Best Action Movies on Netflix (January 2026)
What do you think of when you hear the words “Action Movies“? Big guns and bigger explosions? The sound of steel grinding on steel, axes and swords swinging wildly? Martial arts masters trading blows? Roaring monsters and men of science struggling to save the world? All of the answers are valid, for the action genre is a broad one encompassing many distinct specialties. Yet all of these flavors may be found on Netflix as 2026 begins.
What are the best action movies on Netflix as of January 2026?
Picking the best of a collection of action movies is a tricky prospect. It is tricky even when limited to those movies offered on Netflix. As such, the following list encompasses a variety of movies that, regardless of personal tastes and purity tests, are undoubtedly action-packed.
Conan The Destroyer (1984)
It has been some time since Conan of Cimmeria slew the wizard Thulsa Doom and avenged his tribe. He is not yet the king he will be, yet word of his deeds has reached Queen Taramis of Shadizar. She seeks Conan out, wishing him to escort her niece on a mystic quest. The barbarian is uninterested, until Taramis claims she can resurrect Conan’s lost love, Valeria.
With Taramis’ bodyguard Bombaata in tow, Conan and his thief friend Malak ride into action. They are soon joined by the wizard Akiro and the bandit Zula. Soon the party is tested by both the many dangers of the Hyborian Age and by treachery from within.
Many fans of the original Conan the Barbarian movie have dismissed Conan The Destroyer out of hand. This was largely due to producer Dino De Laurentiis’ belief that the first movie would have made more money had it been family friendly. Thus Conan the Destroyer was written to feature more humor and edited to include less sex and bloodshed after being initially rated ‘R’ by the MPAA.
While not as profitable as the first movie, many fantasy scholars consider Conan the Destroyer truer to the spirit of the original Robert E. Howard Conan stories. If nothing else, it is paced more like Marvel‘s Conan the Barbarian comics, thanks to a story by comic writers Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway. The movie was also widely praised for its action scenes, and the energetic performance of Grace Jones as Zula.
Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)
Sam was 12 when she was abandoned by her mother, a notorious international assassin called Scarlet. She did this reluctantly, to protect her daughter from the criminal empire that was hunting her after a job gone wrong. Scarlet had just enough time to entrust Sam to a handler named Nathan before vanishing.
15 years later, Sam is following in her mother’s footsteps and also working with Nathan. She is sent to kill a man and retrieve the money he stole from their syndicate, The Firm. Things are complicated, however, when Sam learns the man only stole the money to pay the ransom on his daughter. Her efforts to save the girl lead to Sam going on the run from The Firm and an unexpected reunion with Scarlet.
Delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gunpowder Milkshake was not a big earner during its limited theatrical release. It has, however, developed something of a cult following among fans of other femme-fatale focused action movies, like La Femme Nikita. It was also praised by critics, with the performances of Karen Gillan as Sam and Lena Headey as Scarlet being highlighted.
The Northman (2022)
Amleth is a Norse prince denied his birthright. The king was killed by his treacherous brother, Fjölnir, who rode off with Amleth’s mother. Amleth himself was barely able to escape assassination, going into hiding and becoming a Viking. Yet try as he might to move on, he can not forget his oath to avenge his father’s death.
Years later, Amleth learns that Fjölnir has been usurped and now runs a remote farm in Iceland. Disguising himself as a thrall, he meets a slave named Olga, who claims to be a sorceress. Together, they plot their mutual revenge upon Fjölnir.
The Northman was a passion project for both star Alexander Skarsgård and director Robert Eggers. Both shared a love of Norse history and myth and sought to make an epic film based upon the old Viking sagas. Collaborating with Icelandic poet Sjón, they ultimately decided on an adaptation of Saxo Grammaticus’s Amleth. This 13th century poem is best known today for inspiring William Shakespeare’s Halmet.
While barely making back its budget in theaters, The Northman did a brisk business on VOD and in physical media sales. It was also a major hit with critics, who praised the adaptation of the classic tale and the intense action scenes. Eggers was satisfied with this, voicing his thoughts on the film’s reception in an interview with The Daily Beast.
“Am I disappointed that, three to four weeks in, we’re on VOD because that’s the way things are done in the post-COVID world? Yeah,” he admitted. “But it’s doing great on VOD, so there you go.”
Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant (2023)
In 2018, at the height of the war in Afghanistan, Green Beret Master Sgt. John Kinley and his unit are ambushed by a truck bomb. With their translator dead, Kinley is introduced to Ahmed Abdullah; a former Taliban operative who turned on the organization after they killed his son. Despite Abdullah’s mercenary attitude, he saves Kinley and his unit several times at great risk to himself. He ultimately escorts an unconscious Kinley to safety and extraction.
After being returned home, Kinley learns of Abdullah’s actions and tries to arrange for visas for him and his family. When that fails, Kinley travels back to Afghanistan under an alias with a private military contractor. Thus begins his quest to find the man who saved him and repay the debt of honor Kinley believes he owes Abdullah.
Guy Ritchie’s The Covenannt was a box office bomb, failing to make back even half of its $55 million dollar budget. Despite this, and a dismal opening at third place, it enjoyed largely positive reviews. Guy Ritchie was praised for a more grounded story and sedate pace that was typical of his films. The movie was also praised for its realistic action scenes and for accurately portraying the plight of the real Afghani translators working for the US Army.
Ballerina (2023)
Not to be confused with the 2025 film of the same name set in the John Wick universe, the 2023 Ballerina is much more disturbing. The South Korean action thriller centers around former bodyguard Jang Ok-ju. Her best friend Choi Min-hee ends her life, asking Ok-ju to avenge her. This sets Ok-ju against Choi Pro; the drug dealer and human trafficker whose extortion pushed Min-hee over the edge.
Ok-ju’s plan goes awry almost immediately. The good news is that her actions expose Choi Pro’s unapproved sideline in “weird pornographic movies” with drugged women to his bosses. The bad news is they give Pro three days to make amends by killing Ok-ju and a student she liberated from their trafficking operation. This sets into motion an epic battle, as Ok-ju tries to take down Pro before he takes her out.
How we picked the best Action Movies on Netflix in 2026
Beyond the obvious qualifier of being available on Netflix in January 2026, there was only one rule for this feature. Any movie listed on it had to have intense action scenes. The setting was immaterial, allowing for fantasy films, historic epics, war movies, and crime thrillers. In this, we were also able to offer up a wide variety of different action movies.
Source: Comingsoon.net