Only 3 Action Thrillers in the 2020s Can Be Considered True Masterpieces

The action genre has experienced a true peak throughout the 2020s. After coming back with a rage in the 2010s, thanks to hyper-stylized, gritty thrillers like John Wick and ambitious dystopian sci-fi gems like Mad Max: Fury Road, the genre became a playground for more daring and poignant storytelling. Franchises like Mission: Impossible upped the ante for what the genre could achieve, both set piece and storytelling-wise, meaning we went into the 2020s with a newfound perspective of what a great action movie could and should be.

When mixed with the thriller genre, action can produce some of the most exhilarating and relentless movies in either genre. Think of Oscar-winning classics like The French Connection or crime sagas like Heat; action thrillers can command our senses with hefty stories while wowing us through spectacular sequences, many of which push the limits and result in fearless stunts. Luckily for everyone, the 2020s have produced at least three true masterpieces of the action thriller, undeniable hits that are on their way to becoming certified classics. Many other action thrillers are good, and a few are actually great, but only these three have what it takes to go all the way and join the ranks of the all-time best entries in this revered subgenre.

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ (2022)

Image via Paramount Pictures

Legacy sequels can be very hit-or-miss. At worst, they are a disservice to the original film that spawned them, offering little more than fan service covering up for a barely present story. However, at their best, they are not only a progression of the main themes present in the original but an enhancement of the formula that first made it great; that’s exactly what Joseph Kosinski‘s Top Gun: Maverick achieves. Tom Cruise is back in the role of Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, still a rebel and still an aerial daredevil. This time, he’s called back to Top Gun to train a new generation of pilots, including the reckless and cocky Hangman (Glen Powell) and the daring Rooster (Miles Teller), who also happens to be the son of Maverick’s deceased best friend, Goose (Anthony Edwards).

Top Gun: Maverick is among the rare legacy sequels that far surpass their predecessors. Whereas the original is little more than an entertaining romp cloaked in ’80s cheese and homoerotic machismo, Maverick is a bona fide action extravaganza, a thrilling spectacle that also serves as a rather sweet look at legacy and the weight of expectations. The main appeal here is, of course, the jaw-dropping aerial sequences, which broke new ground by placing cameras and actors inside the cock pits of real jet planes. Cruise is at his charming best, bringing all the daredevil appeal and confident bravura that first made Maverick a cinematic icon, but complementing it with a welcome weariness that both admits and celebrates the passing of time. Yes, the plot still shows signs of the jingoism expected from a story set within the American military complex, but it mostly avoids the outright endorsement that made the original somewhat infamous. Thus, Top Gun: Maverick remains simple and wholly enjoyable, a throwback to the crowd-pleasing blockbusters that many believed could not come out of Hollywood anymore. A third Top Gun movie is in development, so let’s hope it’s as good as this incredible gem.

‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ (2023)

In 2014, Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski reinvented the action genre with John Wick, a gritty, hyper-violent, and hyper-stylized noir about a ruthless and unstoppable killer who comes out of retirement to avenge the murder of his puppy, the one gift left behind by his recently deceased wife. The film’s success spawned a successful franchise, with each installment being more thrilling, ambitious, and explosive than the one before. The culmination of Reeves and Stahelski’s efforts was seemingly John Wick: Chapter 4, which finds the Baba Yaga facing an endless parade of assassins as he is hunted by the Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård), a high-ranking member of The Table who wants to finally end Wick by any means necessary.

Sold at the time as the conclusion of John Wick’s story, Chapter 4 is the franchise at its most ambitious and jaw-dropping. The action is simply extraordinary, often to the point of disbelief, with each set piece being more daring and mind-blowing than anything we had seen before, in the franchise and overall. The highlights are the extended fight at the Osaka Continental — where Reeves gets some much-welcome help from the ever-reliable Hiroyuki Sanada — and the climactic showdown in the streets of Paris, culminating in a duel between Reeves and Donnie Yen at Sacré-Coeur. Because of its status as the apparent conclusion of the saga, John Wick: Chapter 4 feels more definitive and impactful; the stakes are sky-high, the mood is melancholic and full of dread, and the adrenaline is pumping non-stop. Once Wick meets his end, you feel both sad but, in a way, relieved. It’s a powerful and cathartic ending that would’ve been a tremendously satisfying conclusion for this generation-defining series. Of course, we now know that a fifth John Wick movie might actually happen, and while that does somewhat reduce Chapter 4‘s impact, it doesn’t make it any less satisfying an experience.

‘One Battle After Another’ (2025)

Image via Warner Bros.

It took Paul Thomas Anderson thirty years, ten movies, and eleven Oscar nominations to finally win the coveted statuette for Best Director and Best Picture, but luckily, he won for what might just be his best effort. One Battle After Another stars Leonardo DiCaprio as “Ghetto” Pat Calhoun, a washed-up revolutionary living a life on the dowlow after a situation with his former lover, Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor), and corrupt Captain Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn). A slightly paranoid stoner, Pat overprotects his teenage daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti), preparing her for the day when they might have to go on the run. That day arrives when Lockjaw begins targeting Pat and Willa, forcing her to escape with revolutionary Deandra “Lady Champagne” (Regina Hall). As for Pat, he seeks the help of the chill karate sensei Sergio St. Carlos (Benicio del Toro).

Inspired by Thomas Pynchon‘s novel Vineland, One Battle After Another is a riveting crime thriller that finds Anderson at the peak of his abilities. It effortlessly balances absurdist humor, thrilling spectacle, and a sense of disruptive energy in service of a story about the nature of idealism and what it truly means ot be a revolutionary. At its center is Leonardo DiCaprio giving his best performance since The Wolf of Wall Street, crafting a character that’s equal parts endearing, relatable, pitiable, and strangely chill. An Oscar-winning Penn is equally impressive as the pathetic Lockjaw, all posturing and fake bravado concealing a painfully frail and compromised nature. For her part, Infiniti is a revelation in her film debut, making Willa the unlikely yet undeniable hero of this story. As with other Anderson movies, One Battle After Another is demanding, epic in scope, yet incredibly grounded in something humane. Its politics make it timely, but its approach makes it timeless; it’s the kind of movie that we’ll be looking back to in the decades to come, wondering what it was like to have seen it when it first came out. We should all feel lucky to have seen its legacy grow and evolve as only true cinematic classics can.