Best Action Movies You’ve Never Seen

There are plenty of action gems that flew under the radar, even for people who swear they have seen everything. This list spotlights films from around the world that deliver tight stories, standout set pieces, and inventive stunt work you might have missed. You will find assassins, special ops teams, and desperate loners trying to survive impossible odds. Queue a few of these and you will have a week’s worth of high adrenaline viewing ready to go.

‘The Man from Nowhere’ (2010)

This South Korean thriller follows a quiet pawnshop owner who goes on a relentless mission to rescue a kidnapped child. Won Bin leads the film with a performance that blends precision gunplay and brutal close-quarters combat. Director Lee Jeong-beom stages cramped apartment raids and knife fights with clear geography and steady pacing. The story moves through the underworld of organ trafficking and drug rings while keeping the focus on one determined guardian.

‘A Company Man’ (2012)

In this Korean action drama, a top corporate hitman tries to quit his job and triggers a bloody internal purge. So Ji-sub anchors the story as office politics collide with contract killing assignments. The film leans into boardroom hierarchies and performance reviews that conceal a professional assassination syndicate. Expect clean gun battles, sudden betrayals, and a final standoff built around loyalty and escape.

‘Sleepless Night’ (2011)

Set almost entirely inside a Paris nightclub, this French thriller traps a corrupt cop as he scrambles to save his kidnapped son. Tomer Sisley sprints through kitchens, dance floors, and service corridors while dodging rival gangs and internal affairs. The real-time feel keeps chases tight and hand-to-hand brawls sweaty and improvised. The confined setting turns every stairwell and storage room into a pressure cooker.

‘Drug War’ (2012)

Johnnie To crafts a procedural where detectives flip a captured cartel boss and stage an elaborate operation to dismantle his network. Sun Honglei and Louis Koo play a tense game of manipulation as identities shift during buy-busts and stakeouts. The movie is known for a harrowing highway shootout and a climactic street battle that unfolds with matter-of-fact precision. It maps the logistics of narcotics trafficking while showing how quickly loyalties collapse.

‘The Berlin File’ (2013)

This spy actioner drops North and South Korean agents into a tangled operation in the German capital. Ha Jung-woo and Han Suk-kyu maneuver through embassy intrigues, arms deals, and shifting alliances. Director Ryoo Seung-wan delivers rooftop chases, kitchen knife fights, and a hotel shootout that uses narrow hallways to full effect. The international setting adds layers of double crosses across agencies and contractors.

‘The Suspect’ (2013)

A defector framed for murder becomes the target of an elite manhunt in this Korean action thriller. Gong Yoo performs punishing foot chases, market brawls, and a standout car chase that relies on practical stunts. The plot threads through intelligence briefings, surveillance rooms, and black-ops teams working off the books. It pairs forensic investigation with raw pursuit energy from scene to scene.

‘Headshot’ (2016)

From Indonesia, this brutal action piece follows an amnesiac who wakes to a past tied to a sadistic crime boss. Iko Uwais brings punishing silat exchanges in beachside huts, warehouses, and a clinic under siege. Directors Timo Tjahjanto and Kimo Stamboel stage fights that use everyday objects as weapons at close range. The journey becomes a gauntlet of mini bosses leading back to a warlord’s compound.

‘The Villainess’ (2017)

This Korean assassin tale opens with a dizzying first-person corridor massacre before shifting into a deep-cover identity play. Kim Ok-vin tackles motorcycle sword duels and wire-assisted acrobatics across rooftops. Training montages reveal a government program that molds recruits into sleeper agents with staged romances. Hidden earpieces, stage plays, and wedding set pieces keep the action inventive and theatrical.

‘Wheelman’ (2017)

A getaway driver is trapped in a double cross and forced to navigate a city while taking orders from unseen voices. Frank Grillo spends nearly the entire film inside a car as the camera stays strapped to the vehicle. Real-time driving sequences use practical night shoots and quick turns through alleys. The tension comes from burner phones, shifting meetups, and whether any caller can be trusted.

‘Bushwick’ (2017)

This urban survival story tracks two civilians crossing a Brooklyn neighborhood during a sudden armed invasion. Dave Bautista and Brittany Snow move block by block through stairwells, backyards, and subway tunnels. Long takes stitch together running battles with improvised tactics and scavenged gear. The focus stays on navigation and neighborhood maps as civilians try to avoid roving militias.

‘The Brink’ (2017)

A hot-headed marine police officer hunts a gold smuggler through harbors and underground markets in Hong Kong. The movie is packed with waterfront chases, fish market skirmishes, and a storm-lashed final fight on a sinking ship. Undercover operations and diver teams complicate jurisdiction between agencies. The set pieces make strong use of piers, trawlers, and cramped cabin spaces.

‘The Night Comes for Us’ (2018)

An enforcer spares a girl during a village massacre and ignites a war with his former crew. Joe Taslim and Iko Uwais lead a parade of punishing knife fights, pool hall melees, and kitchen carnage. Timo Tjahjanto fills the film with specialized assassins who bring unique weapons and tactics. Practical gore effects and relentless pacing turn apartments and warehouses into arenas.

‘Revenger’ (2018)

A disgraced detective infiltrates a lawless prison island to target the crime boss who rules it. Bruce Khan drives the action with taekwondo and hapkido techniques that emphasize kicks and joint locks. The isolated setting funnels confrontations through beaches, stockades, and cliff paths. Rival gangs, temporary alliances, and a community of survivors create shifting battle lines.and seizing borders.

‘Time and Tide’ (2000)

This Hong Kong action film follows a young bodyguard who becomes entangled with a mercenary during a volatile job. Director Tsui Hark stages chaotic shootouts in cramped apartments and a stadium staircase chase that spirals into a vertical firefight. Wire assisted stunts and handheld camerawork keep movement fast through kitchens and balconies. The plot tracks shifting loyalties between smugglers, police, and hired guns.

‘District B13’ (2004)

Set in a walled Paris suburb, this French film centers on a cop and a local traceur who team up to stop a bomb. Parkour founders David Belle and Cyril Raffaelli perform rooftop runs and wall to wall leaps with minimal visual effects. The action includes hallway gauntlets, stairwell jumps, and a lair infiltration that plays like a kinetic maze. The story moves through gang strongholds, police checkpoints, and abandoned towers.

‘Raging Fire’ (2021)

A veteran cop faces a former protégé who now leads a crew of ex officers on violent heists. Benny Chan stacks freeway ambushes, courthouse battles, and a final showdown inside a church. Donnie Yen and Nicholas Tse drive extended fights that blend grappling with baton and knife work. The investigation moves between informants, armored car routes, and internal affairs files.

‘Wira’ (2019)

This Malaysian action film follows a retired commando who returns home and clashes with a crime boss controlling a housing block. The movie features long take hallway fights, ring matches, and stairwell brawls that use tight spaces. Yayan Ruhian appears as an enforcer who tests the hero in a gym battle. The plot threads through family debts, corrupt businesses, and a plan to evacuate residents.

‘BuyBust’ (2018)

Set during a night long raid in Manila, this Philippine action thriller traps an anti drug unit inside a hostile slum. Anne Curtis and Brandon Vera fight through alleys, rooftops, and flooding side streets while outnumbered. A one take riot sequence shows the team forced into hand to hand combat with improvised weapons. The operation unravels amid informant games and neighborhood politics.

‘Point Blank’ (2010)

This French chase thriller begins when a nurse saves a wounded criminal and is forced to help him escape. Paris becomes a relay of train stations, underground passages, and hospital corridors. Stunt work favors foot pursuits that cut through traffic and staircases. The story uncovers a ring of corrupt officers while the unlikely pair races to clear their names.

‘Ninja: Shadow of a Tear’ (2013)

An American martial artist hunts the killers of his wife across Bangkok and the Burmese border. Scott Adkins delivers fast combinations and weapon forms in gyms, jungle compounds, and rain soaked streets. The training sequences set up a final assault that uses shurikens, rope darts, and short blades. The plot ties dojo rivalries to an opium trafficking network.

‘Avengement’ (2019)

A small time crook breaks out on furlough and returns to settle scores after years of prison fights. The film structures its action around bar sieges, gym ambushes, and flashback brawls inside cell blocks. Scott Adkins uses elbows, clinch work, and ground strikes that reflect bare knuckle conditions. The narrative reveals how loan shark schemes and family betrayal fueled the transformation.

‘Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning’ (2021)

This Japanese period action film traces how a feared assassin became the wanderer seen in later stories. The choreography emphasizes draw cuts, footwork, and night raids in alleys and riverbanks. Battles unfold in mansions, checkpoints, and tight bridges where positioning decides outcomes. The plot covers covert cells, coded messages, and a romance tied to a political purge.

‘The Tournament’ (2009)

Every few years, contract killers enter a secret contest and eliminate each other in a single city. The film tracks contestants through churches, gas stations, and municipal buildings wired with trackers. Set pieces include a bus chase, a sniper duel, and a diner shootout. The organizers manipulate betting odds while competitors switch disguises and weapons.

‘No Tears for the Dead’ (2014)

A hitman accidentally kills a child during a job and is assigned to eliminate the mother to cover the mistake. Director Lee Jeong-beom stages office tower gunfights, apartment infiltrations, and a rain soaked finale. The action uses silenced weapons, rappel lines, and tight hallways that force close quarters exchanges. The investigation reveals forged accounts, offshore transfers, and a chain of hired intermediaries.

‘A Bittersweet Life’ (2005)

A loyal enforcer is ordered to watch his boss’s girlfriend and one bad decision turns him into a target. Lee Byung hun navigates hotels, warehouses, and nightclubs as the job unravels into running gun battles. The film sets up disciplined routines that crack under pressure once the hierarchy is broken. Expect crisp shootouts, blunt melee exchanges, and a finale that circles back to a quiet dinner table.

‘Flash Point’ (2007)

A hard charging detective pursues a triad crew while an undercover officer tries to maintain his cover. Donnie Yen mixes joint locks, throws, and ground work with tight gun disarms in crowded streets. The investigation crosses docks, safe houses, and a training ground where loyalties snap. The last act brings a punishing field fight that shifts between grappling and close range strikes.

’13 Assassins’ (2010)

A group of samurai accepts a suicide mission to stop a sadistic lord before he gains more power. The plan turns a remote village into a trap with barricades, flaming oxen, and narrow lanes. Tactics emphasize attrition as the team funnels enemies into chokepoints. The story tracks recruitment, supply runs, and the final hour of sustained close quarters combat.

‘The Good, the Bad, the Weird’ (2008)

Three outlaws chase a treasure map across Manchurian deserts while soldiers and bandits close in. Set pieces include a train robbery, a market chase, and horseback pursuits across open plains. Ryoo Seung wan stages wide frame shootouts that keep vehicles and riders in constant motion. The map draws everyone to a crater where shifting alliances decide who walks away.

‘Re:Born’ (2016)

A former special forces operative is forced back into action when his past resurfaces in his quiet town. Tak Sakaguchi showcases a close quarters system built around knives, short blades, and quick entries. Nighttime forests and abandoned buildings give the skirmishes a cat and mouse feel. The plot reveals a command unit that treats combat like ritual and score settling.

‘The City of Violence’ (2006)

Two childhood friends reunite after a funeral and uncover who really controls their old neighborhood. Action beats snap to alley brawls, courtyard swarm fights, and a final march through a gangster’s compound. The film contrasts nostalgic hangouts with the reality of debt collection and protection rackets. Every lead pulls them deeper into a ladder of lieutenants and enforcers.

‘Brotherhood of the Wolf’ (2001)

Royal investigators track a string of killings in the French countryside while court politics muddy the hunt. Martial arts bursts collide with black powder firearms and hidden weapons during rain soaked ambushes. The search moves through forests, manor houses, and underground tunnels with coded societies in the background. Costumes and disguises hide a conspiracy that reaches back to the capital.

‘The Paper Tigers’ (2020)

Three former kung fu prodigies reunite as out of shape adults to investigate their master’s death. Training yards and back alley meetups lead to friendly sparring that turns serious once a rival crew appears. The choreography leans on timing and smart counters more than flashy wire work. The case pushes them to reconcile old grudges while preparing for a real test.

‘Asura: The City of Madness’ (2016)

A corrupt detective works as muscle for a mayor while a prosecutor squeezes him from the other side. Surveillance teams, bugged offices, and nighttime stakeouts frame brutal stabbings and sudden shootouts. Meetings in parking lots and construction sites escalate into multi party ambushes. The squeeze tightens until a rain soaked intersection turns into a chaotic free for all.

‘On the Job’ (2013)

Gunmen slip out of prison on day release to carry out hits while handlers erase the trail. Manila traffic jams, wet markets, and ferry docks become cover for moving targets. The investigation tracks phone swaps, fake work orders, and a chain of contractors above the shooters. A botched assignment brings rival teams into a daylight street duel.

‘Bangkok Dangerous’ (1999)

A deaf hitman partners with a dancer while his mentor handles contracts for a local syndicate. Neon alleys, bridges, and cramped tenements host rough firearm work and improvised escapes. The film spends time on weapon prep and urban scouting before each assignment. A misstep pulls the crew into a retaliatory cycle that ends on a stark roadway.

‘Lost Bullet’ (2020)

A mechanic working for the police modifies cars for ramming jobs and gets framed after a raid. Garage bays, mountain roads, and highway toll plazas shape a string of chases with reinforced vehicles. The hero hunts a single piece of evidence hidden inside a car to clear his name. Practical stunts favor weighty collisions and tight handbrake turns through traffic.

Share your own hidden-gem action picks in the comments so everyone can discover a few new favorites.