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Action thrillers to watch on free streaming service challenging Netflix

January 18, 20257 Mins Read


All these films are free to watch this weekend! (Picture: Lionsgate/REX)

January’s a slow month. The nights are still dark and the excitement of Christmas is gone. Let’s face it: January is when we need a jumpstart.

If your way to beat the January blues is to watch as many high octane action thriller films as possible, then look no further than free streaming service Tubi.

Founded in 2014, Tubi now has 80million monthly active users and has more than 250,000 films and TV episodes in its current content library.

The action thrillers listed below contain huge Hollywood names such as Samuel L Jackson, Sylvester Stallone, Jason Momoa, and Mark Wahlberg.

We’ve tried to keep the list as up-to-date and recent as possible—that way, these explosive movies have a higher chance of being completely new to you.

We would invite you to sit back and relax—but if you’re on the hunt for gunfights and high-stakes action, we know that’s not how you like to watch movies.

Braven (2018)

Directed by Lin Oeding and filmed in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, Braven stars Game of Thrones actor Jason Momoa as a lumberjack.

When his father starts suffering from dementia, Momoa’s character Joe Braven takes him to a secluded cabin in some nearby mountains.

However, things take a turn when Braven and his father are attacked in the mountain cabin by a gang of dangerous drug runners; Braven and his dad are forced to protect themselves for the rest of the movie.

The film was reviewed positively by critics at the time of its release, resulting in it having a solid Rotten Tomatoes rating of 77%.

It only had a small release, meaning that it made just $850,000 (£700,000) at the worldwide box office—but its inclusion in Tubi’s catalogue means it can reach a wider audience now.

Deepwater Horizon (2016)

The only thing better than action thrillers is action thrillers based on true events—Deepwater Horizon is named after the oil rig that suffered a tragic incident in 2010.

A sudden oil blowout caused a huge explosion that killed 11 people, ignited a fireball that was visible for almost 50 miles around, and sent Horizon sinking below the surface.

Six years later, Mark Wahlberg teamed up with The Kingdom director Peter Berg for this disaster movie dramatisation of what happened on the Horizon.

The film received positive reviews from critics, and to this day it has a strong Rotten Tomatoes rating of 83%—an average score of 7.0 out of 10 isn’t to be sniffed at either.

Unfortunately, the film was a bit of a box office bomb—while it made over $120million (around £130m in today’s money), that wasn’t enough to earn back its huge budget.

However, we think it would have made a load of money on the DVD market back in the day, so why not give it a chance on Tubi this weekend?

Rambo: Last Blood (2019)

After 20 years away from the Rambo franchise, Sylvester Stallone surprised everyone when he returned for the 2008 Rambo film.

First appearing in First Blood in 1982, John Rambo was played by big-screen veteran Sly in three films between 1982 and 1988.

Everyone expected Rambo to be retired after the 2008 film, but in 2019 Rambo: Last Blood brought him back again, for one last time.

In the film, Rambo travels to Mexico to save his adopted niece, who has been kidnapped by a drug cartel—cue gunfights and action-hero antics from Sly.

Rambo: Last Blood performed fairly well at the box office, grossing close to $100million (£82m), and remains popular with fans of the long-running franchise.

Imani (2023)

In Imani, Faith Newford is an ordinary woman living an ordinary life with her husband and children, one year after recovering from a car accident.

However, it’s soon revealed that Faith is suffering from amnesia and that she’s actually an army special operations officer in possession of classified information.

As her amnesia wears off, the mystery only deepens, and it turns out some dangerous people are on her tail in pursuit of the information she holds.

Originally put out in 2023, the film didn’t get much of a wide release but has proved popular with those who’ve watched it on home streaming services.

The film currently has a 67% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Beyond Suspicion / Bent (2018)

So good they named it twice, Beyond Suspicion—also known as Bent in some territories—was released in 2018 and stars Modern Family’s Sofia Vergara.

In the film, Karl Urban plays Danny Gallagher, a former cop who now works as a private investigator after being released from prison—he was fired as a detective many years ago.

However, there’s a twist: Danny was wrongly accused and also lost his police partner in all the drama, and he’s out to get revenge on the person who framed him.

Another film that was only given a limited release at the time, the money it made from DVD/Blu-ray sales was four times larger than its box office numbers.

The film also stars Andy Garcia, who made his name in the 1987 film The Untouchables alongside Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro, and Sean Connery.

The Negotiator (1998)

Editorial use only. No book cover usage. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Regency Enterprises/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock (5882842g) Samuel L. Jackson, J.T. Walsh The Negotiator - 1998 Director: F. Gary Gray Regency Enterprises Scene Still
The Negotiator received good reviews in 1998 (Picture: Regency Enterprises/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)

Okay, we had to sneak one well-known action flick in here. The Negotiator, released in 1998, was the third major film to be directed by F. Gary Gray.

Starring Samuel L. Jackson, the film follows his character Danny Roman, who finds out members of his own police force are embezzling money—and that Internal Affairs might be involved.

However, Danny’s attempts to investigate the conspiracy only put him in more and more danger, with the hostage negotiator framed for his partner’s murder.

The film was released to a strong response from audiences, earning back more than double its budget and becoming a cult film among action fans.

Critics were fans of the film too, with its Rotten Tomatoes rating standing at 74% as of 2025.

South Side Hero (2024)

South Side Hero picks up shortly after reformed gangster Tommy Crown returns home from prison—he’s been inside for 10 long years.

Upon returning home, he finds out his 15-year-old daughter Sierra has been missing ever since she went off with a man she apparently met online.

When Tommy goes to the police for help, they refuse—leaving Tommy no option but to seek vengeance and justice on his own.

But, as always with these kinds of movies, what appears simple at first unravels into a much larger and more dangerous conspiracy.

Released with the tagline that ‘a father’s love knows no bounds,’ the trailer teases violence as Tommy—who has the nickname Ace—chases criminals all over town.

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