Each streaming service has its own calling card. Netflix has exciting thrillers, while HBO Max owns prestige TV. At Prime Video, action is one of its best genres. Most subscribers know about the show’s prominent action television slate, which includes Reacher, Neagley, and The Terminal List.
However, Prime Video’s selection of action movies is elite, so much so that I’m calling the streamer the “King of Action.” Some of the best action movies on Prime Video include a Michael Mann thriller with Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx and an epic award-winning film by Paul Thomas Anderson. My top selection for this list introduced the world to one of cinema’s greatest heroes: John McClane.
5
Jack Ryan: Ghost War
The TV show becomes a movie
In 2018, the Jack Ryan franchise crossed over from movies to television for the first time. John Krasinski joined a list of actors who played Jack Ryan that included Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and Chris Pine. Season 4 was supposed to end the series, but Amazon MGM Studios commissioned a movie, Jack Ryan: Ghost War, that picks up after the events of the show.
Despite leaving the CIA to work on Wall Street, Jack is recruited by his former boss, CIA deputy director James Greer (Wendell Pierce), to work an intelligence mission across the world. After the mission goes haywire, Jack is saved by MI6 agent Emma Marlow (Sienna Miller), who informs him about the return of Project Starling, a black-ops program resurrected by a rogue agent intent on global chaos. Jack Ryan: Ghost War is essentially Jack Ryan season 5, which is a good thing for those fans who missed watching stories play out in this universe.
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War
- Release Date
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May 20, 2026
- Runtime
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105 Minutes
- Director
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Andrew Bernstein
4
The Outpost
Unflinching depiction of war
War movies based on historical events are always going to hit harder emotionally due to the real-life characters the actors portray. The Outpost is based on the Battle of Kamdesh that took place during the war in Afghanistan. During the war, PRT Kamdesh was an American outpost in northern Afghanistan. Due to its location in a valley surrounded by mountains, PRT Kamdesh was subject to frequent attacks by the Taliban.
In 2009, roughly 300 insurgents attacked the outpost, which was defended by 53 American soldiers, including Staff Sergeant Clint Romesha (Scott Eastwood) and Specialist Ty Michael Carter (Caleb Landry Jones), at Kamdesh. Nothing will ever top the Normandy sequence in Saving Private Ryan. However, the 45-minute battle in The Outpost is firmly in the next tier. It’s an explosive, unflinching depiction of combat, a sequence that never lets the audience breathe.
3
Collateral
Tom Cruise breaks bad
Tom Cruise is one of Hollywood’s most famous action heroes. He’s saved the world from nuclear destruction in the Mission: Impossible series, and he’s prevented wars in Top Gun. In Collateral, Cruise finally heads to the dark side, playing a villain in Michael Mann’s action thriller.
One Los Angeles night, cab driver Max Durocher (Jamie Foxx) agrees to drive Vincent (Cruise) around for the night under the guise of the latter’s desire to complete a business deal. After a body falls onto Max’s cab at the first stop, Max discovers that Vincent is a hitman, who must execute multiple people by the end of the night. Cruise’s charm and intensity translate seamlessly into his portrayal of a sociopathic villain. It’s an excellent neo-noir backed by Mann’s signature aesthetic and a sensational turn from Cruise. Collateral also features my favorite line-reading in Cruise’s career: “Yo homie, that my briefcase?“
2
One Battle After Another
PTA levels up
Paul Thomas Anderson loves his dramas about complex individuals, particularly men, who struggle to express vulnerability. Anderson’s strengths have always been dynamic camera movements and incredible dialogue. One Battle After Another is Anderson’s version of leveling up as a filmmaker. The film still has PTA’s signature habits, but it features the biggest budget of his career in a genre he rarely explores: the action thriller.
Former revolutionary Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio) lives off the grid with his teenage daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti), in California. When he gets word of his former rival’s (Sean Penn) return, Bob is forced to take action to find and protect his daughter. That is, if Bob doesn’t self-implode along the way. One Battle After Another is a father-daughter story at heart, but its political undertones and action sequences elevate PTA’s movie to new heights, culminating with a Best Picture win at the 2026 Oscars.
1
Die Hard
Welcome to the party, pal
For most of the 1980s, action heroes were defined by masculine characters with enormous muscles and a propensity for violence. Think Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. In 1988, Die Hard introduced a new type of action hero: the ordinary guy with vulnerabilities and flaws. The result was John McClane, played by Bruce Willis.
On Christmas Eve, NYPD Detective John McClane heads to Nakatomi Plaza to meet up with his estranged wife, Holly (Bonnie Bedelia), at her company’s party. The festivities are interrupted by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) and his band of terrorists, who take control of the building and hold the party hostage. However, Gruber didn’t plan for one variable: McClane, who was never captured and took it upon himself to thwart the entire operation in an attempt to save the hostages, including his wife. It’s a perfect action movie with only one question left for debate: Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?
Check out more genre content on streaming
There is even more genre content on the streamers right now. Netflix continues to put out riveting true crime documentaries, including recent hits like Death of the Pastor’s Wife and Worst Neighbor Ever. Paramount+ has a wide selection of shows with episodes of under 30 minutes to watch during a lunch break, including The King of Queens and Workaholics.