![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/the-old-guard.jpg\")
image courtesy of netflix<\/p>\nWe\u2019re in an age now where plenty of really big movies are going right to your screen at home. It used to be that, if something went direct-to-video, which was in a way the equivalent of direct-to-streaming, it meant you could flat-out avoid it. But now each streamer seems to have found its specialty, and, in the case of Netflix, they do quite well with mid or high-budget, star-loaded action films. What follows are five examples of Netflix Original action movies that not only work but work so well that you very well may find yourself pressing play more than once.<\/p>\n
Naturally, we left off total duds like Bright, The Outsider, and Polar. Furthermore, missing the cut were the very average Spenser Confidential, Coffee & Kareem, Project Power, 6 Underground, Kate (in spite of Mary Elizabeth Winstead\u2019s game efforts), Red Notice, and Army of the Dead.<\/p>\n
5) The Old Guard<\/p>\n
image courtesy of netflix<\/p>\n
The Old Guard gets a lot of credit for its world-building, but even better is its attention to character. We feel the weight of eternal life on these characters, and just how that has affected them as it\u2019s gone on (and on).<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s the fact that it delivers on fast hand-to-hand combat sequences that are nonetheless easy to follow. Like fellow Charlize Theron vehicle Atomic Blonde it\u2019s a clear ancestor to the John Wick franchise, and while others have done that better (Violent Night) there have been those who have done it worse (Love Hurts and this film\u2019s own sequel).<\/p>\n
4) Triple Frontier<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/triple-frontier.jpg\")
image courtesy of netflix<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re going to watch The Rip<\/a> you should watch Netflix\u2019s other heavy macho movie with Ben Affleck as one of its leads. That would be J. C. Chandor\u2019s Triple Frontier, which pairs the former Batman with Oscar Isaac, Pedro Pascal, Charlie Hunnam, and Garrett Hedlund.<\/p>\n Like The Rip it amounts to a heist movie, but this one arguably feels like it has even higher stakes. After all, as the viewer learns, it\u2019s not a movie where anyone is safe.<\/p>\n 3) Carry-On<\/p>\n Carry-On is a ticking clock action-thriller with a note-perfect lead performance by Taron Egerton and a wonderfully against type villain role for Arrested Development\u2018s Jason Bateman (not that Michael Bluth was a perfect guy).<\/p>\n This is a movie that makes you feel the danger, due in no small part to the fact that it takes place in an airport. It moves at a fast clip and ends up being better than the other solid airport action movie: Die Hard 2.<\/p>\n 2) Rebel Ridge<\/p>\n Rebel Ridge<\/a> falls just shy of being the most rewatchable movie on this list, but it is without a doubt the overall best movie on this list<\/a>. Like most of the other entries it does a wonderful job of building tension, but it\u2019s so grounded in reality that the tension feels even more real than the airport escapades of Carry-On or the almost superhuman heroics of the next entry.<\/p>\n At the center of it all is Aaron Pierre, who will soon be seen in Lanterns. The movie makes sure to establish who this ex-Marine is and how innocent his motive is. He\u2019s just trying to post bail for his cousin. Unfortunately, he\u2019s doing that in Louisiana while being Black. What\u2019s great about Rebel Ridge is that it values a build-up, so the action ends up feeling very much earned and, yes, dangerous. We get some solid supporting performances from AnnaSophia Robb, The Office\u2018s David Denman, Emory Cohen, and Don Johnson, but where Rebel Ridge really excels is in Pierre\u2019s performance and the top-notch script from director Jeremy Saulnier.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/carry-on.jpg\")
image courtesy of netflix<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/terry-richmond-rebel-ridge.jpg\")
image courtesy of netflix<\/p>\n![\"Extraction](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Extraction-2-Chris-Hemsworth.jpg\")
Image Courtesy of Netflix<\/p>\n