Check out the 16 best action movies on Prime Video

Action movies have remained one of the most popular genres of entertainment since the birth of cinema. Prime Video offers a nice collection of actioners in its massive library, including Prime Video originals, and it adds new movies every week. That has made it a solid Netflix alternative in the raging streaming wars. So, what are the best action movies on Amazon Prime Video?

Below, we offer you our picks of the top 16 action movies you’ll find on the Amazon streamer. These include titles from various decades and countries spanning numerous sub-genres. We’ve also made sure to include a few movies you can watch for free on Amazon’s ad-supported channel Freevee. And if you aren’t already a Prime subscriber, you can sign up by hitting the link below.

The best action movies on Amazon Prime Video

Editor’s note: We will update this list regularly as action movies leave Amazon Prime Video and others are introduced.

Speed (1994)

What you need to know:

• Rating: R
• Runtime: 116 minutes
• Director: Jan de Bont
• Main cast: Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper, Jeff Daniels
• Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
• IMDB rating: 7.4

There’s a bomb on a bus, and if it slows down it’ll explode. Now, LAPD officer Jack Traven has to figure out how to get on the bus and save its passengers without angering the man behind the deadly scheme, a madman who wants revenge on Jack for another botched bombing.

A high-concept action thriller, Speed is one of the best action movies of the 90s and certainly among the best action movies on Amazon Prime Video. If you like movies like Die Hard, Twister, and Face/Off, you’ll love Speed.

Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Prime Video.

Lionheart (1990)

What you need to know:

• Rating: R
• Runtime: 105 minutes
• Director: Sheldon Lettich
• Main cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Harrison Page, Deborah Rennard, Lisa Pelikan, Brian Thompson
• Genre: Action, Martial Arts
• IMDB rating: 6.2

Jean-Claude Van Damme plays a French Foreign Legion soldier who has to deal with his brother getting murdered. He wants to help support his sister-in-law and her daughter, so JCVD heads to Los Angeles and fights in illegal matches to get some money for the family.

If you love martial arts action movies and low-budget 1990s action films, this one’s a hoot, and you can check it out on Prime Video.

Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Prime Video.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

What you need to know:

• Rating: PG-13
• Runtime: 131 minutes
• Director: Joseph Kosinski
• Main cast: Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, Ed Harris, Val Kilmer
• Genre: Action, Adventure
• IMDB rating: 8.3

Decades after the original Top Gun, Maverick heads back to the academy where he’ll have to train the next generation of pilots to fly a top-secret mission that requires his unique skills. As always, his daredevil attitude and loose adherence to rules gets him into some trouble as he tries to whip the new class into shape.

A terrific “legasequel,” Top Gun: Maverick is an improvement on the original film in almost every regard. Blending old-school heroics with fresh new faces and challenges, it hits all the right notes throughout and even earned a nomination for Best Picture at the Oscars.

Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Prime Video.

Wrath of Man (2021)

What you need to know:

• Rating: R
• Runtime: 118 minutes
• Director: Guy Ritchie
• Main cast: Jason Statham, Holt McCallany, Jeffrey Donovan, Josh Hartnett, Laz Alonso
• Genre: Crime, Thriller, Action
• IMDB rating: 7.1

Jason Statham reteams with director Guy Ritchie (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch) for this crime-action movie. Statham plays a newly recruited armored car guard in Los Angeles who seems to be very good at his job. However, he has some hidden motivations for applying for this particular line of work.

Wrath of Man is a smart, dark, and gritty return to form for Ritchie, and it has plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing until the credits roll.

Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Prime Video.

John Wick (2014)

• Rating: R
• Runtime: 101 minutes
• Director: Chad Stahelski
• Main cast: Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, Willem Dafoe, Alfie Allen, Dean Winters
• Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
• IMDB rating: 7.4

When his beloved dog, a souvenir from his late wife, is killed during a home invasion, retired hitman John Wick returns to the dangerous world he left behind to get his vengeance. He unleashes all-out war on the men who took everything from him, and anyone who stands with them.

A deceptively simple actioner, John Wick is an emotionally satisfying thriller with some incredible fight choreography thanks to director Chad Stahelski, a longtime stuntman with an eye for balletic fight scenes.

Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Freevee.

Ip Man (2010)

What you need to know:

• Rating: R
• Runtime: 108 minutes
• Director: Wilson Yip
• Main cast: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Lynn Hung, Gordon Lam, Fan Siu-wong
• Genre: Action, Martial Arts, Historical
• IMDB rating: 8

Based on the true story of Ip Man, a grandmaster of the martial art Wing Chun who taught Bruce Lee, Ip Man is a biographical action movie set in the 1930s in China. The film follows the martial arts icon during the Sino-Japanese War.

With stunning fight choreography, Ip Man is among the best martial arts films in decades, and it’s one of the best action movies on Amazon Prime Video. It was followed by several sequels that are also worth watching.

Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Prime Video.

Ambulance (2022)

What you need to know:

• Rating: R
• Runtime: 136 minutes
• Director: Michael Bay
• Main cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Eiza González, Garret Dillahunt, Olivia Stambouliah
• Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
• IMDB rating: 6.1

In Ambulance, Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II play two members of a criminal crew that try to rob a Los Angeles bank. When the heist goes bad, they hijack an ambulance with an EMT and a severally wounded police officer. The rest of the movie is a fast-moving chase through the streets of LA.

Director Michael Bay’s latest action film wasn’t a big box office hit, but it may be his best movie since The Rock. With lots of fast camera movement and drone footage, along with great performances, it will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Prime Video.

The Accountant (2016)

What you need to know:

• Rating: R
• Runtime: 128 minutes
• Director: Gavin O’Connor
• Main cast: Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J. K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, Jeffrey Tambor, John Lithgow
• Genre: Crime, Thriller
• IMDB rating: 7.3

A math savant who handles accounting for dangerous criminals falls into the crosshairs of a treasury agent who is closing in on him. When he takes a legitimate job with a tech company, he soon finds himself investigating discrepancies as the body count rises around him.

Ben Affleck reteamed with director Gavin O’Connor for the excellent 2020 drama The Way Back. You can see the start of their productive partnership in The Accountant, a tense, smart thriller.

Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Prime Video.

The Northman (2022)

What you need to know:

• Rating: R
• Runtime: 137 minutes
• Director: Robert Eggers
• Main cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Gustav Lindh, Ethan Hawke, Björk, Willem Dafoe
• Genre: Action, Drama, Epic
• IMDB rating: 7

When Prince Amleth witnesses the murder of his father by his uncle, he vows to avenge his father’s death and free his mother. Two decades later, Amleth is a Viking raider who returns home to make good on his vow.

Based on the legend that inspired William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, The Northman is a visually striking epic of Norse mythology. Dark and gritty, it is a terrific choice for fans of Braveheart, Gladiator, and Valhalla Rising.

Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Prime Video.

Kung Fu Hustle (2005)

What you need to know:

• Rating: R
• Runtime: 99 minutes
• Director: Stephen Chow
• Main cast: Stephen Chow, Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu, Lam Tze-chung, Bruce Leung Siu-Lung, Eva Huang, Danny Chan Kwok-kwan
• Genre: Action, Comedy, Fantasy
• IMDB rating: 7.7

In a poor village, two conmen trick the residents into thinking they’re members of a notorious gang. When the gang gets wind of the scheme, they descend on the slum in full force. What they don’t realize is that three legendary kung fu masters, now retired, live in the area, and they don’t take kindly to the new arrivals upsetting the peace.

A wonderful action-comedy with knock-out fight choreography supervised by Yuen Woo-ping, King Fu Hustle is a must-see action movie on Amazon Prime Video.

Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Prime Video.

Face/Off (1997)

What you need to know:

• Rating: R
• Runtime: 138
• Director: John Woo
• Main cast: John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Alessandro Nivola, Gina Gershon, Dominique Swain, Nick Cassavetes
• Genre: Action, Crime, Science Fiction
• IMDB rating: 7.3

When his nemesis finds himself in a coma, an FBI agent takes part in an experimental procedure to replace his face with that of the dangerous criminal in order to infiltrate his operation and prevent an attack on LA. But when his foe miraculously wakes up, he takes the agent’s face and destroys all evidence of the procedure, embracing his new life as he prepares for the ultimate showdown.

The absurd premise is part of the fun with Face/Off. You have to embrace it and accept the impossible, and once you do, you’re in for a real treat. This is one of the best action movies of the 90s, blending a wild sci-fi concept with a Hong Kong action sensibility and featuring career-best performances from Nic Cage and John Travolta.

Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Prime Video.

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

• Rating: PG-13
• Runtime: 115 minutes
• Director: Paul Greengrass
• Main cast: Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, David Strathairn, Scott Glenn, Paddy Considine, Edgar Ramírez, Albert Finney
• Genre: Action, Mystery, Thriller
• IMDB rating: 8

When a reporter brings him back out of hiding, Jason Bourne has the chance to confront the architects of Project Treadstone once and for all, but he’ll have to dodge the Company’s attempts to kill him to finally get the answers he’s been looking for.

Easily the best of the Bourne films, The Bourne Ultimatum wraps up a complex story with deeply satisfying closure. It’s one of the best action movies on Amazon Prime Video, and you can catch it without even signing up on Freevee.

Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Freevee.

Haywire (2012)

What you need to know:

• Rating: R
• Runtime: 93 minutes
• Director: Steven Soderbergh
• Main cast: Gina Carano, Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Bill Paxton, Channing Tatum, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas
• Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
• IMDB rating: 5.8

When a highly trained, deadly government security contractor is burned by her employer after a mission, she goes on the run. Needing to expose the double-cross, she uses her back ops training to set a trap and earn back her freedom and safety.

Steven Soderbergh does a magnificent job with this stripped-down action thriller, making every punch land for the audience through slow and clear editing and a conspicuous lack of music during fight scenes. It’s a killer actioner that’s sure to please fans of the Bourne films.

Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Prime Video.

Blue Steel (1990)

What you need to know:

• Rating: R
• Runtime: 102 minutes
• Director: Kathryn Bigelow
• Main cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Ron Silver, Clancy Brown, Elizabeth Peña, Louise Fletcher, Philip Bosco, Kevin Dunn
• Genre: Action, Crime
• IMDB rating: 5.8

When a rookie cop kills an armed robber, she finds herself stuck in a game of cat an mouse with a bystander who recovered the would-be burglar’s gun and used it in a killing spree, leaving the cop suspected of shooting an unarmed man.

Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow’s unique style helps Blue Steel rise above its far-fetched, formulaic premise, making it one of the best action movies on Prime Video.

Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Prime Video.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

What you need to know:

• Rating: PG-13
• Runtime: 120 minutes
• Director: Ang Lee
• Main cast: Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen, Sihung Lung, Cheng Pei-pei, Li Fazeng
• Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
• IMDB rating: 7.9

In 19th-century China, during the Qing Dynasty, a warrior entrusts his mystical sword to his lover. When it is stolen, different factions fight for ownership of the weapon.

A massive, global success on release, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a stunning achievement, with dazzling fight choreography and a host of top-tier actors. This is a great introduction to Chinese Wuxia cinema and one of the best action movies on Prime Video.

Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Prime Video.

You Were Never Really Here (2017)

What you need to know:

• Rating: R
• Runtime: 89 minutes
• Director: Lynne Ramsay
• Main cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Judith Roberts, Ekaterina Samsonov, John Doman, Alex Manette, Dante Pereira-Olson, Alessandro Nivola
• Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
• IMDB rating: 6.7

A brutal, traumatized veteran works as an enforcer for criminals in the Prime Video original film from director Lynne Ramsay. When he’s tasked with retrieving a kidnapped girl, he uncovers a disturbing conspiracy and realizes he’s the child’s only hope, and he’ll go to any lengths to keep her safe.

Especially slow and meditative for an action movie, You Were Never Really Here exhibits some of the defining features of the genre, and it’s among the best Prime Video originals. If you enjoy films like Oldboy, Drive, Thief, and Collateral, you’ll want to make sure to watch You Were Never Really Here.

Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Prime Video.