The best 2023 action movies run the gamut from superhero epics to underrated gems, and they all add up to a banner year at the movies so far. With box office numbers soaring and a clear change in the direction of the Hollywood blockbuster, action films have flourished in 2023, and represent some of the year's best cinematic offerings. Even as superhero movies and sequels continue to dominate the slate of releases, a few original films have broken through to offer new glimpses of the future of action movies outside of recognizable intellectual properties.
Though action films are typically maligned by critics and ignored by the cinematic intelligentsia, many 2023 releases have changed the narrative and proven that the genre is a viable place to find excellent filmmaking. While plenty of exciting 2023 action movies have yet to be released, it is going to be difficult to top many of the explosive offerings that have already made the year a smashing success for the filmmaking industry. Even if some of the biggest 2023 movies have underperformed critically and financially, nearly every major action film release has managed to exceed expectations, and smaller-budgeted offerings in the genre have begun to assert their dominance as well.
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10 Plane (2023)
- Plane is available to stream on Starz
Though the one-word title didn't inspire much confidence, the straight-to-VOD 2023 action movie Plane broke free of its budgetary limitations. After his passenger airplane is struck by lightning, pilot Brodie Torrance (Gerard Butler) is forced to make an unscheduled landing on a war-torn island nation. The indie action romp banked heavily on the star power of Butler to carry the film and his honest performance elevated the material along with the rest of the stellar cast of Plane. Relying more on suspense and tension than explosive action, Plane succeeded because it added weight to its stakes, and each moment had grave consequences for the story's outcome.
9 Creed III (2023)
- Creed III is available to stream on Prime Video, Fubo TV, and MGM Plus
Technically the ninth film in the beloved Rocky franchise, Creed III allowed the titular character to finally get out from the shadow of his legendary boxing mentor. Boxer Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) is riding high when a figure from his past, Damian Anderson (Jonathan Majors) returns to challenge him physically and emotionally. Taking over directing duties for the first time, Michael B. Jordan pulled brilliant double duty in the 2023 action movie, and his vision was a grittier take than the previous two films. Though the plot was somewhat predictable, the emotional action outside the ring crackled with as much life as the bloody battles within the squared circle.
8 Sisu (2023)
- Sisu is available to buy or rent on Apple TV, Prime Video, YouTube, and Vudu
Even as revenge-based action franchises like John Wick grow increasingly over-the-top, the Finnish film Sisu upped the ante even further. In the dying days of WWII, Finnish prospector Aatami (Jorma Tommila) is robbed by a retreating band of Nazis and exacts his bloody revenge. Though Sisu is not based on a true story, the sizzling backdrop of WWII made for a fascinating addition to the revenge sub-genre. As for its action sequences, director Jalmari Helander opted for copious violence and gore that bordered on the absurd, and the catharsis of the revenge was played out on an epic scale.
7 Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
- Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is available to stream on Paramount+ and MGM+
Most of the biggest 2023 action movies have drawn inspiration from intellectual properties, and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves represented a major do-over for the popular role-playing franchise. Centering on charming rogue Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine) assembling an adventure party of outcasts to recover a magical artifact, the movie lovingly tips its hat to the lore of the gaming franchise. Honor Among Thieves had plenty of fantasy shenanigans and without sacrificing its keen sense of humor. Never getting too bogged down in minutia, the film managed to make the details digestible for all audiences, even those who have never rolled a twenty-sided die before.
6 Guy Ritchie's The Covenant (2023)
- The Covenant is available to buy or rent on Apple TV, Prime Video, YouTube, and Vudu
Action auteur Guy Ritchie returned to cinemas in 2023 with a more understated outing, and yet Guy Ritchie's The Covenant checked all the boxes of a brilliant action war movie. During the war in Afghanistan, Master Sgt. John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal) is wounded in battle and must be escorted across miles of enemy terrain by interpreter Ahmed Abdullah Yousfi (Dar Salim). Rather than huge action sequences, Guy Ritchie's The Covenant opted for gripping suspense, and the knife-edge thrills are much more rewarding than any amount of copious fighting. Gyllenhaal's performance was particularly strong, and the film was a subtler but no less effective war film than many in recent memory.
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5 Polite Society (2023)
- Polite Society is available to stream on Peaco*ck
While the bulk of 2023 action movies has been about classic action tropes, the British indie sensation Polite Society succeeded because of how much it transformed the genre. Desperate to stop her sister's impending marriage, a martial artist in training named Lena (Ritu Arya) concocts a strange and action-packed heist. Director Nida Manzoor's vision infused Bollywood verbosity with a humorous feminist message that held a mirror to the entire action genre. Though Polite Society repeated a famous twist from Everything Everywhere All at Once, its humor and style made up for any lack of originality in plotting.
4 Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is available to buy on Apple TV, Prime Video, YouTube, and Vudu
Though the MCU's output has been notoriously inconsistent in recent years, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hearkened back to what made the franchise beloved. Unable to mourn the loss of one of their own, the beleaguered Guardians of the Galaxy must save the universe as their team is on the brink of dissolution. Without sacrificing any of the intergalactic action and clever humor that made the series successful, Vol. 3 infused a heaping helping of dramatic tension to tug on the heartstrings. It is unclear whether Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be the last one, but it certainly took the characters out on a strong note.
3 Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
- Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One is currently in theaters
With a plot too big to contain in one film, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One is perhaps the biggest of the 2023 action movies. IMF spy Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) returns once again to stop a deadly new weapon from falling into the hands of international enemies. Like previous installments in the franchise, Dead Reckoning Part One utilized as many real stunts as possible, and increased the globe-trotting adventure to a nearly extreme level. MI: Dead Reckoning Part One left questions unanswered, which will almost certainly make the upcoming eighth installment in the franchise just as successful.
2 John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)
- John Wick: Chapter 4 is available to buy or rent on Apple TV, Prime Video, YouTube, and Vudu
John Wick: Chapter 4 is much of the same from the smash-hit action franchise, and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Continuing his crusade against the High Table, assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) travels the globe taking on increasingly deadly enemies. Delivering even more highly-choreographed fight sequences and neon-drenched environs, Chapter 4 checked all the boxes as one of the great 2023 action movies. Proving that simplicity is best when it comes to pulse-pounding excitement, the fourth John Wick film punched and kicked its way into the annals of action movie history by being itself on an even larger scale.
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1 Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (2023)
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is currently in theaters
Even as Spider-Man movies become an abundant commodity in Hollywood, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse found a way to not only justify its existence but blow many of the Wall-Crawler's other movies out of the water. Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is launched across the Spider-Verse and finds himself in a fight with other versions of Spider-Man to protect the fragile multiverse. Outside its playful visuals and mile-a-minute action, Across the Spider-Verse still found time to remind viewers why they loved the character. Even though many 2023 action movies have tried, Across the Spider-Verse is perhaps the closest any film has come to capturing the essence of comic books.
