Thriller movies are known for their edge-of-the-seat narratives that keep audiences guessing and in an eternal state of anxious suspense as stakes increase with every pᴀssing moment. Action thrillers are characterized by an abundance of entertaining and sincere action sequences in thrillers, where each genre complements the other, and the action carries more weight due to the thriller story’s suspense.
While movies like John Wick, Monkey Man, Nobody, and Mad Max: Fury Road are action movies that shockingly far exceeded expectations and have an element of thrill in them, they’re more traditional action movies, where the focus is on the setpieces and the quality of the action, more than the setup and the suspense leading to those moments of action.
The best action thriller movies, like Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario, combine the adrenaline rush of well-filmed and choreographed action with the trademark nail-biting storytelling of thrillers. The emphasis on the perfect ending for thriller movies is justified by the need to reward viewers for sticking with the story, but every scene in some action thrillers is perfect from start to finish.
Children Of Men (2006)
Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men is a bleak sci-fi thriller set in the year 2027, when a woman is miraculously found pregnant after two decades of no recorded human births. The whole world is a warzone, as human civilization is under the threat of collapse, due to the 20 years of infertility. Violent sequences keep you anxious for her survival.
Children of Men was not a box office hit despite its fantastic action sequences, made emotionally heavier and more suspenseful by Alfonso Cuarón’s signature long takes that don’t give you any respite from the violence and the constant barrage of bullets and bombs in the setpieces. The stakes rise due to the extremely emotionally taxing nature of the action scenes.
Face/Off (1997)
The confusion created by characters getting facial transplant surgery multiple times and a new plot twist every half an hour makes Face/Off simultaneously unserious and compelling. The relentless barrage of twists is immersion-breaking, but if you try tracing the plot thread and solving the puzzle while the action unfolds, you’ll be on the edge of your seat the whole time.
Director John Woo is known for his stylized action sequences that combine fast editing with slow motion to keep you immersed in a cinematic spectacle, which you care about in Face/Off, because Nicolas Cage’s Nouveau Shamanic acting makes his screen presence engaging, even if he’s caricaturish at times. You can’t look away from Face/Off if you want to understand it.
Léon: The Professional (1994)
Jean Reno’s sympathetic ᴀssᴀssin, the тιтular Léon in Léon: The Professional, becomes the unwilling guardian of his neighboring 12-year-old girl after a corrupt DEA agent murders her parents. The film thus starts with an intense setpiece, and never lets up until the climactic setpiece, even though the action in between is punctuated by some interpersonal drama that hasn’t aged well.
Natalie Portman made her acting debut in Léon: The Professional at the age of 12.
The thriller aspect also lies in the character arc of young Mathilda, who soon becomes enamored by Léon and his lifestyle, especially because vengeance is appealing to her. Natalie Portman delivers a child acting performance better than most adult actors in the film, especially because Gary Oldman’s villain is unintentionally comical. The camera’s gaze is unsettling, but this thriller’s тιԍнт.
Heat (1995)
It is challenging to maintain narrative tension through scenes of meditative introspection when characters are not accompanied by dialogue, but Michael Mann’s Heat demonstrates how suspense can be created without a barrage of anxiety-inducing scenes. Even a patient character study can be a compelling thriller if the actors are all committed to their performances and keep audiences watching in awe.
Heat has a fantastic concluding setpiece to pay off the buildup that leads to a confrontation that’s as symbolic as it is literal. Both lead characters in Heat, which is the best action movie turning 30 in 2025, have met their match in the other, and the entire film feels like an intense chess match leading to the epic finale.
Drive (2011)
Of all the Nicolas Winding Refn movies bathed in neon lighting and decorated by bloody confrontations between flawed, often despicable characters with a hard-hitting conclusion, it is fascinating that the most long-lasting legacy is Drive‘s, but in the form of a meme about lead actor Ryan Gosling, that ironically misinterprets the movie to uphold the very behavior the film critiques.
However, memes aside, Drive is a fantastic action thriller that has a sweet romantic interlude, a few intense and gory action setpieces, a dreamy visual aesthetic buoyed by an equally hypnotic background score, and a mysterious protagonist simply called Driver. From the opening itself, Drive sets expectations of being stylish and atmospheric, and you get pulled in until the conclusion.
The Fugitive (1993)
One of the action movies that defined each year between 1990 and 1999, The Fugitive, starring Harrison Ford as Dr. Richard Kimble, the тιтular fugitive, is a suspenseful action film because its protagonist doesn’t have a background that would justify insane stunts and fight moves, making his journey nerve-wracking, as his survival isn’t guaranteed, and there’s barely any plot armor.
Dr. Kimble is wrongfully convicted of killing his wife, and must find the killer while dealing with his amnesia, before the police he’s run away from can catch him. He jumps from clue to action setpiece to near-death experience throughout this film that keeps you guessing as the law closes in on him while he inches closer to the truth.
Baby Driver (2017)
A Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s “Bellbottoms” needle drop, followed by an exhilarating getaway drive with wild maneuvers by the тιтular slick driver Baby (Ansel Elgort), who looks calm and unbothered while everyone else in the car is afraid of getting caught by the many pursuing police cars, is how Baby Driver‘s opening scene sets a great pace for the film.
Style and substance complement and elevate each other in all of Edgar Wright’s movies. So, the stylized action sequences, mostly involving cars, each synced to incredible music, are the reason for the substantial amount of suspense you experience while watching Baby Driver. The volatile characters make even the slower moments tense, while every getaway drive is nerve-wracking throughout the film.
Die Hard (1988)
Bruce Willis’ most famous character, Die Hard‘s John McClane, is known for his courage, tenacity, ability to think on his feet, resourcefulness, and tactical know-how. He displays these traits within the 130-minute runtime of the movie, during which he goes to visit his separated wife at her workplace and decides to singlehandedly fight the terrorists who take over the building.
A 1980s movie that changed the world by inspiring enough rip-offs to become its own genre, Die Hard is the quintessential action thriller, which doesn’t slow down or have a weak moment. The dialogue’s well-written, the tension is palpable throughout because Die Hard is grounded, and the setpieces, where McClane fights one terrorist after another, are showcases of cinematic suspense.
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
While Bourne’s journey of figuring out his idenтιтy from an account number in The Bourne Idenтιтy might make for a slightly better story, The Bourne Ultimatum‘s ending makes it the better film. After a relentless, action-packed adventure discovering bits of his past, Bourne’s caught by agents and dives into the East River amidst shooting. Then we hear a newscaster say:
“After a three-day search, Webb’s [Bourne’s] body has yet to be found.”
Matt Damon’s performance convinces you of the danger to Bourne’s life, and despite the shaky cam footage, the sheer amount of tension that hangs over every scene due to the constant pursuit by agents pulls you into the action sequences. Jason Bourne’s incredible skills and the well-developed lore of the world keep you on the edge of your seat throughout.
Speed (1994)
Of the movies that tried to be the new Die Hard and came close, Speed is arguably the best, as it might even be more thrilling than the movie that inspired it. An LAPD cop (Keanu Reeves) finds himself on a bus with a bomb stuck to it that’s rigged to explode if the bus slows down below 50 mph.
Sandra Bullock plays the bus driver, and the chemistry between the two leads adds to the dramatic tension as the cop tries to figure out how to disarm the bomb while the driver tries to avoid collisions. The thrill created by the premise is felt throughout the film, and you feel yourself heave a sigh of relief when it ends.
