When people think of great action movies, their minds tend to go to the action classics of the ’80s and ’90s but later decades, like the 2010s, have their fair share of fantastic releases. This was a decade that gave us exciting original films in the genre and highly anticipated sequels that delivered in spades.

The best action movies from the 2010s include superhero fare, international projects, book-to-film adaptations, and even an Academy Award darling. Each year of the decade had at least one action movie that rank among the best modern action films and stands out above the rest as the best.

2010: Inception

The decade got off to a strong start in the action genre. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Kick-Ass, The Other Guys, The Book of Eli, The Expendables, Predators, and Iron Man 2 are all strong candidates. However, Christopher Nolan’s original blockbuster Inception tops them all.

Inception follows a team known for stealing information from the subject’s subconscious, but this time, they’re offered the chance to go into someone’s dream and implant an idea. Succeeding means the leader of the team, Dom, would get to return to his children, whom he hadn’t seen in years.

Although not a traditional action movie, *Inception *has it in droves. Each level of the dream they enter gets more thrilling with a freight train crash, an epic zero gravity hallway fight scene, a gunfight through a snowy landscape, and more. There aren’t many movies more exciting than Inception.

2011: The Raid

2011 was another strong year for action. Superhero fans got Captain America: The First Avenger and X-Men: First Class, while fans of fight scenes got Warrior and Real Steel. There’s also Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and the action-packed sequel *Fast Five, *which are worthy of consideration.

Alas, it’s difficult to top The Raid, which many still hold up as one of the best action movies ever made, regardless of era. This Indonesian film follows a police squad sent to a large apartment building run by a drug lord and filled with criminals who they must fight en route to taking down the drug lord.

It’s that simple premise that makes The Raid work so well. The movie doesn’t waste any time or complicate the story. Instead, it’s just non-stop action where the heroes go through incredibly crafted battles that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat. The pacing and action are fantastic, carrying The Raid to greatness.

2012: Dredd

2012 was a huge year for action franchises, with major releases like The Avengers, The Hunger Games, Skyfall, The Dark Knight Rises, and The Amazing Spider-Man all arriving. Jack Reacher and *21 Jump Street *were also contenders for the year’s best, yet Dredd that topples them all.

The setup for Dredd is almost identical to *The Raid, *and again, that’s why it works. The adaptation of the Judge Dredd comic strip focuses on the titular Dredd and his rookie partner as they are tasked with infiltrating a 200-story building to take down a ruthless drug lord and those who work for her.

On the surface, it’s the same film as The Raid, yet it does just enough differently to fully pull you in. Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, and Lena Headey all give strong performances, while the action sequences are breathtaking. Dredd has become a cult classic and fans are still clamoring for a sequel.

2013: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Action sequels were big in 2013, with Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness, The Wolverine, and* Fast & Furious 6 *all being hits. Snowpiercer, World War Z, and Guillermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim were also great and may have been the best of other years but it was indeed a franchise release that stands out.

The Hunger Games was a huge success, so adapting the book’s sequel was a no-brainer. Catching Fire actually worked better as a film than the original because this time, Katniss wasn’t alone in the arena for large chunks of time. We’re thrown in with her, Peeta, and other former winners, making for a formidable battle.

Catching Fire ups the ante when it comes to the setpieces, as the arena action is bigger and more thrilling. The film also never lets up, with the excitement lasting all the way up to the final moments, leaving you on a fantastic cliffhanger before the series concluded with a two-parter.

2014: Kingsman: The Secret Service

2014 is as difficult a year as there is to pick the best action movie. Captain America: The Winter Soldier, *Guardians of the Galaxy, *and X-Men: Days of Future Past are three of the best Marvel films ever, while Edge of Tomorrow is an excellent sci-fi flick. We also got the start of the John Wick franchise.

It was incredibly close, but Kingsman: The Secret Service ekes out the competition. Matthew Vaughn’s comic book adaptation follows a teen who joins a spy organization and must stop a global threat from an eco-terrorist. It’s a tried and true story that works because of the charismatic cast and outstanding action scenes.

Nearly every scene involving the protagonist’s training is filled with intense action and there are awesome fight scenes involving Gazelle, an assassin with prosthetic blades for feet. However, the real treat is the extremely violent fight in the church, which has to be seen by any fan of the genre.

2015: Mad Max: Fury Road

Image made by Yailin Chacon

2015 was a massive year for action franchises. It saw the release of *Avengers: Age of Ultron, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, Spectre, *and *Furious 7, *to name a few. Creed and Sicario were also great action movie releases.

However, Mad Max: Fury Road wins in a landslide. Nothing against those other movies but *Mad Max: Fury Road *is just that good. The film resurrected a franchise that had been dormant for three decades and delivered the best installment yet, following Max and Furiosa as they take down a warlord in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Mad Max: Fury Road was a massive success, grossing nearly $400 million and landing a whopping 10 nominations at the Oscars. The movie went on to win six and the practical effects used to film the massive action sequences were a huge reason why. *Mad Max: Fury Road *is one of the best action movies ever made, period.

2016: Captain America: Civil War

Zade Rosenthal/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

2016 was a varied year for action with the Western remake *The Magnificent Seven, *the zombie horror Train to Busan, and superhero fare like Deadpool standing out. The Nice Guys is one of the best action comedies ever made, while Kung Fu Panda 3 is a great animated thrill ride.

In terms of pure action, though, Captain America: Civil War is tough to beat. The third entry in Cap’s well-received trilogy, the film is almost another Avengers movie, given the sheer number of superheroes who appear. In addition to the existing characters within the MCU, this film introduces the Black Panther and Spider-Man to the franchise.

Captain America: Civil War manages to do this all seamlessly, still telling an intriguing story in the process of all these moving parts. It makes sure to deliver on the action as well, from a great opening scene in Lagos to the chase scene in Bucharest to the iconic fight between heroes at the airport, it’s all fantastic.

2017: Baby Driver

There’s a lot of competition among 2017 action movies. Marvel put out Thor: Ragnarok, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and the critically acclaimed Logan, we got sequels to *John Wick *and Jumanji, and the likes of Atomic Blonde and American Made were a blast.

Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver is the best of the bunch. Wright had the idea for the story for decades, and it focuses on a getaway driver who is trying to escape the life of crime he’s in due to a debt he owes to a crime kingpin. That set the stage for some incredible action scenes.

Wright made it so every driving scene in Baby Driver is creative, filled with tension, and just downright cool. Each action scene is also edited to line up with the music of the film, making everything even more remarkable. Baby Driver was met with widespread acclaim and is possibly Wright’s best movie ever.

2018: Avengers: Infinity War

Marvel/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

2018 was a loaded year for action thanks to Marvel projects like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Deadpool 2, and Black Panther. There was also *Incredibles 2, Ready Player One, *and Upgrade. The pulse-pounding Mission: Impossible - Fallout would be the top action movie in most years.

Alas, it’s hard to top Avengers: Infinity War for pure action. It’s the rare Marvel movie that never really slows down. Nearly every scene is rife with action as heroes fight against Thanos’ army across the world and throughout the cosmos, culminating in two massive battles.

Avengers: Infinity War makes Thanos the protagonist as we watch his attempts to gather the Infinity Stones and snap half of life away, while the heroes we’ve come to love over the past decade try to stop him. In a lot of ways, this is the peak of the MCU in terms of pure action.

2019: John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum

Avengers: Endgame has a legendary battle but has less wall-to-wall action than its predecessor. 2019 also features 1917 and Alita: Battle Angel, but it’s not exactly a banner year for action. That’s why John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum wins so handily.

To be fair, John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum would be the best action movie in a lot of years. It takes what made the first two John Wick movies so successful and expands on it in a big way. John is on the run from the High Table here, meaning nowhere is safe.

We get action scenes where dogs fight alongside John, where John throws knives at various enemies, and one big scene late that’s among the best gunfights ever put to the big screen. There’s an argument that John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum is the defining action movie of the decade.