This is a safe space to admit that sometimes you’re just not in the mood to watch a serious drama. They’re great, of course, but we’ve all gotten that itch to escape reality and enter a world where wild stunts, big muscles, and bigger explosions are the norm. Action is a wide-ranging genre, covering everything from thrilling heist flicks, swaggering Westerns, and films about people trying to save the world from shady government operations. That’s what makes them so classic: No matter what you’re looking for, there’s probably an action movie out there that fits the bill.

Whether you’re an adrenaline junkie looking for some excitement or the kind of person who enjoys living vicariously through fearless fictional characters, check out these 16 action movies that are sure to get your pulse racing.

Heart of Stone

Gal Gadot leads Tom Harper’s espionage thriller as Rachel Stone, an MI6 operative working undercover as double agent for the Charter, a shadowy network of peacekeeping spies. Stone is tasked with guarding “the Heart,” a powerful artificial intelligence system, lest it fall into the wrong hands. When an ambush results in Stone’s cover being blown, the Charter is compromised and the Heart is put in danger, putting Stone up against Keya (Alia Bhatt), a hacker with mysterious motives. Complete with car chases, twists, and plenty of globe-trotting, Heart of Stone is perfect for anyone who likes their action with a side of spy intrigue.

Heart of Stone

2023

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Lift

Director F. Gary Gray is no stranger to a heist flick, having directed the 2003 remake of The Italian Job. He returns to the genre with Lift, which stars Kevin Hart as the leader of a band of art thieves. At the beginning of the film, they’ve recently pulled off the seemingly impossible task of boosting an NFT. Their scheme is quickly found out, but instead of arresting them, an Interpol agent (played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw) offers the team an opportunity to help catch Lars Jorgensen (Jean Reno), a billionaire working with a group of hackers, in exchange for their freedom. The catch? They have to pull it all off on a plane. There’s an immediacy to the action sequences as the crew tries to pull off the mission during such a limited window, and it’s bolstered by a great supporting cast that includes Vincent D’Onofrio and Billy Magnussen.

Lift

2024

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Everything Everywhere All at Once

The Best Picture winner at 2023’s Academy Awards — part of a seven-Oscar haul that also included wins for its directors, screenplay, and three of its stars — is a thrilling and at times very, very silly spectacle. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s film, which blends elements of action, sci-fi, surrealist comedy, and family drama, follows Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh, who you can also catch in The Brothers Sun), who discovers during an IRS audit that she’s the key to defending the sanctity of the multiverse against a powerful and vengeful entity trying to destroy it all. Doing so forces the unfulfilled Evelyn to not only embrace absurdity, but also forge new connections with her husband (Ke Huy Quan) and daughter (Stephanie Hsu) along the way. Everything Everywhere All at Once often feels like a live-action cartoon in the best way, full of big fight sequences and delightful world-building (three words: hot dog fingers), but the film’s secret weapon is how heartwarming it’s willing to get.

Everything Everywhere All at Once

2022

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Bullet Train

This adaptation of Kōtarō Isaka’s novel Maria Beetle, from Deadpool 2 director David Leitch, is a truly twisted comedy of errors. It follows Ladybug, an unlucky American assassin (played by Brad Pitt) who receives a last-minute assignment to retrieve a briefcase from a bullet train on its way from Tokyo to Morioka. Things start to go wrong almost immediately as he discovers his mission overlaps with the missions of several other assassins aboard the train. With all the action confined to one long, speeding vessel, the characters are forced to get creative with their weapons and hiding places, resulting in fight scenes as kooky as they are bloody. Come for the battles, stay for the sprawling cast, which also includes Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Joey King, Brian Tyree Henry, Bad Bunny, and Andrew Koji.

Bullet Train

Remind Me

Wingwomen

Wingwomen is the rarest type of action movie: one that focuses on female friendship. Mélanie Laurent directs and stars in this French caper about a professional thief who’s hoping to retire after getting worn down by an entire life on the run. A feisty and funny spin on the classic “one last job” trope, Wingwomen finds Laurent’s Carole teaming up with her best friend and fellow thief, Alex (Adèle Exarchopoulos), and their new recruit, stunt driver Sam (Manon Bresch). They embark on a complicated international heist to steal a famous painting. The car chases and shoot-outs are exciting, but Wingwomen’s most unique quality is how much time it allows us to spend getting to know the trio at its center.

Wingwomen

2023

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Extraction

Chris Hemsworth goes full surrogate dad mode in this film about Tyler Rake, a mercenary who becomes involved with a mission to retrieve the kidnapped son of a drug lord. After Rake is betrayed and the mission grows more dangerous, he commits to stopping at nothing to get the boy home. Directed by Sam Hargrave (in his first feature film) and adapted by Joe Russo from Ande Parks’ graphic novel Ciudad, Extraction is the kind of rousing thriller that’ll keep you hooked all the way through. Once you finish, you can jump right to its 2023 sequel, which adds Idris Elba to the mix as a mysterious stranger who recruits Tyler for a dangerous mission to rescue the family of a notorious gangster. Both films are known for their enormous and ambitious one-shot action sequences, which must be seen to be believed. 

Extraction

2020

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The Old Guard

Gina Prince-Bythewood directs this adaptation of Greg Rucka’s (who also writes the screenplay) comic book, and the film arrived with a bang when it was released in 2020. Revolving around a team of five immortal, super-skilled, and — most importantly — covert mercenaries who’ve been protecting the world for centuries, the film finds them facing their greatest challenge yet when a powerful group threatens to capture and exploit them. The Old Guard is gripping and gritty, with expertly crafted action sequences padded with thoughtfully explored themes around the nature of humanity. It even has a surprisingly moving love story, if that’s your thing. Charlize Theron leads a marvelous cast that also includes KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Marwan Kenzari. Watch, and maybe even rewatch, before the upcoming sequel.

The Old Guard

2020

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Triple Frontier

With Margin Call’s J.C. Chandor in the director’s chair and The Hurt Locker’s Mark Boal behind the script, it’s no surprise that Triple Frontier packs the punch that it does. The film falls somewhere between the action and heist genres, following a small crew of former Special Forces operatives that reunite to stage a robbery of a powerful crime lord in South America. What should be a relatively straightforward job is complicated by an unforeseen turn that has the men questioning themselves and each other. Cleverly plotted and well acted (its stacked cast is filled out by Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Pedro Pascal, Charlie Hunnam, and Garrett Hedlund), you shouldn’t sleep on this one for a moment longer.

Triple Frontier

2019

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RRR (Hindi)

Bromance has never been so exciting. An incredibly creative idea meets maximalist action sequences in S.S. Rajamouli’s sprawling Telugu-language work of historical fiction that smashed box office records in India and around the world. The film follows two real-life Indian revolutionaries, the ambitious police officer Komaram Bheem (N.T. Rama Rao Jr.) and the warrior Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan), as they form a close friendship and later team up to fight back against the British Raj. Don’t be intimidated by RRR’s three-hour run time — once the credits roll, you’ll find yourself wishing that this thoroughly entertaining spectacle would go on for just a bit longer.

RRR (Hindi)

2022

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The Gray Man

Before he embraced the Kenergy in his Oscar-nominated role in Barbie, Ryan Gosling returned from his four-year acting hiatus with The Gray Man, Joe and Anthony Russo’s adaptation of Mark Greaney’s novel of the same name. Here, he’s in top form playing the enigmatic CIA hit man known only by his alias, Sierra Six, who becomes the target of a mustachioed, sociopathic assassin (Chris Evans, clearly having the time of his life getting to play the villain) after Six learns of long-hidden corruption within the agency. This feels like an old-school, globe-trotting action-thriller, with its A-list ensemble (Ana de Armas, Regé-Jean Page, Alfre Woodard, Billy Bob Thornton, and a scene-stealing Julia Butters co-star alongside Gosling and Evans), flashy stunts, and talented directors coming together to make one big joy ride of a film. More good news: There’s a sequel on the way.

The Gray Man

2022

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The Harder They Fall

Maybe a Western is more your speed, which should bump Jeymes Samuel’s sleek, gun-slinging revenge story right up to the top of your list. Blending reality and fiction and imagining several figures from the Old West like Bass Reeves and Stagecoach Mary, this flick is about Nat Love’s (Jonathan Majors) quest to take down an enemy from his past. The Harder They Fall is notable for being a Western with an entirely Black principal cast — an unstoppable ensemble that boasts performances from Regina King, Idris Elba, LaKeith Stanfield, and Zazie Beetz, among others. Whether you’re well-versed in cowboy movie lore or completely new to the genre, Samuel crafted a stylish film with a killer soundtrack (executive produced by Jay-Z with contributions from Kid Cudi and Seal) that’s well worth anyone’s time.

The Harder They Fall

2021

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Enola Holmes

There are plenty of hypermasculine movies on this list (and we love them all), which isn’t exactly a surprise, considering that action is a male-heavy genre. But can we perhaps interest you in one about a plucky young heroine? Harry Bradbeer’s adaptation of Nancy Springer’s young adult detective novel series is a fizzy caper that stars Millie Bobby Brown in the titular role. Enola is, of course, the teen sister of Sherlock (played here by Henry Cavill) and Mycroft Holmes (Sam Claflin), and she’s put at the center of her own story as she sets out to track down their missing mother (Helena Bonham Carter) and ends up uncovering an unexpectedly massive mystery along the way. In Enola Holmes, and its sequel Enola Holmes 2, Enola’s fourth-wall-breaking asides to the audience and moments of legitimate badassery make these films as charming as they are exciting.

Enola Holmes

2020

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Outlaw King

We’ve included quite a few solid historical options on this list, but Outlaw King still stands out from the rest of the pack. David Mackenzie’s period piece takes place in 14th-century Scotland, following the reign of Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine) as he took control of the Scottish crown, rebelled against King Edward I (Stephen Dillane) and led an uprising against the English army to win back his country’s independence. The film has all the richness of a well-crafted historical epic that doesn’t hold back on the bloody, medieval fight scenes. Pine is excellent, and as an added bonus, Florence Pugh and Aaron Taylor-Johnson co-star.

Outlaw King

2018

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Red Notice

Where would we be without the action-comedy? Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, this fun film mixes elements of the classic screwball genre with big-budget action. It also features a trio of massive movie stars — Dwayne Johnson (who reunites with Thurber after Central Intelligence and Skyscraper), Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot — and lets them crack wise as often as they outrun gunfire. The narrative highlights the unlikely partnership between FBI agent John Hartley (Johnson) and Nolan Booth (Reynolds), the well-practiced art thief Hartley enlists to help him track down Sarah “The Bishop” Black (Gadot), a slippery crook who delights in making her victims squirm. 

Red Notice

2021

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Da 5 Bloods

Back in 2020, Da 5 Bloods earned itself the rare honor of being a modern action movie that also got the prestige awards drama treatment. A vivid and often very moving film brought to life by director Spike Lee, Da 5 Bloods follows a group of four veterans (played by Delroy Lindo, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis, and Isiah Whitlock Jr.) who return to Vietnam to search for the remains of their fallen squad leader (played in flashbacks by Chadwick Boseman), as well as the hidden treasure they helped him bury during the war. This is an adventure tale that deftly blends history lessons with present-day conversations, all set to Terence Blanchard’s Academy Award–nominated score. It also marks the last of Boseman’s films to be released during his lifetime, and his commanding performance will remind you of what an unparalleled star he was.

Da 5 Bloods

2020

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Gunpowder Milkshake

This energetic, neon-tinged action-thriller is a bit like a female-led spin on John Wick, starring Karen Gillan as a hit woman who teams up with a formidable group of female assassins (that includes her estranged mother, played by Lena Headey) in order to save a young girl (Chloe Coleman) from a menacing crime ring, which is headed by a mysterious figure played by Paul Giamatti. It’s a gleefully violent firecracker of a film that unfolds at a breakneck pace, all while balancing itself out by adding in a healthy layer of complicated family dynamics to its story. But if that premise and the killer title aren’t enough to hook you, you should also know that there’s nothing more enjoyable than putting Gillan, Headey, Carla Gugino, Michelle Yeoh, and Angela Bassett in a movie together and watching them pal around. 

Gunpowder Milkshake

2021

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