Of all movie genres that exist, action movies belong among the most popular ones. There are many reasons why that is, one of them being that they allow the audience to relax while watching them. However, it would be a mistake to think that the best action movies are just about action.RELATED: The Best Action Movies on Netflix Right Now (December 2021)They also take the time to create functioning storylines that are both intelligent and surprising. And in more than one case, they offer excellent actors as well. 2021 saw the premiere of multiple action movies but some of them stand out even among the large competition.
7 Free Guy
Some of the best action movies are ones that mix multiple genres and also bend the rules of gravity and nature in general. Free Guy mostly takes place inside a video game which allows for some truly creative action scenes and fight moments.
Ryan Reynolds plays an NPC named Guy who lives a peaceful life until he meets the girl of his dreams. The movie is full of funny scenes, Easter eggs, and memorable cameos. Depending on their preferences, each viewer will enjoy a different action scene but one of them happens when Guy fights an updated version of himself and ends up pulling a Captain America’s shield against his opponent.
6 No Time To Die
The final James Bond adventure with Daniel Craig as the 007 agent is a must-watch for both all fans of the James Bond series and as well as those who like Daniel Craig’s work. In No Time to Die, Bond is originally enjoying his retirement but the peace and calm doesn’t last long when his old friend from the CIA asks him for help. Bond soon learns that the problem he faces is much more complicated than he originally imagined.
No Time to Die shows that even though Bond is older than in other movies, he can still hold his own in a fight and is smart enough to figure out a way how to defeat his enemies. Daniel Craig gives yet another excellent performance and the movie has a fast pace despite its length of more than 160 minutes.
5 Red Notice
It’s true that some of the plot twists of Netflix’s Red Notice might seem a bit over the top, but the movie has several strong triumphs. The main buddy duo Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds are great together and the quips between them belong among some of the best moments in the movie.
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However, the action scenes are also memorable, such as when the heroes are escaping a prison and face enemies with much greater gun power. Red Notice is a fast-paced movie with an excellent cast that also takes the audience to many exotic locations.
4 Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings
Both DC and Marvel premiered multiple movies in 2021. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings brings a brand new hero onto the scene and also shows another part of the MCU the viewers haven’t seen before. Shang-Chi is the master of martial arts which makes watching the action scenes very enjoyable. One great moment comes when he takes on his father’s men on a bus while a random passenger is streaming and commenting on the whole fight.
The movie also has an epic finale in which Shang-Chi, his best friend Katy, his sister Xialing, and their allies take on a threat that could destroy the entire world if it escapes. The stakes are high and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings entertains the audience from the start right to the post-credit scenes.
3 Transatlantic 473
Vampires were often portrayed as kind creatures in recent years but this action-horror brings them back to their roots. A mysteriously ill woman travels to the USA with her young son but when terrorists hijack the plane, she has to show her more dangerous side.
The movie features multiple scenes showing vampires fighting each other, and the sheer brutality of them is something that rarely ever appears in movies. At the same time, the movie also works to establish the bond between a mother and her son which makes it different from a lot of other vampire action pieces.
2 The Witcher: Nightmare Of The Wolf
When the new show The Witcher premiered in 2019, it soon became a huge hit and the second season will come this December. However, 2021 also witnessed the release of an animated action movie that focuses on Vesemir, Geralt’s mentor and adoptive father.
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In the movie, young Vesemir is trying to solve a dangerous mystery and also faces a sorceress who hates all Witchers. Because the movie’s animated, it allows for creative action scenes that would be difficult to achieve in a live-action piece. Vesemir fights a lot of monsters in the movie so anybody hoping for many action scenes will get their fill.
1 Zack Snyder’s Justice League
Just like each year, 2021 also saw the premiere of multiple superhero movies. However, one of the most expected ones was the changed version of the 2017 movie Justice League.
Zack Snyder’s cut is four hours long which gives it enough space not just for multiple action scenes, but also for fleshing out the relationships between the characters in a more detailed way. Still, some of the best moments come when the League faces an army of their enemies in the end and for a while, it looks like they might not be able to make it.
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