7 Intense Action Movies to Watch If You’re Excited for ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’
Action movies don’t get much more intense when it comes to large-scale set pieces than John Wick: Chapter 4. However, the Keanu Reeves-led franchise is sure to leave fans craving more violent genre flicks with jaw-dropping fight choreography. Here’s a list of seven action movies to watch for viewers excited for the fourth installment.
‘Upgrade’ (2018)
Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) is left paralyzed and his wife dead after a savage mugging. A billionaire inventor steps in with a cure for his life-altering injuries, a technological implant called STEM that gives him more than the ability to walk. Grey gains superhuman strength and agility, but he plans to use these new abilities to track down the men who killed his wife and make them pay.
Leigh Whannell’s Upgrade has stellar fight choreography and no shortage of extreme brutality. Meanwhile, audiences who are craving the revenge aspect of John Wick: Chapter 4 will assuredly get that itch scratched. It’s the type of action movie that deserves a lot more attention than it received upon release.
‘The Raid: Redemption’ (2011)
Rama (Iko Uwais) is a rookie member of a S.W.A.T. team who joins them on a mission to take down a crime lord named Tama (Ray Sahetapy), but he’s more privy to their plan than they realize. He traps them in the high-rise apartment block he holds refuge in, giving them no choice but to fight floor by floor to survive.
Gareth Evans’ The Raid: Redemption rightfully attracted attention as one of the best action movies in the last few decades. The hyperviolent fight choreography, along with a killer score, fits right into the genre that John Wick fans can’t get enough of.
‘The Raid 2’ (2014)
Following the events of The Raid: Redemption, the sequel once again follows Rama after he survives the events in the high-rise building. Now, he’s sent on an undercover mission to expose the corrupt police officers willingly working with the powerful crime families.
Evans and Uwais return for The Raid 2 in an even more brutal bash. Similar to the John Wick franchise, the sequel goes bigger and louder, while expanding the universe. The final product is an overall better action movie with stronger storytelling, while its higher budget shows in the set pieces that pop right off the screen.
‘Hardcore Henry’ (2015)
Henry (Andrei Dementiev) wakes up in a lab, resurrected after dying. However, he has no memory of anything that came before. He’s tasked with saving his wife from a dangerous, telekinetic warlord who wants to use bio-engineered soldiers to enact his plan.
Ilya Naishuller put viewers in the first-person action flick Hardcore Henry. It’s relentlessly violent, replicating a consistently bloodthirsty video game aesthetic. His style will make some audiences motion sick, but its lead fighting waves of enemies is entertaining.
‘Nobody’ (2021)
Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) is a domesticated family man who fails to defend himself and his family when thieves break into his home late at night. However, he has a past of unimaginable combat experience, setting him on a path to save his wife and son from a dangerous antagonist.
Hardcore Henry director Naishuller made another notable achievement when it comes to action movies with Nobody. Odenkirk is a fun casting decision, adding an abundance of personality to the lead role. The fight choreography is appropriately over-the-top and ridiculous.
‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ (2000)
Set in the 19th century of the Qing Dynasty, China, a warrior named Master Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat) gives his lover (Michelle Yeoh), his sword, Green Destiny, to keep it safe. However, she must set out on a mission when it’s stolen.
Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon remains one of the best action movies of all time. It’s a four-time Oscar-winning piece of cinema with breathtaking fight choreography aided by worthwhile dramatic writing. Additionally, who doesn’t want to see Yeoh hitting the perfect balance between the two?
‘Hero’ (2002)
An unnamed Chinese fighter (Jet Li) defeated three of the king’s most dangerous enemies, which he’s now getting rewarded for. However, the king begins to question the stories that he recounts in fighting against Broken Sword (Tony Leung Chiu Wai), Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung Man-yuk), and Moon (Zhang Ziyi). The further that Nameless goes into the stories, the more that his superior questions the truth.
Yimou Zhang’s Hero has stunning action sequences that offer everything that one could want from the genre. It’s entertaining, beautifully shot, and packs a real punch with an extraordinary cast.
