Guns blazing, planes crashing, grenades exploding, and people running: a solid recipe for a damn good time. Action is arguably the most exciting of all the movie genres, and the most watched one after a hard day of work, perhaps. By appealing to the most basic instinct of mankind, survival, action movies can elevate the stakes of their story quite easily, and offering, at the same time, high-octane entertainment.
When people think of the action genre, they might automatically refer back to The Fast And The Furious, Rambo, John Wick, Mad Max, and other big and renowned titles in the industry. However, there are a few hidden gems that often go unnoticed and are, with time, forgotten. But, they can still be found in every single streaming service. Even if Netflix is known for its "quantity over quality" philosophy when putting out new titles, all it takes is a bit of time and patience to research and find the good stuff. Nonetheless, the hard work has been done for you. Here are 5 forgotten Netflix action films that are well worth your while:
The Night Comes for Us (2018)
This Indonesian gory, frenzy blood fest, written and directed by Timo Tjahjanto, is a criminally underrated martial arts masterpiece. Joe Taslim and Iko Uwais, the legendary Indonesian action stars duo (widely known from The Raid), reunite for this film that tells the story of an elite Triad assassin who goes on the run from dangerous gangsters after he spares an innocent girl from an execution.
Employing a wide range of characters, each with their own fighting styles and attributes, The Night Comes for Us is filled with unique and memorable set pieces. Guns, knifes, fists, feet, knees, nails, glass bottles... everything is a dangerous weapon in the hands of these martial arts experts that are no newcomers to deathly fights. No spoken or written words can prepare viewers for the audiovisual carnage that is this film and its gut-wrenching fight scenes that manage to be both realistic and aesthetic.
Day Shift (2022)
Los Angeles is the backdrop of this vampire action comedy flick starred by Jamie Foxx and Dave Franco, a duo that proved to have incredible chemistry. Foxx plays Bud, a reckless vampire hunter who desperately needs cash to redeem himself with his family, and Franco plays Seth, a by-the-book union rep sent by the vampire hunting association to monitor Bud, who's known for not following protocols.
Day Shift presents a pretty amazing universe with the underground vampire-hunting business resembling the universe of the John Wick franchise, to good effect. Snoop Dogg also makes an appearance as a fellow machine-gun-loving vampire hunter, and Karla Souza's badass ruthless vampire is a cool villain. The movie also has amazingly directed action sequences that manage to maintain frenetic momentum and not make the movie lose its comedic tone, a great job by first-time director J. J. Perry, who is a stunt performer himself.
The Drug King (2018)
Directed by South Korean action director Woo Min-ho, and starring Song Kang-ho (known for frequently collaborating with Oscar winner Bong Joon-ho), The Drug King tells the story of Lee Doo-sam, a small-time smuggler, and his fall into the dark and unforgiving world of crime in the 1970s Busan. A good community leader, but also an ambitious man, Lee takes over the drug underworld while maintaining a double life.
Scarface meets Breaking Bad in this gangster thriller led by the elite level of acting that Song Kang-ho is putting up in his 21st-century raise to stardom. While the plot is far from original or inventive, it's the sheer talent behind and in front of the cameras that makes this riveting and exhilarating movie shine. Another great entry into the ever-growing list of pretty good 21st-century South Korean films.
Triple Frontier (2019)
Directed by J. C. Chandor and with a star-studded cast composed of Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, and Pedro Pascal, Triple Frontier tells the story of a group of former special forces operatives who attempt to steal a drug lord's fortune. Even if the plan seemed complicated but doable at first, the group eventually find themselves in an ever-complicating mess of unfortunate and unforeseen events, which lead up to drastic collateral damage.
Breathtaking action scenes include the silent raid of the drug lord's not-so-humble abode, a tricky crossing of the Amazon rainforest, and the days-long escape through a dangerous mountain range. Even though this movie was definitely slept on, it is a fun, wild ride.
Spectral (2016)
In this dark Ghostbusters meets Call of Duty, an elite Special Ops unit faces an unknown and unpredictable supernatural force in the ruins of a city. James Badge Dale leads the movie and explores the ominous, seemingly post-apocalyptic scenery as the team tries to fully understand what they are facing and how to defeat this chilling enemy.
Even though it is not an easy deed to create interesting combat sequences with ghost-like entities, this movie achieves that all the while remaining suspenseful from start to finish. Visually stunning, the movie presents impressive set pieces that demonstrate the power of the craft of director Nic Mathieu.