10 criminally underrated action movies
Most of us will have grown up with action movies in our lives, forced on us by our parents, overly enthusiastic uncles and irresponsible friends who wish to show us violent flicks long before we were of age to see them. It’s the same crop of movies that are called the greatest movies of all time, we’re talking Die Hard with Bruce Willis, The Matrix with Keanu Reeves and Aliens with Sigourney Weaver.
But, what about all the other underrated action flicks that don’t get the time of day whilst the classics of yesteryear hog the limelight? For example, too rarely are modern action movies celebrated in the same sentence as such aforementioned classics, with George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road, Gareth Evans’ The Raid and Christopher Nolan’s Inception being worthy of putting on the same pedestal.
Therefore, we’ve dedicated our time to finding ten of the most underrated action movies that you urgently need to see. Comprising of old greats that have never truly been respected by contemporary audiences, as well as modern films that never broke into the mainstream, our list includes releases from the likes of Mel Gibson, John Carpenter and Tony Scott.
Take a look at our list below and find the perfect movies to stick on on a Saturday night with an armful of snacks.
10 criminally underrated action movies:
13 Assassins (Takashi Miike, 2010)
Speak about the greatest action filmmakers of all time, and the innovative Japanese mastermind Takashi Miike must be in the conversation. Whilst some of his very best films have come in the form of 1999’s Audition and 2001’s Ichi the Killer, his more recent releases are just as good, with 2010’s violent samurai movie 13 Assassins going surprisingly under the radar of fans and critics.
Starring the likes of Kôji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada and Yûsuke Iseya, the film follows the story of a group of assassins who come together for a perceived suicide mission to kill a despicable figure.
‘71 (Yann Demange, 2014)
Making a solid stack of credits in his early career, the French filmmaker Yann Demange worked on the British TV series Dead Set and Top Boy before taking on his feature film debut with ‘71 in 2014. Starring Jack O’Connell, the intense thriller is set in 1971 and follows the life of a young British soldier who is mistakenly abandoned by his unit, leaving him to fend for himself on the volatile streets of Belfast.
Intense and unpredictable, Demange handles this 2014 action flick with tremendous verve, helped along by Gregory Burke’s excellent script that delicately and appropriately addresses the violence of the Irish troubles.
Assault on Precinct 13 (John Carpenter, 1976)
The movies of John Carpenter are well respected as some of the greatest cult classics of the 20th century, with films like Halloween, The Thing and Escape From New York being long-standing favourites. Long before any of these films, however, was the release of Assault on Precinct 13 in 1976, a stylish action flick that would set the template for decades of Carpenter glory.
Telling the story of a Highway Patrol Officer and an unlikely group of fighters who have to defend themselves inside a police station against a violent street gang, Assault on Precinct 13 is a fun thriller with a slick 1970s soundtrack.
I Saw the Devil (Kim Jee-woon, 2010)
If you’re after something more violent and entirely more grisly, we’d recommend the 2010 Kim Jee-woon movie I Saw the Devil, starring Kim Jee-woon, Choi Min-sik, and Lee Byung-hun. A particularly bleak action-turned-horror film, I Saw the Devil follows a secret agent who swears revenge on a serial killer and toys with the criminal in a brutal game of cat and mouse.
Made by the same mind behind 2003’s A Tale of Two Sisters and 2005’s A Bittersweet Life, I Saw the Devil is a supremely intense movie that focuses on violence and gore with a wide number of spectacular action set pieces.
Nobody (Ilya Naishuller, 2021)
Taking things contemporary for just a moment, our most recent movie on this list is the 2021 Ilya Naishuller movie Nobody, starring the Better Call Saul actor Bob Odenkirk. Penned by screenwriter Derek Kolstad, the film tells the story of a family man whose true colours are revealed once his house is burgled and he is dragged into an unlikely, violent battle with a Russian gang.
Bizarrely forgotten in the landscape of modern action cinema, Naishuller’s film is a thoroughly enjoyable ride that effortlessly infuses pulpy crime drama with a genuinely emotional core.
The Raid 2 (Gareth Evans, 2014)
The 2011 action movie The Raid was popularly known as something of a genre game-changer upon its release, sharing a strangely similar narrative to Pete Travis’ equally thrilling Dredd film of the same year. Yet, far too few people got around to watching Gareth Evans’ 2014 sequel, which considerably expanded the world of The Raid and told a frenetic-paced story in the process.
Joining Iko Uwais’ Rama once more, the film sees the police officer go undercover with a crime syndicate, hoping to bring the group down from the inside. Wild and unhinged, Evans’ film is a long odyssey of quality action cinema.
Ronin (John Frankenheimer, 1998)
Director John Frankenheimer is known for creating some of the greatest political thrillers of the 20th century, including 1962’s The Manchurian Candidate and 1964’s Seven Days in May, but many forget his work with Robert De Niro for the 1998 movie Ronin. Though not quite as political as his former films, Ronin remains a quality thriller that features some wildly absorbing performances.
With the likes of Sean Bean, Stellan Skarsgård, Natascha McElhone and Jean Reno joining De Niro, the movie follows a freelance former US Intelligence Agent trying to track down a strange package wanted by several dangerous groups.
The Rover (David Michôd, 2014)
At one point it appeared that the Australian filmmaker David Michôd was going to become the next big thing, helming the gripping crime thriller Animal Kingdom as well as the celebrated TV series Enlightened. His success did indeed continue, releasing The Rover in 2014, a fascinating post-apocalyptic western starring Robert Pattinson and Guy Pearce, even though it was largely ignored by fans and critics.
Set ten years after a global economic disaster, The Rover tells the story of a man who pursues a gang of thieves and forms an unlikely bond. With a spectacular approach to cinematography, The Rover is a slow-burning action film, but a massively memorable one all the same.
Unstoppable (Tony Scott, 2010)
The late Tony Scott was always living in the shadow of his brother, Ridley Scott, the filmmaker behind such classics as Alien and Blade Runner. Yet, Tony was also responsible for a number of other cinematic greats, such as 1993’s True Romance and 2010’s Unstoppable. Where the former is better known, thanks to a script from the iconic filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, the latter is an underrated gem.
Starring Chris Pine and Denzel Washington, the story follows an unmanned runaway train and the engineer and young conductor who are tasked with trying to stop it from destroying a city in its path. Though it may sound a little dull, Scott makes the film truly breathtaking viewing.
Victoria (Sebastian Schipper, 2015)
Countless movies claim to be captured with just one shot, but Sebastian Schipper’s 2015 action flick Victoria can proudly claim that accolade. Telling the story of a young Spanish woman who has recently moved to Berlin and finds her night of clubbing disrupted by criminal activity, the 2015 movie is a frenetic piece of drama that never lets go of the audience’s hand as it drags them around the city streets with wild pace.
With a tremendous central performance from Laia Costa and an excellent thumping soundtrack, far too few people got the chance to see Victoria upon its release, with the film also being largely ignored by the awards shows.
