The 35 Best Action Movies on Hulu Right Now

• Runtime: 115 mins
• Directed by: Adrian Lyne
• Release date: March 18, 2022

Directed by Adrian Lyne, Deep Water follows a well-to-do husband  (Ben Affleck) as he goes down the path of letting his wife (Ana de Arma) half of her fair share of affairs outside of the marriage. Set in Little Wesley, Louisiana, the husband becomes a prime suspect in an investigation when all of his wife's lovers mysteriously start disappearing. Is it the husband or is there something more sinister at play? You'll have to watch for that.

• Runtime: 88 mins
• Directed by: Kevin Lewis
• Release date: February 12, 2021

When a nameless drifter (Nicolas Cage) suddenly finds himself with flat tires in a small town, he strikes a deal to spend the night cleaning a dingy children’s arcade called Willy’s Wonderland in exchange for free car maintenance. The night isn’t as simple as he thinks it will be though, as the animatronic robots that used to entertain the establishment’s guests come to life and attack the moody man. Loosely inspired by the video game franchise Five Nights at Freddie’s, Willy’s Wonderland is a silly, action-packed B-movie that lets Nicholas Cage shine in all the best ways.

• Runtime: 95 mins
• Directed by: Russell Crowe
• Release date: November 16, 2022

Starring and directed by Russell Crowe, this action-packed film was is worth checking out for anyone who likes watching some good old fashioned vintage style beat downs. The subject? A tech billionaire is hosting a game of poker when a killer invades his mansion. Think of Poker Face is sort of an alternative version of Clue and you'll definitely get some enjoyment out of it.

• Runtime: 97 mins
• Directed by: Ryuhei Kitamura
• Release date: October 1, 2020

Hot off the success of appearing in John Wick 2 and becoming the CW’s Batwoman, actress Ruby Rose was more than ready for her own action flick. In The Doorman, Rose plays Ali Gorsky, a former U.S. marine who takes a job as a doorman at a luxurious New York City hotel. Unfortunately, things aren’t as relaxing as Ali hopes, as a group of mercenaries infiltrate the hotel and initiate a lockdown as they violently search for valuable pieces of art. It falls to Ali to take down the mercenaries in this explosive and twist-filled thriller.  

• Runtime: 95 mins
• Directed by: Vaughn Stein
• Release date: May 11, 2018

2018's Terminal stars Margot Robbie in a film that mixes and mingles the lives of a fatally ill teacher, a custodian, a waitress, and two assassins that end up at the center of plan that involves murder. Simon Pegg, Dexter Fletcher, Max Irons, and Mike Myers round out the ensemble cast, making this a film that's a must-watch for any lover of the crime noir genre.

• Runtime: 105 mins
• Directed by: M.J. Bassett
• Release date: August 28, 2020

A group of mercenaries is dispatched to East Africa to rescue the daughter of a politician from a terrorist cell in M.J. Bassett’s Rogue. Led by Samantha O’Hara (Megan Fox), the group has to maneuver dangerous terrain, outgun deadly individuals and even survive encounters with hungry lionesses to complete the mission and reach their extraction point. The film has a solid ensemble, but it’s really Megan Fox’s leading performance that gives the movie its sense of heart as Samantha makes tough decisions to try and get everyone home safe.

• Runtime: 99 mins
• Directed by: Dan Trachtenberg
• Release date: July 21, 2022

Should you want to check out the prequel to the Predator films, you can do so with Dan Trachtenberg's 2022 movie Prey, which starts with Naru the Comanche warrior (Amber Midthunder) on a quest to save her tribe from evolved alien predator that's been haunting humans. Featuring some incredibly intense chase scenes, Prey is an exciting, adrenaline-fueled ride that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats until all of the action is finally over. 

• Runtime: 83 mins
• Directed by: Li Liming 
• Release date: December 23, 2019

Starring Donnie To as the titular Ip Man- a real-life martial artist who later tutored Bruce Lee- Kung Fu Master focuses on the period in Ip’s life when he was a police captain shortly before the 1949 Communist Revolution in China. Framed for murder and forced out of the force, Ip has to discover the truth and keep himself safe in this entertaining and stunt-filled flick. For those who haven’t seen them, the core Ip Man movies, all of which are directed by Wilson Yip and star Donnie Yen, are some of the best action movies ever made! 

• Runtime: 83 mins
• Directed by: Roseanne Liang
• Release date: September 12, 2020

A little bit of action and tad bit of horror, 2020's Shadow in the Cloud stars Chloë Grace Moretz as a female WWII pilot traveling with classified information on a B-17 Flying Fortress. Unfortunately for her, there's a mysterious presence that emerges out of the clouds that makes life even more difficult and the task even more stressful on top of having to deal with a mean-spirited all-male crew that didn't want her there in the first place. If you are in the mood for a little aviation action, Shadow in the Cloud is a good film to check out.

• Runtime: 132 mins
• Directed by: John McTiernan
• Release date: July 22, 1988

Recently celebrating 35 years since its release, it doesn't get any more action and any more thriller than Die Hard—a franchise that has captivated lovers of action all over the world for decades. Starring the incredible Bruce Willis, watching Die Hard for the first, tenth, or hundredth time is never a bad idea in our opinion.

• Runtime: 163 mins
• Directed by: Zack Snyder
• Release date: March 6, 2009

No matter what you may think about the “Snyderverse” or Justice League, it’s clear that director Zack Snyder loves comic books. His star-studded adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's Watchmen may diverge from the source material, but his love of the story and characters shines through with each moody shot. Watchmen is one of the most brutally violent comic book films to ever be released in theaters, but it is also one of the most thought-provoking and emotionally mature. Before the film came out, Watchmen was often called unadaptable, but Snyder’s adaptation is an entertaining and thought-provoking movie that deserves to be watched by hardcore fans and people who are unfamiliar with the original material alike. 

• Runtime: 107 mins
• Directed by: Nimród Antal
• Release date: July 7, 2010

In the third film in the Predator franchise, director Nimród Antal’s Predators finally moves the action away from Earth as a group of killers from across the globe is mysteriously transported to an alien game reserve on another planet. As the group comes to grips with one another and tries to develop a plan to survive the mysterious jungle they suddenly find themselves in, they realize they are being hunted by a deadly alien species that keeps adapting to every one of their moves. The film is full of intense action sequences, but the most enjoyable aspect of the film is likely its impressive ensemble, which features fan-favorite actors like Adrien Brody, Mahershala Ali, and Danny Trejo.

• Runtime: 131 mins
• Directed by: Matthew Vaughn
• Release date: December 22, 2021

The third entry in the Matthew Vaughn helmed Kingsman franchise, The King’s Man serves as a prequel that lets audiences see the formation of the titular spy agency in the early 1900s. Starring Ralph Fiennes as Orlando Oxford, the film follows the aristocratic spy as he uncovers and tries to diffuse a global plot to lead the world into a deadly war (specifically World War 1). An entertaining film that is equal parts style and substance, The King’s Man has some fantastic action choreography and set design that makes each fight sequence uniquely eye-catching and exciting.

• Runtime: 90 mins
• Directed by: Pierre Morel
• Release date: February 27, 2008

"I am going to find you, and I am going to kill you." The ultimate action movie to the fullest, this first entry in the Taken series sees Liam Neeson aka Bryan Mills on a mission to find his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) after she and a friend get abducted and taken into a sex trafficking ring while on a trip to Paris. A parent's worst nightmare, Bryan is a retired CIA agent that has to use all of his "particular set of skills" to get his daughter back before it is too late. Directed by Pierre Morel, Taken was the movie responsible for turning Neeson into a bonafide action star whilst taking his career in a new direction.

• Runtime: 109 mins
• Directed by: Roland Emmerich
• Release date: March 7, 2008

Directed by Roland Emmerich, the King of blockbuster filmmaking in the 1990s, 10,000 BC is a prehistoric epic that follows a young mammoth hunter named D’Leh (Steven Strait) as he embarks on a journey across unknown territory to help rescue his people, specifically his love Evolet (Camilla Belle), from a deadly group of raiders who attacked their village. Full of fantastical elements and battles against massive creatures, 10,000 BC is a gripping and unique adventure film that is full of action and intense challenges for its core characters. 

• Runtime: 94 mins
• Directed by: Charles Russell
• Release date: November 11, 2022

John Travolta and Bruce Willis? Say less! Directed by Charles Russell, the quip-filled film follows Ryan Swan (Blake Jenner) as he tries to hunt down the kingpin responsible for murdering his father. The action looks great and is entertaining throughout the film, as you see a determined son on the prowl for revenge by any means necessary. Plus you get to see John Travolta and Bruce Willis which makes the film even more of a fun watch.

• Runtime: 146 mins
• Directed by: Tony Scott
• Release date: October 4, 2004

There’s one rule in life everyone has to follow, and that’s don’t cross Denzel Washington.

In Tony Scott’s Man on Fire, Denzel Washington plays John Creasy, a burnt-out and alcoholic former CIA agent who suddenly gets a new lease on life when he is hired to be a bodyguard for a nine-year-old girl named Lupita Ramos (Dakota Fanning). Things quickly turn upside down after Lupita is kidnapped in Mexico City, causing John to do whatever he can to find the girl he’s charged with protecting. Full of intense action sequences and fantastic performances, Man on Fire is a fantastic film that showcases just how far someone will go to defend the people they love.

• Runtime: 95 mins
• Directed by: David Dyer
• Release date: July 30, 2020

Praised for its action sequences, 2020's The Tax Collector starred Bobby Soto as a tax collector named David Cuevas, who also works for one of the biggest gangs in the LA region. The "good life," however, appears to come to a quick end when the rival of his boss shows up to cause a little bit of chaos. While The Tax Collector wasn't a hit at the box office or amongst critics, again it was praised for its action sequences which is why we're here right? For all intents and purposes, the movie appears to have faired well on streaming so it's definitely worth a weekend watch.

• Runtime: 118 mins
• Directed by: Tom Tykwer
• Release date: February 13, 2009

Directed by Tom Tykwer and written by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Eric Singer, The International is a political thriller that follows Interpol agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) and Manhattan’s Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts) as they investigate a bank with notorious ties to organized crime and corrupt politicians around the world. As the two follow the money trail around the world in an attempt to prove they are funding terrorism, they quickly discover that they have put themselves and everyone they love at risk from dangerous people who are doing everything they can to stop the investigation.

• Runtime: 121 mins
• Directed by: Antoine Fuqua
• Release date: July 20, 2018

Want to see Denzel Washington as Robert McCall once more? Directed by Antoine Fuqua, The Equalizer 2 is an entertaining and twist-filled ride that sees McCall and his particular sets of skills as he sets out for revenge after the killing of a close associate. Despite the action-packed risks, McCall again proves he isn't afraid of anything for the score of a lifetime in this explosive thriller. 

• Runtime: 100 mins
• Directed by: Daniel Goldhaber
• Release date: September 10, 2022

How to Blow Up a Pipeline is an action thriller set in Long Beach, California. Directed by Daniel Goldhaber, the film follows a young woman named Xochitl (Ariela Barer) and her friend as they conceive a plan of environmental terrorism and set out to convince others to join along with them. There isn't too much else here we can say without giving major spoilers, but it's certainly worth checking out if you are interested in an action film with a different than usual storyline.

• Runtime: 97 mins
• Directed by: Andrew Dominik
• Release date: November 30, 2012

After a mob-protected gambling ring is robbed, enforcer Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt) is called in to make matters right in Killing Them Softly. Directed and written by Andrew Dominik, the film follows Jackie as he works to uncover who’s behind the job as the ramifications of the missing money slowly impact the local criminal economy. An action-packed allegory for the 2007-08 financial crisis, the film has a stacked ensemble, featuring mobster legends like James Gandolfini and Ray Liotta, and features a uniquely slick style that sets it apart from so many other movies about organized crime.

• Runtime: 131 mins
• Directed by: Lee Jung-jae
• Release date: December 2, 2022

A South Korean espionage action thriller film helmed by Lee Jung-jae, Hunt received positive reviews from critics as it focused on the time period after President Park's assassination in 1980. Tasked with taking down an impostor in the North Korean Spy Agency, this directorial debut from Jung-jae is filled with epic fight sequences and stunning cinematography. Worth watching (or re-watching) if you haven't already given it a shot.

• Runtime: 88 mins
• Directed by: Brian Taylor, Mark Neveldine
• Release date: September 1, 2006

After hitman Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) wakes up and realizes that he has been injected with a deadly drug cocktail, he has to do everything he can to keep his adrenaline flowing and keep his heart from stopping. Written and directed by filmmaker duo Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, Crank is a pulse-pounding and over-the-top action film that sees Chev get in multiple fights and cause mayhem all across Los Angeles as he does everything he can to survive and track down the individual who poisoned him in the first place. 

• Runtime: 130 mins
• Directed by: George P. Cosmatos, Kevin Jarre
• Release date: December 25, 1993

Loosely based on historical events in the real town of Tombstone, Arizona, George P. Cosmatos’ Western flick feels like an all-out brawl in the best ways. The film follows notorious lawmen and brothers Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell), Virgil Earp (Sam Elliott), Morgan Earp (Bill Paxton), and their friend Doc Holiday (Val Kilmer) as they are pressured to come out of retirement to defend the town of Tombstone from an outlaw Cowboy gang. Tense and full of awesome stunt work, Tombstone has grown into a cult classic and is considered a modern Western classic full of fantastic performances.

• Runtime: 93 mins
• Directed by: Timo Vuorensola
• Release date: June 9, 2023

First thing's first—this movie not being exact 97 minutes long is criminal. Second of all, if you're looking for an action movie that deals with a 767 plane being hijacked with just 97 minutes before it runs out fuel, then this is the movie for you. Being hijacked and and seemingly running out of fuel at the same time is undoubtedly the ultimate definition of crappy luck, so it's interesting to see how the events play out—especially since they're dealing with Interpol wanting to shoot them down to avoid any extra damage with the civilians on the ground. A triple whammy really.

• Runtime: 87 mins
• Directed by: Jesse Atlas
• Release date: March 31, 2023

Directed by Jesse Atlas, Assassin stars Bruce Lee in his final film, which is centered around a man who dies as a part of an experimental military program during a secret mission. With his wife out to avenge his death, Assassin is incredibly entertaining and full of some fantastic fight sequences that push the protagonist to the absolute limit. 

• Runtime: 95 mins
• Directed by: Jaime M. Dagg
• Release date: April 21, 2017

Directed by Jamie Dagg, Sweet Virginia is a dramatic and tense action film that pushes its characters to their emotional limits. As violence grips a small town in Alaska, former rodeo star turned small-town motel owner Sam Rossi (Jon Bernthal) bonds with Elwood (Christopher Abbott), his next-door neighbor at the motel, and suddenly finds himself entwined in a dangerous situation that seemingly impacts every person in the close-knit community. Full of twists and turns, Sweet Virginia is downright nerve-wracking during certain sequences and it features some incredible dialogue delivered by an all-star ensemble.

• Runtime: 88 mins
• Directed by: Kevin Lewis
• Release date: February 17, 2021

An action-comedy horror film set outside of Hayesville, North Carolina? Sign me up.

Starring Nicolas Cage as The Janitor, a loner that agrees to clean an abandoned family fun center in exchange for repairs—Willy's Wonderland is an animatronic battle that takes place inside the wonderful world Willy's Wonderland. Sort of like an unhinged Five Night's at Freddy's with Nicolas Cage. Does that not sound like prime time entertainment?

• Runtime: 103 mins
• Directed by: Alejandro Landes
• Release date: September 13, 2019

Lord of the Flies for the child soldier generation, Alejandro Lanes’ Monos follows eight teenage guerilla soldiers who are stationed on a remote mountaintop and tasked with monitoring a prisoner of war. Isolated from the rest of the world- and the war that ravages the unspecified Latin American country- the young soldiers become increasingly animalistic and cult-like as they cultivate intense social bonds with one another. A shockingly twisted film that shows just how brutal people can become, Monos is beautifully crafted and absolutely worth seeing for anyone who enjoys stories about what intense situations can do to people’s psychiatric states.

• Runtime: 103 mins
• Directed by: Alejandro Landes
• Release date: December 22, 2017

Directed and written by Scott Cooper, Hostiles follows Captain Joseph Blocker (Christian Bale), a veteran who fought in the American-Indian Wars, as he is tasked with escorting a Cheyenne Indian Chief named Yellow Hawk (Wes Studi) and his family back home to Montana from New Mexico. Set in 1892, Hostiles has a wonderful ensemble that elevates the film as each character deals with their own emotional journey. The film is beautifully shot and takes advantage of the wide-open spaces to create some breathtaking action sequences that perfectly show the scale and intensity of what battles during this time looked and felt like.

• Runtime: 119 mins
• Directed by: Jake Kasdan
• Release date: December 20, 2017

Welcome to the wonderful world of Jumanji. Based on four high school kids that get sucked into the video game setting of an old video game console, these teens are about to find out that Jumanji isn't just a "video game," but a way of life—the most dangerous adventure of their lives actually. Sounds kind of daunting don't you think?

• Runtime: 128 mins
• Directed by: John McTiernan
• Release date: May 19, 1995

Are we not completely accurate when we say Die Hard With a Vengeance is everybody's favorite in the Die Hard franchise? Seven times out of ten if you ask somebody what their favorite Die Hard movie is, they're going to say Vengeance, and that's because we believe the pairing of Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson is one that was a winning combo as they teamed up to fight a crazy terrorist (Jeremy Irons) on the loose.

• Runtime: 124 mins
• Directed by: Katsuhiro Otomo
• Release date: January 1, 1988

Set in the futuristic city of Neo-Tokyo, Akira is one of the most critically acclaimed and beautifully animated anime films of all time. Directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, who also wrote the original manga and screenplay for the film, Akira follows Shotaro Kaneda, the leader of a biker gang, as he tries to rescue his friend Tetsuo from a shadowy government organization that is known for performing parapsychological experiments on children. Things quickly go haywire as Tetsuo develops powerful abilities he can’t fully control and a number of different powerful forces in the city emerge to try and take advantage of the chaotic situation. Otomo chose to leave certain story elements and characters out of the anime, so anyone who watches the film and is left wanting more should check out the original manga to check out the full saga! 

• Runtime: 132 mins
• Directed by: S. Craig Zahler
• Release date: October 1, 2015

Directed by S. Craig Zahler in motion picture debut, Bone Tomahawk features an ensemble cast that includes the likes of: Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, Richard Jenkins, David Arquette and more as they set out on a rescue mission for three people from a savage group of cave dwellers. Also classified as being a horror film, Bone Tomahawk has a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, with fans and critics praising the directorial style of Zahler, the fight sequences, and the acting of the cast. If you're in the mood for an action horror Western, Bone Tomahawk is right up your alley.