The best action movies on Amazon Prime right now
Amazon Prime Video is one of the best streamers when it comes to action. For a streamer, there’s no better position to be in than having some of the best action movies anywhere, including almost all of the James Bond films, as well as recent hits like Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning.
November’s additions to this list include two of the all-time great action movies: Die Hard and The Terminator. Our third pick of the month, Cowboys & Aliens, may not be on the same level as the other two, but it also deserves its place among the best action movies on Amazon Prime right now.
Need more recommendations? Then check out the best new movies to stream this week, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
Die Hard (1988) [New]
Metacritic: 72%
IMDb: 8.2/10
Rated: R
Duration: 132m
Genre: Action, Thriller
Stars: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Alexander Godunov
Directed by: John McTiernan
Is it really Christmas if Bruce Willis doesn’t get a machine gun at Nakatomi Plaza? “Ho, ho, ho!” Holiday purists may not like the idea of Die Hard as a Christmas movie, but we love it. It also just so happens to be one of the greatest action flicks of all-time.
For his first turn as John McClane, Willis gives a very emotionally vulnerable performance as he tries to convince his estranged wife, Holly Gennaro-McClane (Bonnie Bedelia), to reconcile with him during her company’s holiday party. But the party’s over when Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) arrives alongside armed terrorists. Suddenly, John has to draw on all of his cop training just to stay alive and attempt to rescue the hostages. And there’s no one left to save the day but him.
The Terminator (1984) [New]
Metacritic: 81%
IMDb: 8.4/10
Rated: R
Duration: 108m
Genre: Action, Thriller, Science Fiction
Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton
Directed by: James Cameron
Arnold Schwarzenegger has never been more intimidating than he was in The Terminator. At the time, Schwarzenegger’s grasp of English wasn’t very good, but it only adds to the machine’s mystique as it pretends to be human. This T-800 Terminator was sent to the past to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), the woman who will one day give birth to the leader of the resistance against the machines.
Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) also escapes into the past to serve as Sarah’s protector. The irony is that even Kyle is outgunned and outmatched by the Terminator, and it simply won’t stop coming for them no matter what they throw at it.
Cowboys & Aliens (2011) [New]
Metacritic: 50%
IMDb: 6.0/10
Rated: PG-13
Duration: 119m
Genre: Action, Science Fiction, Thriller, Western
Stars: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde
Directed by: Jon Favreau
The Cowboys & Aliens comic was cynically created just to sell it as a potential movie. Thankfully, director Jon Favreau and his team of screenwriters essentially ignored the source material and delivered a sci-fi action flick that’s actually pretty fun.
James Bond actor Daniel Craig headlines the film as Jake Lonergan, an outlaw who wakes up in the wild with some kind of alien device on his arm and no clue as to who he is and how he got there. Lonergan may not be able to remember his enemies, including Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford), but they certainly remember him. All of those rivalries go out the window once an alien attack forces the town to band together. An enigmatic woman, Ella Swenson (Olivia Wilde), also makes it her mission to help Lonergan, even though she’s hiding some big secrets.
No Time to Die (2021)
Metacritic: 68%
IMDb: 7.3/10
Rated: PG-13
Duration: 163m
Genre: Action, Thriller, Adventure
Stars: Daniel Craig, Léa Seydoux, Rami Malek
Directed by: Cary Joji Fukunaga
Daniel Craig’s time as James Bond comes to an end in No Time To Die, and his heart is crushed in the opening minutes. Bond is convinced that his lover, Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), set him up to die at the order of his old enemy, Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Christoph Waltz). So he leaves Madeleine behind without letting her defend herself.
Bond thinks that Blofeld is his only enemy left, but he doesn’t know about Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek), a terrorist with his own vendetta against Blofeld. Safin’s plan is even deadlier than Blofeld’s, as Bond is dragged out of retirement for one last mission that may finish him off once and for all. Keep an eye out for Ana de Armas’ scene-stealing cameo as a spy named Paloma. She needs her own Bond movie.
The Raid: Redemption (2012)
Metacritic: 73%
IMDb: 7.6/10
Rated: R
Duration: 101m
Genre: Action, Thriller, Crime
Stars: Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Donny Alamsyah
Directed by: Gareth Evans
There aren’t a lot of Indonesian action movies that become international hits, but The Raid: Redemption is something special. You won’t even care if you have to watch it with subtitles because the action is so incredible that American film directors had to take note. Iko Uwais stars as Rama, a rookie police officer on a tactical team, led by Sergeant Jaka (Joe Taslim).
Jaka’s squad is undertaking a daring raid of a multi-story complex run by crime lord Tama Riyadi (Ray Sahetapy). The Indonesian cops have seriously underestimated Tama’s forces and soon find themselves trapped in the building, with almost all of the residents gunning for them at Tama’s behest. The only way out alive for the police is by fighting their way up to the top of the building and facing Tama himself.
Mad Max (1979)
Metacritic: 73%
IMDb: 6.8/10
Rated: R
Duration: 91m
Genre: Adventure, Action, Thriller, Science Fiction
Stars: Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne
Directed by: George Miller
Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) wasn’t always “mad” in the first installment of George Miller’s Mad Max franchise. In fact, there’s even some sense of order to the wasteland, as Max is one of the few members of Australia’s Main Force Patrol who attempt to keep law and order alive.
However, Max would rather settle down with his wife, Jessie (Joanne Samuel), and his child than deal with an increasingly dangerous gang led by Toecutter (Hugh Keays-Byrne). Unfortunately for Max, staying on the sidelines in this conflict isn’t an option, especially after his own family is targeted by the gang. If he wasn’t mad before, he soon will be…
Dredd (2012)
Metacritic: 60%
IMDb: 7.1/10
Rated: R
Duration: 95m
Genre: Action, Science Fiction
Stars: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey
Directed by: Pete Travis
Although Dredd has a much lower budget compared to the 1995 Judge Dredd movie starring Sylvester Stallone, the reboot mops the floor with its predecessor thanks to its intense action and a dedicated performance from Karl Urban in the title role. In the British comic book that inspired the films, Judges are one-man or one-woman law enforcement agents who take down criminals and sentence them at the same time. In keeping with his comic book counterpart, Urban’s Dredd never takes off his helmet in this movie.
Olivia Thirlby also has a great turn as Cassandra Anderson, a rookie Judge with psychic abilities who is on a training mission with Dredd to evaluate her. Anderson and Dredd are soon swooped up in a battle with drug lord Madeline “Ma-Ma” Madrigal (Lena Headey), who traps them in a towering apartment complex and puts such a high price on their heads that even corrupt Judges come to collect the bounty.
Constantine (2005)
Metacritic: 50%
IMDb: 7.0/10
Rated: R
Duration: 121m
Genre: Fantasy, Action, Horror
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf
Directed by: Francis Lawrence
The John Constantine from DC’s Hellblazer comic book has no resemblance to Keanu Reeves, nor do his adventures deal with a lot of gun play. Suffice to say, Constantine took a lot of liberties with the source material, and yet it still works well as a supernatural action thriller. Reeves plays John Constantine, an occult investigator and magician who fights the forces of hell in the hopes that he will be accepted by heaven before he dies from terminal lung cancer.
Rachel Weisz has a haunting turn as LAPD detective Angela Dodson, a woman disturbed by the apparent suicide of her twin sister, Isabel (Weisz). Angela is targeted by demons for mysterious reasons, forcing Constantine to step up as her defender alongside his protégé, Chas Kramer (Shia LaBeouf).
V for Vendetta (2006) [New]
Metacritic: 62%
IMDb: 8.1/10
Rated: R
Duration: 132m
Genre: Action, Thriller, Science Fiction
Stars: Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea
Directed by: James McTeigue
American viewers probably don’t know much about Guy Fawkes, but they will almost certainly recognize his mask worn by the title character in V for Vendetta. This adaptation of Alan Moore and artist David Lloyd’s comic book depicts a dark vision of Great Britain that has fallen under the control of ruthless fascists.
Natalie Portman stars as Evey Hammond, a young woman who encounters V (Hugo Weaving) as he enacts his plan to get revenge on specific people in power. V also has grand ambitions to inspire a movement to overthrow the government. But first, he’ll have to make Evey see the rigorousness of his cause… even if it breaks her spirit.
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
Metacritic: 80%
IMDb: 7.7/10
Rated: PG-13
Duration: 164m
Genre: Action, Thriller
Stars: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames
Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie
For what may be the first part of the final adventure for Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning gives him a foe he can’t punch, kick, or shoot: The Entity. This incredibly advanced AI is already sentient, and the world governments are scrambling to get it under their control. Ethan wants to destroy it, but the Entity has its own ideas about how to shape the world.
The film also introduces Grace (Haley Atwell), a thief who throws all of Ethan’s plans into turmoil when she keeps stealing the things he needs to defeat the Entity. Ethan can’t quite shake Grace, and the reverse is also true. So they may need to team up if they want to survive the Entity, even if the people around them may not be as lucky as they are.
Skyfall (2012)
Metacritic: 81%
IMDb: 7.8/10
Rated: PG-13
Duration: 143m
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Stars: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem
Directed by: Sam Mendes
Why is Skyfall is the best modern James Bond movie? Big action and even bigger personal stakes for Daniel Craig’s 007. The movie doesn’t tell you right away that the name Skyfall has some significance for Bond. What you do see is that Bond is off his game after nearly dying on a mission. But his short-lived retirement comes to a conclusion because Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) is bringing MI-5 to its knees.
The problem is that Bond has barely recovered when he’s put back in the field, and his boss, M (Judi Dench), is less than forthcoming about why Silva has a grudge against her. As events come to a head, Bond realizes that the only way he can beat Silva is by playing a game on his own terms at the home he left behind decades ago.
Face/Off (1997)
Metacritic: 82%
IMDb: 7.3/10
Rated: R
Duration: 138m
Genre: Action, Crime, Science Fiction
Stars: John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen
Directed by: John Woo
John Travolta (Gotti) and Nicolas Cage (Longlegs) have been in some wild movies over the decades, but Face/Off is the only time they both got to play the hero and the villain in the same movie! Travolta plays FBI Agent Sean Archer, a man who has a grudge against a terrorist named Castor Troy (Cage), who killed Sean’s son while trying to take him out. But just when Sean finally gets his revenge on Castor, it turns out that they need him alive to get intel about the locations of impending bombings.
Since Castor is in a coma, his face is surgically attached to Sean’s body so he can go undercover and discover the intel he needs. Unfortunately for Sean, Castor’s coma doesn’t last long, and he’s coming after his rival with Sean’s face as he steals his life and erases all evidence that they switched places.
Road House (2024)
Metacritic: 59%
IMDb: 6.3/10
Rated: R
Duration: 121m
Genre: Action, Thriller
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Daniela Melchior, Conor McGregor
Directed by: Doug Liman
Road House may have skipped theaters, but there’s no shortage of action in this remake of the 1989 original starring Patrick Swayze. Jake Gyllenhaal headlines the new film as Dalton, a former UFC fighter running from his past who gets a chance to turn his life around when Frankie (Jessica Williams) hires him to be the new head bouncer at her road house bar.
Dalton is so good at his job that he runs afoul of local crime boss Ben Brandt (Billy Magnussen), who’s trying to take Frankie’s land as part of a larger scheme. When Dalton won’t back down, an even more formidable enforcer, Knox (Conor McGregor), is sent to put him in his place. And this is one fight where even Dalton’s skills will be sorely tested.
Payback (1999)
Metacritic: 46%
IMDb: 7.1/10
Rated: R
Duration: 100m
Genre: Action, Drama, Crime
Stars: Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry, Maria Bello
Directed by: Brian Helgeland
The posters for Payback said “get ready to root for the bad guy.” It’s not so hard when the bad guy is going up against people who are even worse than he is. Action icon Mel Gibson plays Porter, a career criminal who was double-crossed by his partner, Val Resnick (Gregg Henry), who also convinced Porter’s wife, Lynn (Deborah Kara Unger), that he was cheating on her. Together, they leave Porter for dead, and Val steals the money that he and Porter had previously taken from the Chinese Triad.
But leaving someone for dead is not the same thing as making sure they’re dead. Porter takes the time to recover, and when he returns, he’s going to make sure there’s hell to pay. Val’s just one of the top names on his hit list, and Porter won’t stop coming until his revenge is complete.
Guy Ritchie's The Covenant (2023)
Metacritic: 63%
IMDb: 7.5/10
Rated: R
Duration: 123m
Genre: War, Action, Thriller
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Dar Salim, Sean Sagar
Directed by: Guy Ritchie
Bonds of brotherhood are formed in battle, even though Master Sergeant John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal) doesn’t initially care for his new interpreter, Ahmed (Dar Salim), during the war in Afghanistan. The Covenant reveals Ahmed’s heroism when he risks his own life to see Kinley to safety after the latter is injured by Taliban fighters.
Ahmed’s bravery is not rewarded by the U.S. government, which refuses to evacuate him and his family even as the Taliban hunts him down to get revenge. When Kinley discovers this injustice, he returns to Afghanistan to repay the debt that he has to Ahmed.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)
Metacritic: 42%
IMDb: 6.0/10
Rated: PG-13
Duration: 127m
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
Stars: Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Peter Cullen
Directed by: Steven Caple Jr.
You won’t miss the Bay-hem in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. This movie is not without its flaws, but the action is far more comprehensible than in any of Michael Bay’s Transformers flicks. The film has a lot to juggle, as it continues the light reboot from Bumblebee while also introducing Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman) and his prehistoric-inspired Maximals from Transformers: Beast Wars.
Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) and Elena Wallace (Dominique Fishback) are the unwitting humans who find themselves caught up in the war between the Autobots and the evil Terrorcons who serve Unicron (Colman Domingo), a planet-eating Transformer who is bigger than most worlds. Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) may not be willing to fully trust his new human allies, but Mirage (Pete Davidson) is very eager to befriend Noah, and their bond carries the film.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
Metacritic: 72%
IMDb: 7.3/10
Rated: PG-13
Duration: 134m
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy
Stars: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith
Directed by: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein
The Dungeons & Dragons franchise gets another chance on the big screen in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and it’s one of the most charming fantasy films to come along in ages. Star Trek’s Chris Pine stars as Edgin Darvis, a bard and a professional thief who was betrayed by one of his companions, Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant), and imprisoned alongside his best friend, Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez).
When Edgin and Holga escape, they discover the true scope of Forge’s treachery, and they realize that they can’t retrieve Edgin’s daughter, Kira (Chloe Coleman), without help. That’s why they recruit their former partner, Simon Aumar (Justice Smith), and a shape-shifting tiefling druid, Doric (Sophia Lillis), for an audacious scheme to rob Forge and bring down his evil allies, the Red Wizards.
Samaritan (2022)
Metacritic: 45%
IMDb: 5.7/10
Rated: PG-13
Duration: 102m
Genre: Action, Drama, Science Fiction
Stars: Javon Walton, Sylvester Stallone, Dascha Polanco
Directed by: Julius Avery
Seeing as we’ve already seen wave after wave of actors getting the cape-and-cowl treatment, it was only a matter of time before the superhero story found its way to someone like Sylvester Stallone. The movie to do so is Samaritan, and while it’s pretty par for the course in terms of narrative scope and set pieces, it’s certainly not the worst blending of sci-fi action and drama we’ve ever seen. The story follows Sam Cleary (Javon Walton), a 13-year-old kid who is watching the world around him crumble. Crime is rampant, heroes are hard to come by, and the end times seem to be drawing near. But perhaps all is not lost. Mr. Smith (Stallone) could actually be Samaritan, a superhero who was the white knight of Sam’s stomping grounds a long time ago. And it’s up to the persistent and hopeful Sam to convince Mr. Smith to become a hero once more.
Jolt (2021)
Metacritic: 48%
IMDb: 5.6/10
Duration: 91m
Genre: Action, Comedy
Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Stanley Tucci, Bobby Cannavale
Directed by: Tanya Wexler
In Jolt, Kate Beckinsale’s Lindy Lewis has a bit of a problem keeping her intermittent explosive disorder under control. The short version is that she’s prone to fits of extreme violence at a moment’s notice. While trying to maintain some sense of normalcy, Lindy goes on a date with Justin (Jai Courtney). But when Justin is murdered, Lindy realizes that the police will do nothing to solve the case. So she takes it upon herself to dispense justice, one beating at a time, until she gets some answers.
Tom Clancy's Without Remorse (2021)
Metacritic: 41%
IMDb: 5.8/10
Rated: R
Duration: 109m
Genre: Action, Thriller
Stars: Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell, Jodie Turner-Smith
Directed by: Stefano Sollima
After nearly three decades in development hell, Tom Clancy’s novel, Without Remorse, was finally adapted with Michael B. Jordan in the leading role as John Kelly, the leader of an elite team of U.S. Navy SEALs. Following a mission that unwittingly pits them against Russian operatives, John and his team face deadly reprisals months later on American soil. John is the only survivor of an attack that also claims the life of his wife, Pam Kelly (Lauren London). After murdering one of the men responsible, John bargains his way out of prison to help capture the last surviving assassin, Victor Rykov (Brett Gelman).
The Tomorrow War (2021)
Metacritic: 45%
IMDb: 6.6/10
Rated: PG-13
Duration: 138m
Genre: Action, Science Fiction, Adventure
Stars: Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, J.K. Simmons
Directed by: Chris McKay
As the title implies, The Tomorrow War isn’t about a conflict in the present. But it is very much a problem that the modern world can’t ignore. When Lt. Hart (Jasmine Mathews) travels back in time to warn the people of Earth about an alien invasion, she also reveals that humanity is losing the war. Recruits are badly needed to come back to the future and fight the alien horde. Chris Pratt’s Dan Forester is one of many who answer the call to action, but he’s not the only member of his family who gets roped into the war. Yet once they get to the future, Dan and the new recruits find themselves ill-prepared for the full scale of the threat.
