10 Best Revenge Action Movies Ever Made

Revenge is a common theme in action movies, and it drives some of the most exciting action movies ever made. Many of the best revenge movies are action thrillers, since there’s a deep catharsis to seeing extreme versions of justice and characters getting even.

Revenge movies speak to a deep-seated human desire for justice. There are some slights which can’t be rectified within the bounds of the law, and this is where revenge thrillers come in. They represent a vision of existence in which acts of brutality, oppression and cruelty are punished, even if real life is often more complicated and less satisfying.

10

Mad Max (1979)

The Original Mad Max Movie Establishes The Character

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Thriller

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11

8/10

Release Date

March 21, 1980

Runtime

88 Minutes

Director

George Miller

Writers

George Miller, James McCausland, Byron Kennedy

Sequel(s)

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Mad Max: Fury Road, Mad Max: The Wasteland

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Max Rockatansky can be very stoic and mysterious, so it’s worth going back to the first movie that he appears in to get some insight into his character. The first movie of George Miller’s Mad Max franchise shows that Max’s decisions are ruled by vengeance and grief, which gives him a kind of aggressive nihilism.

Max’s decisions are ruled by vengeance and grief, which gives him a kind of aggressive nihilism.

Mad Max cuts to the heart of criminal justice and law enforcement, asking how useful these tools are in a society that has fallen apart. Max’s vengeful crusade against Toecutter and his gang won’t bring back his family, but his act of vigilante justice is closely linked to his role as a police officer.

9

Get Carter (1971)

Michael Caine Stars As A Stylish Gangster

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Get Carter

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Crime

Thriller

Release Date

February 3, 1971

Runtime

112 Minutes

Director

Mike Hodges

Writers

Mike Hodges, Ted Lewis

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    Michael Caine

    Jack Carter

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    Ian Hendry

    Eric

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    Britt Ekland

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    John Osborne

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Get Carter is one of Michael Caine’s best movies, making good use of his rough charms. There are few film characters as cool as Carter, a stone-faced hitman who travels from London to his hometown in North East England to seek revenge for the murder of his brother. Part detective movie and part violent rampage, Get Carter is nothing if not entertaining.

Get Carter embodies the appeal of British gangster movies, as it mixes suave style with brutal, unflinching violence. It’s been criticized for a perceived lack of humanity, and its assured callousness perplexed some contemporary critics, but these elements merely contribute to its darkly cathartic appeal. Get Carter is as overly violent and emotionless as its harshest detractors say, but this speaks to the most base impulses of revenge that many people can identify with.

8

Man On Fire (2004)

Denzel Washington’s Thriller Has Split Critics And Audiences

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4/10

10/10

Release Date

April 23, 2004

Runtime

146 minutes

Director

Tony Scott

Writers

Brian Helgeland

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Denzel Washington has achieved immense critical acclaim and public adulation throughout his career, but these don’t always arrive simultaneously. While some of his more patient dramas are critical darlings without necessarily connecting with millions of people, Man on Fire sits at the other end of the spectrum. It’s one of Washington’s most popular action movies, but it received mixed reviews.

A collage of characters from I Saw the Devil and The Last House on the Left.

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Man on Fire sees Washington playing one of his authority figure characters, this time a former CIA agent turned bodyguard charged with protecting a young girl in Mexico City. Dakota Fanning delivers a compelling performance as the child in question, and Washington is just as captivating as his character embarks on a vengeful quest, partly to rescue his charge and partly to dish out his own brand of harsh justice.

7

Taken (2008)

Liam Neeson’s Action Star Turn Started A Whole Franchise

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8/10

9.1/10

Release Date

January 30, 2009

Runtime

90 minutes

Director

Pierre Morel

Writers

Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen

Sequel(s)

Taken 2, Taken 3

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Taken solidified Liam Neeson’s transformation into an action star, carrying on the process from his roles in The Phantom Menace and Batman Begins. He plays an ex-CIA officer who uses his skills to track down his daughter and her friend after they are kidnapped on vacation in Paris.

Taken may trade in cheap thrills, but it’s certainly difficult to resist its straightforward charms. The premise is so simple and effective, and the action so clean-cut and powerful, that Taken doesn’t need the most complex story. Its simplicity allows it to connect with the ideas of love, protection and revenge. Unfortunately, the Taken franchise peaked with this first entry, and the sequels seemed superfluous.

6

Memento (2000)

Christopher Nolan’s Love Of Non-Linear Storytelling Creates An Unorthodox Thriller

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10/10

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9.5/10

Release Date

May 25, 2001

Runtime

113 minutes

Director

Christopher Nolan

Writers

Christopher Nolan

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Christopher Nolan’s movies often play with different structures as a way of examining our perceptions of time. Tenet and Interstellar are two obvious examples, but even Oppenheimer, which would be a straightforward biopic in the hands of most other directors, uses a non-linear narrative to blur the lines between cause and effect. Memento was Nolan’s first experimentation with these ideas, and it’s still just as intriguing.

Memento follows a man seeking revenge for the murder of his wife, but his rare condition makes it impossible for him to create and store new short-term memories. This means that he lives his life in a blur of confrontations and chases, often without knowing exactly what his goals are. Nolan tells half of the story backwards to give the audience a similar experience of constant discovery. Somehow, Memento works brilliantly, with Nolan pulling off the impossible.

5

Léon: The Professional (1994)

Luc Besson’s Unorthodox Thriller Splits Opinion

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Léon: The Professional

pg-13

Action

Drama

Crime

11

8.2/10

Release Date

September 14, 1994

Runtime

110 Minutes

Director

Luc Besson

Writers

Luc Besson

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    Jean Reno

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Natalie Portman delivers a precocious performance in Léon: The Professional, which aligns with the fact that her character is also wise beyond her years. After her family is murdered for running afoul of a criminal syndicate, Mathilde teams up with a professional hitman to exact her revenge against the men who orphaned her.

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Léon: The Professional has been the subject of much debate and much controversy over its representation of the strange relationship between Léon and the young girl he takes under his wing. Their uncomfortable bond, forged in the harshest of circumstances, is never quite what it appears.

4

John Wick (2014)

Keanu Reeves Anchors A Revolutionary Action Thriller

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Thriller

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7/10

50

9/10

Release Date

October 24, 2014

Runtime

101 Minutes

Director

David Leitch, Chad Stahelski

Writers

Derek Kolstad

Sequel(s)

John Wick: Chapter 2, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, John Wick: Chapter 4

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In some ways, John Wick is a typical revenge thriller, as a former assassin drags himself out of retirement after a group of thugs kill his dog and steal his car. What really sets it apart is the unique style of action, which has set the standard for the genre for over a decade now.

Keanu Reeves’ cold, calculated assassin is the ultimate big-screen badass, improvising with whatever weapons he has at his disposal and taking on a seemingly never-ending procession of criminals out to kill him. The franchise has evolved a lot over the years, with the first John Wick spinoff movie, Ballerina, coming soon, but the original still packs a punch.

3

Gladiator (2000)

Ridley Scott’s Historical Epic Is Driven By Revenge

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10/10

98

9.3/10

Release Date

May 5, 2000

Runtime

155 minutes

Director

Ridley Scott

Writers

David Franzoni, John Logan, William Nicholson

Sequel(s)

Gladiator II

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    Russell Crowe

    Maximus Meridius

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    Joaquin Phoenix

    Emperor Commodus

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Ridley Scott has been pretty outspoken about his apathy towards historical accuracy, and Gladiator certainly shouldn’t be treated as a historical document. However, there’s no denying the entertainment value, the glorious spectacle and the thematic richness of the Roman epic.

Gladiator follows Maximus Decimus Meridius on his quest to take revenge against the brutal emperor Commodus, after his family is killed and he is forced into a life of gladiatorial slavery. It’s rare to see an action movie win Best Picture, but Gladiator deserved this honor for its superb craftmanship and compelling story.

2

Kill Bill (2003)

Quentin Tarantino’s Thriller In Two Parts Sees Him Playing With Genres Once More

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Kill Bill

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Thriller

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Action

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9/10

45

9/10

Release Date

October 10, 2003

Runtime

111 minutes

Director

Quentin Tarantino

Writers

Quentin Tarantino

Sequel(s)

Kill Bill Vol. 2

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    David Carradine

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Quentin Tarantino has always had a proclivity for subverting genre expectations, and Kill Bill is just as unpredictable as any of his movies. While the story and the aesthetics clearly borrow from wuxia and martial arts movies, there are also allusions to westerns and a whole host of action thrillers.

10 Great Film Noir Movies About Revenge

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Tarantino counts Kill Bill as one film split into two volumes. When it’s seen this way, it’s hard to argue against it being one of the most satisfying and entertaining revenge movies ever made. The Bride’s crusade is punctuated by plenty of unforgettable fights, and Tarantino’s usual flair for dialogue is also in full flow.

1

Oldboy (2003)

The Korean Thriller Has A Global Audience

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Oldboy

R

Mystery

Drama

7.5/10

Release Date

November 21, 2003

Runtime

120 Minutes

Director

Park Chan-wook

Writers

Park Chan-wook, Hwang Jo-yun, Lim Jun-hyung

Prequel(s)

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance

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    Choi Min-sik

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    Yoo Ji-tae

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Oldboy is one of three films that make up Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance Trilogy, along with Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Lady Vengeance. While all three movies are well worth watching, Oldboy is the one that stands above the others. It has gained an international reputation, resulting in an American remake that fails to recapture the brilliance of the original.

Oldboy is one of three films that make up Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance Trilogy.

Although Oldboy has some traditional elements of a revenge thriller, the strange nature of Oh Dae-su’s capture and the film’s unforgettable twist ending give it the appeal of a crime mystery too. Even for those without much knowledge or interest in Korean cinema, Oldboy deserves attention from action fans everywhere.

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