10 Action Movies That Are Better Than 'John Wick'

John Wick came onto the scene in a burst of pure brilliance, redefining modern action cinema in the best way. The movie centers on retired hitman, John Wick (Keanu Reeves), who is forced back into the gritty underworld after a group of ignorant gangsters steal his car and kill the last gift left to him by his late wife. Easily captivating the world with its neon-lit underworld, sleek gun-fu choreography, and a stoic assassin main character set on revenge, the film stands as one of the very best action movies to date—but across decades and continents, action cinema has produced quite a few icons that surpass John Wick.

Action film hits like the genre-defining classic, Enter the Dragon, starring Bruce Lee, and the thunderous Indian epic, RRR, which stands as a true thrilling spectacle, are just two examples of some in the action genre that gloriously outshines John Wick. Compiled on this list are ten films that even the brilliant John Wick can't rival, surpassing it in influence, scale, imagination, and sheer action astonishment.

1 'Mad Max: Fury Road' (2015)

Mad Max: Fury Road is a relentless post-apocalyptic thrill ride. The story follows Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) reluctantly teaming up with rebel driver Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) in order to free a group of enslaved women from the tyrant Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne).

Mad Max: Fury Road sees its characters hurtling through a desert wasteland in a continuous high-octane chase, which keeps audiences thoroughly entertained with its non-stop momentum. Fans have consistently labeled the film as one of the greatest works of fiction in the action genre. It's fast-paced, kinetic energy, and real stunts have defiantly raised the bar for practical action. Mad Max: Fury Road’s pure adrenaline-filled scenes are unlike anything seen in the John Wick series, marking it as a unique and quite epic action that definitely goes full throttle.

2 'The Raid: Redemption' (2011)

There's something about a brutal, bone-crunching, combat-filled film that really strips action down to its rawest form, and The Raid: Redemption is one of the best and most thrilling examples. The Indonesian action gem centers around the rookie SWAT officer, Rama (Iko Uwais), as he and his team charge a 15-floor tenement to take down a ruthless drug lord, and things don't go as expected.

The Raid: Redemption is a masterclass in action, suspense, and pure thrill. The film is ferocious as it showcases jaw-dropping pencak silat martial arts in countless claustrophobic spaces. Its brutal fights featuring knives, fists, batons, and so much more are way more intense and visceral than what's delivered in John Wick. The Raid: Redemption wields such a grim, violence-rife reality that it often leaves action fans raving. From creative combat choreography to tight pacing, The Raid: Redemption surpasses John Wick in sheer intensity.

3 'The Matrix' (1999)

John Wick isn't Keanu Reeves' first iconic action film; in fact, before the series came about, many years prior, Keanu featured in one of the finest action landmarks in movie history. The 1999 film, The Matrix, is a genre-defining action film that follows computer hacker Neo (Reeves) as he discovers that reality is a simulated illusion called the Matrix, and he might just be "the One," prophesied to set humanity free.

Many years may have passed and countless action movies with it, but there is something about the timeless classic, The Matrix, that just speaks to action lovers around the world. The film is considered a revolutionary action movie that captivated viewers of all ages, action fans or not. With tons of iconic sequences still referenced by people and films alike, The Matrix stands as one of the most riveting and excitingly explosive action sci-fi films ever made. John Wick may be Reeves' most recent masterful action piece, but not even the well-loved movie can match the innovation and influence of The Matrix.

4 'Enter the Dragon' (1973)

This Bruce Lee epic is a defining classic East-meets-West martial arts adventure. Enter the Dragon follows the Shaolin martial artist Lee (Bruce Lee), who is recruited by British intelligence to infiltrate the island fortress of an ex-Shaolin turned crime lord, hosting a brutal kung fu tournament, Han (Shih Kien).

Enter the Dragon is notably the very first Hong Kong martial arts film to be backed by a major American studio, and not long after became a worldwide hit. With its blend of spy-thriller elements, stylish kung fu combat, and Bruce Lee's captivating presence, the film earned its status as one of the most successful martial arts movies of its time—and has absolutely endured since then. From impact to authenticity, Enter the Dragon definitely outshines the modern gem, John Wick.

5 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' (2018)

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is truly a work of art in modern animation. The action-packed superhero adventure film centers around a teen, Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), who becomes Brooklyn's newest Spider-Man, and teams up with other Spider-people from other dimensions to stop a great evil.

Despite its animated status, few action films have looked or felt as alive as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The movie may be geared more towards families, a category John Wick simply can't fit comfortably in, but the animated movie is no less thrilling than the gun-toting, iconic film. With unforgettable comic-book stylization, wielding some of the finest animation seen on the big screen, impeccable storytelling, and fantastic action scenes, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse swings far above even a live-action action film such as John Wick.

6 'Kingsman: The Secret Service' (2014)

This unexpected adrenaline-pumping thrill ride stands as a modern tribute to classic action spy flicks. Kingsman: The Secret Service follows the rough London street kid Gary "Eggsy" Unwin (Taron Egerton), who is recruited by the well put-together agent Harry Hart (Colin Firth) into an elite Secret Service.

The 2014 action film is pure chaos and fun, and the fans absolutely love it. While other over-the-top action pieces can be quite unattractive to audiences, Kingsman: The Secret Service's uniquely stylized, over-the-top action set pieces are one of the film's greatest hooks. From uncontrollable slaughter scenes to hilarious one-on-one bouts of violence, 2014's Kingsman delivers iconic action sequences in a flurry of camera spins and exploding heads. John Wick may be rife with gritty realism and quality darkness, but Kingsman: The Secret Service is the bold and unapologetic fun action film that absolutely outdoes it.

7 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' (2022)

Everything Everywhere All at Once is a well-crafted, genre-blending film that practically stands as a quality action fever dream. The movie centers on the beleaguered laundromat owner, Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh), who is unexpectedly swept up into a multiverse-hopping adventure where she is forced to channel the skills of multiple alternate versions of herself in order to save reality.

Everything Everywhere All at Once is an absurdly imaginative work of action art that grows surprisingly emotional. The fight scenes are extraordinarily creative, while the plot is astonishingly deep. From sci-fi themes featuring multiverse superpowers, to epic duels using rather unconventional items, the movie has definitely earned the mountain of praise it's received. Everything Everywhere All at Once is an extraordinary action stand-out that somehow makes viewers incredibly emotionally invested in its extremely chaotic story, marking it as a hilarious joy that stunningly knocks the straightforward action epic, John Wick, right out of the water.

8 'RRR' (2022)

This Indian action epic wields global phenomenon status, and it's well-deserved. The 2022 film, RRR, is set in 1920s colonial India and depicts the fictional story of two real-life revolutionaries: an undercover officer in the British Indian police, Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan), and a village guardian on a mission to rescue a kidnapped girl from the British, Komaram Bheem (N.T. Rama Rao Jr.).

RRR is lauded as one of the wildest action pieces to ever be put on screen. From a mid-film sequence that features a colonial party being crashed—quite literally—with a truck full of wild animals to a blistering prison rescue where the two heroes fight back-to-back, armed to the teeth with arrows and a mounted machine gun, all to the beat of a thumping musical score, RRR brings to life an unforgettable ride that John Wick simply can't match. The larger-than-life-action film stands as a joyous viewing experience with insanely fun and imaginative action sequences that are quite literally on another level compared to the gun-filled good time that is John Wick.

9 'The Night Comes for Us' (2018)

The Night Comes for Us stands as one of the most violent martial arts films ever made. The Indonesian action movie follows an enforcer for a crime triad, Ito (Joe Taslim), who, after betraying his gang to save a little girl, must survive a small army of assassins hunting him down.

For any action fanatics that adore gory violence, The Night Comes for Us is definitely the ideal watch. The movie features some of the most insane fight sequences ever put on the big screen. From limb-severing, arterial-spraying chaos in cramped apartments to slaughterhouse freezers and ultimate death duels, the film makes even John Wick seem quite tame. The Night Comes for Us is rather beloved by the action community, lauded for its envelope-pushing violence and memorable fight scenes that set a new high bar for martial arts brutality—making it a perfect addition to this list of action epics that simply surpass John Wick.

10 'Taken' (2008)

This 2008 cultural phenomenon gave audiences one of the most iconic lines featured in action film history: "I have a very particular set of skills…" Taken centers around retired CIA operative, Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson), whose daughter is abducted by human traffickers in Paris, and in response sets out on a path of death and destruction to get her back.

Taken is the action icon that redefined Liam Neeson's career and delivered some of the most entertaining action scenes in movie history. The action is quite brutal and swift, ranging from improvised torture via electric chairs to simple throat punches and point-blank headshots, all stoically delivered. Taken's pacing is entertainingly relentless, and while John Wick does wield more elaborate fight choreography, Taken has an intensity and gritty efficiency that is enduringly satisfying, marking the film as a classic standout that defiantly redefines modern action heroes.