10 Greatest Action Thrillers of the Last 10 Years, Ranked

Combining the spellbinding spectacle of action bombast with the intricate plotting and pulsating suspense of thriller storytelling, the action-thriller subgenre has become one of the most reliably absorbing in the pantheon of cinematic categories. The highlights of this genre marriage stand among the greatest blockbusters of all time, including everything from taut classics like Die Hard to defining superhero sensations like The Dark Knight, and even international gems like The Raid.

Fortunately for movie lovers everywhere, the last 10 years have still offered plenty of highs for the heart-pounding genre, with espionage suspense, crime thrillers, and even monster movie mayhem providing the visceral and vivacious viewing experience action-thriller enthusiasts love to be immersed in. Covering everything from some of the defining blockbusters of recent years to hidden gems nestled away on streaming platforms, these action-thrillers are the best audiences have been treated to in the past decade.

10 'No Time to Die' (2021)

From one modern spy thriller gem to another, No Time to Die enraptured millions the world over as it set out to do something no other Bond film had ever done before: bring about a genuine conclusion to an actor’s portrayal of the character. Marking the final of Daniel Craig’s outings as 007, it sees his Bond leave active service after a hollowing revelation about his lover, Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux). However, he is pulled back into the fray when Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) asks for help rescuing a kidnapped scientist. It sets Bond on the trail of a villain hoping to use a devastating bioweapon to crown himself a god-like figure of his own new world order.

It may not quite match the excellence of some of Craig’s earlier Bond movies, but No Time to Die still excels at delivering an enthralling action-thriller defined by its heart-racing tempo, intense action sequences, and an unexpected emotional punch. Epic in scale and not afraid to incorporate more of the panache and playfulness from the franchise’s early days, No Time to Die presents a daring finale to Craig’s Bond tenure that makes for one of the biggest movie events of the decade so far, as well as a captivating action-thriller that marks the end of arguably the best Bond eras audiences have seen.

9 'The Killer' (2023)

A wonderful subversion of hitman drama that sees David Fincher’s trademark precision imbued with a black comedy punchiness, and Michael Fassbender’s typically brilliant lead performance, The Killer is a gem of streaming entertainment that is both a sublime action-thriller and a razor-sharp deconstruction of the genre. It follows a methodical hitman after a job goes horribly wrong, who must fight against those who hired him while sinking into a murky muddle of self-doubt and instability.

Its stylish and slick presentation both complements the Killer’s cold and calculating approach and makes a mockery of his many mistakes, conjuring not only a perverse sense of hysterics from his mishandling of the situation, but also extracting great tension from his spiraling revenge mission as well. Buoyed by sequences like its immersive, meticulous opening, the fight scene with The Brute (Sala Baker), and the confrontation with The Expert (Tilda Swinton), The Killer offers something fresh and different to the fold, an undercutting of the air of sophistication surrounding most hitman movies that still presents plenty of enthralling action sequences of its own.

8 'Train to Busan' (2016)

A combination of intense action violence, taut and tense suspense, and even heart-racing horror, Train to Busan marks something of a high point with regard to international cinema breaking into mainstream consciousness in recent years. Following a work-obsessed father and his young daughter as they catch a train to Busan, only for a zombie outbreak to engulf the world around them, the 2016 zombie flick exhibits both entrenching, enrapturing thrills and a profoundly powerful emotional core as well as plenty of blood-and-guts action.

While it borrows heavily from past zombie movie hits, Train to Busan elevates itself into the upper echelon of the subgenre’s greatest films, using its emphasis on the father-daughter relationship to imbue the brilliantly crafted tension with meaningful, heart-pounding gravitas. Complemented by the visceral impact of its action-horror scenes when they come, Train to Busan thrives as an engrossing amalgamation of genre fare anchored in an emotionally engaging story that stands as a triumphant action-thriller in the context of global cinema.

7 'John Wick: Chapter 4' (2023)

Released in 2014, John Wick combined rich action majesty with an emotionally involving tale of revenge and grief to deliver one of the most attention-grabbing genre films of the 21st century so far. Given the enormity of the film’s cultural impact, it is little surprise that several sequels and spin-offs have spawned from its success. The best of these has been John Wick: Chapter 4, following Keanu Reeves’s titular hitman as he fights against those who have put a price on his head, setting out to defeat The High Table once and for all.

Presenting three hours of relentless action woven together along a story of deceit and global criminality, John Wick: Chapter 4 flaunts a beautiful, balletic brutality as its most captivating and defining asset. Excessive, extraordinary, and epic, it is an odyssey of high-octane, propulsive carnage that leaves action lovers in an exhausted ecstasy owing to not only its visual divinity, but its intense and richly rewarding narrative as well.

6 'Baby Driver' (2017)

Slick, stylish, and supported by a sublime soundtrack, Baby Driver sees Edgar Wright apply his striking filmmaking idiosyncrasies to a rollicking hit of smooth-moving action thrills, making for one of the most absorbing and engulfing movies the genre has seen in recent times. It follows Baby (Ansel Elgort), a getaway driver whose compulsive listening to music on the job gives him the rhythm to be the best of the best. He finds a way out of a life of crime when he falls in love with Debora (Lily James), but when he is coerced into taking one final job, he finds himself embroiled in a disastrous heist that jeopardizes everything.

Fast-paced and kinetic, the 2017 film quickly became something of a phenomenon, with its meticulous marriage of music and mayhem making for an enrapturing tale of high crime and romance filled out by wonderfully exaggerated characters and a flamboyant sense of rock ‘n’ roll grit. Baby Driver is as cool a movie as has been released in the past decade of any genre, a testament to Wright’s impressionable tastes as a filmmaker, and an engrossing, fun-loving marvel of action-thriller cinema.

5 'Atomic Blonde' (2017)

Marking David Leitch’s first credited turn in the director’s chair, Atomic Blonde offers a sublime marriage of stylized excess, action divinity, and espionage suspense. Based on the graphic novel “The Coldest City,” it follows MI6 field agent Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron) as she is dispatched into Berlin just days before the collapse of the wall to reclaim a list of names identifying every active operative in the city. Having to navigate a complex web of geopolitical spycraft and combat rival agents also after the list, Broughton must utilize every skill and resource at her disposal to accomplish her mission and survive.

Whatever the story may lack in terms of winding brilliance, it more than makes up for it with the phenomenal realization of its action sequences, enchanting, neon-infused visual display, and Theron’s magnetic portrayal of the sensual and sordid spy. Not immune to moments of bruising brutality, Atomic Blonde is truly enriched by the rich allure of its violent display, crafting an engrossing and entwining spy thriller defined by its action punch.

4 'Tenet' (2020)

After initially being viewed as something of a misfire by Sir Christopher Nolan, Tenet has quickly gained retrospective approval, with many fans and critics becoming more appreciative of the brilliance of its winding narrative and the sheer audacity of the vision of the action sequences. It follows a CIA agent recruited by a secret organization specializing in the analysis of objects with inverted entropy, meaning devices that move backwards through time. The operative is tasked with preventing a Russian oligarch from communicating with people in the future from destroying the world.

Its story is a lot to digest, with Nolan’s trademark time-bending trickery weaving a confounding web of a narrative that demands repeat viewings to be grasped. Fans willing to do that work will find rewatches to be incredibly rewarding, opening the door to understanding the broad strokes of Tenet’s tumultuous story while accepting the might of the action spectacle Nolan achieved. Released at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tenet is one of the most daring and abstract blockbusters ever made, a mind-melting force of action-thriller cinema that only gets better the more it is revisited.

3 'Sisu' (2022)

Action of any kind is sometimes a treacherous genre to pair with war cinema. The sense of spectacle and excitement can undermine the thematic core of the story to the extent that the picture as a whole becomes disingenuous and disrespectful. Sisu finds a perfect balance between the two tones, though, with the Finnish flick flaunting a ferocious appetite for action-packed brutality that conjures an intoxicating viewing experience through its sheer bravado and its treatment of the SS as cruel and corrupt villains.

Following a former commando who has taken to life as a prospector as he seeks to exact revenge on the Nazis who stole his gold, Sisu is a tour de force of action, mayhem and thrilling narrative tightness, an unleashed frenzy of ultra-violence that revels in the spectacle of evil men getting their just desserts. While it does have thematic undertones, many of which contribute to the taut nature of the story, Sisu is content offering sheer, nonsensical, and glorious carnage. It is outlandish, outrageous, and utterly outstanding, making for one of the greatest action movies international cinema has ever seen.

2 'Mission: Impossible – Fallout' (2018)

Spearheaded by Tom Cruise’s death-defying commitment to blockbuster cinema, the Mission: Impossible franchise has gone from strength to strength throughout the 21st century, delivering some of the best action movies of the modern era and engrossing stories of high-stakes espionage. While it is difficult to pick the series’ best film in the past decade, Mission: Impossible – Fallout ultimately soars as not only the sharpest and most absorbing in the saga, but as one of the most audacious and awe-inspiring spy movies of all time as well.

It follows Ethan Hunt and the IMF as they set out to prevent an international terrorist group from utilizing three plutonium cores as nuclear devices in an attack designed to destabilize the world order and devastate billions of lives. Fast, fun, and fearless, the film balances the majesty and might of its stunt work with a high-octane story of impending global catastrophe. Mission: Impossible – Fallout is a stream of astonishing set pieces strung together with a rapid-fire story of meaningful stakes, making it as enthralling and entertaining an action-thriller as has ever been made.

1 'One Battle After Another' (2025)

Possibly the best movie of 2025 of any genre, One Battle After Another presents a sublime story of action thrills, satirical black comedy, and political commentary to stand among Paul Thomas Anderson’s finest accomplishments to date. It follows Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio), a washed-up revolutionary and single father living off the grid with his teenage daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti). Bob is forced back into his former radical lifestyle when he and his daughter are pursued by Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), a corrupt and vindictive military officer and Bob’s former nemesis.

Its ambition is phenomenal, combining so many thematic ideas and tonal shifts to deliver a rambunctious and infectiously invigorating viewing experience. However, One Battle After Another flaunts its action-thriller elements as its greatest strength, with its narrative tempo and numerous awe-inspiring set pieces culminating in a pulsating and punchy watch, accentuated with moments of comedy and timely contemplation. Its excellence has made an immediate impact, and it is certain to go down as one of the defining movies of the decade and one of the greatest action-thrillers of all time.