The 15 best action movies on Paramount+ for an adrenaline rush
- - The 15 best action movies on Paramount+ for an adrenaline rush
Kevin Jacobsen, Gwen IhnatJanuary 19, 2026 at 8:30 AM
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Paramount Pictures/eOne; Paramount Pictures; David James/Paramount
Michelle Rodriguez as Holga Kilgore in 'Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves'; Bumblebee (voice: Dylan O’Brien) in 'Bumblebee'; Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt in 'Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol'
Action movies tap into something primal within us. We can live vicariously through their epic fights, death-defying stunts, and thrilling adventures, from the safety of a movie theater recliner or a comfy couch. They provide showcases for today's most charismatic stars to do what they do best: entertain and give us an escape from our everyday lives.
When it comes to action-packed thrills, Paramount+ has every entry in some of today's biggest franchises, including Mission: Impossible and Transformers, alongside gut-busting comedies like 21 Jump Street (2012) and Tropic Thunder (2008).
Ahead, Entertainment Weekly recommends 15 of the best action movies on Paramount+ to satisfy your need for speed.
01 of 15
21 Jump Street (2012)
Scott Garfield/Columbia/Sony Pictures Channing Tatum as Greg Jenko and Jonah Hill as Morton Schmidt in '21 Jump Street'
This remake of the '80s TV show of the same name remains one of the funnier buddy comedies of the 21st century. Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill play police officers who are tasked with going undercover at a local high school to stop the outbreak of a new drug and find the supplier. During their stint, the pair relive the highs and lows of high school — which sometimes overshadows the task at hand.With its enthusiastic blend of action, comedy, and undercover thrills, 21 Jump Street exceeded expectations upon its 2012 release. EW's critic writes, "What this fast, cheeky, and very funny interpretation of the original premise sacrifices in teachable moments, it makes up for in intelligent giddiness." —Kevin Jacobsen
Where to watch 21 Jump Street: Paramount+
EW grade: A
Directors: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Cast: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Brie Larson, Dave Franco, Ice Cube
02 of 15
Bumblebee (2018)
Paramount Pictures Hailee Steinfeld as Charlie Watson and Bumblebee (voice: Dylan O'Brien) in 'Bumblebee'
Transformers movies are known for being loud smash-em-ups: action-packed, but not much in the way of plot or character development. But Bumblebee broke that mold. In the film, Bumblebee must take refuge from the Decepticons on Earth in 1987, where he meets Hailee Steinfeld's mechanically inclined Charlie and forms a kind of Iron Giant relationship.
Steinfeld's winning portrayal underlines why she was such a standout child actor, and the film uses her bond with Bumblebee to springboard onto larger life lessons, like when she tells him, "People can be terrible about things they don't understand." Don't worry, there are still lots of heavy metal transformations and explosion-filled battles, but the highlight of this movie is Bumblebee cranking '80s tunes from his abdomen. —Gwen Ihnat
Where to watch Bumblebee: Paramount+
EW grade: B+
Director: Travis Knight
Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, John Cena, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., John Ortiz, Pamela Adlon
03 of 15
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
Paramount Pictures/eOne
Michelle Rodriguez as Holga Kilgore, Chloe Coleman as Kira Darvis, Chris Pine as Edgin Darvis, Justice Smith as Simon Aumar, and Sophia Lillis as Doric in 'Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves'
This adaptation of the popular RPG could have been a cynical cash grab, but writer-directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley chose the right approach by crafting a loving tribute to what makes the game so addictive without taking it too seriously. Set in the Forgotten Realms, the film follows Edgin (Chris Pine) and Holga (Michelle Rodriguez), a pair of thieves who band together with a budding sorcerer (Justice Smith) and a druid (Sophia Lillis) to find a magic relic to help clear Edgin's name and reunite him with his daughter.
As EW's critic writes, "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves delightfully nails the fun of role-playing as fantasy characters with your friends. It doesn't require any prior playing experience, either." —K.J.
Where to watch Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves: Paramount+
EW grade: B+
Directors: Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley
Cast: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis
04 of 15
Gladiator (2000)
Universal/Getty Images Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius in 'Gladiator'
Ridley Scott resurrected the once-popular sword-and-sandal genre of the 1960s with this turn-of-the-century epic in which Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) refuses to swear fealty to the corrupt new emperor, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), who subsequently has Maximus' family killed. Maximus seeks revenge by competing in the gladiator games in the hope of eventually taking down Commodus. The film delivers on old-fashioned thrills while taking advantage of newer technology of which the great directors of the '50s and '60s could only dream.
Earning more than $500 million at the box office and winning five Oscars including Best Picture, Gladiator indeed kept its audience entertained, and holds up on repeat viewings alongside its blockbuster sequel from 2024. —K.J.
Where to watch Gladiator: Paramount+
EW grade: A–
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Derek Jacobi
05 of 15
The Lost City (2022)
Kimberley French/Paramount Sandra Bullock as Loretta Sage and Channing Tatum as Alan Caprison in 'The Lost City'
While on tour promoting her latest romance novel, writer Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock) gets kidnapped and taken to a remote, lush location with the goal of looking for the mysterious titular city. When her devoted, Fabio-like book cover model (Channing Tatum) goes after her, romantic hijinks ensue as Loretta starts living an adventure not unlike the ones she pens.
"There used to be a lot more of a certain kind of sunny, modestly ambitious movie that might have been called a romp," EW's critic notes, "blithe action comedies in which two pretty people fight and blunder and fall for each other, and maybe romance a few stones along the way. Almost everything about The Lost City feels familiar in that sense, and comforting, too." —G.I.
Where to watch The Lost City: Paramount+
EW grade: B
Directors: Aaron Nee, Adam Nee
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Brad Pitt
06 of 15
Minority Report (2002)
Twentieth Century Studios Tom Cruise as Chief John Anderton in 'Minority Report'
Minority Report is one of Steven Spielberg's most thought-provoking films — in every sense of the phrase. The film transports us to a futuristic world in which an innovative policing program called "Precrime" seeks to stop murders before they happen, using the collective psychic powers of three clairvoyants. Tom Cruise is Precrime's chief commanding officer, but the program is turned back around on him when he's flagged as a future murderer himself. He soon becomes a fugitive, desperately trying to evade capture while learning the truth behind why he was targeted.
Tackling themes of free will, the slippery slope of police surveillance, and more, the film raises potent questions on our technological future while also delivering as a pulse-pounding thriller. —K.J.
Where to watch Minority Report: Paramount+
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Max von Sydow
07 of 15
Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol (2011)
David James/Paramount Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, Paula Patton as Jane Carter, and Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn in 'Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol'
"Everything is breaking down in Ghost Protocol," writes EW on why this fourth installment is the best of the Mission: Impossible movies. This is part of the film's appeal, allowing viewers to see Tom Cruise trying to figure it out without the same old resources at his disposal.
After Cruise's Ethan Hunt is falsely accused of planting a bomb that nearly obliterates the Kremlin, he is secretly tasked with exposing the real culprit, teaming with fellow agents Jane (Paula Patton) and Benji (Simon Pegg) and an intelligence analyst (Jeremy Renner) on a covert mission. Director Brad Bird breathed new life into the Mission: Impossible films, bringing a kinetic energy and a sense of grandeur (that skyscraper scene!) that brought the franchise to new heights. —K.J.Where to watch Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol: Paramount+Director: Brad BirdCast: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton
08 of 15
Star Trek (2009)
Everett
Zachary Quinto as Spock and Chris Pine as James T. Kirk in 'Star Trek'
J.J. Abrams' Star Trek rebooted the franchise for a new generation without sacrificing the core tenets of what has made it last (As EW's critic writes, "Abrams as a director is very good at taking stuff that was great and making it feel great again.") Serving as a prequel to the original series and set in an alternate timeline, Star Trek follows a young James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) in their early days aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise as they attempt to stop a time-traveling villain (Eric Bana). Both Pine and Quinto slip into the well-worn Starfleet uniforms of Kirk and Spock with ease, and the film takes care to invest the audience in both of their emotional journeys. —K.J.
Where to watch Star Trek: Paramount+
Director: J.J. Abrams
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldaña, Simon Pegg
09 of 15
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023)
Paramount Pictures/Paramount+
Michaelangelo (voice: Shamon Brown Jr.), Donatello (voice: Micah Abbey), Leonardo (voice: Nicolas Cantu), and Raphael (voice: Brady Noon) in 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem'
Paramount+ is the home for numerous iterations of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, from the original series to the live-action films, but Mutant Mayhem is easily the most well-received entry in the franchise's history, with both critics and audiences. The animated action-adventure flick finds the four anthropomorphic turtles wanting to explore life outside the sewers, and soon become unlikely heroes attempting to take down a gang of criminals — who also happen to be mutants. With quippy humor that amuses kids and adults alike, plus visually striking action set pieces inspired by the comic-book feel of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Mutant Mayhem is a fast-paced good time for all audiences. —K.J.
Where to watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem: Paramount+
Director: Jeff Rowe
Cast: Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, Brady Noon, Ayo Edebiri
10 of 15
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Courtesy Everett Collection Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor, and Edward Furlong as John Connor in 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day'
Frequently hailed as one of the best sequels of all time, T2 takes the potential of the original Terminator and adds in higher-budget action sequences and an emotionally resonant story. The film follows time-traveling cyborg T-800's (Arnold Schwarzenegger) attempts to protect future resistance leader John Connor (Edward Furlong) and his mother Sarah (Linda Hamilton) from the malevolent T-1000 (Robert Patrick), who is sent to kill them.Even all these years later, the film holds up surprisingly well, largely due to the chemistry of John and the T-800 and Sarah Connor's badass sensibility, but its visual effects remain impressive, "in part because there's real magic to them, a sense of technological wonder," says EW's critic. "By the end of the movie, we feel that this shape-shifting terminator, this sinister mass of chameleonic metal, has an identity all its own." —K.J.
Where to watch Terminator 2: Judgment Day: Paramount+
EW grade: B+
Director: James Cameron
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick
11 of 15
Top Gun (1986)
Everett Collection Val Kilmer as Iceman and Tom Cruise as Maverick shaking hands in 'Top Gun'
Top Gun: Maverick grabbed a lot of headlines (and box office victories) in 2022, but let's not forget where all this military flight bombast began. Anytime is an excellent opportunity to revisit Maverick's friendship with Goose (Anthony Edwards), his rivalry with Iceman (Val Kilmer), and the iconic volleyball match that foreshadowed Maverick's football game. But the main takeaway from rewatching the 1986 film is just how those stunning flight scenes are even decades later. (And the soundtrack doesn't hurt, either.) —G.I.
Where to watch Top Gun: Paramount+
EW grade: B
Director: Tony Scott
Cast: Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, Tom Skerritt
12 of 15
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Paramount Pictures Tom Cruise as Maverick in 'Top Gun: Maverick'
Follow up your Top Gun rewatch with its highly acclaimed "legacyquel," released 36 years after the original. Cruise reprises his role as Maverick — whose rebellious streak has remained — and is now tasked with training Top Gun graduates, including his old partner Goose's son, Rooster (Miles Teller), who bears a striking resemblance to his father. As Maverick trains his students for a precarious flight mission, he also attempts to overcome past trauma.
With eye-popping aerial sequences and an earnestly emotional core, Top Gun: Maverick earned widespread acclaim not only from audiences but critics, many of whom claimed it as better than the first Top Gun. The film went on to receive six Oscar nominations including Best Picture, taking home the win for Best Sound. —K.J.
Where to watch Top Gun: Maverick: Paramount+
EW grade: B+
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Cast: Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell
13 of 15
Transformers (2007)
Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
Megan Fox as Mikaela Banes and Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky in 'Transformers'
The Transformers franchise has had many ups and downs, but few would argue that the 2007 original is its best entry (besides, of course, the previously listed prequel Bumblebee). The film centers on a centuries-old war between alien robots — the Autobots and the Decepticons — who seek control of an artifact to be used for, respectively, good and evil. Shia LaBeouf plays Sam Witwicky, a teenager who proves to be the key to finding the artifact and must prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. —K.J.
Where to watch Transformers: Paramount+
Director: Michael Bay
Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Tyrese Gibson, Josh Duhamel, Anthony Anderson, Megan Fox
14 of 15
Tropic Thunder (2008)
DreamWorks/Courtesy Everett Collection Ben Stiller as Tugg Speedman in 'Tropic Thunder'
This action comedy is audacious in portraying the pretensions of show business. Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr. star as actors making a faux-prestigious war movie, with each of them proving demanding for their director. But things go from bad to worse after the director opts for a hidden camera style of filmmaking, and the pampered actors are faced with real-life dangers in the jungle, with no script to guide them.
Tropic Thunder lampoons the absurdity of Hollywood and its inherent shallowness, from self-indulgent method actors to ego-driven producers. "With every character, and with every believably outrageous turn of the plot," writes EW's critic, "Stiller brings real insider knowledge of — and compassion for — the big business of Hollywood make-believe." —K.J.Where to watch Tropic Thunder: Paramount+EW grade: ADirector: Ben StillerCast: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Steve Coogan, Jay Baruchel
15 of 15
War of the Worlds (2005)
Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
Tom Cruise as Ray Ferrier and Dakota Fanning as Rachel Ferrier in 'War of the Worlds'
Steven Spielberg directed this riveting action thriller update of the classic H.G. Wells story of extraterrestrial invasion. Tom Cruise plays Ray, a divorced father of two who tries to survive amid the invasion as the aliens do battle with humanity via war machines. Of course, with Spielberg at the helm, War of the Worlds isn't just empty spectacle — the film is infused with very real anxieties over the end of the world. "What's unsettling about War of the Worlds, in its roller-coaster nightmare way, isn't so much the aliens' methods of destruction," EW's critic writes, "as it is the film's visceral vision of world annihilation as something uncanny yet imminent, happening right before your eyes." —K.J.
Where to watch War of the Worlds: Paramount+
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman
on Entertainment Weekly
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