scheme of the Marvel universe, this flick isn’t a stand-out, but it’s an enjoyable watch, thanks to Downey Jr.’s complete comfortableness in the role of the billionaire-playboy-philanthropist-superhero.
The Avengers (2012)
Run Time: 143 min | IMDb: 8/10
The mind-boggling success of the Marvel Universe this decade makes it easy to forget it’s humble, fantastically-written origins. We’re talking about the first Avengers team-up, a modest affair in comparison to the universe-spanning, dimension-hopping Endgame, but one that still holds up as a worthy outing for our O.G. heroes. This film marked the first time Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Thor, Natasha Romanoff, Bruce Banner, and Clint Barton shared any real screentime and while most of the fighting is done in-house, the team pulls it together to take on a scheming Loki and his invading army of earth-destroying space monsters in the end.
Mission Impossible: Fallout (2018)
Run Time: 127 min | IMDb: 7.8/10
Tom Cruise is joined by Superman himself, Henry Cavill in this latest installment in the action franchise. Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt who leads his IMF team but is joined by Cavill’s CIA Agent, August Walker, who’s tasked with monitoring the group after a mission gone wrong. Hunt is tracking some missing plutonium before a terrorist group called The Apostles can weaponize it against the world but he’s thwarted by a surprising enemy.
Warrior (2011)
Run Time: 140 min | IMDb: 8.2/10
Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton star in this gritty MMA-inspired family drama. Hardy and Edgerton play estranged brothers who meet in the ring decades after their family was torn apart by drug use and their father’s (and excellent Nick Nolte) abuse. Hardy plays Tommy, a war vet running from a terrible experience overseas. Edgerton plays Brendan, a high school science teacher participating in underground fighting rings to make some extra cash. The two square off in the ring, where more than just blows are traded.
Fighting With My Family (2019)
Run Time: 108 min | IMDb: 7.1/10
Dwayne Johnson and Lena Headey star in this family drama about a pair of siblings with dreams of making it in the WWE. Only one, Florence Pugh’s Saraya, actually makes it, but the road to wrestling stardom is riddled with fake friends, sexism, parental drama, and self-doubt. There’s plenty of great matchups here — body slams, cage matches and the like — but the real draw is Pugh, who completely disappears in the role.
American Ultra (2015)
Run Time: 96 min | IMDb: 6.1/10
Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg reteam for this action-comedy about a stoner couple targeted by a black ops division. Eisenberg plays Mike, an underachiever who lives with his girlfriend Phoebe (Stewart). Turns out, Mike is a government agent who has no memory of his training. When he’s activated — two guys start f*cking with his car and he kills one of them with just a spoon — he and his girlfriend uncover a bigger government conspiracy that they might be too high to survive.
Escape From New York (1981)
Run Time: 99 min | IMDb: 7.2/10
Kurt Russell stars in this cult action-comedy flick. It’s a bizarre sci-fi-tinged adventure that’s just campy enough to be thoroughly enjoyable, with just the right amount of explosions to keep adrenaline-junkies entertained. Russell plays Snake Plissken, a convicted bank robber sent into a futuristic Manhattan to rescue the president after his plane crashes into the city, which has been refurbished into a maximum-security prison. Ok so yeah, it’s weird. Just watch it.
You Were Never Really Here (2017)
Run Time: 89 min | IMDb: 6.8/10
Joaquin Phoenix stars as a troubled hitman with a dark past in this thrilling crime flick from Lynne Ramsay. Phoenix plays Joe, a gun for hire, former military man and FBI agent, who spends most of his time rescuing victims of sex trafficking. He’s recruited to save a Senator’s daughter from a brothel that caters to high-end clientele, but the job thrusts him into the center of a conspiracy that costs him everything and ends in blood and tragedy. It’s a relentless slog to be sure, but it works because Ramsay is more interested in profiling the man, not the hits he makes.
True Grit (2010)
Run Time: 110 min | IMDb: 7.6/10
