The 10 Best Action Movies Of 2019 According To Ranker

While there were movies of various types and genres to enjoy in 2019, it was the action movies that stood high above the rest when it came to crowd-pleasers, providing mindless escapism and tantalizing spectacle in movies that continue to thrill and delight audiences to the present.

10 Jumanji: The Next Level

The sequel to 2017’s surprise runaway hit Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, starring Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillen.  Jumanji: The Next Level reunites the old gang in an adventure that largely retreads many of the same beats of the original.

With enough Indiana Jones-esque jungle action and delightfully entertaining performances from the leads, particularly Johnson and Hart having fun with their new body-swapped personas, Jumanji: The Next Level is a crowd-pleasing roller-coaster for everyone to enjoy.  While it doesn’t bring anything new to the table in terms of its action or its story, there’s enough charisma from its leads and run-of-the-mill action to keep viewers entertained.

9 Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

Dwayne Johnson features again on our list in this action-packed spinoff of the Fast & Furious franchise. Directed by David Leitch (Deadpool 2), and starring Fast & Furious veterans Dwayne Johnson alongside bad guy turned good Jason Statham. Hobbs & Shaw takes the focus of the franchise away from glorified car culture and family into much more familiar action movie territory.

While not as loved as other entries in this bizarrely long-running series, Hobbs & Shaw is still filled with enough high-octane car chases and action set-pieces to momentarily entertain, but lacks the true bonkerness (F9’s space car) and wink-wink humor of the main Fast & Furious series. Despite this, the ultra-macho nature of the whole film borders on parodic, which makes many of the action set pieces quite funny, particularly the three-way fight in the rain ending ripped straight out of The Matrix Revolutions.

8 6 Underground

Netflix’s most expensive movie at the time, before the release of Red Notice in 2021, 6 Underground paired famous action movie director Michael Bay with Ryan Reynolds for a by-the-numbers action-thriller.

It’s less fun than many of the other over-the-top action movies of recent years, and doesn’t have any of the quotability of some of Bay’s other action movie staples, such as The Rock or Bad Boys. 6 Underground is another example of Ryan Reynolds struggling to find something akin to Deadpool that matches his action-comedy proclivities as an actor. Despite quite a bit of criticism, Ranker still considers this a must-watch, it seems.

7 Godzilla: King of the Monsters

A sequel to 2014’s English-language reboot of the Godzilla franchise, and a continuation of Legendary’s MonsterVerse, Godzilla: King of the Monsters didn’t;’t quite live up to its potential by focusing on human characters and action set pieces obscured by poor lighting and bad weather.

While the characters’ designs are truly spectacular (Mothra, in particular, is a standout), the movie itself lacks the grit and realism of 2014’s Godzilla, or even the childlike charm of something like Pacific Rim.  The movie feels more akin to something like Transformers in its action, which fails to bring these iconic monsters’ battles to life.

6 Spider-Man: Far From Home

Sony and Marvel Studios’ unprecedented collaboration with the Spider-Man character continued in 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home.  Set in the immediate aftermath of Avengers: Endgame and the effect Tony Stark’s death has had on Peter Parker, Spider-Man: Far From Home balances both the emotional weight placed on Peter as he struggles to fill the shoes of Iron-Man, along with well-structured action set pieces in various European locations.

There’s quite a lot to enjoy in Holland’s sophomore outing as the titular web-slinger, from his awkward flirty interactions with MJ, to the clever cinematic use of Mysterio’s powers of illusions, which literally bring comic book panels to life.  Spider-Man: No Way Home proves there’s plenty of clout left in the character, despite this being his seventh solo outing.

5 Shazam!

The seventh entry in the largely unconnected DCEU, Shazam! was a surprising critical, yet moderately financial, hit upon its release in 2019.  Starring Zachary Levi as the titular hero, Shazam! is vastly different from the somber DC movies of Zack Synder, functioning more as something of a cross between the fun colorful optimism of the Richard Donner Superman movies and the adolescence of Chronicle.

The movie is at its best, and funniest, when it focuses on the central dynamic between Billy (in his Shazam form) and his foster brother Freddy.  Their interactions and Billy’s entire foster family are at the heart of the movie.

4 Captain Marvel

Marvel Studios’ first female solo outing had a lot riding on it, and in terms of financial success, it triumphed. Captain Marvel, directed by filmmaking duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, had the monumental job of introducing audiences to the MCU’s original Avenger Carol Danvers.

While there is a lot to enjoy in this origin story, particularly Larson’s performance as Carol Danvers, the movie falls down somewhat on the action spectacle. Danvers isn’t given a real antagonist to truly showcase her cosmic powers, and it works best as an origin story – which is what it is.

3 Avengers: Endgame

The culmination of the Infinity Saga and the end of the MCU’s seminal characters, Avengers: Endgame was a truly generation-defining cinematic event.

With a runtime of almost three hours, there’s a lot in this movie, and for long-time followers, it’s a love letter packed full of emotion, fist-pumping moments, and grandiose action unlike anything seen before in cinema.  The final cinematic battle between Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and Thanos’ army is equivalent to the Battle of Helm’s Deep in terms of scale and drama.

2 John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

In the third entry in this much-loved series, Keanu Reeves’ John Wick must go on the run following the events of the previous chapter.  Directed by Chad Stahelski, John Wick: Chapter 3 does exactly what a John Wick movie should do.  There’s exquisite fight choreography, inventive use of murder weapons, and a chase involving a horse and motorcycles that is a joy to behold.

Reeves shines in a role he was born to play, while top-notch actors like Laurence Fishbourne and Ian McShane chew the scenery in all the right ways.

1 Alita: Battle Angel

A surprising entry for the top spot of this list when compared with smash hits like Avengers: Endgame and Spiderman: Far From Home, but Ranker readers voted Alita: Battle Angel the best action movie of 2019. Based on the Japanese manga, created by Yukito Kishiro, directed by Robert Rodriguez and produced by James Cameron, Alita: Battle Angel tells the story of battle cyborg struggling to come to terms with her forgotten past.

The most publicized part of the movie was the appearance of the titular hero Alita, who hovers over the uncanny valley with those large photo-realistic anime eyes.  If fans can get over the uncanny valley feeling of the main character, there’s plenty of scintillating cyberpunk action to enjoy.

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