10 Hidden Gem Action Movies You Need To Stream Right Now

There are several hidden-gem action movies that are on streaming right now that remain among the best in the genre. While there are several action films that people have likely seen more than once, and others that were made for massive budgets that got mainstream releases, the hidden gems are the movies that people discover while often scrolling through the options on Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, and other streaming services.

These movies often have familiar faces in the lead roles. However, even with a recognizable name, several movies slip under the public radar since there is so much always coming out on streaming, not to mention the theatrical release schedule. That makes a movie with a revenge plot, or someone seeking vengeance for the wrongs against them, end up getting lost among similar-themed movies that might be lesser but have more of a promotional budget.

The good news is that many of these hidden-gem action movies have a long lifespan on services like Netflix. Even years after their initial release, audiences can discover them for the first time and wonder why they missed out on seeing them sooner. By the time that audiences find these hidden gems, they quickly become underrated successes and reach the elusive status of a cult classic.

Extraction is an action thriller written by Avengers: Endgame co-director Joe Russo and directed by Sam Hargrave. Taking the lead in the movie is Thor star Chris Hemsworth as Tyler Rake, a former Australian Army SASR operator turned mercenary who is recruited to rescue the son of an incarcerated Indian drug lord named Ovi Mahajan Sr., who was kidnapped by corrupt cops.

The movie was a massive hit when it was released in 2020, with over 99 million views in four weeks. It even got a sequel in 2023, but few people talk about it today. Part of the problem is the lower 67% Rotten Tomatoes score, where it was noted for great stunt work but was considered another Netflix action movie rather than one that can stand on its own merits. However, it deserves more credit, and Hemsworth more than holds his own as the nearly unstoppable mercenary. Extraction is streaming on Netflix.

9 The Night Comes For Us (2018)

The Night Comes For Us is a movie that follows a former Triad enforcer named Ito (Joe Taslim) who defies his bosses by rescuing a young girl from a massacre. This then sparks a brutal war, with Ito on the run from former gang member and friend Arian (Iko Uwais), who was sent to kill him. When the movie hit Netflix in 2018, critics praised it for its insane action scenes, but it remained mostly overlooked by mainstream audiences.

One problem with the movie is that it is a subtitled Indonesian film, and since it didn't get a theatrical push in Western markets, it ended up quickly forgotten. The movie has several standout sequences, from an extended fight in a meat locker to the final hand-to-hand showdown between Taslim and Uwais, which was one of the more brutally choreographed scenes in an action movie. The Night Comes For Us is currently streaming on Netflix.

8 Upgrade (2018)

Upgrade is a sci-fi action movie released in 2018 that shares a lot in common with the superhero movie Venom. Both movies show a man who is inhabited by another being. In Venom, it is an alien symbiote, and in Upgrade, it is an intelligent AI that can take over a body and turn its user into an almost superhuman fighting machine. Upgrade was a box office success thanks to its low budget, but its $17 million take meant that a lot of people never saw it.

Logan Marshall-Green stars as a man who is involved in a brutal attack that leaves his girlfriend dead and him a paraplegic. A genius inventor then offers him an AI that allows him to walk again. What resulted was some of the most creative fight scenes in an action movie, and its 88% Rotten Tomatoes score shows that critics were on board for the action. Upgrade is currently streaming on Netflix.

7 Polar (2019)

Polar is a 2019 action movie that stars Mads Mikkelsen (Hannibal) as Duncan Vizla, also known as the assassin, The Black Kaiser. The movie shows he plans to retire at the age of 50, but his employer decides he can save money by having him killed rather than pay the $8 million pension. The movie then has Duncan try to protect a young woman (Vanessa Hudgens), whose entire family he had killed years earlier.

Polar is a hidden-gem action movie because critics panned the movie when it was released, with an 18% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the audience score of 70% is one of the most extreme critic-audience splits for modern-day action movies, showing it has developed a cult following, and it deserves much more respect than it initially received. Polar is currently streaming on Netflix.

6 Triple Frontier (2019)

Triple Frontier was released in 2019, and it has an all-star cast that makes it a movie that should have a much better reputation. Five former U.S. Army Delta Force operatives (Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund, and Pedro Pascal) reunite to rob a South American drug lord. What results is the five men fighting for their lives in the mountains with hundreds of millions in stolen cash.

The movie was a Netflix original movie in 2019, which explains why it was mostly ignored by mainstream audiences. However, over the years, it periodically reenters the Netflix charts. The movie tells a morally gray story about how far men would go to reach their goals, and the chaotic shootouts and action scenes make it one of the better Netflix action movies that not enough people talk about. Triple Frontier is streaming on Netflix.

5 Nobody (2021)

Nobody was dismissed at first as a John Wick rip-off, but there is so much more to this movie than copying that successful franchise. The movie stars Bob Odenkirk as a suburban nobody who is ignored by his wife, mocked by his neighbors, and is an embarrassment to his son. However, when a confrontation on a bus brings back his past as a former government assassin, his past comes back to threaten his family.

Unlike the more popular John Wick movies, Nobody lives and dies because of Odenkirk's unassuming man suddenly becoming an unstoppable killing machine. It received an 84% Rotten Tomatoes score and earned a sequel, but it doesn't have anywhere near the reputation of John Wick. Since its release, Nobody has become a streaming hit and is a hidden gem that more people need to see. Nobody is streaming on Prime Video.

4 Kate (2021)

Kate stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead as a professional assassin who was poisoned in her final job in Tokyo. With only 24 hours left to live, she starts killing anyone and everyone in the Tokyo underworld, trying to find out who ordered her hit. Along the way, she meets a young teenage girl, who happens to be the daughter of someone Kate had killed in the past.

The critical response was lackluster, with a 45% Rotten Tomatoes score, which caused a lot of viewers to skip out on watching it. However, those who did watch it saw a neon-drenched action thriller that was a lot more entertaining than critics suggested. Winstead is easily a female version of John Wick, and the violent action scenes are uniformly great. Kate is currently streaming on Netflix.

3 The Raid (2011)

For action movie aficionados, there is no reason to recommend The Raid, because most of that audience has already seen it and labeled it the masterpiece that it is. However, it is still a movie that many mainstream audiences have missed out on since it is a subtitled foreign film that many casual viewers skipped over. However, the action scenes don't need subtitles, and that is where this movie thrives.

The Raid follows a 20-man SWAT team sent to clear a 15-story Jakarta apartment block controlled by a ruthless drug lord. However, when they get inside, and their mission is exposed, they have to fight up the stairs, where every floor has an army of criminals waiting to kill them. The Raid received a sequel, and both movies are worth watching, with some of the most creative fight choreography in any action movie. The Raid is streaming on Pluto TV.

2 Accident Man (2018)

Accident Man stars action legend Scott Adkins as Mike Fallon, a high-end hitman who makes all his kills look like accidents. However, when his pregnant ex-girlfriend is killed by one of his own colleagues, he sets out on a brutal personal investigation and wages war against his former crew. This movie is the true definition of a hidden-gem action movie, as it has exceptional fight choreography, and is a movie that is better than its reputation might suggest.

Adkins remains one of the most talented martial artists working in Hollywood today, and Accident Man allows him to show what he can do, all in a movie that he co-wrote. Also appearing in the movie are the late Ray Stevenson and Michael Jai White, who help add to the film's cult status. The fight between Adkins and White might be one of the best in action movies this century. Accident Man is streaming on Prime Video.

1 War Machine (2026)

War Machine is a new movie and one that deserves a lot more attention than it has received. The movie stars Alan Ritchson (Reacher) as a combat engineer known as "81." He is sent to lead a military team to investigate a mysterious occurrence, and then finds himself fighting for his life against an alien invasion. While it had a high viewer count early in its release, critics were unimpressed, awarding it a low 69% Rotten Tomatoes score.

However, the movie also shows why Ritchson is becoming one of Hollywood's most sought-after action stars and leading men. There is also the fact that the movie leads to some confusion as it shares the same name as a 2017 Brad Pitt war movie. However, War Machine is a movie that deserves a sequel, and it is one of the best hidden-gem action movies of 2026. War Machine is streaming on Netflix.