All the best action movies you can stream tonight with friends

As many of us are living rather boring lives at home in 2021, there’s never been a better time to get into action movies. The best action movies fill us with a sense of adventure, and put us on the edge of our seats as we follow a hero through the seemingly impossible array of obstacles in their path. We watch as the fists & bullets fly, and the best action movies give us the same frantic rush as the heroes we see on screen.

Violent fights & chases are almost unequivocal parts of the action movie, but an equal amount of fun is necessary for the best action movies out there. We don’t feed the same morbid curiosity that horror films so allow us with the action movie, and the ridiculousness of the non-stop obstacles our heroes face in action flicks is what makes them so fun.

The best action movies are equal parts fun & exciting, and they don’t even have to be smart for us to enjoy them. However, throw some decent subtext in there and you have an action movie to be enjoyed for generations to come. 

We’ve picked out some of the best action movies you can find, all ridiculous & thrilling, and some of them might even make you have a thought or two. They’re all available to stream now, so buckle up and see which one strikes your fancy to dive into tonight.

Dredd

2012’s Dredd is the unsung triumph of the early 2010s action movie landscape. Seemingly doomed before the movie even began, the comic book adaptation follows 1995’s Sly Stalone version Judge Dredd, which won’t make our list (there’s a reason you’ve never seen it.) 

Rather than try to remake its predecessor’s story or pack in an unimportant romantic or philosophical plotline, Dredd gets right to the point with non-stop heart-pumping dystopian action.

Dredd follows the title future cop as he takes down a drug lord with his partner. The drug in question is a cyberpunk inhalant that slows down everything to one percent of normal perception. The drug is called Slo-Mo, and now you know Dredd’s creators were not trying to overthink things. 

Sequences shown through the eyes of villains on the drug remind us of why The Matrix bullet-dodge was so quickly iconized. Brutal, pulsating, shot in 3D, Dredd is an absolute blast providing nothing but satisfaction. Stream it on YouTube & Vudu for four bucks.

I Saw the Devil

I Saw the Devil, Kim Jee-woon’s 2010 masterpiece is not for the faint of heart (be warned) but is the greatest action movie of 2010, and one of the best action movies of all time. 

Before 2014’s John Wick, the film gives us an action movie where the hero is seldom in danger. We never fear for his well-being, and he doesn’t need to grow or learn anything as he fights his arch-nemesis: the man who killed & dismembered his wife in the film’s opening (we warned you).

If you find Dredd brutal, I Saw the Devil will feel illegal. But as savage as I Saw the Devil is, the film also tells a heart-breaking revenge story highlighting the truth that no revenge will ever bring back a loved one. 

Other than this theme, we just see neck-breaking action sequences that boggle our minds, make us cringe, but most importantly make us laugh at how over-the-top they can be. Stream it for free on Sling TV & Amazon or for three bucks on YouTube (if you dare).

RoboCop 

The classics are classics for a reason, folks. RoboCop, Paul Veerhoven’s 1987 cyberpunk opus is the golden standard of sci-fi action flicks, making it to our list as one of the best action movies of all time. 

Moreover, RoboCop has never been more relevant, depicting a story of corrupt cops in a dystopian world where nefarious artificial intelligence is far too complacently relied on (sound familiar?). It takes place in a crumbling vision of Detroit, Michigan to boot. 

The classic might give lukewarm interest to younger generations with its reputation as an 80s classic, but don’t get it twisted: RoboCop is brutal and will have you on the edge of your seat through its 100-minute run. 

The commercials shown in the film will have you disassociate with the new world you’re living in, and it’ll all be a genuine blast. You can stream the action classic for free on YouTube now, but afterwards you’ll definitely say, “I’d buy that for a dollar!”