Paid streaming services may dominate the landscape, but they aren’t your only options if you’re looking for action movies. A handful of reputable outlets, including YouTube, Tubi, and Freevee, offer viewers a chance to catch some of the best movies of yesteryear, as well as a some modern hits, for free. And it’s hard to beat that price. It’s just difficult to find all of the best options.
To that end, we’ve put together our first list of the 10 great free action movies that you can stream right now. Fair warning: You may have to sit through some ads to watch these flicks, but you won’t have to pay a cent.
If you’re curious about what’s available in action on other streaming services, we also have guides for the best action movies on Netflix, the best action movies on Hulu, as well as the best action movies on Amazon Prime Video. For more options, check out guides for the best new movies to stream and the best movies on Amazon Prime Video.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
There have been four Terminator sequels since Terminator 2: Judgment Day was released in 1991, and not one of them has come anywhere near the quality of this one. Director James Cameron recaptured lightning in a bottle by bringing Arnold Schwarzenegger back as a heroic T-800 Terminator, instead of the relentless killing machine from the first film.
More than a decade after The Terminator, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) has been institutionalized over her stories about evil robot assassins from the future. Her son, John Connor (Edward Furlong), languishes in foster care until the shape-shifting T-1000 Terminator (Robert Patrick) comes for him. The T-800 saves John and reunites him with his mother, yet there won’t ever be a safe place to go unless they can prevent the future from coming to pass.
Watch Terminator 2 on YouTube.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
Yellowstone‘s Kevin Costner has a lot dramatic talents, but a convincing English accent isn’t one of them. That doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, which has an absolutely stacked cast that includes Alan Rickman, Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael McShane, and a cameo from a James Bond actor.
Robin and his new friend, Azeem Edin Bashir Al Bakir (Freeman), return to England after the Crusades and discover that the Sheriff of Nottingham (Rickman) is ruling with an iron fist in the absence of King Richard. To fight this injustice, Robin becomes a celebrated outlaw and courts Lady Marian (Mastrantonio). However, the Sheriff wants Marian for himself, and he’ll do everything he can to destroy Robin and his men.
Watch Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves on YouTube.
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
The Terminator may have made Arnold Schwarzenegger a star, but it was his turn as the leading character of Conan the Barbarian that gave him one of his early breaks in Hollywood. Certain liberties are taken with Conan’s backstory, but Schwarzenegger embodies Robert E. Howard’s pulp hero in a way that no one else has matched. And only a few, including Game of Thrones‘ Jason Momoa, have tried.
The evil sorcerer Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones) murders Conan’s family and forces him to endure decades of slavery. As a man, Conan wants his revenge even though he is no match for Doom’s power. Conan’s lover, Valeria (Sandahl Bergman), can give him comfort and a worthy ally in a battle, but against Doom, their love may come to an unfortunate end.
Watch Conan the Barbarian on YouTube.
Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018)
A killer finds his heart in Sicario: Day of the Soldado, the sequel to the critically acclaimed Sicario. The first film established Alejandro Gillick (Benicio del Toro) as a ruthless CIA-trained assassin who has a grudge against the drug cartels. In the sequel, Gillick once again goes along with the unethical plans of CIA officer Matt Graver (Josh Brolin), which involve kidnapping Isabel Reyes (Alien: Romulus‘ Isabela Merced), the daughter of a drug lord.
When their plans to use Isabel to start a cartel war backfire, Gillick is ordered to kill Isabel to prevent her from revealing the Americans’ involvement. Instead of complying, Gillick risks his own life to spirit Isabel to safety, as his own name is added to the CIA’s kill list.
Watch Sicario: Day of the Soldado on YouTube.
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
Ol’ Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) just can’t stay out of trouble in John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China. For this pairing with frequent collaborator Carpenter, Russell’s character is a truck driver who doesn’t really have any interest in being a hero. Yet somehow Jack gets roped into accompanying his friend, Wang Chi (Dennis Dun), to the airport to meet his fiancée, Miao Yin (Suzee Pai), right before she’s kidnapped in front of them.
The culprit is David Lo Pan (James Hong), an evil sorcerer who has been afflicted with a curse for centuries. Lo Pan needs Miao Yin to wed him and break the curse, but he may also settle for marrying Jack’s would-be girl, Gracie Law (Kim Cattrall). And Jack is just not going to take that lying down, even as he’s dragged into a mystical battle he doesn’t fully understand.
Watch Big Trouble in Little China on YouTube.
Face/Off (1997)
Hollywood keeps threatening to remake John Woo’s Face/Off, but it would be impossible to replicate the sheer manic energy of John Travolta and Nicolas Cage switching roles and essentially playing each others’ characters for most of the movie. Travolta plays Sean Archer, a federal agent who has a vendetta against a terrorist, Castor Troy (Cage), over the death of his son.
Archer finally catches his man and Troy is left comatose before he can reveal where his bombs are hidden. Thus Archer reluctantly agrees to have Troy’s face placed on to his so he can go undercover and get the locations from Troy’s brother, Pollux (Alessandro Nivola). Troy throws a hitch in those plans when he wakes up and forces the doctors to give him Archer’s face. That allows Troy to steal Archer’s life and forces his rival to go on the run as the world’s most wanted terrorist.
Watch Face/Off on YouTube.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
Andy Serkis’ Caesar was the primary focus of the Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy, but Dawn of the Planet of the Apes gave the series its finest villain in Koba (Toby Kebbell). Because of the abuse that Koba suffered under humans, he’s determined to start a war to wipe them out even if he has to betray his leader, Caesar, to make that happen.
Meanwhile, Caesar forms an unexpected bond with Malcolm (Jason Clarke) and his wife, Ellie (The Diplomat‘s Keri Russell), two of the leaders of a nearby human settlement. That friendship is the last hope of peace between man and ape, which Koba goes out of his way to destroy. The only way out for Caesar is to trust Malcolm with his life.
Watch Dawn of the Planet of the Apes on Tubi,
The Fugitive (1993)
Three decades after the premiere of The Fugitive TV series, action icon Harrison Ford headlined the 1993 feature film. Unlike some other TV-to-film adaptations, The Fugitive arguably outshines the source material with a thrilling story and some jaw-dropping scenes. Dr. Richard Kimble (Ford) is a man who has been wrongfully sentenced to death for murdering his wife, Helen (Sela Ward).
Kimble is resigned to his fate until a freak accident allows him to walk free. Rather than simply hiding, Kimble resolves to find the one-armed man (Andreas Katsulas) who murdered his wife, even as U.S. Marshal Sam Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) leads a task force to capture Kimble by any means necessary.
Watch The Fugitive on Tubi.
Demolition Man (1993)
Demolition Man may have been intended as an action vehicle for Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes, but it turned out to have the first breakout performance by Sandra Bullock. In 1996, LAPD Sergeant John Spartan (Stallone) finally takes down a dangerous serial killer, Simon Phoenix (Snipes), but only after Phoenix frames Spartan for murder. As a result, both men are sentenced to decades in suspended animation.
Nearly three decades later, someone wakes up Phoenix and allows him to go on a rampage. When his tactics prove to be too much for the future cops, officer Lenina Huxley (Bullock) suggests that Spartan be released to help them track down his old nemesis. Spartan’s definitely the cop for the job, but now he’s trapped in a future he doesn’t like and he still can’t figure out how to use the three seashells that apparently replaced toiletries in the bathroom.
Watch Demolition Man on Tubi.
Django Unchained (2012)
Django Unchained is director Quentin Tarantino‘s idea of a Western, so of course there’s lots of action and plenty of swearing. Jamie Foxx stars as Django Freeman, a slave who has been taken from his wife, Broomhilda “Hildi” von Shaft (Kerry Washington), against his will. Bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) offers Django his freedom and money if he helps him find a trio of outlaw brothers who have proven to be elusive targets.
The trail soon takes them to Hildi’s new owner, “Monsieur” Calvin J. Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), a very wealthy and well-guarded man. It’s going to take some trickery to get Calvin to let his guard down, but Django is a quick learner … and an even faster draw.
Watch Django Unchained on Tubi.
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