“10 Action Movies That’ll Keep You Watching, But That’s About It”

Not every action movie needs to be Mad Max: Fury Road. Sometimes, you just want to watch the bullets fly, the cars speed by, and the bad guys get their comeuppance. The trick is distinguishing between mindless fun and mind-numbing filler, and these ten movies hover right in the middle.

They’re not unwatchable, but they’re not exactly great either. They’re the kind of movies you throw on in the background while you check your phone—fine, but forgettable. You’ve seen better, and you’ve definitely seen worse.

10. Contraband (2012)

“I’m not letting you screw this up because you feel guilty.”
Mark Wahlberg plays a retired smuggler lured back for one last heist, and if that sounds familiar, it’s because it is. Contraband is packed with every smuggler movie trope you can imagine: a cargo ship, counterfeit bills, ticking clocks, and Giovanni Ribisi doing his best villainous snake impression. It’s a perfectly capable action flick, but it doesn’t break any new ground. The action is decent, the twists predictable, and Wahlberg’s perpetually scowling face carries just enough weight to get through it. Contraband might have been fine in its original Icelandic form, but this Hollywood version offers little more than a competent, if forgettable, watch.

9. The Gunman (2015)

“You ever hear the saying ‘You’re your own worst enemy’?”
Sean Penn tries to channel his inner Liam Neeson in this Euro-thriller about an ex-hitman trying to escape his past. He’s jacked, haunted, and trying to find redemption in Africa—until the action kicks in. While the shootouts and chases aren’t terrible (director Pierre Morel also made Taken, after all), the film’s sluggish pace and self-serious tone drain the energy. Penn’s intense performance is almost wasted on a script that keeps him doing little more than grunting and shooting. A solid, if unspectacular, action flick with some promising moments that never quite come together.

8. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014)

“Trust is earned. I can’t just give it to you.”
The attempt to reboot the Jack Ryan franchise falls flat after a promising start. Chris Pine is solid as the young CIA analyst thrust into the field, but the plot, which involves Russian cyber-terrorism and ticking time bombs, is all too familiar. Despite Kenneth Branagh’s typically sharp direction, the film never finds its rhythm, feeling caught between a spy thriller and a generic action flick. The action is slick, but soulless, and by the end, it’s hard to care about the far-fetched plot or the underdeveloped characters.

7. The Transporter Refueled (2015)

“It’s not the car you drive. It’s the driver.”
While the original Transporter was a blast, this reboot doesn’t quite match up. Ed Skrein takes over for Jason Statham as Frank Martin, but despite the abs and attitude, he lacks the screen presence that made Statham’s character iconic. The action is still there, albeit less imaginative, and the plot, revolving around revenge and human trafficking, feels like a thin excuse for car chases. It’s fine as a quick, disposable watch, but it can’t escape the shadow of its predecessor.

6. Takers (2010)

“We’re takers, gents. That’s what we do for a living. We take.”
Takers is a slick, stylish heist flick full of handsome guys in sharp suits. But while the cast—Idris Elba, Paul Walker, and Michael Ealy—is great, the movie itself doesn’t offer much beyond surface-level cool. The script is straight-up formulaic, and the action, while polished, never really takes off. The final shootout, with its attempt at emotional weight, feels more like an afterthought than a climactic payoff. It’s not awful, just forgettable.

5. Mile 22 (2018)

“Option one: diplomacy. Option two: military. Meet option three.”
With its elite black-ops team and a 22-mile gauntlet of chaos, Mile 22 has the setup for a great action flick. Mark Wahlberg shouts his way through another one-liner-heavy performance, while Iko Uwais delivers some impressive martial arts sequences. Unfortunately, the movie quickly collapses under shaky-cam editing, erratic pacing, and Wahlberg’s tiresome monologues. It’s frenetic and loud, but never really coherent, leaving you wondering if it could have been so much better.

4. The Expendables 3 (2014)

“We get out of the game, then someone pulls us back in.”
After the fun of the first Expendables, the franchise quickly began to lose its edge. The third film is bigger, louder, and somehow even more toothless, ditching the hard R rating for a PG-13 that neuters the entire concept. The action heroes of yesteryear—Stallone, Statham, and Snipes—are still there, but they’re just cashing checks. The villains are forgettable, and the fight scenes, though chaotic, lack the punch of the original. There’s a certain comfort in watching these guys go through the motions, but the stakes are nonexistent, and the fun is fleeting.

3. A Good Day to Die Hard (2013)

“I’m on vacation!”
The fifth entry in the Die Hard series sees Bruce Willis’s John McClane traveling to Russia to rescue his son (Jai Courtney). Unfortunately, this movie strips away everything that made McClane likable in favor of a generic action robot who tosses out bad one-liners while dodging explosions. The chemistry between father and son is nonexistent, and the dialogue feels like a placeholder. While the action is technically solid, it’s all just noise, with nothing beneath the surface. It’s a box office hit, but a critical disaster—and for good reason.

2. Sabotage (2014)

“You’re in the cartel now.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in this grimy drug war thriller, which starts off strong but soon devolves into tonal chaos. Trying to mix Training Day-style corruption with gritty action, it loses steam as it shifts into a whodunnit slasher. The film is mean-spirited, brutal, and weirdly joyless, with a strong supporting cast (Joe Manganiello, Sam Worthington) that gets lost in underdeveloped roles. The action is brutal, but the disjointed narrative and brutal tone make it hard to fully engage. Still, there’s a pulpy, trashy allure if you’re in the mood for something grim.

1. 3 Days to Kill (2014)

“Why do you keep asking me if I’m dying?”
A hybrid of action, espionage, and family drama, 3 Days to Kill stars Kevin Costner as a terminally ill CIA agent trying to reconnect with his daughter while taking on one last mission. It’s an odd combination, with the film toggling between goofy domestic moments and brutal action. Costner does his best with the material, but the film can’t seem to find its rhythm. The action is forgettable, and the emotional beats fall flat. It’s weird, it’s messy, and while it’s never boring, you’ll leave wondering how this oddball mixture managed to make it to the screen.