10 of the Best Action Movies on Netflix Canada
You had a long day and you’re looking to sit back, relax, and watch a movie that won’t make you think too hard. A lot of the time, the go-to movies for nights like these are action movies.
But not just any action movie will do. You need something that sits above the trashy, straight-to-VOD-style of action movie (of which Netflix is full), and yet it must still be something that is easy to consume, doesn’t require any serious emotional investment, and offers pure entertainment value.
War movies like Black Hawk Down, Lone Survivor, and Green Zone will be excluded from this list because, while they are movies with lots of action, the subject matter makes them more serious viewing experiences and not the more fun, popcorny-type flicks we’re looking for here.
In no particular order, here are 10 of the best action movies currently on Netflix Canada:
Baby Driver
Most movie-lovers know Edgar Wright as the director of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World’s End, but it wasn’t until 2017’s Baby Driver that he made his true big-budget Hollywood film debut and solidified his position as one of the best directors currently working today. Wright had been sitting on the idea for Baby Driver for nearly two decades and it’s shot in his usual distinctive and visually-impressive fashion.
While Baby Driver loses some of his signature British humour, it’s a solid action movie with some fun set pieces and truly remarkable car stunts. It also unequivocally features the best soundtrack of any film on this list.
John Wick (Chapters 1 and 2)
John Wick was a bit of a surprise hit when it landed in 2014. What was, on the surface, a run-of-the-mill, mid-budget action flick, actually ended up ushering in an action renaissance of sorts. Directed by former stuntman Chad Stahelski and featuring a highly trained Keanu Reeves giving 120%, John Wick showed moviegoers that action can be more than quick cuts and a shaky camera — it can be a slick and stylish ballet.
John Wick: Chapter 2 doubled down on what made the first great with more world building, more “gun fu” and, most importantly, more Keanu. These movies keeping getting better and John Wick: Chapter 3 — an awesome addition to the John Wick saga — would definitely be on this list if it were on Netflix Canada!
Extraction
Extraction is the most recent movie on this list and is definitely a part of the action renaissance brought on by the first John Wick in 2014. Similarly to John Wick, Extraction is directed by a former stunt-man-turned-director, Sam Hargrave, who absolutely knocks it out of the park in his feature-length debut.
Featuring longer takes and clear, easy-to-follow action sequences and a committed performance by Chris Hemsworth, Extraction raises the bar even higher for action cinema moving forward. The film also features a fantastic twelve-minute “oner” sequence that will blow you away.
The Foreigner
While you’d be forgiven for thinking Jackie Chan has slowed down a little in recent years in terms of movie making, he’s actually still going as strong as ever. He may not appear in many Hollywood movies these days, but Chan still appears in at least two or three big budget Chinese movies per year. He took a quick break from those, however, to give us The Foreigner in 2017.
Chan may play a quieter and more complex role here but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t provide that classic Jackie action we all know and love. Also featuring a prickly turn from Pierce Brosnan, The Foreigner follows Chan as he seeks revenge for the death of his daughter, soon finding himself wrapped up with British Intelligence and the IRA.
The Bourne Trilogy
The original Bourne trilogy is a rare case where one could argue that each movie is better than the one that comes before it, with The Bourne Ultimatum being the strongest of the three. With plenty of car chases, shootouts, and hand-to-hand combat, the Bourne movies tick all the action movie boxes and ushered in a whole new era of action filmmaking.
Paul Greengrass, director of the second and third Bourne films, is often seen as the person responsible for popularizing the use of shaky cam and quick cuts during fight scenes, but, as he proves with Bourne, these techniques can be far more than just cheap gimmicks used to hide poorly choreographed action. In the right hands, these filmmaking techniques can put you in the mind of the character and elevate the action on the screen. Do yourself a favour and skip The Bourne Legacy and 2016’s Jason Bourne though.
The Night Comes for Us
If you’re looking for something that is quite literally non-stop, brutal, and bloody action, look no further than Indonesian Netflix original The Night Comes For Us. If you’re at all a fan of The Raid films, you’re sure to like The Night Comes For Us.
Even if you don’t like subtitles, a little bit of reading is worth it if it means experiencing one of the most brutal and relentless action films of the last ten years. Seriously, you won’t regret it.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
After Tom Cruise really took the reins of the Mission: Impossible films following his third outing as super-spy Ethan Hunt, we entered a new era of impossible missions. The stunts became more spectacular and these movies literally started being marketed around specific set pieces.
While Ghost Protocol may not be everyone’s favourite Mission: Impossible movie, it’s the only one currently on Netflix Canada and is still of the highest quality when it comes to action flicks. If you want elevated, entertaining action that is shot in camera (i.e.: practically, without large amounts of green screen), then you really can’t do better than Tom Cruise and the Mission: Impossible franchise.
