With a seemingly endless parade of superhero movies dominating the box office and streaming services for the last decade, it’s difficult to notice when something truly innovative comes along. This dilemma is compounding in action movies because most Marvel and DC films fall into this genre.

Still, if audiences look closely enough, beyond the sometimes-smothering superhero saturation, they can find plenty of diamonds in the rough. From cybernetic symbiosis to Nazi zombies to Viking vengeance, many a great action movie has slipped through the cracks, and fans of the action genre end up missing out on some truly great films.

Updated January 11, 2024, by Anthony Jeanetta. With franchise entries like John Wick 4 and out-of-nowhere original movies like Mayhem!, the action genre produced some excellent films in 2023. This list is updated to reflect CBR’s most current style guidelines.

10 Hardcore Henry Delivers Nonstop First-Person Action

Hardcore Henry, the 2015 action sleeper hit, is the debut film of writer and director Ilya Naishuller (who would later direct Nobody). The movie portrays a cybernetically enhanced man, Henry, who wakes up in an experimental facility shortly before all hell breaks loose. Henry must then fight through hordes of mercenaries to get to freedom.

Although U.S. audiences met Hardcore Henry with mixed reviews, it was a rousing success overseas. With a mind-boggling first-person perspective, the flick is an immersive simulator of gratuitous violence and nonstop entertainment until the credits roll. Audiences tired of the same cut-and-paste action movies or video game fans will enjoy this cornucopia of edge-of-your-seat excitement. Despite this relentless action, Hardcore Henry is at the bottom of this list for disregarding any meaningful character development.

9 Terminator: Dark Fate Revives A Tired Franchise

Terminator: Dark Fate is the sixth installment in the franchise and, for the most part, ignores established plots and storylines from all the movies preceding it, up to Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Set 25 years after the events of Terminator 2, the film follows a young woman named Dani, who’s an integral part of humanity’s fight against the machines in the future. Thus, she is the target of a deadly new iteration of Terminators called a Rev-9.

There’s no denying that Terminator peaked in 1991 with T2, but Terminator: Dark Fate does its best to return the franchise to its former glory. After three poorly received entries (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Terminator Salvation, and Terminator Genisys), Dark Fate uses top-notch action choreography and cinematography and nonstop mechanized madness to deliver a satisfying romp.

8 Through Guillermo Del Toro’s Direction, Blade II Reaches New Heights

Blade II sees the return of the human-vampire hybrid, Blade, played by Wesley Snipes, and his efforts to protect humanity from vampiric tyranny as a new breed of monster threatens to swallow the shadowed city streets. This new breed of vampires, dubbed Reapers, can feed on humans and vampires alike, and Blade must join forces with his mortal enemies to combat the greater threat to them all.

Many fans may forget Blade II as the middle child of a now long-dormant franchise. Audiences seemingly don’t remember it as fondly as the first Blade, nor as disdainfully as Blade: Trinity. Still, fans who missed it should try Blade II again for its bombastic fight choreography and hard-hitting, stylized fight scenes that exceed what the first Blade and most other action films deliver. Additionally, watching Blade’s effortlessly calm yet sassy demeanor as he works alongside the vampire enforcers trained to kill him is thoroughly entertaining.

7 Overlord Puts A Fantastical And Fun Spin On A WWII Story

Overlord takes place the night before the historical D-Day invasion near the end of World War II and tracks a squad of American soldiers ordered to disable enemy communications in preparation for the oncoming reinforcements. Unfortunately for this squad, their mission takes a turn for the worse when they discover Nazis conducting nightmarish experiments that raise the stakes of their mission to new heights.

Overlord takes the tired genres of action, horror, and historical fiction and adds an underappreciated sci-fi spin. The film seamlessly blends multiple genres together while never straying too far from its pulpy action flick roots. Even with these praiseworthy qualities, audiences largely overlooked Overlord at the box office. Audiences who let this one slip past them should give it a view immediately.

6 Upgrade Combines Precise Action And Body Horror To Excellent Effect

Upgrade, from Blumhouse, stars Logan Marshall-Green as protagonist Grey Trace, whose life completely changes when a mugging leaves him paralyzed and his wife dead. Following this horrific incident, doctors rush to save Grey’s mind and body, surgically inserting a cutting-edge AI-powered microchip called STEM. Through STEM, Grey can move differently than before, performing amazing feats of strength and agility, which he uses to hunt down his wife’s killers.

Upgrade manages to hit the body control marks in ways that Venom, released in the same year, missed. In both films, the protagonist grapples with a foreign entity coexisting and, at times, taking over their body. However, unlike Venom, Upgrade carries itself with a measure of sincerity. The film knows exactly what it is and doesn’t shy away from pushing the envelope. Upgrade’s engaging fight scenes, buoyed by genuinely innovative cinematography and well-crafted comedic bits, make it a sight to behold for those who haven’t given it a chance. It’s easily one of the most underrated action movies ever.

5 Nobody Could Be The Start Of A New Action Franchise

Nobody, starring Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad alumnus Bob Odenkirk, follows the mild-mannered and depressingly repetitive life of husband and father Hutch Mansell. Hutch’s life is turned on its head when a home invasion sets him on a violent path to reclaim what was lost, while his hidden past begins to bubble to the surface.

Despite a positive reception from fans who saw it, Nobody couldn’t escape from underneath the unjust label of a John Wick rip-off, largely thanks to writer Derek Kolstad’s involvement in both films. While the two movies share many behind-the-camera talents, it’s not to either’s detriment. Like John Wick, Nobody also features visceral and engaging fight scenes but has an innovative tone that audiences who skipped it are missing out on. Fans of such action should see it now before Nobody 2 comes out.

4 The Northman Is A Historically Accurate And Visceral Revenge Thriller

The Northman, from the visionary mind of director Rober Eggers (The Witch and The Lighthouse), is a Viking tale like no other. The film depicts Amleth, played by Alexander Skarsgard, son of King Aurvandill War-Raven, who is on a journey of vengeance against his treacherous uncle who murdered his father.

The Northman is heavily influenced not only by Norse mythology but also by the culture and lifestyle of the Norse tribes and is easily one of the most accurate portrayals of the Viking era ever to grace the silver screen. While Eggers’ strict adherence to period-accurate language can be a hard pill to swallow, fans of classic revenge stores will love The Northman. With its fantastical spin on a classic story, mixed with skull-shattering action, this film will leave a lasting impression on viewers.

3 Dredd Resurrects A Forgotten Comic Book Character

Some audiences will remember Judge Dredd from the 1995 clunker, starring Sylvester Stallone. Still, too few fans can recall the 2012 reboot, Dredd, starring Karl Urban. Based on the 2000 AD comic book, the titular character, Dredd, is a specialized peacekeeper known as a Judge whose duty is to uphold the law by any means necessary. In the line of this duty, Dredd becomes locked inside a massive highrise controlled by a ruthless gang, with nothing but his pistol, wits, resolve, and a naïve rookie to battle back against an onslaught of violent criminals.

While Stallone’s first pass at the character may have inadvertently smothered Dredd’s chances at appropriate appreciation, the movie is a taught bottle film chock-full of high-octane action. The highrise’s dark corners and grime-filled walls are the perfect backdrop for Dredd’s expertly choreographed and realistic gunplay that will have fans on the edge of their seats throughout its runtime. Dredd is also one of the best examples of a comic book movie without a superhero.

2 The Boondock Saints Nails What Real Life Vigilantism Would Be Like

The Boondock Saints stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus as fraternal twin brothers, Connor and Murphy MacManus. After the pair must kill two members of the Russian mafia in self-defense, they realize their lives are meant for a higher calling and set out on a path of vigilante justice.

Thorough fans of action thrillers will likely have already seen The Boondock Saints, but general audiences may have missed it. This gem of a movie couples realistic gunplay with a fashionable tongue-in-cheek style of production that allows it to stand out among a crowd of cookie-cutter action flicks. The Boondock Saints takes what The Punisher movies have tried to do for decades and finally nails it, delivering hard-hitting vigilantism that fans cannot afford to miss out on.

1 The Night Comes For Us Is Martial Arts Action At Its Finest

The Night Comes For Us is an Indonesian martial arts action-thriller starring Joe Taslim as Ito, a Six Seas Triad member who hides a young girl, Reina, after the Triad kills her entire village. Ito’s old friend, Arian, played by Iko Uwais, famous for his leading role in The Raid: Redemption, relentlessly pursues him to steal the girl back. In spite of a whole host of hardened criminals standing between Ito on his path to bring Reina to safety, it’s clear he won’t stop, even if it means losing his life.

A straight-to-Netflix release can negatively color people’s perception of a movie before they see it. Still, The Night Comes for Us isn’t a movie fans should turn their noses up at. To call it a bloody thrill ride from start to finish is an understatement. The Night Comes for Us is an action, martial arts blast with set pieces that rival the best of famous action hits like John Wick and The Matrix. The sheer quality of the movie’s combat sequences makes it arguably the most underrated action movie of all time.