When looking for good action movies I do not necessary look for Oscar material as we all know that is rarely the case with action movies. Instead I focus on the action of course, the acting and the effects. Below you will find the best action movies on Netflix Instant Watch. I have left out Terminator well aware many would think that is wrong but I re-watched it the other day and I do believe it is dated! The effects just don’t look good enough anymore. So due to the fact that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid does not contain any outdated effects I felt that deserved the spot instead.
Black Hawk Down: Not only is Black Hawk Down the best action movie on Netflix but also my all time best movie on Netflix. Directed by one of my favorite directors, Ridley Scott, this movie has it all. It is not just an action movie. It has great acting, dialogue and amazing sound. No wonder it won an Oscar.
The Last of the Mohicans: Third action movie that is on the all time best Netflix movie list. Strong performance by Daniel Day Lewis together with great and bloody fight scenes makes this a great action movie.
Top Gun: Not the regular bang bang action movie but nonetheless a very entertaining movie with some great flight scenes. Great cast that includes among others Tom Cruise and Anthony Edwards.
Die Hard 2: The sequel to Die Hard. This movie is almost just as good as number 1 and again all the action scenes are done without too many crazy special effects making this just as modern today as 20 years ago.
True Grit: A remake of the old John Wayne movie. Perhaps not too many action scenes but the ones there are well done. Great performance by the superb Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon.
Terminator: The movie that laid the foundation for the next 3 in the serie. One of James Cameron’s best movies. A little dated but still many great actions scenes.
Iron Man 2: Not as good as the first one but we have to settle with Iron Man 2 as Iron Man 1 is not available on Instant Watch. Robert Downey Jr. once again gets his Iron Man suit on and fights the bad guys but this time with a helper who is played by Scarlett Johansson. A good movie that opens up for the coming movie “The Avengers”.
Rob Roy: Excellent acting from a impressive cast mixed together with great cinematography and a intelligently written script is the recipe for a great action movie. Not the normal gun shooting one but the sword fighting one.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: Two great actors staring together in this old western movie about bank robbers. Paul Newman is the brain and Robert Redford is the gun guy. Still a great action movie which luckily can be found on Netflix Instant Watch.
The Expendables: If you can look away from occasional bad acting and the thin script and just focus on the action scenes then this is a pretty good action movie. Do not watch this one if you expect anything more than violent gun and fight scenes!
Are you looking for more inspiration then be sure to check out my Top Ten List of the best Netflix movies.
That is a pretty good list of action movies. I agree with you on pretty much all of them. Perhaps I would have listed them in a different order but nonetheless a good list. Netflix has a lot of good action movies ready for streaming. I am never bored.
I am surprised to see Expendables on this list but I guess it is lack of good action movies on Netflix
What about RoboCop… that is still a great action movie
Wicked site
I do believe Terminator is a bit dated now. Terminator 2 is a lot better, both action scenes and FX. A shame T2 is not on Netflix
Great list. Black Hawk Down is awesome. Have watched it more time than I can count.
Some of these movies dissapear from Netflix and then 1 month later they are on Netflix again. So weird.
I just look on Netflix and Iron man 2 is not on there it might be back soon though.