The Best Action Adventure Movies to Keep You on the Edge of Your Seat
- - - The Best Action Adventure Movies to Keep You on the Edge of Your Seat
Ariana MarshJuly 2, 2025 at 5:41 AM
The 26 Most Thrilling Action Adventure Movies Collage by Sarah Olivieri
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From ancient tombs and secret codes to far flung planets and multiversial chaos, action-adventure films have long offered audiences the ultimate cinematic escape. While the genre has evolved over the decades—thanks to advancements in CGI, special effects, and storylines that reflect the spirit of their times—it has always held on to its core appeal: thrilling narratives driven by courageous heroes determined to solve a mystery or save the day. Whether grounded in historical mysteries, dystopian futures, or supernatural realms, these films keep us on the edge of our seats and allow us to dream of worlds and adventures beyond our own.
This list celebrates the best the genre has to offer, from franchise juggernauts like Indiana Jones and Mission: Impossible to boundary-pushing standalones like Everything Everywhere All at Once. We've deliberately left out superhero films, as their transparent volume and distinct tone make them a genre all their own.
No matter your mood, this roundup delivers a perfect mix of nostalgia and fresh thrills. Buckle up and get ready to dive into the best action-adventure movies.
Kill Bill (2003-2004)
Quentin Tarantino's two-part revenge saga stars Uma Thurman as The Bride, a former assassin left for dead who embarks on a brutal quest for vengeance against the ex-colleagues who betrayed her. After being brutally attacked on her wedding day by the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad—led by her former lover and boss, Bill—she falls into a coma for four years. Waking up, The Bride sets out to track down and kill each member of the squad to get justice and reclaim her life. Along the way, she battles deadly foes in now-iconic fight scenes, including the showdown with the deadly assassin O-Ren Ishii and a final confrontation with Bill.
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Fifth Element (1997)
Luc Besson's hot and visually striking sci-fi epic stars Bruce Willis as Korben Dallas, a weary ex-soldier turned taxi driver in 23rd-century New York, who becomes entangled with Leeloo (Milla Jovovich), a mysterious being destined to save the world. As a giant ball of fire hurtles toward Earth, they must retrieve four elemental stones hidden across the galaxy to keep evil at bay—all while falling in love.
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©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
National Treasure (2004)
Directed by Jon Turteltaub and starring Nicolas Cage, National Treasure follows historian and cryptologist Benjamin Franklin Gates as he races to uncover a trove of riches hidden by America's Founding Fathers. The key? A coded map on the back of the Declaration of Independence. Alongside his associates Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger) and Riley Poole (Justin Bartha), Gates must obtain the historical document before it—and the treasure it leads to—fall into the wrong hands.
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The Matrix (1999)
The Wachowskis' groundbreaking sci-fi hit stars Keanu Reeves as Neo, a hacker who discovers that the reality he knows is actually a simulated world called the Matrix, created by intelligent machines to enslave humanity while harvesting their energy. Recruited by a group of rebels led by Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), Neo learns to break the rules of the Matrix, gaining superhuman abilities inside the simulation. He discovers he may be "The One," a prophesied figure destined to liberate humanity from machine control.
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Jumanji (1995)
While Jumanji has been iterated upon many, many times, nothing beats the original film. In Joe Johnston's fantasy-adventure, a magical board game unleashes jungle chaos into the real world. Robin Williams stars as Alan Parrish, a man who was trapped in the game as a boy and re-emerges decades later when two children (Kirsten Dunst and Bradley Pierce) discover the game in the attic of an old mansion and decide to play. Together, they must survive stampedes, giant plants, and a sinister hunter to bring the game to its end—all to help free their new friend Alan from the game's grasp for good.
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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Set in 19th century Imperial China, Ang Lee's Wuxia epic follows the story of legendary Wudang swordsman Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat) and his close friend and fellow warrior Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh). Mu Bai decides to retire and entrust his powerful sword, the Green Destiny, to a trusted nobleman in Beijing. But when it's mysteriously stolen, and the thief is revealed to be Jen Yu (Zhang Ziyi), the rebellious and gifted daughter of a high-ranking official, Shu Lien and Mu Bai attempt to recover the sword, ultimately falling in love.
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Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)
Angelina Jolie embodies the fiercely independent and adventurous Lara Croft in Simon West's action-packed adaptation of the iconic video game. The plot centers on her race against a secretive organization known as the Illuminati, who are searching for a powerful ancient artifact: the Triangle of Light, which can control time. The Illuminati need the two halves of the Triangle, hidden in different parts of the world, and must unite them during a rare planetary alignment in order to reap their powers. Lara discovers that her deceased father (played by Jon Voight, Jolie's real-life father) had ties to the Illuminati and left behind clues to stop them, which lead her to far flung locales.
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The Goonies (1985)
Is there a more beloved coming-of-age adventure than The Goonies? Produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Richard Donner, the film centers on a group of misfit kids living in Oregon who discover a treasure map in an attic that once belonged to the pirate One-Eyed Willy. Determined to save their neighborhood from demolition by developers, they follow the trail into a hidden world of underground caverns, booby traps, and long-lost treasure.
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Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
In this multiverse-hopping odyssey from directing duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Michelle Yeoh delivers a career-defining performance as Evelyn Wang, a struggling laundromat owner whose relationships with her daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu) and husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) are less than ideal. Still, they accompany her to a meeting with a perturbed IRS officer Deirdre (Jamie Lee Curtis)—and then things start to get very weird. When iterations of themselves from parallel universes make contact with Waymond and Evelyn, they reveal that Evelyn alone can save all of existence. As timelines splinter and universes collide—some absurd, others poignant—Evelyn navigates fractured relationships, philosophical quandaries, and a very unexpected bagel.
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John Wick (2014)
John Wick, played by Keanu Reeves, is a retired hitman mourning the recent death of his wife. His life takes a violent turn when a group of gangsters, led by the son of a powerful crime boss, break into his home, steal his car, and kill the puppy his wife left him as a final gift. Fueled by grief and vengeance, John re-enters the criminal underworld he had left behind to hunt down the men responsible. As he methodically takes down his enemies, the film reveals his legendary reputation as a deadly assassin known as "Baba Yaga."
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Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
George Miller reinvigorated his post-apocalyptic saga with this thrill ride starring Tom Hardy as Max, a lone drifter, and Charlize Theron as the formidable Imperator Furiosa, a rebel warrior who has stolen a group of captive women—the Five Wives—from the warlord Immortan Joe. Together, Max and Furiosa embark on a high-octane chase across the desert, pursued relentlessly by Immortan Joe and his army. Along the way, they face brutal combat, treacherous terrain, and desperate survival challenges in what is one of the most visceral and visually outrageous films in its genre.
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Miss Congeniality (2000)
Sandra Bullock transforms from no-nonsense FBI agent to unlikely beauty pageant contestant in this sharp-edged comedy directed by Donald Petrie. After a threat is made against the Miss United States pageant, Bullock's tomboyish Gracie Hart is sent undercover, forced to trade tactical vests for tiaras. Accompanying Gracie is her FBI partner Eric, whom she begins to see differently as her own hard exterior begins to soften. Ultimately, the two must work together to eradicate the threat and save everyone vying for the title of Miss USA.
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Men in Black (1997)
Who would have thought a pug, bug-like aliens, Will Smith, and Tommy Lee Jones would come together to make one of the most iconic movies of all time? Under Barry Sonnenfeld's direction, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones form an unlikely yet iconic duo tasked with policing extraterrestrial life on Earth. As Agent J and Agent K, respectively, both of whom are employed by a secret government agency named the Men in Black, they are tasked with stopping an extraterrestrial threat: a giant bug-like creature called Edgar the Bug, who is searching for a powerful energy source known as the Arquillian Galaxy—a tiny, jewel-like object hidden inside a cat named Orion. The agents race against time to find the cat, prevent an intergalactic war, and save Earth from destruction—with a little help from Frank the Pug.
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©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
The Karate Kid (1984)
What starts as a classic underdog story evolves into a pop culture touchstone, thanks to director John G. Avildsen and a breakout performance by Ralph Macchio. As Daniel LaRusso, Macchio, who just moved to Southern California with his mom, faces relentless bullying by a group of kids who study karate at the Cobra Kai dojo. That is, until he's taken under the wing of the wise and unassuming Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita). Through wax-on wisdom and late-night training sessions, Daniel learns that karate is less about fists and more about focus and compassion.
Columbia Pictures
Get Smart (2008)
Steve Carell plays bumbling analyst-turned-secret-agent Maxwell Smart in this comedic reboot of the 1960s TV series. When the headquarters of the secret agency her works for, CONTROL, is attacked, Smart teams up with veteran Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) to stop a nuclear plot by the crime syndicate KAOS. Directed by Peter Segal, the film is rounded out by Dwayne Johnson and Alan Arkin.
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©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)
Scientist Trevor Anderson (by Brendan Fraser) embarks on an extraordinary adventure after discovering notes left by his missing brother. Accompanied by his teenage nephew Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson) and mountain guide Hannah Ásgeirsson (Anita Briem), the group travels to Iceland and accidentally falls into a volcanic tube that leads them deep into the Earth's core. There, they discover a hidden world filled with strange creatures, glowing landscapes, and prehistoric dangers. Racing against time and nature, the trio must find their way back to the surface before it's too late.
©New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett Collection
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Directed by Gore Verbinski and anchored by Johnny Depp's iconic performance as Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean redefined the swashbuckling genre for a new era. Blacksmith Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) teams up with Sparrow, a savvy pirate, to rescue the governor's daughter Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), who has been kidnapped by Captain Barbossa. Unbeknownst to them, Barbossa and his crew are under an ancient curse that dooms them to live as undead, un-alive phantoms—unless a blood sacrifice is made.
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Casino Royale (2006)
In this reboot of the James Bond series, Daniel Craig stars as a newly promoted 00-agent, James Bond. His first mission is to bankrupt a terrorist financier named Le Chiffre by beating him at a high-stakes poker game at the Casino Royale in Montenegro. Bond teams up with Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), a treasury agent assigned to oversee the poker winnings. As the intense game unfolds, Bond faces deadly challenges, assassination attempts—and even a budding romance.
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©Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Featuring Harrison Ford in his most iconic role, Raiders of the Lost Ark introduced audiences to Indiana Jones, a globe-trotting archaeologist with a knack for danger. Set in 1936, the Stephen Spielberg-directed film follows Jones as he's enlisted by the U.S. government to recover the Ark of the Covenant, a sacred religious artifact, before it falls into Nazi hands.
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Free Guy (2021)
Ryan Reynolds stars as Guy, a bank teller who discovers he is actually a non-player character in a violent open-world video game called Free City. When Guy becomes self-aware, he decides to break free from his scripted life and become the hero of his own story. With the help of Millie (a player inside the game portrayed by Jodie Comer), he tries to stop the game's creator, Antwan (Taika Waititi), from shutting down Free City and stealing their technology to launch a new game.
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Charlie's Angels (2000)
Based on the 1970s TV show, this cult favorite film features Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu as a powerhouse trio of elite private investigators who work for a mysterious and elusive client named Charlie. When a software engineer is kidnapped and his voice-recognition technology—which is sought by his rival—is stolen, the Angels must use their martial arts and espionage skills to recover them both. It's pure glossy fun, worth watching for the disguises the Angels conceive of alone.
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The Mummy (1999)
In Stephen Sommers's remake of the original 1932 film, Brendan Fraser stars as Rick O'Connell, an adventurer and treasure hunter who accidentally unleashes a centuries-old curse in the Egyptian city of Hamunaptra. Alongside librarian-turned-explorer Evelyn Carnahan (Rachel Weisz), Rick must battle resurrected priests, plagues of locusts, and the terrifying Imhotep.
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Jurassic Park (1993)
Steven Spielberg's groundbreaking hit revolutionized filmmaking by bringing dinosaurs to life through pioneering CGI and animatronics. Starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum, Jurassic Park follows a group of scientists and visitors trapped in a theme park housing genetically resurrected dinosaurs. When a power outage allows the dinosaurs to escape from their confinements, the survivors must fight to restore power and get off the island, T. Rex be damned.
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The Fall Guy (2024)
David Leitch's hit action-comedy stars Ryan Gosling as Colt Seavers, a retired Hollywood stuntman who is drawn back into the world of film production when his former lover, director Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt), asks for help on set. Once there, he discovers that the real reason he was hired was to help find the star of the movie, who has mysteriously disappeared.
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007: Goldfinger (1964)
Sean Connery's third outing as James Bond, directed by Guy Hamilton, set the gold standard for spy thrillers. Bond faces the enigmatic Auric Goldfinger, a villain obsessed with gold and global domination. Bond uncovers Goldfinger's plan, dubbed "Operation Grand Slam"—a scheme to break into the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox. But instead of stealing the gold, Goldfinger intends to detonate a nuclear device inside the facility, therefore ruining the U.S. gold supply and dramatically increasing the value of his own holdings.
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Mission Impossible: Fallout (2018)
Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt in what many consider the Mission Impossible franchise's finest hour. Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, Fallout raises the stakes with real stunts, jaw-dropping set pieces, and a surprisingly emotional through-line. This time, Hunt and his IMF team must track down stolen plutonium while facing off against a rogue agent (Henry Cavill, mustache and all). From Paris chases to a brutal bathroom brawl to a helicopter duel in Kashmir, it's a masterclass in action filmmaking, led by Cruise's unrelenting commitment to doing it all for real.
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