From 2015 until today, we’ve had the chance to see some amazing (and not so amazing) action movies. Fans of the genre have been enjoying a surge of creative new action flicks that are becoming more genre-bending and focus on giving the characters a good story, rather than just participating in glorified action and violence.
In 2025, so far, we’ve gotten the action epic Mission: Impossible–The Final Reckoning, a creative mix of horror and action in The Gorge, and the underappreciated action rom-com Novocaine. With a couple of months left in the year, we may still see a potential hit, but talking about the best action movie from each year of the past decade (until 2024) will give us enough to discuss for the time being.
1
‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ (2015)
George Miller‘s action masterpiece, Mad Max: Fury Road, marks his return to the wasteland he created during the 1980s with Mel Gibson as the titular character, Max. This time, Max is played by Tom Hardy, and he’s a secondary character, giving the lead to a bold new character, Imperator Furiosa, played by Charlize Theron. Everything we loved about the Mad Max trilogy is amplified and improved in Fury Road, which could arguably be the best action movie of all time because of its masterful editing, stunning cinematography, and non-stop pace.
Mad Max: Fury Road follows Imperator Furiosa (Theron), a War Rig driver for the ruthless wasteland ruler Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne). Immortan Joe has brides he keeps in his fortress, and Furiosa decides to save them and take them to the place she remembers as her home. Max Rockatansky (Hardy) joins them on the mission, helping Furiosa run away. Fury Road redefined what modern action could look like; all the stunts are practical, the story doesn’t suffer for a second, and the plot’s weight is rather amplified by the action.
2
‘Captain America: Civil War’ (2016)
Opening the third phase of the MCU was assigned to Captain America: Civil War, a movie that was almost bafflingly great. With a lot of Marvel movies overtaking the landscape during the 2010s, people weren’t expecting to be totally dragged into the narrative of each, but Civil War proved that a superhero movie can be a brilliant standalone action feature and a conspiracy thriller in one. Civil War is one of the best parts of the MCU in general, with exceptional leading performances by Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr., as well as stunning action sequences.
Civil War is set after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, when the Avengers took part in the devastation of Sokovia while trying to defeat alien forces. The UN meets for the purpose of enacting the Sokovia Accords, with which they’ll have the power to oversee the Avengers’ actions. Tony Stark (Downey) agrees with this, but Steve Rogers (Evans) doesn’t; their rift grows as they gather like-minded people to their side and become entwined in conflict among themselves. The airport battle alone cements Civil War as peak superhero action; it’s an ensemble spectacle driven by a serious, politically-charged plot.
3
‘Logan’ (2017)
Another Marvel movie that’s gritty and could easily pass for a non-superhero flick is James Mangold‘s masterpiece Logan. It follows Wolverine — and Hugh Jackman in one of his final appearances as Wolverine — and was based on the Old Man Logan comics, showing the descent of mutants and the weakening of Logan’s powers, causing him to start growing older. Logan is one of the greatest R-rated swan songs ever made — an intimate, brutal, and action-packed story that combines sci-fi, action, and Western (or, well, neo-Western, technically).
Logan is set in a future in which mutants are nearly extinct or completely weakened. Logan (Jackman), aka Wolverine, lives near the Mexican border with the ailing Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and a tracker mutant, Caliban (Stephen Merchant). When a young girl escapes an experimental facility and runs into Logan, he realizes she has the same powers as him; her pursuers are relentless, but Logan still has a few tricks up his sleeve. He protects her, Xavier, and Caliban from all impending danger in a difficult but exciting feature that will leave you breathless.
4
‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’ (2018)
Mission: Impossible – Fallout is greatly considered one of the best action movies of the century. It’s a relentless adventure into crazy action sequences, even crazier stunts (and Tom Cruise did most of them himself!), and a pretty airtight storyline that has conspiracy thriller vibes. Fallout is daring and bold, but it was undoubtedly inspired to look deeper within itself due to similar action flicks around the time. Having a fleshed-out, gripping story caused Fallout to feel like the most complete and best part of the Mission Impossible franchise.
Fallout is set two years after the events of the previous movie, Rogue Nation, and follows the events after the capture of terrorist leader Solomon Lane. His followers are now terrorists for hire and are paid to steal three plutonium cores for nuclear bombs for a mysterious man. Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team embark on catching them before they succeed in their mission. Receiving widespread acclaim, Fallout is still gladly talked about. Despite being a part of a bigger scheme, it’s a brilliant standalone feature you can watch anytime.
5
‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019)
Avengers: Endgame was the highest-grossing movie of all time for about two years (it was surpassed by Avatar, which reached no.1 again), and this isn’t just a testament to how many Marvel and MCU fans exist around the world. Many people went to watch the movie multiple times, fascinated, saddened, and utterly impressed by what they saw. This is the culmination of the Infinity saga, and it can only be described as an action spectacle on an epic scale. Its final battle sequence is a pure blockbuster and a catharsis unlike any other in the MCU.
Avengers: Endgame is set right after Avengers: Infinity War, in which the Avengers’ nemesis Thanos (Josh Brolin) gathers all six Infinity Stones and snaps his finger while wearing the Infinity Gauntlet. Endgame follows the remaining Avengers’ efforts to reverse The Snap and bring people back, while figuring out ways to defeat Thanos once and for all. This epic has it all — fun action, tearjerking moments, great performances, and a beautiful goodbye to the Avengers lineup many of us grew up with. Even if you’re not the biggest fan of Marvel’s superhero movies, you have to admit Endgame is a great action movie.
Many would say Tenet was the best action movie of 2020, but it really confused a lot of people. Its non-linear, backwards storytelling felt like having to sit down with an interpreter, and though it is good, we must give this title to another feature — Extraction. Yes, the Netflix action thriller is no frills, all thrills, and sees Chris Hemsworth in the type of role he’s definitely been doing all those deadlifts for. Even if it is a simple action movie, it’s good because it delivers what it promises.
Extraction was based on the graphic novel Ciudad and follows mercenary Tyler Rake (Hemsworth), who lives in India and is hired to save the son of a notorious Indian drug lord from captivity. Extraction filled the void of a theater-less year (you know, COVID), and it has a lot to enjoy, particularly the stunts, which the director, Sam Hargrave, knows everything about (because he is a stuntman). The movie’s long-take chase and gunfight stand out in this high-octane feature.
7
‘Wrath of Man’ (2021)
You will likely feel the Wrath of Man when you read that I placed this movie here over, say, Spider-Man: No Way Home. While IMDb scores do confirm the latter is a higher-rated movie, you’re sleeping on the former. Wrath of Man is the confirmation that Guy Ritchie understands more than just yappy black comedies with gangsters — he understands action, and how to use his longtime collaborator and friend, Jason Statham, as the ultimate action hero. Wrath of Man is well-directed, greatly acted, serving as both a solid revenge story and a spruced-up thriller.
Wrath of Man follows H (Statham), who gets a job as an armored truck driver at a security company. H is reclusive and prefers to work and be alone; his coworkers dislike him, but they warm up to him after a while, unaware that H has a personal vendetta to fulfill and has no intention of taking anyone with him. Wrath of Man is fun, gritty, stylish, and showcases Statham’s strengths; there’s not much more we could ask for.
8
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ (2022)
In the era of legacy sequels no one wanted, Top Gun: Maverick became the best legacy sequel recently made. After decades, Tom Cruise brought fighter jets back to theaters — and audiences flew in spades to see it all again. Top Gun: Maverick is, at times, better than the original, as we now have the technology and means to make an iconic movie about fighter jet pilots even better. Still, the sentiment of Top Gun can’t be replicated, but Maverick does it fairly successfully with a batch of charming new characters.
Top Gun: Maverick follows Cruise returning as Maverick, a retired fighter jet pilot who comes to the Top Gun Academy to help new pilots think up a strategy for destroying an enemy base. Maverick also meets his old friend Goose’s (Anthony Edwards) son, Rooster (Miles Teller), and Rooster clashes with Maverick over his father’s death. The aerial stunts with the jets are all real, which makes them a lot more exciting to watch; the jet fights and pursuits are high-octane; and the old-school blockbuster energy is delivered in droves, making Top Gun: Maverick an instant future classic.
9
‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ (2023)
The John Wick franchise closes out on a high note, with John Wick: Chapter 4 an undeniable masterpiece. This nearly three-hour-long epic is comprised of pure stunts and action, combined with some serious, deep-lore world-building, combat, and gunfights that feel like watching a deadly dance take place. Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves put their all into the final movie about John Wick (though the franchise and Wick’s universe remain alive and well). When they said they wanted to give the story a satisfying closure, they delivered exactly as promised.
John Wick: Chapter 4 continues after the third installment and follows Wick while he’s on a vengeance quest to destroy those at The High Table and everyone who abandoned him. The movie flows almost like a video game — each new boss is more difficult to defeat than the former — but Wick seems to get his health bar restored with each fight. Finally, the epic turns into a tragedy, and we see one of the greatest franchise endings ever made. John Wick: Chapter 4 is truly an action highlight of the 2020s.
10
‘Monkey Man’ (2024)
Monkey Man was so underrated and underappreciated that I feel like we need to keep saying how great it is again and again. It’s a pure action movie that borrows a lot from its predecessors, but that’s why it’s so great. A classic action movie set in a world so different from our Western one is more than welcome into the mainstream. Hanuman is one of the biggest deities in Hindu mythology, and Dev Patel does a great job of incorporating Hanuman’s myth with reality. He also steps into the lead role in his first-ever action movie, beyond just writing and directing the film.
Monkey Man is set in India, where we see a young boy named Kid; his village is raided and burned down by a religious cult leader, Baba Shakti, and the police chief, Rana Singh, who keep claiming land for their cause. Because of that, Kid grows up without his mother. Years later, he is an underground boxer and plots his revenge on Baba Shakti and Rana. Monkey Man is a gritty revenge thriller soaked in bloodshedding action and raw, kinetic fight scenes. The movie also carries great emotional weight and depicts marginalized members of Indian society, showing us that originality in cinema isn’t dead.
Monkey Man
- Release Date
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April 5, 2024
- Runtime
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121 Minutes
- Writers
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Dev Patel, Paul Angunawela, John Collee
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