The 12 Best Action Films of the Decade
Action flicks are a staple of the movie going experience, and have been for decades now. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a millenial or a boomer or a boy or a girl, action movies are for everyone. This decade has shown no shortage of quality in that category, with great films coming out every year. We’ve seen the introduction of completely unique characters, as well as an entry in a legendary action film franchise that dates back to the late 70’s. There’s something for everyone, and we asked some of our favorite writers, podcasters, filmmakers, and artists to give us the action movies that rocked them to their cores this decade!
John Wick
I will always love this neo-noir that plays out like a dark, graphic novel on screen. The depth of John Wick runs so much deeper than "He killed all those people over a puppy." The emotional core of John Wick is the love he has for his wife. His motivation is to honor her after she dies. The puppy she gave him is his one connection left to her. And it was taken from him. This movie shows us that in some universe, a man of focus, commitment and sheer will exists. A skilled assassin who buried his past to marry the woman of his dreams. A man who once killed three men in a bar with a pencil. A named John Wick.
Violet Conner is a screenwriter based out of Phoenix, Arizona. When she's not spending time on Instagram or Twitter, she's parenting her two children and watching movies. Writing with themes of empathy and humanity that reach the emotional core is a huge passion for her. Essentially, the human equivalent of a Hallmark card.
Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse
On a lark, my wife and I went to a mid-day showing of Into the Spiderverse in the closest theater to my small Kentucky hometown. Within minutes, I was openly weeping. Seeing it so close to the town where I was born was a profound moment for that nerd who didn't know where he fit in for so much of his youth. I didn't grow up with Miles Morales, but Spider-Man was the first comic book character that entered my consciousness. I've grown up with him. To finally see a comic book movie that didn't apologize for its source material was breathtaking. There were so many movies this decade that I adored. Ex Machina is a perfect movie. Mad Max: Fury Road compelled me to see it in the theaters four times. I've evangelized Happy Death Day to anyone who would listen to me. But I've waited my entire life for Into the Spiderverse.
Jacob York is a writer and actor from Benton, Kentucky who has lived in Atlanta for most of his professional career. @jkobbster on Twitter.
Mad Max: Fury Road
This is a tough one. Ten years of movies! That's a lot. That's at least like ten movies. After much back and forth in my mind, I'm going to pick Mad Max: Fury Road. I don't think any movie over the whole decade was more fun, exhilarating or just plain weird as Fury Road. I watched the movie with a huge smile on my face the whole time, seeing things I'm pretty sure I'd never seen on screen before. So here's to you, bungee corded guitar player guy on big rig truck—you earned it.
Kyle "GIbby" Gibson, an emotionally repressed 42 year old who loves movies, basketball, his wife, his buds and guitar players on big rigs, sells insurance in his day job and co-hosts the incredibly awesome podcast Four Friends Fight About Film with three of his best friends who make fun of his love of all things Pixar.
Mad Max: Fury Road
I'm a hard sell for action films. While I enjoy a well-choreographed action scene, I often find them lacking in focus. Action with too much going on and not enough character and story can't hold my attention for long. But this one had it all, from character to fantastic production design, stellar performances to, yes, some of the most beautifully choreographed action scenes in recent memory. While I wouldn't call this film a masterpiece in the vein of Scorcese's contributions this decade (and prior), this is my favorite film for sheer enjoyment and re-watchability.
Dayna Noffke is a screenwriter and director from Atlanta. She is currently in development for her first feature film, GET CHINO!
Mad Max: Fury Road
From the moment I saw the teaser trailer for this film, I knew this was going to be an unparalleled cinematic experience. And I was right. I've seen the movie several times over the past decade, and each time I'm astounded by the breadth of George Miller's vision in terms of world-building, production design, and the cast of characters he's created. I also like the fact that he explains virtually nothing, plunging us into a desperate situation and embarking on the barest of survival narratives. It's a movie that got me excited about movies again.
Kevin Miller is a best-selling novelist and award-winning filmmaker whose most recent feature-length documentary, J.E.S.U.S.A. will be released on Feb. 25, 2025. To read more about Kevin and his work, visit www.kevinmillerxi.com.
The Nice Guys
I almost went with John Wick, because "duh"... but I’m going with what I believe is also the most underrated movie of the decade, which is Shane Black’s 2016 action/comedy The Nice Guys. It’s one of the most well written, well acted, well edited, etc. etc. films that’s come out in years, in my opinion. Who knew such comedy chops could come from Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe? It’s the usual hilarity we’re accustomed to from Shane Black where he subverts what we’ve come to know and expect to happen from a scene for the sake of character and comedy. Everyone getting shot at and someone needs a gun? Let’s have a character throw a weapon in heroic fashion to the other man pinned down, but wait, it goes through the window and they’re still screwed …. buddy comedy, great action, great writing, great message, all around fun. I could watch it every week.
Walker Whited - writer/director of feature film “By Night’s End” and editor at Atlanta based post house W Squared Media. | www.wsquaredmedia.com | By Night’s End Trailer - https://youtu.be/0rrZJHHR0wE
Baby Driver
Perhaps the best part of Baby Driver is its soundtrack, because the songs take on an active role in the film, which plays almost like a feature-length music video. Edgar Wright created one of the few and best original screenplays in the last decade. And to top it off, the film was shot and set in my hometown of Atlanta.
Robert Carnes is a writer, marketer, author of two books, and lives in Atlanta with his family.
Mad Max: Fury Road
If someone told me that I would love a movie that was essentially a two-hour car chase ten years ago, I wouldn’t have believed them. In fact, I refused to see this movie in the theater because I didn’t think I would like it. But it really is the most entertaining car chase you could ever imagine—without a car running into a single vegetable stand. I love the badass female lead and the practical visual effects. I am definitely not a car person, but even the crazy souped up vehicles are fascinating and tell a story all on their own. It is pure insane, apocalyptic fun.
Susan Cooper is a podcaster and creative project manager in Atlanta. She has the superpower of resourcefulness and hopes to use that power for the greater good.
Looper
Contrary to popular belief, the 2010s have been a banner decade for cinema. Despite what some see as an endless series of franchise-fatiguing reboots, dozens of incredible movies saw release each year—they just may not have played on 4,000 screens. It’s hard to pick only one, but I always lean towards genre, and for my money, the best genre film this decade was 2012’s Looper. Rian Johnson’s time-travel thriller subverts expectations at every turn, knowing which way the audience expects the story to go and constantly upending those expectations with every turn. A marvel of narrative construction and filmmaking craft, Johnson’s film starts out as one story before shifting gears and revealing itself as something else entirely, almost a superhero origin in disguise. More importantly, Looper perfectly encapsulates the generational divide that seems to crack ever wider as we’re dragged further and further into the twenty-first century. By having its main character Joe meet himself as an older man (ably realized by co-stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis) that conflict is made literal, with the brash-yet-idealistic youth coming up against his wizened-yet-uncompromising elder. As the famous Bob Dylan lyric goes, you can either get out of the new world or you can lend a hand to help it; by film’s end, Joe accomplishes both in a stunning climax that offers hope for the future by rectifying the past.
NATHAN CABANISS is based out of Lawrenceville, GA, where he lives a life consisting primarily of danger, intrigue and Netflix. His fiction has appeared in various publications, in both English and in French. 2016 saw the publication of his first collection of short stories, Mares in the Night, and his short novel The Mummy’s Hand At the Center of the Universe was released in 2018.
Looper
Looper came out after I had graduated from Film School and was feeling as if I had made a huge mistake and should have become an accountant. A movie that I would consider an “MK movie,” it was a time travel movie that pushed the trope on its head, had a distinct POV, and was a joy to watch. This film actually made me want to make the sci-fi films that I want to make. It lit a fire under me creatively and it was a surprising film. Its writer and director, Rian Johnson, continues to surprise me and make me want to push myself in my filmmaking. That’s why Looper is my favorite film of the decade.
MK McFadden is a lover of science fiction, pizza, and deadlifts.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
In trying to pick my favorite movie from the last ten years, I went with what gave me the most joy in the theater. Star Wars is my first cinematic love and it's hard to resist the opening fanfare and rolling yellow letters in a darkened theater with a few hundred other like minded individuals. The movie may be imperfect, but feeling the new characters inspire the next generation of Star Wars fans was a joy, which is why it was my favorite of the decade.
Nick Lund-Ulrich and wife/filmmaking partner Kerry Carlock are currently working on their second feature RED KNIGHTS FOREVER while their first one, ARMSTRONG, can be seen on Amazon Prime.
The Raid: Redemption
When thinking back on the decade genre by genre...it can be difficult. You get locked into movies over the last few years as they're what's fresh on your mind so you go over some list of movies to see the hell you've been doing for the past 10 years. At least, that's how I find myself at the end of 2019/beginning of 2020. So when I was asked "What's the best action movie of the last decade?" I had to take a second to-- The Raid: Redemption. Yes, it takes one second for me to come up with this answer because...well, The Raid is kind of always on my mind. The Raid: Redemption (2011) is a perfect action film. Writer/Director Gareth Evans took his audience and locked them in an apartment building with a police force. A ride...er...stair climb along with Indonesia's finest. The man at the top? Ruthless. The tenants between, all on a mission to leave not a lawful intruder alive. When I first stumbled onto this, I couldn't believe what the filmmaker's pulled off. Creative gun fights, endless tension, and some of the most brutal and personal hand to hand combat I've ever witnessed. Once they get into that building you will be locked until it reaches it's intense conclusion.
Profound Clarke is A Brooklyn born Atlanta based writer, Profound Clarke is a storyteller with a passion for perspective. In pursuit of new perspective he holds his writing to the idea of a concept that's unique with a story that's more important.
