John Wick is one of the best action movies of all time, but no, it’s not the only franchise that has given us an incredible action-packed experience. There are several other action movies out there that might satisfy the John Wick obsession that resides within you. These movies are very much like John Wick, whether in terms of action or narrative. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s dive into some of the best action movies like John Wick.
10. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes: 6.2/37%
- Director: Edward Zwick
- Starring: Tom Cruise, Cobie Smulders, Aldis Hodge, Danika Yarosh, Jessica Stroup, Patrick Heusinger
- Release Date: December 21, 2012
Jack Reacher and John Wick feature protagonists with nearly similar backgrounds, involving violence that prevents them from living peacefully, even after they decide to move on. Both films have offered the industry some of the best action sequences, and the lead characters demonstrate a strong grasp of hand-to-hand combat, as well as weapon-based attacks.
Jack Reacher must lock horns with every bad guy who has framed Army Major Susan Turner for espionage. Soon, the duo finds themselves unraveling a dark conspiracy, resulting in the deaths of U.S. Soldiers.
9. The Old Guard
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes: 6.7/80%
- Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
- Starring: Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, Harry Melling, Veronica Ngo, Matthias Schoenaerts, Chiwetel Ejiofor
- Release Date: July 10, 2020
John Wick and The Old Guard both excel in their well-choreographed fighting sequences. Despite harboring significant differences, The Old Guard has every right to sit on this list. That’s because, like John Wick, the action thriller film also features a stoic protagonist driven by personal loss. Unlike Wick, The Old Guard’s Andy doesn’t lose any family member or a dearest thing, but she does lose an ally who was like a home to her. So, even though John Wick and The Old Guard don’t feature similarities in terms of story, it is still one of the best films to watch if you are a fan of the former.
The Old Guard follows Andy, who leads a group of immortal mercenaries that fight a battle to protect humanity while keeping their identities a secret.
8. Atomic Blonde
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes: 6.7/80%
- Director: David Leitch
- Starring: Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman, Til Schweiger, Eddie Marsan, Sofia Boutella, Toby Jones
- Release Date: July 28, 2017
Here comes another film featuring Charlize Theron in the lead role. Like John Wick, Atomic Blonde introduces us to a protagonist who is not entirely a hero but a complex character with several flaws. Also, we all know that Chad Stahelski directed John Wick, but only the die-hard fans of the franchise know that David Leitch, who directed Atomic Blonde, co-directed the former film but remained uncredited for the first installment.
Several undercover agents are smuggled to the West, and one of them, who contains the list of those agents, is brutally killed by a fellow agent. So, MI6 spy Lorraine Broughton is hired by the organization to recover that list.
7. Extraction
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes: 6.8/67%
- Director: Sam Hargrave
- Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Rudhraksh Jaiswal, Randeep Hooda, Priyanshu Painyuli, Golshifteh Farahani, Pankaj Tripathi, David Harbour
- Release Date: April 24, 2020
John Wick and Extraction share many similarities, be it the action-packed narrative, the lone wolf protagonist, or the high-octane stunts. Like John Wick, Extraction also does not pay attention to story building; instead, it gives us the fastest-paced action sequences that no action fan should sleep on. However, despite sharing many similarities, the one thing that distinguishes them is that John Wick features more fancy fight choreography, while Extraction adopts a realistic approach when it comes to combat sequences.
Tyler Rake is a black ops mercenary who must do whatever it takes to protect an Indian drug lord’s son, who gets kidnapped by corrupt Bangladeshi police officers. However, things get brutal when someone whom he believes to be an ally double-crosses him.
6. The Hitman’s Bodyguard
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes: 6.9/44%
- Director: Patrick Hughes
- Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Salma Hayek, Élodie Yung, Joaquim de Almeida, Kirsty Mitchell, Richard E. Grant
- Release Date: August 18, 2017
The Hitman’s Bodyguard features some of the most fantastic car chases and hand-to-hand combat scenes, making it match the vibe of John Wick. Besides that, unlike John Wick, this film also features some loud and humorous sequences.
What’s better than seeing Ryan Reynolds blasting some enemies with his gun? Well, it’s seeing Ryan Reynolds coupled with Samuel L. Jackson, and both of them blasting several enemies with their guns. The movie is as action-packed as it is funny. The movie might surprise you with some crazy yet realistic action sequences, very much like John Wick. But in the next moment, you will be laughing out loud, hearing the funny banter between these two characters. The movie may not have received good ratings on IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes, but that doesn’t mean it is not a good watch. The action sequences and the incredible performances from the cast are enough to push someone to watch this film.
5. Wrath of Man
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes: 7.1/68%
- Director: Guy Ritchie
- Starring: Jason Statham, Holt McCallany, Jeffrey Donovan, Josh Hartnett, Laz Alonso, Raúl Castillo, DeObia Oparei, Eddie Marsan, Scott Eastwood
- Release Date: May 7, 2021
Like John Wick, Wrath of Man features a protagonist driven by vengeance who decides to hunt down the murderers of his son without considering the deadly consequences. Both films harbor the lead heroes who are highly skilled in combat. Also, the films see the leads making their high-octane fighting skills speak louder than dialogue. To be precise, Keanu Reeves’ John Wick and Jason Statham’s Patrick “H” Hill appear as men of few words.
The story follows a mysterious man known as H. No one is acquainted with his true identity at the start of the film. However, things start to unfold when he is hired by Fortico Security, an armored truck company, as a guard. As the story progresses, H’s true ambitions begin to emerge through several timelines.
4. Nobody
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes: 7.4/84%
- Director: Ilya Naishuller
- Starring: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, Aleksei Serebryakov, RZA, Christopher Lloyd
- Release Date: March 26, 2021
John Wick and Nobody both feature great action plots revolving around lead heroes who once ruled the world of assassins. However, when they decide to leave all the violence behind, their dark past provokes them and pushes them to pick up the weapons once again.
After getting on the hit list of a crime lord, Hutch Mansell must return to his early self to protect his family and himself from the deadly game of death.
3. The Raid: Redemption
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes: 7.6/87%
- Director: Gareth Evans
- Starring: Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Donny Alamsyah, Yayan Ruhian, Pierre Gruno, Ray Sahetapy, Tegar Sathya
- Release Date: March 23, 2012
If that’s one film that popularized the platform battles, it’s The Raid. Much like the John Wick franchise, The Raid movie features a single person going against several enemies with his incredible fighting skills. It’s a violent tale that relies mostly on action instead of story.
In John Wick, we have John starting out his journey because someone stole his car and killed his dog. In the Raid, we have Rama, a rookie member of the Mobile Brigade Corps, who enters an apartment building with his quad in order to arrest Tama Riyadi, a crime lord in Indonesia.
2. Taken
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes: 7.7/60%
- Director: Pierre Morel
- Starring: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Leland Orser, Jon Gries, David Warshofsky, Katie Cassidy, Holly Valance, Famke Janssen
- Release Date: February 27, 2008
There’s a joke that Liam Neeson’s character in Taken, Bryan Mills, can’t take care of his family. He lets his family be in danger not once but thrice. Regardless, that joke can never undermine the brilliance of Taken.
We have seen John Wick being a one-man army throughout the franchise, and Bryan Mills is no different. Bryan single-handedly takes down an entire criminal empire, that too on international grounds. Much like John, Bryan is someone who doesn’t kneel even in the worst of situations; instead, he uses his intellect and incredible fighting skills to get out of any situation. Like John Wick, Taken also released more than one movie: Taken 2 and Taken 3. However, despite being good in their own right, no sequel could live up to the original movie.
1. Sicario
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes: 7.7/92%
- Director: Denis Villeneuve
- Starring: Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, Victor Garber
- Release Date: September 18, 2015
While John Wick became a household name due to its incredible popularity worldwide, Sicario is a stand-alone film that remained underrated, but don’t be mistaken, as it is a masterpiece. The movie isn’t about someone killing several enemies on their own, but much like John Wick, Sicario shows you a world dominated by a massive criminal empire. The action in Sicario is exceptionally good, and the stakes for the lead characters are much higher than they are for John in John Wick.
Emily Blunt was great in an action role in Edge of Tomorrow, and well, she is also great in Sicario. She takes on the role of an FBI agent who is tasked with conducting a raid on the Sonora Cartel. Well, this leads to an action-led adventure where Emily’s character, Kate Macer, has to go through some very powerful enemies who drop dead bodies like flies.
