The Best Action Movies of 2022 (2024)

The star power of Tom Cruise is so strong that Top Gun: Maverick not only became a force that saved the movies this summer, but the action-packed sequel is in talks for Oscar consideration as well. Maverick stars Miles Teller as the son of Tom Cruise's late co-pilot, Goose—and features a fitting tribute to what very well could the final role of Val Kilmer's acting career.

Amazon Apple TV+

Viola Davis leads an all-female band of warriors in The Woman King, liberating enslaved women in 1823. The film, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and co-starring John Boyega, displays some of the most dynamic action choreography of the year.

Amazon Apple TV+

Netflix put a boatload of cash into The Gray Man—a Russo brothers-directed spy/action thriller starring Ryan Gosling vs. Chris Evans—and it seems to have paid off. Their standoff sends them all over the world and Gosling's Fast & Furious-esque heroics put him as close to a superhero role as the actor has seen in his career yet.

Netflix

In this supposedly final installment to the Jurassic World trilogy, the dinosaurs are now living among humans and causing havoc worldwide. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard set out on rescue missions to relocate and wrangle strays, but everything changes when the company Biosyn Genetics creates yet another Jurassic wildlife preserve and dips their toes back into the science of cloning.

Amazon Apple TV+

A prequel of sorts to the original Predator from the late 80s, Prey also serves as a reboot for the franchise and a reestablishing of the Predator and what he wants. Amber Midthunder stars as a Comanche warrior out to prove to her community that she can hunt with the best of men, and a dangerous alien on a killing spree is the perfect test.

Hulu

Directed by Deadpool 2's David Leitch, Bullet Train features a high-speeding locomotive full of deadly assassins who are after the contents of a specific briefcase on board. Brad Pitt stars as "Ladybug," an American mercenary, with Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Hiroyuki Sanada, Zazie Beetz, and Bad Bunny appearing as the titular train's assassins.

Netflix

Disney gave Toy Story fans another animated romp for the whole family with Lightyear, a story that delves into Buzz Lightyear's backstory as an outer space explorer. This Buzz Lightyear has no idea that he's being sold in the outside world as a collectible action figure, however, since Lightyear focuses on the fictional movie in the Toy Story universe that would go on to make Buzz such a popular figurine.

Disney+

Beast stars Idris Elba as Dr. Nate Samuels, a widower on a family vacation to a natural game preserve in South Africa. When a ferocious lion starts killing everyone in its path, it's up to the doctor and his family to figure out how to survive and tame the beast.

Amazon Apple TV+

A teenage boy and his friends discover that his father has a secret superhero lair under their house in Secret Headquarters, an original action-comedy film for Paramount+. Owen Wilson stars as an Iron Man-like hero hunted by criminals trying to steal his technology, while also protecting four teenagers who know his secret from danger.

Paramount+

It took a second movie to get there, but Sonic the Hedgehog's friends Tails and Knuckles are finally along for the ride. Sonic is no longer the only non-human being on Earth, but it's bad timing because the evil Dr. Robotnik conspires to defeat Sonic by finding the dangerously powerful Chaos Emerald.

Amazon Apple TV+

The Man from Toronto, played by Woody Harrelson, is an international assassin hired by criminal organizations to extract information in brutal interrogations. When a case of mistaken identity leaves everyone to believe that a Virginia fitness instructor (Kevin Hart) is the Man from Toronto, the scared comedian must help Harrelson finish his latest dangerous mission.

Netflix

Liam Neeson plays an off-the-books FBI "fixer" in Blacklight, an action thriller about the guy who cleans up the U.S. government's messes that it doesn't want to you know about. When he finds out that the FBI is secretly assassinating whistleblowers and left-wing politicians, however, he turns his sights back toward taking down his own organization.

Amazon

Jamie Foxx stars in this Los Angeles vampire hunting flick for Netflix, mixing Blade with humor and Snoop Dogg cameos. Dave Franco also stars as Foxx's trainee and buddy bounty hunter.

Netflix

Free Guy director Shawn Levy teamed up with Ryan Reynolds once again for The Adam Project on Netflix, a sci-fi/action film about a pilot who goes back in time to meet his younger self and stop time travel from ever being invented.

Netflix

Nicolas Cage, playing himself, receives an offer to attend a billionaire playboy Javi Gutierrez's birthday party for one million dollars. He's thinking about retiring, but Javi is a major fan of his work. However, the U.S. government informs Cage that Javi is one of the most ruthless criminals on the planet, and they want his help to take him down.

Amazon Apple TV+

RRR is an epic action drama from India about two real-life revolutionaries and their fight against British rule. Made on a budget of around $72 million, RRR is the most expensive Indian film to date, featuring tiger fights, insane motorcycle stunts, and heavily dramatized history.

Netflix

A zany action comedy and indie favorite from this year's SXSW Film Festival, Everything Everywhere All at Once features the legendary Michelle Yeoh in one of her greatest starring roles yet. A multiverse adventure that's simultaneously a layered family drama, Everything Everywhere is quite literally all things at once—action-packed, humorous, bizarre, and heartwarming.

Read our full review.

Amazon

The DC hero is back and grittier than ever in Matt Reeves' dark, punishing The Batman, featuring Robert Pattinson as a young, emo Bruce Wayne just beginning to navigate the deadly streets of Gotham. Over the film's nearly three-hour runtime, Batman revs his Batmobile, cozies up with Zoe Kravitz's Catwoman, and beats down baddies like Colin Farrell's Penguin and Paul Dano's Riddler.

Read our full review.

HBO Max

Starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Ambulance sees director Michael Bay in peak action movie mindset. The Armageddon and Transformers franchise filmmaker returns for a nonstop ride about two bank robbers who hijack an ambulance as a means of escape.

Read our cover story with Jake Gyllenhaal.

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