There’s a multitude of streaming services operating right now for consumers to choose from, and each comes with its pros and cons. While Netflix has undoubtedly made its name as the best producer of original shows, Amazon Prime on the other hand has the biggest library out of all the other services. What the service lacks in original and quality content it makes up with a massive catalog of nearly any movie that any person could think of.
Dozens of action films are released in a year, as it is a very accessible genre. While many of them go on to achieve blockbuster fame and become iconic milestones of the genre, such as the John Wick franchise, many of them go unnoticed despite being well crafted, and this list looks at a few of them which you can stream right now on Amazon Prime.
The Grey (2011)
Actor Liam Neeson has had a lengthy career that can be described as nothing but commendable, and since his 2008 film Taken he has done a plethora of action films, in most of which he is featured as a badass who puts his “particular set of skills” to good use and takes down bad guys.
2011’s The Grey finds him in a slightly different situation than usual, in the middle of nowhere in Alaska with a group of oil-men as they try to survive the harsh surrounding while being hunted down by a pack of wolves.
Wanted (2008)
Loosely based on the comic book series of the same name, 2008’s Wanted starring Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman revolves around a secret society of assassins called the “Fraternity”. The film, a commercial success, helped to launch X-Men star James McAvoy’s career into mainstream blockbuster popularity.
He plays Wesley Gibson in the film, a desk worker tired with his life who discovers he has superpowers that he inherited from his late father, an assassin.
True Grit (2010)
Although their 2007 film No Country for Old Men might be their most iconic film and one of the best thrillers in recent years, 2010’s True Grit was an equally highly praised western which received 10 Oscar nominations.
With a star-studded cast consisting of Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and Josh Brolin, the plot revolves around a group of 3 strangers who form an unlikely alliance to hunt down a murderer.
Guns Akimbo (2019)
Daniel Radcliffe’s progression in life as an actor has been unique, to say the least. He went from starring in the role of one of the most beloved and family-friendly fictional characters as the titular character in the Harry Potter franchise to a farting corpse in 2016’s Swiss Army Man.
He can be seen in an equally crazy role in Guns Akimbo, as a game developer who gets a pair of handguns bolted to his hands and is forced to participate in a city-wide death game against an insane murderer.
The Man From UNCLE (2015)
If there’s anything the movie industry has an abundance of, it is spy thrillers. Unfortunately, despite being well-liked by critics and audience alike as a solid action flick, the movie was lost in the shuffle of more high profile blockbusters.
Even its star-studded cast including Henry Cavill and The Social Network actor Armie Hammer and the direction of Sherlock Holmes, director Guy Ritchie, wasn’t enough to save it from flopping at the box office.
District 9 (2009)
Stories of aliens coming to Earth is a trope that has been visited countless times by many movies, but few do it in such a remarkable manner as 2009’s District 9. Possessing all the characteristics of a well-written sci-fi, the film is much more than just that, providing crucial commentary on society as a whole and dealing with themes of human behavior and politics.
Instead of portraying aliens as superior and a threat to humanity like may other contenders of its genre do, the film tells the story of a colony of aliens stranded on Earth who are forced to live in camps under horrible standards of living.
This Means War (2012)
With a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 25% and generally disliked by most critics, This Means War is certainly no action movie of the year. It is the very definition of a popcorn flick, with a substandard plot and dialogue, and cheesy action, and mostly held together by the performance of its lead actors.
Star Trek actor Chirs Pine and Venom star Tom Hardy are featured in the lead role as two CIA agents who compete against each other after discovering they have been dating the same woman.
Upgrade (2018)
As movie budgets across the industry continue to get more and more bloated, films like Upgrade which are well made despite having an extremely small budget ($3 million in this case) are becoming more of a rarity.
Directed and written by Leigh Whannell, best known for co-creating the Saw and Insidious franchise, it follows Grey Trace, a man left paralyzed following a mugging attempt, who takes revenge for his wife’s murder with the help of a sentient computer chip implanted in him.
Annihilation (2018)
Mixing sci-fi and horror genre is not a feat that many movies have successfully achieved, and Annihilation is one that does it well. Featuring an all-female cast of MCU stars Natalie Portman and Tessa Thompson, and Jane the Virgin actress Gina Rodriguez as a group of explorers who venture into an area of supernatural reality and extraterrestrial origins called the “Shimmer”.
The movie was a box-office failure but was received well critically, earning a 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Predestination (2014)
Time-travel is a tricky and dangerous concept to deal with in films, as it can either make the plot immensely interesting or make it feel like an absolute mess. Whether or not Predestination does it well is for the individual viewer to decide, but the 2014 sci-fi thriller starring Sinister actor Ethan Hawke currently sits with favorable reviews and ratings from critics.
Directed by the duo behind 2017’s Jigsaw, the Spierig Brothers, it revolves around a time-traveling agent sent to 1975 to prevent a bomb attack.
