6 best action movies on Netflix in 2021

Since we’ve entered the festive season, most people will be watching Christmas movies, but we’re not most people. We like to watch characters end up in a series of challenges that include violence, chase scenes, explosions, shootouts, and extended fighting.

We love the thrill and the short-term excitement as we watch our favorite characters struggling against incredible odds. Overall, we love action films and believe that you can always turn on a good action movie no matter the season. This is why we will share our list of the six best action movies on Netflix in 2021.

This year we saw a good selection of action films come to the streamer, and we still have the hit Netflix original series The Witcher season 2 scheduled to come to Netflix on Dec. 17 and close out the year of action content on Netflix.

We don’t want to stop you from getting your action movie binge-session on, so without further ado, here’s our list of the six best action movies on Netflix in 2021.

Best action movies on Netflix in 2021

Read on to see our list of the best action movies on Netflix in 2021.

Kate

Kate was released on Netflix on Sept. 10, and I was really excited to see this Netflix movie drop on the streamer. It’s about a ruthless assassin named Kate, who is assigned a mission to kill a yakuza boss by her mentor and handler. While on her mission in Tokyo, the assassin is slipped a fatal poison. She’s given 24 hours to find out who set her up and exact revenge.

This action film was directed by Cedric Nicolas-Troyan and written by Umair Aleem. It stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Kate, Miku Martineau as Ani, Woody Harrelson as Varrick, Tadanobu Asano as Renji, Jun Kunimura as Kijima, Michiel Huisman as Stephen, Miyavi as Jojima, and Kazuya Tanabe as Shinzo.

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf

The second film on our list of the best action movies on Netflix in 2021 would be the adult animated movie The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf. This film is a spinoff to the popular Netflix original series The Witcher.

Some people might’ve skipped this movie because it’s an animation, but true The Witcher fans gave this film a chance and realized that this movie was actually pretty good. While it might not be on the scale of The Witcher, it still was entertaining and definitely satisfied fans’ yearnings for more The Witcher content.

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf focuses on the origin story of Vesemir. You might recognize Vesemir as Geralt’s mentor and father figure. However, this anime movie takes place decades before the events of The Witcher. In this film, viewers get to see what led Vesemir to life as a witcher.

If you haven’t already watched The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, we suggest you do so as soon as possible because The Witcher season 2 is coming to Netflix on Dec. 17, and you’ll have somewhat of a backstory on the new character addition to season 2, Vesemir.

Army of the Dead

Army of the Dead landed on the streamer on May 21, and it didn’t take long for this zombie film to become one of the most-watched Netflix original films, with an estimated 75 million households watching it in its first 28 days of release.

Army of the Dead is the talented director Zack Snyder’s brainchild. Snyder, Shay Hatten, and Joby Harold wrote the screenplay for this hit Netflix movie. The ensemble cast includes Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera, Theo Rossi, Matthias Schweighöfer, Nora Arnezeder, Hiroyuki Sanada, and many others.

The zombie film is about a group of soldiers who come together and plan the biggest heist ever amid a zombie apocalypse. Army of the Dead is definitely a must-watch! Also, be on the lookout for the direct sequel to this film, Planet of the Dead.

The Harder They Fall

Adding The Harder They Fall to our list of the best action movies on Netflix was a no-brainer. This Western film was one of the highly anticipated movies of 2021, and it definitely lived up to the hype. It’s on our list of the 19 awesome movies to watch before the end of 2021 for a reason.

The Harder They Fall mainly received positive reviews and spent a reasonable amount of time on the top 10 list. According to Rotten Tomatoes, it has an 87% approval score and a 93% audience score.

It’s about a black cowboy named Nat Love who gathers his gang of cowboys to seek revenge on his enemy and merciless crime boss Rufus Buck after he’s released from prison. This film consists of an amazingly talented ensemble cast and an incredible soundtrack. We recommend checking out this movie if you enjoy a good ole Western film.

Gunpowder Milkshake

Gunpowder Milkshake is an action thriller film directed by Navot Papushado from a script co-written by Papushado and Ehud Lavsk. Its cast includes Karen Gillan, Lena Headey, Carla Gugino, Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh, Michael Smiley, Chloe Coleman, Ralph Ineson, Adam Nagaitis, and Paul Giamatti.

Gunpowder Milkshake is about a young hitman who teams up with her estranged mother and her former partners to rescue a young girl from rival assassins. It was said to be one of the biggest movies of the summer, and I think there’s definitely some truth to that statement.

We give this action film a 10 out of 10 score and recommend watching it by the end of the year.

Red Notice

The last action movie on our list would be Red Notice. Out of every action film on our list, Red Notice was the movie everyone was waiting for. When it was released on Netflix on Nov. 12, it didn’t take long for it to overthrow Bird Box as Netflix’s biggest movie debut to date. It was also said to be the biggest Netflix movie of 2021. And with a budget of $200 million dollars, I would hope so.

The casting for this movie was perfect, with Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot leading the film. While Red Notice had quite an unoriginal plot, it still managed to be entertaining with its many twists. I guess this was expected when Red Notice at its core is a heist movie.

Red Notice is about an FBI profiler teaming up with a famous art thief to catch an even more notorious crook. I thoroughly enjoyed this film, but I don’t think it should’ve cost $200 million dollars to make. If this movie had a smaller budget, I don’t think it would’ve negatively impacted the film. Overall, we suggest you watch this action film if you haven’t already.

Which films on our list of the best action movies on Netflix in 2021 have you watched? Let us know in the comment section down below. We can’t wait to see what’s to come in 2022!