Entertainment
7 Action Movies That Blow John Wick Out of the Water
John Wick may have introduced one of the world’s most iconic assassins, but there is plenty of action beyond his universe. In 2014, Keanu Reeves took on the role of the titular hitman, who goes on a rampage after gangsters break into his home and kill his beloved puppy. Fueled by grief and vengeance, Wick hunts down those responsible, only to uncover a larger, more sinister scheme. At this point, retirement proves anything but peaceful.
However, while Wick stands as Hollywood’s quintessential assassin, there is still a wide range of action films worth exploring. He may be known for his signature “gun-fu” style, but some audiences crave more variety beyond relentless carnage and repeated techniques. Without further ado, here are the movies with even better action than John Wick.
‘Kill Bill: Vol. 1’ (2003)
As the Bride (Uma Thurman) would learn in Kill Bill Vol. 1, never leave your former lover hanging — especially when he’s the ringleader of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. The Quentin Tarantino classic is a pastiche of many elements: spaghetti western, martial arts, and samurai cinema. All of this is then greatly tied to the Bride’s quest to find the man who not only left her dead at her own wedding rehearsal, but also lost the child she was bearing.
Female rage is emotional, but being torn apart from her child becomes the perfect backstory for the Bride’s vengeance. She travels across the world to find the Deadly Vipers, battling each one with specificity. One standout is the scalp-cutting battle with O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) and the Crazy 88. In this sequence, she single-handedly kills dozens of armed enemies. Another is the suburban showdown with Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox), where they try to stay as discreet as possible, given their neighborhood surroundings. Each encounter with a Deadly Viper highlights the Bride’s fighting versatility and makes every fight feel freshly exciting.
‘Police Story’ (1985)
Police Story not only popularized Hong Kong cop movies, but it also revolutionized the art of stunts in action cinema. Action scenes are often known for their brutality, but Jackie Chan, who plays Chan Ka-Kui, shows that there are layers to crafting a great sequence. Action scenes should have style, and that comes from choreography. With Chan’s background in Peking Opera training, his approach leans heavily into acrobatics. This influence explains the constant tumbling and aerial momentum, even during hand-to-hand combat.
Another defining feature of Police Story is how environmental the action scenes are. Forget fighting rings or evil lairs — most of these fights take place in public spaces, leveraging whatever is in Ka-Kui’s surroundings. Instead of chasing a double-decker bus with a car, he clings to it using nothing but an umbrella. He swings himself upward while villains try to kick him off. In the film’s peak ending, an extended shopping mall fight, Ka-Kui throws a henchman into a moving escalator, revs up a display motorcycle and crashes it into glass fixtures, and even slides down a pole from the upper floor to the ground floor, wrapped in light bulbs.
‘The Raid: Redemption’ (2011)
The premise of The Raid: Redemption is remarkably simple yet clever: a 20-man squad of MBC (Mobile Brigade Corps) infiltrates a rundown apartment. The objective is to arrest crime lord Tama Riyadi (Ray Sahetapy), who sits calmly on the top floor. Taking over a building should be straightforward, especially when you’re a government-backed police force. But before they can even lay a finger on him, the MBC has to push through 30 stories of criminals, ranging from your everyday thugs to deadly assassins.
The Raid: Redemption takes claustrophobia to new, deadly heights. The moment the MBC officers enter through the front door on the ground floor, there is no escape. At every turn — every corridor and every door opened — a bloodthirsty killer is waiting to murder them by whatever means necessary, especially since they have been promised free residence by Tama. Being in a small, cramped space with threats coming from all directions creates constant urgency. There is no time for showmanship, and by the time the MBC officers have exhausted all their resources, they can only rely on their fists to fight their way through each floor.
‘Kung Fu Hustle’ (2004)
Beating the living lights out of gangsters doesn’t always have to be vicious. In Kung Fu Hustle, it can be whimsical and graceful. Inspired by the art of wuxia — the classic genre depicting martial artists in ancient China — much of the film’s fantasy draws on real spiritual elements. These elements form the basis of qi (life force), the energy that powers many of the action sequences in Stephen Chow‘s film.
Kung Fu Hustle emphasizes that fighting isn’t always about being on the offensive. To overcome injustice, one must first find inner peace to harness one’s qi. Only then can they unlock true power, and in the film’s case, even supernatural abilities like the Buddha’s Palm strike. Qi also serves as the foundation for many of the kung fu styles shown in the movie. These range from the rapid, grounded Hung Gar style to the low, coiled, yet explosive Hama Gong technique.
‘Hardcore Henry’ (2015)
In typical fashion, viewers watch movies from a third-person perspective. But if anyone has ever wondered what it’s like to literally be the one doing the action, Hardcore Henry is the go-to movie. Told from a first-person perspective, the film unfolds through the eyes of Henry, an amnesia-stricken man brought back from the dead by his wife (Haley Bennett). Moments later, she is kidnapped, and Henry — or rather, you — is thrust into the action, immediately under fire.
Hardcore Henry feeds your action-filled curiosities. One moment, you find yourself sliding down a crowded escalator and accidentally crashing into someone. Next, you’re peering through a sniper scope, picking off enemies from the top of a building. For adrenaline junkies, the film goes even further. You’ll be riding a high-speed motorcycle and ramming it into a van ahead of you. It’s a no-brainer action, but it pulls you in completely, letting you experience every moment viscerally.
‘Gladiator’ (2000)
For a movie filled with bloodshed, Gladiator still finds moments of humanity between its sword fights. Creative liberties aside — real gladiator battles did not typically end in death, and trained fighters were expected to survive multiple bouts — the film questions the universally troubling idea that people find violence entertaining. At the same time, it is this very violence that Maximus (Russell Crowe) is forced to endure. Each fight becomes part of his strategy to survive and move closer to Commodus.
The basis of Gladiator‘s action is embodied in the famous line Crowe improvised: “Are you not entertained?” The battles are designed to satisfy the masses watching them, and as a result, they go to extreme lengths. From decapitating an opponent to being trapped in a claustrophobic fight against heavily armored gladiators, to facing a former champion while real tigers circle the arena, each sequence is crafted to thrill. These battles are meant not only to entertain the crowds within the film but also the audience watching it.
‘RRR’ (2022)
Some think it’s kooky, while others call it camp. Either way, that doesn’t take away from the fact that RRR is packed with action from start to finish. The over theatrical nature of its stunts — reminiscent of the aesthetic in Baz Luhrmann‘s Romeo + Juliet — amplifies the film’s already fierce spectacle. Yet, beneath all the stylization, the story is rooted in history. RRR reimagines the resistance against British colonial rule through two real-life Indian revolutionaries of the 1920s: Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (N. T. Rama Rao Jr.).
When we talk about heroes, there is a tendency to present them as larger-than-life figures. RRR fully embraces this idea through its over-the-top spectacle. The film holds nothing back in portraying its national heroes — the men who fought for the liberation of their people. From Bheem unleashing a collection of wild animals on British soldiers, to Raju fighting atop Bheem’s shoulders, each sequence escalates the action. It’s one explosion after another.
RRR
- Release Date
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March 24, 2022
- Runtime
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185 Minutes
- Director
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S.S. Rajamouli
- Writers
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S.S. Rajamouli, Vijayendra Prasad
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