Let’s face it: we all love action. No matter our feelings about real-world violence, there’s something intensely cathartic about seeing lots of pretty explosions and bad guys getting blown into strawberry jam. To make your viewing experience even simpler, we’ve picked the three best action movies to watch on Netflix so you can make fewer decisions and see more violence. With these picks of ours, we hope the only people who will be having a bad time are the villains.
Ip Man
This almost fairytale-like story about a martial arts master going up against a brutal and evil invading army with nothing but his fists is the last movie you’d expect to be based on a true story. But it’s real.
This action-packed biopic centers around the titular character, Ip Man (Donnie Yen), who would later go on to be Bruce Lee’s – the Bruce Lee’s – martial arts teacher. But this film, set years before he would meet his famous pupil, centers around Ip Man’s battle with the invading Japanese.
It just so happens that General Miura (Hiroyuki Ikeuchi), the Japanese general in charge of occupying Foshan, is a karate master himself. Keen to prove his racial superiority over the Chinese people he’s subjugating, he’s asking local Chinese masters to fight his students for one extra bag of rice – and often killing them in the process. After some of China’s best martial artists die at the hands of Miura and his soldiers, it’s up to Ip Man to step up and prove China’s equality once and for all.
Though Ip Man takes some real liberties with Ip Man’s life (as all biopics must), this embellishment of reality only makes Ip Man’s story sparkle all the more. Unlike most martial arts films, there’s a unique dramatic weight here – yes, the Japanese occupation of China really was that brutal, making the film pack an extra punch (pun intended). This unique blend of martial arts and war film makes Ip Man a worthy and unique gem.
Da 5 Bloods
This touching, meditative movie is one part action film, one part war movie, and one part racial drama. In the present day, four Black Vietnam War veterans, Paul (Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters), Eddie (Norm Lewis), and Melvin (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), head back to Vietnam to find their squad leader’s (Chadwick Boseman, in his final film role) body – and, oh yeah, the giant stash of gold he had with him.
As the foursome explores the former battlefield, the memories of the past come back to life in full gory color, and each of the men is forced to reckon with what he saw – and did. But their memories aren’t the only dangers lurking deep within the jungles of Vietnam – they’re not the only ones who want the gold, and some would kill to get it.
Yes, Da 5 Bloods is an action film, but it’s so much more. This film deftly weaves social commentary on issues both past (this is one of a few American films on the Vietnam War that suggests that America was in the wrong) and present (the treatment of veterans, Black people, and Black veterans is examined with razor-sharp clarity) in and among its action sequences, all the while crafting four relatable, realistic, and morally complex leads. You’ll be thinking for a long time after you turn off this film, yes, but you’ll also be sad it’s over.
Extraction
Were the past two films too cerebral for you? No worries. We’ve got a mindless, manly, blood-soaked action film coming right up.
Former Australian SAS operative-turned-mercenary Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) has his quiet life (well, as quiet as a mercenary’s life can be, anyway) turned upside down when he receives a call from the Indian drug kingpin Ovi Mahajan Sr. (Pankaj Tripathi). The drug lord’s son (Rudhraksh Jaiswal) has been kidnapped, and Rake is the only one he trusts to get him back. Alone, Rake sets out on a quest to rescue Ovi Jr. from the rival drug empire that has him – by killing tons of people.
It’s not exactly a smart, cerebral film, though it does try for moments of tenderness. It’s not going to be delivering any pressing social commentary here, either. But what Extraction does have is some truly excellent action sequences – director Sam Hargrave long served as Marvel’s stunt coordinator on some of their biggest blockbusters – and stellar acting, especially from Hemsworth. You might have to turn your brain off for this one, but you’ll be glad you did.
