The 2010s were an absolutely crazy decade for the world of pop culture. It was a time when cord cutting was en vogue and streaming services found their footing, digital music finally made CDs obsolete, and Fifty Shades of Grey was the best selling book of the decade.
There were a lot of transitions taking place in pop culture circles between 2010-2019 and that includes the movie industry. Joker became the first R-rated movie to earn $1 billion, Parasite was the first foreign film to win a Best Picture Oscar, and superhero films ruled the box office. Hollywood was evolving.
While many may remember the decade for the MCU’s dominance, the 2010’s were also a time where the action movie not only thrived but innovated. With that in mind, here are our picks for the 20 best action films of the ‘10s. For our purposes, superhero movies aren’t included as they’d fit in their own category. So, did your favorite action film not make the cut or didn’t rank as high as you’d like? Let us know in the comments below.
20. Inception (2010)
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Elliot Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Marion Cotillard
Director: Christopher Nolan
Is this reality or just a dream? Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece is full of the director’s trademark thought-provoking twists and non-linear storytelling but is also imbued with a mind-bending and action filled plot that will make you question what’s real and what’s not. The ability to integrate yourself in another person’s dreams is rife with peril as Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), a thief who builds dreams in order to steal, can certainly attest.
19. Hanna (2011)
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett
Director: Joe Wright
Never judge a book by its cover. Teenager Hanna Heller (Saoirse Ronan) may be diminutive and look innocent, but she’s been trained to be a cold-blooded killer by one of the best - her father (Eric Bana), a former CIA operative. Hanna’s resilience and fighting skills are reminiscent of a young Jason Bourne.
18. The Accountant (2016)
Starring: Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, JK Simmons, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson
Director: Gavin O’Connor
When you think of accountants what typically comes to mind is glasses, pocket protectors, and spreadsheets. While Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) certainly fits the bill at first glance, this accountant with high-functioning autism is much more than what he seems. Wolff, whose aliases are named after mathematicians, punches and shoots his way through bad guys while calmly reciting a nursery rhyme.
17. Creed (2015)
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson
Director: Ryan Coogler
Yo Bianca! Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) agrees to train the son of his former ring opponent and friend, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) in this Ryan Coogler directed film that continues the boxing legacy of The Italian Stallion but with a new star. The only sports movie on this list earns its place thanks to some epic fight scenes.
16. Baby Driver (2017)
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, Jon Bernthal
Director: Edgar Wright
Few directors know how to blend music with action better than Edgar Wright, who turns the crime caper on its ear with this unique film that’s a feast for the senses. Loaded with stunningly filmed driving sequences all set to a stellar soundtrack, Baby Driver is essentially a car chase musical.
15. Atomic Blonde (2017)
Starring: Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman
Director: David Leitch
Few actors are as well-versed with the action genre as Charlize Theron (you’ll see her name again on this list), who has made a living kicking ass and taking names. That’s no exception in Atomic Blonde, a film based on the 2012 graphic novel The Coldest City, where Theron plays a spy with fists of fury and deadly high heels in 1989 Berlin.
14. Jack Reacher (2012)
Starring: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, David Oyelowo, Robert Duvall, Warner Herzog, Jai Courtney
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Tom Cruise doesn’t match the physical description of the 6’5” 250 lb. Jack Reacher described in the Lee Child novel "One Shot,'' which this film is based on. But what the world’s most famous action star lacks in size he more than makes up for in tenacity in this action thriller full of fights, a tense car chase, and plot twists.
13. Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010)
Starring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jason Schwartzman, Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick, Allison Pill
Director: Edgar Wright
"An action movie for nerds" is what the tagline for Scott Pilgrim vs The World should have been instead of, "An epic epic of epicness." Over-the-top fight scenes, clever humor, and a plot based on the graphic novel of the same name are all enhanced by video game references, a killer soundtrack, and the revelation that vegans have psychic powers.
12. Dunkirk (2017)
Starring: Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Harry Styles, Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh
Director: Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk is the best war film of the decade and alternates between three unique storylines. Using sparse dialogue, Dunkirk portrays the real life evacuation of British and French troops from the French city during World War II in dramatic and realistic fashion with amazing visuals and Academy Award winning sound.
11. Train to Busan (2016)
Starring: Gong Yoo, Ma Dong-seok, Jung Yu-mi
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Forget Snakes on a Plane, zombies on a train are much more terrifying. That’s exactly what a group of horrified passengers, an intriguing collection of individuals trying to work together to survive. The risks the passengers take are as compelling as the film’s premise in this action/horror flick from South Korea.
10. Skyfall (2012)
Starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney
Director: Sam Mendes
James Bond (Daniel Craig) has endured a lot over 60 years and 26 films but rarely dealt with as much physical and emotional punishment as he absorbed in Skyfall. In the film, Bond fans watch 007 seemingly fall to death after being shot by a fellow MI6 agent, see him intentionally destroy his childhood home, and witness M (Judi Dench) die in his arms.
9. Mission: Impossible -- Fallout (2018)
Starring: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Alec Baldwin, Angela Bassett, Michelle Monaghan
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
While Tom Cruise’s most insane stunt ever, hanging from the side of a real life cargo plane, is in Rogue Nation, Fallout eeks out a place on this list because it manages to one up its predecessor. An astounding two-on-one bathroom brawl, a helicopter chase, and a fight to the death on a cliff make for one stunning action set piece after another.
8. Ip Man 3 (2015)
Starring: Donnie Yen, Lynn Xiong, Jin Zhang, Mike Tyson
Director: Wilson Yip
The life of Ip Man, a real grandmaster of the martial art Wing Chun whose most famous student was Bruce Lee, has been told throughout four separate films. After 2008’s Ip Man, 2015’s Ip Man 3 is easily the best of the sequels. It’s loaded with beautifully choreographed fight scenes the franchise is known for and includes a young version of Bruce Lee. A lengthy brawl between Donnie Yen and Mike Tyson (Yes, that Mike Tyson) makes this a film stand out.
7. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Starring: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Doug Liman
In Edge of Tomorrow Tom Cruise plays a character you rarely see him take on — a coward. But the scared public affairs officer that’s terrified of combat that viewers meet at the beginning of the film eventually learns how to fight from the world’s best soldier (Emily Blunt). A time travel loop and new found skills allows him to save the world from alien invaders.
6. Fast Five (2011)
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Gal Gadot, Sung Kang, Ludacris
Director: Justin Lin
Dom (Vin Diesel), Brian (Paul Walker) and their gang of street racers wouldn’t have become the globe-trotting adventurers we’ve come to know and love without this film, which put the Toretto Familia on an entirely new level. Set in Rio de Janeiro, it brings many of the cast members from previous crews together for the first time, introduces the character of Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), and has the most bonkers and destructive vault heist in cinematic history.
5. Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)
Starring: Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Caine, Mark Strong, Sofia Boutella
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Mr. Darcy will kick your ass. That’s exactly what a bar full of hooligans quickly learn when they forget that manners maketh man. Beware of any posh talking gent with an umbrella and wearing a bespoke suit. Aside from great fights, the first Kingsman provides us with a sociopathic tech billionaire (Samuel L. Jackson), nebbish Mark Hamill with a British accent, and a villain (Sofia Boutella) with swords for legs who cuts people in half.
4. Dredd (2012)
Starring: Karl Urban, Lena Headey, Olivia Thirlby, Wood Harris
Director: Pete Travis
Comic strip character Judge Dredd has been seen on screen before but thankfully Karl Urban’s gruff, constantly frowning version has made everyone forget (hopefully) about the 1995 film starring Sylvester Stallone. The 2012 version was a truer representation of the gritty comic the movie is based on and its use of slow motion and dark humor continues to resonate with action aficionados.
3. The Raid 2 (2014)
Starring: Iko Uwais, Arifin Putra, Oka Antara
Director: Gareth Evans
It’s rare that a sequel surpasses its predecessor but amazingly The Raid 2 is even better than The Raid: The Redemption, which is an incredible feat. After cleaning up a building filled with gangsters in The Raid, Jakarta cop Rama (Iko Uwais) goes undercover to take down a criminal enterprise. The Raid 2 is a visceral masterpiece, filled with some of the best martial arts scenes ever.
2. John Wick (2014)
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Adrianne Palicki, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, Willem Dafoe
Director: Chad Stahelski
You don’t mess with a man’s puppy or his classic car. Keanu Reeves’ days as an action star seemed to fade after 2003’s Matrix Revolutions (apologies to 47 Ronin fans) but John Wick changed all that. The introduction of gun fu fight choreography, new to most American audiences, was a revelation and the role was a natural fit for the charismatic and athletic Reeves.
1. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Starring: Charlize Theron, Tom Hardy, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Zoe Kravitz
Director: George Miller
Epic in size, scope, and ambition director George Miller’s reboot of the Mad Max franchise was a commercial and critical smash, earning it 10 Academy Award nominations — unheard of for an action film. This included nominations for Best Director and Best Picture. Brilliant acting, a simple yet intriguing plot with callbacks to its predecessors, astounding stunts, and jaw dropping visuals made Mad Max: Fury Road an instant classic and one the greatest action movies not just of the 2010s, but of all time.
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